certified tradeshow marketer candidate portfolio ... · appendix i resume 35 – 37 appendix ii...

Monique Rochard | Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY – DO NOT COPY OR SHARE - 1 -

Certified Tradeshow Marketer Candidate Portfolio

Monique Rochard, MBA Meetings, Events & Tradeshows Manager

Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. 651 Campus Drive | St. Paul, MN 55112

651.202.4889 [email protected]

Submitted in February, 2015


TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION I VITAL STATISTICS

‐ Candidate Profile 3 ‐ 4 ‐ Company Profile 5 ‐ 8

SECTION II OVERVIEW 9 SECTION III SHOW OBJECTIVES/SHOW SCHEDULE 10 ‐ 13 SECTION IV MANAGEMENT OF EXHIBIT DESIGN/

PRODUCTION 14 – 19 SECTION V MANAGEMENT OF INTEGRATED MARKETING

COMMUNICATIONS 20 ‐ 27

SECTION VI MANAGEMENT OF RESULTS REPORTING 28 – 31

SECTION VII CONCLUSION 32 – 33 SECTION VIII COURSE REFERENCES 34 APPENDICES APPENDIX I RESUME 35 – 37 APPENDIX II ANNUAL SCHEDULE 2015 38 – 39 APPENDIX III EVENT OVERVIEW/PLANNING DOCUMENT SAMPLES 40 – 42 APPENDIX IV SURVEY DOCUMENT SAMPLES 43 – 44

TABLE OF CONTENTS


SECTION I – VITAL STATISTICS

Candidate Profile

Never would I have thought that I would one day be an events manager, given that my early education was focused on sciences, specifically biology, and then my college education focused on studio art and art history! What an interesting journey when I look back at it now. However, it is through this journey that I recognized my strengths and made the right steps to become what I am today. I am happy to say that this career suits me well! Planning and organization come naturally to me. It is a great feeling to work towards the successful execution of an event and to see it come to life after doing all the planning and preparation. Ironically, reaching this stage in my career was all but planned. Upon graduating from Carleton College with a degree in studio art and another in art history, I immediately started working as a merchandise coordinator with Target in their corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, MN. After two years, and being promoted to the highest level I could reach within the merchandising pyramid, I decided to pursue another opportunity as a marketing specialist with OptumInsight, a UnitedHealth Group company. It was in this role that I was really able to determine what I wanted to do as I initially had a hand in everything, from financial management, creative design, event planning, and public relations to administrative duties. I decided that event planning was where I felt most comfortable as I was very organized and detailed, had already established great working relationships with internal employees and external vendors and I loved working “behind the scenes!”


Candidate Profile ‐ Continued

As luck would have it, OptumInsight merged with OptumHealth for a brief time, and I was able to transfer to the OptumHealth events and marketing team where I was promoted to an events manager. I was so thrilled to actually be able to focus my energies on events strategy and planning and not just do it as one of the many other responsibilities on my plate as a marketing specialist! So I worked as an events manager with OptumHealth since 2007, working with two other teammates and reporting to the director of events. Each year, I managed about 100 tradeshows, events and some hospitality functions with budgets that ranged from $2500 to $150,000 per show. I was then promoted to an associate director of events where I managed six event managers and was able to lead and mentor a wonderful group of peers. I had the opportunity to work with many different teams including executive teams, design teams, promotional item vendors, sales teams and response management, just to name a few.

The great opportunity to work for CSI came to me in late 2013 and I was hired to create and lead their meetings, events and tradeshows team while managing a budget of $2.5M. It has been an exciting year and the team has grown to three; me, a meeting, events and tradeshows Specialist and a coordinator. I also have the privilege of working directly with our executive team and I currently report to the vice president of marketing. As the company continues to grow, so will my team and I am extremely happy and excited to be a part of this. For a full listing of my roles and responsibilities please reference the document, “Resume” in the Section IX ‐ Appendix I. It was upon my completion of my MBA in Marketing in 2008 that I focused on attaining certification in Trade Show Marketing through the CTSM program. I felt that having these credentials would further my career path as well as teach me things that I may never have the chance to experience first hand. I am proud to say that I started the program at an EXHIBITOR FastTrak in Chicago, four months after the birth of my first baby in April 2008 and I am looking forward to being recognized as a graduate at the upcoming EXHIBITOR LIVE! This portfolio gives you insight into the way I plan and execute one of the largest meetings that I lead and manage at CSI. It will also give details about the decisions I made and how having CTSM knowledge helped influence them.


