The Zen of Citywides

For seamless big meetings, become one with your locale.

By Larry Anderson

The Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS) has been holding major expositions in Cleveland for 30 years. The city is central to the rubber, polymer and plastics industry (and located within 500 miles of 43 percent of the U.S. population), and Rubber Division expositions there draw 5,000 to 7,000 attendees — the largest attendance for any of the group’s events, says Ed Miller, executive director.

Such citywide meetings are sometimes the only time colleagues from around the country see each other face-to-face. The shared experiences can become part of an organization’s identify, and the name of the host city can even become synonymous with everything that happened there.

Successful citywides result from an optimum alignment of what a city offers and what the planners need. It’s almost as if the meeting and the city become one. The venue’s great attractions are integrated into the meeting schedule; fond memories meld business and social elements; and attendees leave looking forward to next year. “You can go to [a larger city], but you are there with five or six other groups,” says Dan Williams, Positively Cleveland’s vice-president of sales. “In Cleveland, you get all the attention.”

Ed Miller likes the fact that Cleveland’s hotels and restaurants are easy for attendees to get to. The Rubber Division exposition features a 65,000-sq.-ft. or larger trade show and a three-day technical symposium. Some attendees bring in the whole family to enjoy Cleveland attractions. “My family and I go up there all the time for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the Great Lakes Science Center, the Western Reserve Historical Society, the Cleveland Botanical Garden and other attractions,” says Miller, whose office is about 30 miles away.

“A lot of people don’t know that Cleveland is on the water,” he says. “We have beaches. We have the second largest live theater district. We are a very affordable family location.” Cleveland’s 88-year-old convention center is “historical” and lacks some amenities available at new facilities, but a new 300,000-sq.-ft. convention center is expected to open in 2013 or 2014 (along with the new Cleveland Medical Mart that will include a permanent showroom for medical equipment).

Timing is everything

Any citywide meeting planner should be careful about timing and plan far ahead. Recurring meetings tend to book up space early and limit venue choices. “That makes it very challenging to host a citywide event,” says Sheryl Huynh, director of event marketing for NVIDIA, a company that makes computer chips for graphics and video game applications. “You should look a minimum of two years out.”

NVIDIA hosted 9,500 attendees for three days in August 2008 in San Jose, Calif. The event included a consumer show (with a lot of 3D gaming), expo and professional conference. The meeting used the convention center, the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, the civic center, and also meeting rooms (and lodging) at the Marriott, Fairmont and Crowne Plaza hotels, and additional lodging at the Hilton. Attendees were a mix of consumers from the local Silicon Valley area as well as competitive video gamers and developers from all over the world.

Huynh says timing issues are different for specific audiences. For example, in her case a summer event is great for gamers and younger attendees, but not so good for professionals because it interferes with prime family vacation time. “You have to understand that dynamic,” she says.

Kelli Donahoe, director of sales for Team San Jose, recommends that citywide meeting planners create a complete budget checklist and make sure they plan for everything. Team San Jose provides a single contract and walks the planner through it to understand all the costs. Team San Jose also handles all the facilities and food and beverage. Complimentary items in one city might not be complimentary in another, Donahoe warns. “We look at the business in totality and bring all their needs to one bottom line,” she says.

The biggest complaint Huynh heard about her show was “there were too many things happening and we didn’t know what to go to.” The lesson: Don’t over-schedule. She is looking at the possibility of lengthening the show with a half-day of pre-event tutorials to help spread things out.

For a sizable city, San Jose’s facilities are within walking distance of each other. “It’s very easy to go from one venue to another,” says Huynh. “In downtown San Jose there is a lot of evening entertainment, restaurants and bars.” For families, there are numerous museums and theaters. Team San Jose works with Nederlander Concerts and can help schedule entertainment events at the civic auditorium to coincide with a big convention.

Dealing with surprises

No matter how far ahead or carefully you plan there are no guarantees. The Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA) had to cancel its meeting in New Orleans set for the week after Hurricane Katrina but the association for screen printing, digital printing and embroidery professionals made a successful return to the Big Easy last October. Some 14,000 attended the SGIA annual meeting Oct. 7-9, 2009, including 405 exhibitors covering 156,324 square feet in several halls of the freshly renovated Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The international meeting included attendees from 105 countries.

