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Gutsche Shares Secrets of Irresistible Meetings
By Adam Hardiman | July 28, 2010
“You don’t need people to go to more meetings,” Trendhunter.com founder Jeremy Gutsche told participants in Tuesday morning’s general session at MPI’s 2010 World Education Congress. “You just need them to go to your meeting.”
Noting that “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” Gutsche gave participants a series of tips to make their meetings and events stand out from the crowd. “What will take you an extra mile is the culture you have at your events,” he said.
“Change equals opportunity,” Gutsche said, noting that many companies were founded and thrived in times of economic uncertainty. For instance, during the Great Depression, Kellogg’s surpassed Post Cereals by doubling its advertising budget. To take advantage of the opportunity created by the global financial situation, Gutsche said “you need to become irresistible to a specific group of people.”
He encouraged participants to concisely articulate the specific goals of their meeting. “How you articulate this will have an impact on all the decisions that make your event happen,” he said. Careful word choice attracts attention and empowers word of mouth. “Relentlessly obsess about your story.”
Presentation style is important, he said, suggesting planners should book engaging keynote speakers rather than “boringly brilliant” ones.
“Portray your event as average, and that’s all it will ever be,” Gutsche said.
Earlier, participants heard from Ken Cretney and Dave Gazley, co-chairs of the WEC 2010 host committee, and Ken Sanders, chairman of the MPI Foundation Board of Trustees, who thanked attendees for their support of the Foundation. Rick Antonson, president and CEO of Tourism Vancouver, thanked Bruce MacMillan, MPI president and CEO, for suggesting that Vancouver bid to host the 2010 Olympic Games.
Topics: Meeting Professionals International, News Capsules |