ABOUT CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS, INC. NASDAQ: CSII Cardiovascular Systems, Inc., formed in 2007 and based in St. Paul, Minn., is a rapidly growing medical device company focused on developing and commercializing innovative solutions for treating vascular disease by physicians, specifically cardiologists and vascular surgeons. The company’s Orbital Atherectomy Systems treat calcified plaque in arterial vessels throughout the leg and heart in a few minutes of treatment time, and address many of the limitations associated with existing surgical, catheter and pharmacological treatment alternatives. To date, more than 125,000 of CSI’s devices have been sold to leading institutions across the United States and we currently have a little over 400 employees.

Company Profile

A NEW PATH THROUGH CORONARY CALCIUM The FDA granted approval for use of the Diamondback 360® Coronary Orbital Atherectomy System on October 21, 2013. The 30‐day data from CSI’s ORBIT II clinical study demonstrated that the Diamondback 360 Coronary OAS technology produced clinical outcomes that exceeded the trial’s two primary endpoints (safety and efficacy) by a significant margin. CSI is leading the industry with the Diamondback Revolution, a new movement providing innovative, evidence‐based solutions that meet the demand for interventional cardiology treatments. Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is a life‐threatening condition and leading cause of death in men and women in the United States. CAD occurs when a fatty material called plaque builds up on the walls of arteries that supply blood to the heart. The plaque buildup causes the arteries to harden and narrow (atherosclerosis), reducing blood flow. According to estimates, significant arterial calcium is present in nearly 40 percent of patients undergoing a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Significant calcium contributes to poor outcomes and higher treatment costs in coronary interventions when traditional therapies are used, including a substantially higher occurrence of death and major adverse cardiac events (MACE).


on the rise, the prevalence of PAD is growing at double-digit rates.

Company Profile ‐ Continued

PERIPHERAL ARTERIAL DISEASE: AN UNDERSERVED, GROWING MARKET PAD is a common circulatory disease where plaque deposits build up on the walls of blood vessels, reducing blood flow. PAD affects more than 12 percent of the U.S. population over age 65. Plaque ranges from soft to calcified. Calcified and fibrotic deposits are the most difficult to treat with traditional interventional procedures and are more common in older patients. With risk factors such as diabetes and obesity, the prevalence of PAD is growing at double‐digit rates. The Stealth 360°™ PAD System is a percutaneous orbital atherectomy system indicated for use as therapy in patients with occlusive atherosclerotic disease in peripheral arteries and stenotic material from artificial arteriovenous dialysis fistulae. Contraindications for the system include for use in coronary arteries, bypass grafts, stents, or where thrombus or dissections are present. Although the incidence of adverse events is rare, potential events that can occur with atherectomy include: pain, hypotension, CVA/TIA, death, dissection, perforation, distal embolization, thrombus formation, hematuria, abrupt or acute vessel closure, or arterial spasm.



CSI Competitors

For more information on CSI, reference www.csi360.com

Figure 1: CSI Competitor Data


SECTION II – OVERVIEW

I successfully passed my written CTSM exam in early August of 2011 and was quite eager to start working on my portfolio in order to showcase the knowledge gained from the CTSM program. I have been attending classes since 2008 and so I have been able to apply what I learned for the past six years to the programs and shows that I manage. I currently lead and manage a team of three and we work on 38 shows a year, with some being very small and others very large and time consuming. Show types range from internal executive meetings, hospitality dinners and trainings with physicians to tradeshows and conferences that are small, medium and large. For my portfolio, I would like to discuss the planning and execution of CSI’s national sales meeting in 2014 for 250 attendees which includes employees from sales, marketing, engineers, clinical, customer service and executives. This meeting occurs yearly in varying states. The locations have been previously chosen based on the preferences of the leadership team. Moving forward location selection will be based on where the majority of our salesforce lives so we can save some budget on transportation. The meeting primarily focuses on recognition of the salesforce as well as helping them update their skills. We do this by creating training breakouts and a product fair. 2014 was the first time that the event was managed by a planner, so quite an undertaking for me as I had to lay the foundation for all the teams involved. It was relatively easy to apply what I learned from the CTSM program as they were totally out of their element when it came to all aspects of the planning process and I had the knowledge and experience to get them on the right path. For all events that I run, it is customary to create a core planning team to stay on top of tasks and to ensure that we set objectives and follow through. Having the knowledge from CTSM under my belt made this a little simpler to manage. I am happy to say that by applying all that I learned, the planning of this event ran quite smoothly! The following pages of this portfolio will walk you through the event objectives, the processes used to design and create our program, product fair booths and designs using specific event branding, our use of integrated marketing communications, how successful we were in attaining our objectives and what we took away from the event in order to improve on our execution of this meeting this year.