SGIA convention-goers stayed in the headquarter Hilton Hotel and 27 other hotels throughout New Orleans. A few meetings were held at the Hilton, but the majority of educational sessions — ranging from a few hundred attendees down to small groups in the teens — were held at the convention center. SGIA operated a shuttle service among the hotels using 21 motorcoaches on four routes. Shuttles ran every 10 to 15 minutes during the show to all the hotels except seven, which were deemed within walking distance. Attendees also took advantage of a streetcar that travels up and down Canal Street for easy access to the meeting venue.

Some exhibiting vendors sponsored events at various local restaurants. “The vendors were very complimentary about the help they received from local restaurants for their off-site events,” says Michael Robertson, president and CEO of SGIA. “New Orleans really suits our market because of strong support from restaurants and the hospitality in the French Quarter. It’s a great atmosphere.”

The Specialty Graphic Imaging Association has also held recent annual conventions in Las Vegas, Atlanta and Orlando, but Robertson says he is impressed by New Orleans’ comeback. “We feel New Orleans is a real draw for us,” he says. “This is our first time back [since Katrina]. The city is doing really well. We were pleased with the labor support we received related to the exhibition. The restaurant and hotel people are really supportive and grateful for the business. They are really taking care of the French Quarter. It is a very controlled, protected area and a great place for our attendees to socialize. Our people felt very comfortable walking around.”

Robertson says he would like to see an increase in the flights going into the New Orleans airport by the time the SGIA returns to the city in 2011. “We had a really good show there. New Orleans is back, and it’s a great place,” he says.

The New Orleans CVB was “absolutely supportive,” adds Robertson. “New Orleans has the best public relations and marketing support of any CVB we have worked with — far and away the best. They are very strong at partnering with associations.”

Robertson’s advice for planners of citywide events is simple: “You should really analyze everything, and think about what could happen that you haven’t thought of.” Fortunately, his big event in New Orleans didn’t have any surprises.

Let’s take a walk

Having a citywide in a locale where everything related to your meeting is within walking distance is a great way to simplify transportation logistics. In Frisco, Texas, hotels and attractions are within a mile of each other. “Most people think we are removed and [in the] country and don’t have all the amenities that a big city would have,” says Jennifer Kimble, tourism and convention services manager. Not true. A stone’s throw from the convention center is the 160-store Stonebriar Center mall with six anchors including Nordstrom and Macy’s, and one of only three IKEA stores in Texas. The upscale Westin Stonebriar hotel has 301 guest rooms and a Tom Fazio championship golf course. Coming soon to Frisco will be the Museum of the American Railroad (an opportunity for railroad industry meetings and an attraction for train enthusiasts).

Brandi Plunkett, program director of the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), held a leadership development symposium in Frisco for firefighters and emergency medical technicians. The roughly 500 attendees exceeded expectations. The event happened early in 2010 at the Frisco convention center and the attached 330-room Embassy Suites hotel. “It was a completely delightful experience,” Plunkett says. “The hotel and convention center staffs worked hand-in-hand.” When attendance exceeded the capacity of the hotel restaurant, a reception window was transitioned into an ad-hoc concession stand to serve sandwiches and chips. “Our firefighters that went out had a good time,” says Plunkett. “There are so many restaurants close by. All you have to do is go outside the parking lot.”

Frisco CVB provides services such as welcome bags, badges and sign-in. “One of our biggest selling points is our reputation,” says Denise Stokes, public relations/communications manager, Frisco CVB. “We are the type of CVB that will literally hold your hand from beginning to end.”

Adapt to changing needs

As a citywide meeting’s needs change over time, who’s to say the city and venue cannot adapt to those changes? Case in point: The ACS Rubber Division, which is already looking ahead to its meeting in Cleveland in 2011.The meeting will not be held downtown but 12 miles away at the International Exposition (I-X) Center near Cleveland’s Hopkins International Airport. There will be primary hotels downtown along with some at the airport and in between. Positively Cleveland and the I-X Center will provide free shuttle service for attendees. “We are hoping to bring in some participation from the biomedical industry, which uses polymers and rubber in equipment and packaging of medical supplies. We are going to try in 2011 to double our expo size by combining it with a biotechnology expo,” says Miller, who adds that the plan is in the “infancy stage.” Positively Cleveland will be there to help. “They are there on site, so if we need help, they help,” he says.