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Meeting and Event Analysis, Case Study 6, pp. 1 –3 978182345-58-8/11 $25.00 + 0.15 Tales From the Trenches DOI: 10.3727/97818823455811X13033147356239 Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. www.cognizantcommunication.com Copyright © 2011 Cognizant Comm. Corp.

Case Study 6

Hot Times in Portland

Mark Yonskie

Site inspections are part of every event; there are checklists galore that list elements that must be checked. What happens when the organizing event planner cannot conduct a site inspection, either because of budget or other reasons? Read on to find out.

During my term at Fuji Photo Film, aka Fujifilm, I learned a very valuable lesson about site inspections. Fujifilm participated in the annual meeting of a buying group. This was a big annual event and it brought together many photo/film manufacturers and retailers from across the country. Fujifilm benefited from membership in many ways, and, to ramp up its presence, sponsored an evening of dinner and entertainment for the camera shop owners and buyers. Many of them brought their spouses and children.

This was an important event because each sponsoring manufacturer wanted to pro- duce the most talked about event of the week with the best food and entertainment. We always wanted to top our competitors. Fujifilm wanted something that would stand out from the crowd, not your standard buffet/plated dinner with a dance. I was respon- sible to plan and manage this event from start to finish. With spouses and children at- tending, the program had to be diverse as well as unique. The location I pitched to my clients was a dream for me at the time: the Portland (Oregon) Museum of Art.

My client was a sales vice president with whom I had a good relationship. During one of his routine sales trip to Portland, he visited the spaces I had identified at the mu- seum instead of me making a separate trip west. One key to success, of course, is to bring an event in under budget, which is the reason I did not make the trip.

He was pleased after being taken on a tour and dining at our caterer’s restaurant and, soon after his return, contracts were signed. I couldn’t have been more excited to plan an elegant and sophisticated event amidst Portland’s finest works of art.

I arrived on site as usual a day or so in advance. We were using two sites in the mu- seum. One, on the first floor, was to be the site of the predinner cocktail party. There was a short walk from the entrance, which would have entertainers on stilts to greet arrivals.

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The second space was cavernous and dark, at the top of the building, which would host the dinner and entertainment. The entertainment included acrobats soaring from the ceiling, elegant clowns, and music—program that I believed offered something for all ages.

During set up in the dinner space early on the afternoon of the event I noticed how warm it was and asked my caterer when air conditioning would kick in. He told me there was none and that was not uncommon in Portland. Imagine my surprise. The is- sue never came up when my client visited as this occurred in the springtime. Weather in Portland in the spring is cool.

So there I stood, in an increasingly warm room, without air conditioning, very small windows 30 feet above, and no warning. As you can imagine I was concerned that a couple hundred guests, including children who can get very grouchy when they are uncomfortable, were within hours.

Fortunately I had a great relationship with the caterer. We held a brainstorming ses- sion, where we examined the budget. This event was less costly than previous ones, so we were able to come up with a solution: box fans. We were able to purchase about 20 of them at a local warehouse club, set them up on the edge of a stage we weren’t using. My guests were kept comfortable with cool breezes throughout the evening.

Notes

Event

Event type: Special Event Event attendees: Adults and children Sponsored event meant to improve company image

Event Planning Phases

Research: Site inspection, checklists Planning: Budget, room design, risk management Coordination: Contingency plan

Challenges

Nonplanner site inspection Limited information regarding venue Mixed audience Unique event program needed

Potential Questions for Discussion or Testing

1. What would you do if someone else was conducting a site inspection? 2. Was this an issue that could have been identified? 3. Develop a checklist for a site inspection. 4. Evaluate strategies and suggest alternatives. 5. How important is a site inspection to the success of an event? 6. Suggest alternatives when cost prohibits a physical site inspection. 7. Brainstorm other issues that could have been a problem for this event.

Hot Times in Portland 3

Mark Yonskie is a corporate communications professional with more than 20 years of end-to-end trade show and meeting planning experience in the consumer electronics and photo industries. In addition to assisting in creating interactive corporate experi- ences, Mark engages various audiences via public relations and employee communica- tions. A graduate of Bethany College and an avid volunteer, Mark thinks quickly on his feet to deliver excellent customer service to his clients.