SECTION III – SHOW OBJECTIVES/SHOW SCHEDULE

2015 CSI EVENT & TRADESHOW SCHEDULE CSI participates in and hosts many tradeshows and events that have reached a total of 38 for this year. Nearing the end the year I work with each business marketing lead to create the calendar for the following year. Our calendar is a living document that constantly changes with many events being removed and added. I am also responsible for assigning event leads to shows based on workload and bandwidth. Below is a listing of events that I will be leading for the rest of this year. In addition to helping to manage these events, I also lead and manage a team of event leads so half of my time is devoted to creating a more successful events team through development and support. See Section IX ‐ Appendix II for full calendar listing.

Continued on next page


For each event that we plan and execute it is absolutely essential that we set event objectives and goals so we can measure its value to our company and show executive stakeholders the strong value and impact that event and tradeshow participation has on our business. At CSI, the marketing lead is responsible for determining what events their business would like to attend as well as the specific goals and objectives that they want to meet/exceed at each event. As we do a large variety of events, both locally and internationally, goals and objectives will change constantly as they are based on the type of event we participate in, the audience, our level of participation as well as what we want to achieve from the event. There is no one specific objective that can cover all CSI events and CSI has never measured ROI using set measurable goals, but I am in the process of improving this!

Show Objectives/Show Schedule ‐ Continued

Figure 2: Event Calendar listing Monique’s shows



Even though it is not my responsibility to confirm what shows we attend, Session 10811 ‐ How to Measure the Value of Trade Show Participation has been very helpful in allowing me to better understand show management. Being new to the medical industry it is vital that I question the marketing lead to better understand what the benefits are to spending the assigned budget and going to these events if the objectives and goals were the same each year and if they were never exceeded. In order to help them with their marketing strategy I have been continuously working with them to find more innovative ways to exceed their objectives, such as sponsoring a hospitality event or making the booth more interactive by including gaming in the booth. This class taught me how to evaluate show participation based on the value our company could get out of it and to in turn improve what we do so as to exceed goals and objectives. Session 10506 ‐ Using Surveys in the Trade Show and Event Decision Making Process also reinforced the importance of gathering information during and after an event in order to make better decisions in the future and I believe that both of these courses helped solidify the importance of measuring the value of participation in events and using those results to make future events more successful. I have often referenced these during conversations with my peers to stress how importance ROI truly is. On all CSI Events, the event manager leads a planning team than includes a marketing lead, a sales lead, and often times a marketing communications and clinical data lead. Session 52308 ‐ Communicating with Others: Essentials for Success was a very insightful class. It helped me better understand the different communication styles that people have and the best way to approach each style in order to communicate effectively. I have found that it is helpful to have one representative from each of these teams on pre‐event planning calls so that we are all on the same page and working towards the same goals for the event and the importance of proper communication at these meetings. As an events manager, I deal with all sorts of personalities and you can never change the way a person thinks (though sometimes I wish I could!), so adapting to their communication style makes it that easier to plan and execute a successful event with minimal hiccups caused by miscommunication.


