ISSUES SOLVED  ::  The 17 Hotel Problem

Blowing Off Steam

It’s hot. It’s humid. The convention city was chosen years in advance - like they are. And somehow, hotels close to the venue have not yet been built. It takes 17 hotels, spread across the county to house 4,800 attendees.

Our transportation budget swelled from $600,000 to $1.5 million - money we did not have. Breaking people up into smaller groups reduced networking opportunities and heat related personal comfort - if not health - became a concern. As we pondered how to keep everyone hydrated, we developed a solution which paid for itself and made a big impact on members and the association.

Coach rides, however comfortable, can be a bit dull and people can isolate. We decided to encourage interaction by using the on board DVD players. Each morning and afternoon, short, pre-produced videos ran displaying the days events and messages from the association. These oriented people to their day and encouraged conversations to develop. The last video, produced on site, featured fun moments from the convention and rolled into the teaser for next years convention - incidentally in a cooler city. Done with stills and stock footage, these videos were low budget, high production value spots. To offset their cost we engaged an association approved sponsor more than happy to have a captive audience.

Which got us thinking about our water and transportation cost problem. We suggested placing chilled, bottled water in large canisters at the stops and on the coaches. Then we suggested getting a sponsor who would be allowed to place their logos on the water bottles and the canisters.

For the opportunity to market to a captive audience, the sponsor paid for the water, the custom labels (and the coupons on those labels) and the transportation. As the sponsor was highly desired by the association and vice versa, this turned out to be a win for everyone. Members were cared for, event retention improved and the extra costs were offset by a sponsor more than happy to have premier advertising placement.

No sweat.