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A Bad Day for AIG’s Meeting PlannerOctober 21, 2008This can’t be good: U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman sent a letter to American Intl. Group, telling the company he wants to see all the details and costs of every conference, event, retreat and incentive package it spent money on this year – and what it plans to spend in the first half of next year. Waxman gets the opportunity to do this since the federal government loaned In principle and at first glance, this doesn’t sound bad: If American taxpayers are spending their money to help a company out, they, via their elected representatives, should be able to ask a question once in a while about what the company’s doing. The most interesting headline grabber was the fact that After the inevitable backlash, Any of you ever spent $50,000 on an event? A hotel room block here or there, a little F&B, a handful of plane tickets and, before you know it, you can eat through $50,000 pretty fast. Yet, it’s also likely that for the $50,000 a lot of relationships were established, deals were eventually made and the fabled ROI was justified. As the tradeshow industry worked its way out of the last downturn at the beginning of this decade, ROI was a hot topic at every industry meeting. Now would not be too soon to remind attendees, exhibitors – and, I guess, the government – that there is a benefit to people getting together and meeting face to face. Posted by Michael Hart on October 21, 2008 | Comments (4) Industries: Associations, AV & Technology, Catering, Conferences, CVBs & Venues, Destinations, Destinations, Events, Exhibiting, Food & Beverage, Management Update, Meetings, People, People, People, People, Production Technology, Show Management, Site Selection, Speakers, Speakers & Entertainment, Technology, Tradeshows, Tradeshows
October 22, 2008
In response to: A Bad Day for AIG’s Meeting Planner Richard Harper commented: Thank you Michael for calling attention to this issue. We have to remind people of the value of face-to-face meetings/shows/events and the economic value they bring to our economy. We are urging industry leaders to take a proactive role with this message immediately.
November 16, 2008
In response to: A Bad Day for AIG’s Meeting Planner starving in mich commented: YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME !!!!!
December 30, 2008
In response to: A Bad Day for AIG’s Meeting Planner Trade show displays commented: All the threads and comments are very useful to me.I am very new to this so that latterly i will join with you gentlemen.Complete products for Trade Show displays, easy to install and uninstall instantly at ease.www.rainmakerexhibits.com
December 30, 2008
In response to: A Bad Day for AIG’s Meeting Planner Robert commented: Great Points. But I think Michael has hit the nail on the head. Meeting face-to-face is the benefit. It accelerates the process, ideas are communicated with far more clarity at a faster rate than over the phone or in e-mails. Since both external meetings/events are important for commerce as well as internal meetings and strategy sessions maybe the government should help AIG find opportunity in having AIG outsource it's meeting and event planning. Most of us are aware of the buying power we have with venues and suppliers to maximize savings. The move would thus help employ more than the internal staff currently planning the events. As a meeting planner I can't begin to tell you how far 400K would go to boost sales across AIG's multiple channels. Without sacrificing quality. My guess is that we are dealing with 2 things here. AIG thought they could continue to pillage and plunder. Secondly, the person(s) responsible for corporate meetings did not know what they were doing and through money at the gathering to detract from the their incompetency. The Government through them the money but disregarded the fact that they needed aid in managing costs, strategy, and implementation. But Hey what do I know, I just save companies like these piles of money a year and create an environment so they can get more.
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