For the 2014 CSI national sales meeting I created very specific objectives and used strategies that were not formally established for the previous two years. What has been challenging for me is that there have never been any measurable goals used for any of their previous meetings. For an internal sales meeting the focus is more about engagement and ensuring they leave knowing more and looking forward to returning the following year. Below are the strategies I used when working on the program in order to get gain maximum attendee engagement whilst getting the best bang for the buck:

Overall Strategies Tactics Assessment Method

Measurable Goals

Encourage engagement and networking at events

Execution of multiple all‐attendee events such as teambuilding workout and evening activities

Post‐event survey Metrics

80% of positive survey responses with regards to teambuilding and evening activities

Ensure that all sales pros attend training

Ensure that sessions are not too long and have some fun elements

Room capacity during sessions

90% of seats filled in each session

Show the salesforce the company’s appreciation for their contributions and efforts

Execute an awards dinner that celebrates the top 4 employees

Post‐event survey metrics

70% of positive survey responses with regards to the Awards Event

Control spend and manage overall budget

Use tools to record spend and negotiate for best pricing

Comparison of estimated budget vs. actual budget

Remain within +/‐10% of forecasted spend of $1.1M



SECTION IV – MANAGEMENT OF EXHIBIT DESIGN/PRODUCTION

In the previous two years, the national sales meeting was never managed by one main person and there were no planning processes or timelines put in place for effective program management. The program lasts for four days, beginning with a welcome general session in the evening on day one. The next two days consisted of a general session in the morning followed by four rotational breakouts. The final day consists of specialized breakouts in the morning and a closing session, then a grand white party on a boat to end the event. During Session 20208 ‐ Basic Project Management and Reporting Skills, it was made very clear to me how critical project management is for any meeting, as well as ensuring that summaries and action items are communicated to all involved to keep the project moving forward. Using my expertise and skills from my previous career and from my CTSM learnings specifically from Session 41612 ‐ The Basics of Event Planning and Management, I started off the program planning with weekly meetings and assigned leaders for each large section of the meeting:

‐ General Session Flow & Content; one general session on three days ‐ Breakout Flow & Content; Content was driven and led by marketing and sales leadership

with two sessions including physician prespectives ‐ Marketing Product Fair showcasing collateral and selling tools; five stations and no

external vendors ‐ Entertainment & Teambuilding; guitarist for opening session, James Bond models for

product fair and fortune tellers and magicians for the awards evening ‐ Awards Night ‐ Attendees & Transportation ‐ Food & Beverage

At these meetings I tackled all of these groupings with a big picture strategy and had each group leader work on the details within their own teams. Please reference the planning document sample similar to what I used in the Section IX – Appendix III. Because of the timing when I started at CSI, I was already locked into utilizing partners that the company used in the past or had signed contracts with; I didn’t have the opportunity to send RFPs or make selections regarding our location, exhibit production, design or print partners. Instead I chose to focus on learning to understand their styles, look at their past work and pricing and communicate regularly with them in person, over the phone as well as via email. I was very lucky because all the partners I inherited were responsive, timely and well‐organized. Their quality of work was high and most importantly they were all very flexible ‐ we always had changes!


The 2014 National Sales Meeting was built on the same agenda and flow used in previous meetings as the executive team felt like it worked well and that nothing needed to be adjusted. The following pages outline and explain some of the challenges I encountered and how they were resolved during the planning and production stages. I will also discuss the exhibit production piece in more detail and include pictures of the final event. HOTEL SITE

CHALLENGE REASON FOR CHALLENGE RESOULTION

General session layout and capacity – originally contracted for 180 guests

Total attendees increased to 250

Moved stage and screen from the middle center side of room to far end to accommodate more seating

Breakout rooms increased from 2 main rooms that could hold 100 each to 4 rooms; 2 for 80 and 2 for 40

Agenda changed and they needed to add 2 additional breakouts

Added rooms to the contract to accommodate changes and used larger rooms for larger breakouts

No additional room available for a product fair

The fair was a new addition and the hotel had all rooms booked on the date needed

Utilized the foyer area right outside the general session room

Hotel not accessible to nearby park for teambuilding activity

Attendees normally partake in a fun run as a teambuilding activity

Brought a celebrity trainer in to train the group in an available ballroom

Hotel located in Chicago Two major airports to fly into which added to the shuttling expenses of attendees

Worked closely with our travel partner to capture as much information from attendees to book the right number of shuttles and manage timing

AUDIO VISUAL PRODUCTION


General session room contracted seemed too small for larger group

Site inspection wasn’t done before contract was signed and attendees increased

Moved room layout and projection type to accommodate larger group

Management of Exhibit Design/Production ‐ Continued



BUDGET


Lack of accurate budgets from previous events

No one person managed the event so spend was not accurately recorded

Created my own budget tracking sheet to help upper management to understand costs and to track our spend

Because the meeting was not managed by one person in the past, the spend was not controlled nor was it recorded and that’s where Session 20308 ‐ The Nuts and Bolts of Budgeting for Results helped me tremendously to ballpark numbers using the basic information that I already had. Session 52110 ‐ Negotiating Skills to Win also allowed me to have the upper hand when working with our partners to get discounts and concessions in order to maximize our budget. Using the information gleaned from these sessions, I created the below basic budget outline to help upper level management understand how much the event should actually cost.

Items to note for overage: We were over on Wolfgang (production) due to overtime fees for the labor crew as the hotel contract did not include the meeting space all day before the set up day, hence more labor needed. We added additional entertainment at the last minute and we added more alcohol at an evening event – these contributed to the increase of the actual spend.

Figure 3: Estimated & Actual Budgets

mronnei

Rectangle



BOOTH/GRAPHICS PRODUCTION


Added a product fair that required new physical properties to display marketing updates

New add to the event so it was never done before

Utilized a partner that I worked with for 8 years at my last job

After finding the space at the hotel for the product fair, the next challenge was working with marketing to determine what they wanted to showcase and in what manner. As a team, we determined the stations we wanted and we decided to go with separate booths that had a look that was consistent with the overall show branding. The theme for the event was a “007” one with the tagline “Agents of Change,” as our salesforce helps doctors change lives by saving limbs. Our booths followed suit to match this theme. Session 61709 ‐ Graphic Boot Camp: What Every Event Manager Should Know allowed me to help the marketing and marketing communications leads create messaging that was concise and catchy so as to maximize the limited space we had yet make a powerful impact. Below are a few images that help show the plan and renderings used during the planning process for the marketing product fair.

Figure 4: Foyer plan and image of location for product fair – had to use foyer due to lack of

availability of ballroom/meeting space



Figure 5: Renderings of booths from the production company

Figure 6: Before and after of actual product fair booths


SECTION V– MANAGEMENT OF INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS


Figure 7: Actual picture of general

session and awards ballroom before set up – note how rectangular the room is. We changed the

seating set up to accommodate for this

room shape.

Figure 8: Actual room set up for general session on the left and awards

dinner on the right


From Session 31108 ‐ How To Grow Your Brand: Incorporating Brand Marketing into Your Exhibit Program, I learned a lot about the steps in the brand association process. At the national sales meeting, we used “awareness” through different means, to reiterate the importance of the salesforce and how valuable they are to the organization. We wanted them to understand that they are changing lives through the selling of this unique product. This session also helped me to realize that we are all brand stewards and responsible for the building of the brand. We promoted our brand at the event through the following integrated marketing communications:

PRE‐EVENT ‐ Pre‐event email blasts with the dates, attire, what to expect and agenda

AT EVENT ‐ Branded signage, booths, name badges, agendas and giveaways ‐ Collateral pieces at the booths ‐ some updated based on previous feedback from sales

POST EVENT ‐ Link to electronic survey for feedback

In order to move towards being “greener” and to be more aware of the negative impact that too much paper has on the environment as learned in Session 62411 ‐ Green Trade Shows, we chose to deliver all communications to the salesforce via email. Previously they were done both electronically and by regular mail. One of the challenges with sending printed materials to our salesforce, is that they are constantly on the road and often do not check their mail on a regular basis. If we needed them to read it and respond by a certain time, the possibility of them doing that was very slim if we used direct mail. The monetary savings of not sending mail out to over 200 people was also another reason we moved to just using electronic communication. The table on the following page summarizes how each of the above communications was used and measured at the event as well as the results obtained. Following the table is more detail on the method used as well as images.

SECTION V – MANAGEMENT OF INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS


Management of Integrated Marketing Communications ‐ Continued

Marketing Communication

Objectives

Marketing Communication Method Used

Rationale for media source

How goal was measured and

Results

Recommendations for future

Communicate important dates and agenda information for the event for 100% attendance

Pre‐Show emails

Salesforce always on the move so this is the best method to reach them

Feedback given during survey – we had approximately 100% attendance

(2 attendees could not make it due to family vacations)

Save the date should be sent at least 6 months before event date and at least 4 times within the first month.

Awareness of CSI’s brand and message to the Salesforce – you are all Agents of Change – go out and change lives!

Need to have 80% positive feedback from attendees about the product fair and theme.

“007” Branding on booths, signage and agendas

Impact of multiple impressions in a physical presence form has a more powerful effect than electronic methods

Feedback given during survey – only 2 attendees thought the fair and theme were slightly good. All others were good and excellent – 97% positive feedback.

Need to have more defined objectives with numbers tied to them and easy ways to measure them.

Engaging attendees and leaving a positive impression about being an employee at CSI.

Need to have 80% positive feedback from attendees about overall event.

Promotional Items Collateral Pieces

Allows for the impression to continue after the event and in the public space

Feedback given during survey – 98% of attendees thought the overall event was good or excellent.


PRE‐SHOW EMAILS As part of the event planning process, one of my responsibilities is to keep the core planning team aware of any issues or outstanding items needed before the event. We typically have weekly meetings about 6‐9 months before a large sales meeting to ensure that we have everything covered from dates, location, agenda, group leads, content, theme, attendees, speakers, entertainment etc. Session 20607 ‐ Show Operations Basics – Part I: Pre Show Planning drove this point home for me and made me more aware of the importance of ensuring that your attendees have set roles and expectations. A save the date is an easy way of setting the stage for this.



As soon as the location and dates for the meeting were confirmed, we sent a generic email to the salesforce with this information. We also sent them a calendar invitation to deter them from booking family trips or other events during this timeframe so they can attend and be fully engaged at the event. In addition to the save the date, I followed up with emails letting them know about attire, transportation and planned entertainment, all with James Bond verbiage, as seen in the below figure.

Figure 9: E‐blast format used for all email communications to attendees – note how the emphasis is made on the word “change” using a

different color and bolder font.



BRANDING ON SITE: BOOTHS, NAME BADGES, SIGNAGE & AGENDAS To remain consistent throughout the event and hammer the message of “change” to everyone, everything that was branded used the same design elements used in the email blasts sent to attendees. This allowed a seamless transition from offsite to onsite when they arrived at the location for the start of the meeting. Examples of some of these pieces can be seen on the following pages. AGENDA AND WELCOME LETTER

Figure 10: Agenda above and

Welcome Letter on the following page



BOOTHS & SIGNAGE


Figure 11: Branded signage



PROMOTIONAL ITEMS & COLLATERAL Everyone likes a free gift so of course we branded our giveaways so that when our attendees use them they generate brand impressions. For 2014, we decided on a small but powerful portable charger that you can use to power up your mobile device when you don’t have access to an outlet. As part of the product fair, marketing also made sure to have updated selling brochures readily available to the salesforce as well as advertising a new collateral ordering website!

Figure 12: giveaway and some examples of updated collateral pieces



SO DID WE MEET OUR INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES? For the most part – yes! By using all of the above communication methods, we were able to reach all our attendees and communicate the agenda, portray the message of the importance of the theme of change for the year and give the salesforce the satisfaction of knowing that they work for a great company and that the future has a lot more in store for them. The following section will discuss final metrics and show how these marketing communication methods helped me to meet the show objectives originally set forth – to gain maximum attendee engagement with cost‐effective spending.


SECTION VI – MANAGEMENT OF RESULTS REPORTING

All aspects of planning a show are important – preplanning, on‐site execution and post‐planning. Many people think that once an event is over, we can simply close the books on it. Not so fast though, as measuring the results of the show is monumental for the success of the next one. It helps us to be better prepared and to make improvements based on the results of the last event. Session 20410 ‐ Don’t Skip the Meetings – Pre‐At‐and Post‐ Guideposts to Success taught me the importance of meetings before an event, at an event and of course after an event. After the national sales meeting, I led a recap meeting with the core planning team to get everyone’s perspectives and constructive feedback in order to make the next meeting even better. As stated earlier in this document, CSI is in the process of creating a process to measure ROI on all our meetings and events. For this specific meeting, we relied on feedback garnered from a survey sent to all attendees at the end of the event. Please see Section IX ‐Appendix IV for the example pages taken from the survey that was sent electronically – we had 170 respondents! Session 10811 ‐ How to Measure the Value of Trade Show Participation stressed the importance of measuring the success of a show using the goals and objectives set forth in the beginning and applying metrics in order to create a robust and data‐backed report. In keeping with this, I will use the chart used in Section three and add the final data so I can show you if the meeting met its objective. I will also repost the table used in section five that shows how the marketing communications objectives were met as well.


Overall Strategies Tactics Assessment Method

Measurable Goals Actual Results

Encourage engagement and networking at events

Execution of multiple all‐attendee events such as Teambuilding workout and evening activities

Post‐Event Survey Metrics

70% of positive survey responses with regards to teambuilding and evening activities

Survey reported that 97% of attendees thought the teambuilding and evening activities were good or excellent

Ensure that all sales Pros attend training

Ensure that sessions are not too long and have some fun elements

Room capacity during sessions

90% of seats filled in each session

Within each room, there was approximately 95% attendance and 98% felt that the content was valuable

Show the salesforce the company’s appreciation for their contributions and efforts

Execute an Awards Dinner that celebrates the top four employees

Post‐Event Survey Metrics

70% of positive survey responses with regards to the Awards Event

95% of attendees thought the awards event was good or excellent

Control spend and manage overall budget

Use tools to record spend and negotiate for best pricing

Comparison of estimated budget vs. actual budget

Remain within +/‐10% of forecasted spend of $1.1M

Final budget was approximately $1.14M – 36% over the forecasted budget

As seen from the above results column, it is safe to say that the event was successful in all aspects except for the budget strategy. One of the main reasons that the budget was over the forecast was lack of accurate historical data from previous National Sales Meetings. Also, this was my first experience working with the salesforce and understanding the company’s sales culture. There was also never anyone like me to help them understand costs and show them effective ways to keep costs down. Having the budget from this event allows me to create a per person number that I will use in the planning of this year’s event as the salesforce will be expanding. Another point worth mentioning is that through this exercise and experiencing the attendees’ needs onsite, I am better able to allocate for food and beverage as they are massive drinkers and eaters!

Management of Results Reporting ‐ Continued

Overall Results



Integrated Marketing Communications Results

Marketing Communication

Objectives

Marketing Communication Method Used

Rationale for media source

How goal was measured and

Results

Recommendations for future

Communicate important dates and agenda information for the event for 100% attendance

Pre‐Show emails

Salesforce always on the move so this is the best method to reach them

Feedback given during survey – we had approximately 100% attendance

(2 attendees could not make it due to family vacations)

Save the Date should be sent at least 6sixmonths before event date and at least four times within the first month.

Awareness of CSI’s brand and message to the Salesforce – you are all Agents of Change – go out and change lives!

Need to have 80% positive feedback from attendees about the product fair and theme.

“007” Branding on booths, signage and agendas

Impact of multiple impressions in a physical presence form has a more powerful effect than electronic methods

Feedback given during survey – only 2 attendees thought the fair and theme were slightly good. All others were good and excellent – 97% positive feedback.


Engaging attendees and leaving a positive impression about being an employee at CSI.

Need to have 80% positive feedback from attendees about overall event.

Promotional Items Collateral Pieces

Allows for the impression to continue after the event and in the public space

Feedback given during survey – 98% of attendees thought the overall event was good or excellent.


WOW! Great results for the integrated marketing communications strategy! All of the objectives were exceeded! One of the biggest challenges for me when completing this chart was to have actual numbers to use for comparisons. A Sales Meeting is an internal meeting and very different when compared to an external facing event. By setting up goals with metrics tied to positive feedback I am able to provide actual data to prove the success of the integrated marketing communications program used.



RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 2015 STRATEGY TO SUPPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

More planning and engagement earlier Create planning teams earlier on and keep project moving by having weekly meetings and recaps with updates and action items

Add metrics to objectives and goals Hired a contractor to assist with surveys that will help create and shape objectives using attendees’ feedback from last year. Surveys will be done pre, during and post event for more accurate data

More detailed budget document to be shared with upper management before and during planning

Budget has already been created in extreme detail (more than 300 line items in Excel!) and shared with upper management so they have a full understanding of each cost as well as the ability to cut back if needed

Hotel selection should include the Production Lead and space booked should be maxed

Incorporated Production Lead on Site inspection and had his buy‐in before contracting the hotel as the site for 2015

It is difficult to refute the data presented on the last few pages ‐ my first time planning and executing CSI’s fourth national sales meeting was a huge success! The full survey in PDF and Excel form was sent along to the senior vice president of sales, the vice president of marketing and the executive vice president of sales and marketing. They were all extremely impressed by the comments given by attendees as well as the high caliber of the event, compared to previous meetings. Having this event under my belt has made it easier for them to trust my judgment and decision‐making hence easier to do my job.


SECTION VII – CONCLUSION

Below are a few comments taken from the survey that sum up the huge success of this event! One of the survey sheets used can be seen in Section IV – Appendix IV. “Very fun! Learned a lot while still enjoying myself!” “Lots of excitement regarding our coronary, peripheral and pedal franchises. Lots of growth opportunities. Great to be a part of CSI.” “Very organized and communication set the expectations for what was an extremely well planned event.” “Best NSM yet ‐ great content, mixed with lots of fun. Not too serious, yet worthwhile.” “Outstanding meeting, I was extremely impressed. Loved theme, wouldn't change a thing.” It felt great closing the books on this event because it was such a huge success for the company and for my team. It was also a great learning experience for me with regards to the culture of the salesforce and their expectations at meetings like these. Actually being there and interacting with them has opened my eyes up to what they are accustomed to experiencing and has greatly influenced the way in which I am currently planning this year’s national sales meeting. Proving my worth at this event has also made it easier for upper management to trust the information I give them, specifically when it comes to budget forecasts and the reality of costs pertaining to food and beverages, flights, accommodations and audio visual. I am happy to say that we have already confirmed the dates and location for this year’s event and the initial save the date has already gone out! Now that team members have a better understanding and acceptance for the need for weekly meetings and updates starting as early as six months before the event, it has already been much smoother than last year’s planning. Everyone will be fully engaged earlier on!


Conclusion ‐ Continued

I am already in the pre‐planning stages for 2015 and am looking forward to being able to use all the knowledge I have learned during the CTSM program as well as through networking with peers in the industry. People who plan meetings and events are the only ones who can fully understand all the pains that we in this business experience, but they are also the only ones who understand the joy and pride we feel when they are completed. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this process – it has been truly enjoyable and I look forward to continuing my education and building relationships through this fabulous CTSM program!


SECTION VIII – COURSE REFERENCES

Session 10506 ‐ Using Surveys in the Trade Show and Event Decision Making Process Pg.12 Session 10811 ‐ How to Measure the Value of Trade Show Participation Pgs. 12, 28 Session 41612 ‐ The Basics of Event Planning and Management Pg. 14 Session 20208 ‐ Basic Project Management and Reporting Skills Pg. 14 Session 20308 ‐ The Nuts and Bolts of Budgeting for Results Pg. 16 Session 20410 ‐ Don’t Skip the Meetings – Pre‐At‐and Post‐ Guideposts to Success Pg. 28 Session 20607 ‐ Show Operations Basics – Part I: Pre Show Planning Pg. 21 Session 31108 ‐ How to Grow Your Brand:

Incorporating Brand Marketing into Your Exhibit Program Pg.20 Session 52110 ‐ Negotiating Skills to Win Pg.16 Session 52308 ‐ Communicating with Others: Essentials for Success Pg. 12 Session 61709 ‐ Graphic Boot Camp: What Every Event Manager Should Know Pg.17 Session 62411 ‐ Green Trade Shows Pg. 20


SECTION IX – APPENDIX

Appendix I – Resume


Appendix II – 2015 Master Calendar of Events


Appendix III ‐ Samples of Overview and Planning Documents

Images of PPT deck slides that were used to present a high level overview of the event to upper management


Images of PPT deck slides that were used to present a high level overview of the event to upper management


Snapshot of high level overview grid used to manage tasks, owners and status.


Appendix IV – Post Event Survey