What you need to know and do when transforming your corporate event’s performance.

1. PRODUCED BY
180-DAYPATH
TOEVENTSPROGRAM
EXCELLENCE
What you need to
knowanddowhen
transformingyour
corporate event’s
performance
3ACTIONABLE
CHEC KLISTS
• Brand
• Attendee Experience
• Return onMarketing
Objectives
ASKTHE RIGHT
QUESTIONS
• EventScope
• Internal Stakeholders
• External Stakeholders S
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2
4
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2. According to The Event Marketing Institute’s
EventTrack 2015, the impact corporate
events have is clear.
• 98% of event attendees are more inclined to
purchase, including 65% who purchase at the
event itself, up 9 points since2014
• 87% of event attendees intend to purchase
post-event, up 29% since 2012
• 74% of attendees have a more positive brand
perception as a result of their brandexperience
• 96% of attendees share their experienceswith
peers, friends and family
• 77% of companies surveyed report ROIin
excess of 3:1, including 16% who report
generating ROI of 20:1 or greater!
Introduction
In an increasingly connected world, where online
advertising costs pennies, information is a click
away, and where the words social, viral, and virtual
have gained global attention, the role of live events
is often under scrutiny. Do live events increase
brand value? How do immersive experiences
influence purchases and customer loyalty? How can
one prove that events drive profitable sales?
With the data clearly supporting the impact of
events, the question arises, how can corporate
marketers elevate the importance of live events
in the marketing mix? How do marketers turn the
conversation about live events from simply spending
money to a critical investment delivering high Return
on Marketing Objectives? Corporate events vary
widely - from corporate incentive and customer
meetings to field sales outreach to user groups and
daily interactions with VIP customers and prospects.
At one German luxury car manufacturer, for
example, the experiential marketing team organizes
over 35 unique events. How does one make the
time to create a strategy, secure executive and
stakeholder buy-in, and then lead the charge?
That is where this guide, 180-days to Event Program
Excellence, comes in. With extensive research into
leading corporate event programs, we are providing
this step-by-step guide to discover, plan, coordinate
and execute a world-class corporate event and
program regardless of the size of your organization.
CHAPTER 1 helps you hit the ground running, with practical
tools to assess the current situation and determine key initiatives
for future focus.
CHAPTER 2 provides practical advice to solicit input, craft a
strategy and secure support from key stakeholders, from the
C-suite down to front-line staff.
CHAPTER 3 focuses on execution, ensuring that the right
practices, standards and communications are in place to deliver
a compelling audience experience.
CHAPTER 4 examines what comes next: monitoring,
measuring and improvement. If the first six months is building
the foundation, Chapter 4 provides a roadmap for continuous
excellence and leadership.
Learn more about the leading global full-service provider of live events at
ges.com/epicevent oremail MarkThomas at Mark.Thomas@ges.com. 1180-DAYPLAN

3. Congratulations, you’ve just been appointed/hired!
Now go off and organize an event. That is the
mindset of hundreds of thousands of companies
that execute events annually. Sample giveaways?
Go ahead and get a team together. User group
meeting? Sure, the product manager will tell you
how many meeting rooms and ports for computer
hook-ups they need. But will any of this matter?
When the CMO looks at leads generated and deals
closed, will she view the events group as a primary
contributor? Whether you inherit an established
program or start with nothing, now is the time to
understand the current situation and determinekey
benchmarks. Start with these three steps to develop
an informed understanding of the events program
and key stakeholders:
Step 1: Collect Information (Days 1-14)
The focus here is on understanding the scope
of the current events program. Reach out to
your colleagues in sales, finance, corporate
communications and event partners to understand:
• What events are currently undertaken?
• Who is the target audience for eachevent?
• What goals and results were generated in the
past three years?
• What is the event planning process and how
are sales/executives/operations/customer
service involved in planning, execution and
follow-up?
• What are examples of key event messages
and communications tools (brochures, emails,
advertisements, videos of keynotes or break-
out sessions, etc.) are utilized at and beyond
the live event?
• What is the budget and ROMO (Returnon
Marketing Objectives) of each event?
• How are events evaluated?
Step 2: Listen to Stakeholders (Days7-28)
As soon as possible, develop a list of key
stakeholders in the events program. The list should
include C-suite executives, heads of sales and
marketing, event partners or agencies involved with
planning and execution, and most importantly, a
selection of event attendees including customers,
prospects, users, partners and employees.
Undertake quick-strike interviews up to 30 minutes
and keep questions open ended so you can listen
and understand perspectives. Questions will vary
based on whether the person is an employee or not.
Key questions will include:
COMPANY EMPLOYEE QUESTIONS
• What is the purpose of the eventsprogram?
• Are we attracting the rightaudiences?
• Does the event support the brand valuesand
positioning?
• How does the event transform attendee
perspectives and behaviors?
• How do you measure success?
• Is there a clear link between event participation
and business results?
• How can the events team improve collaboration
and execution?
• Which elements of the event are working?
• Which elements need to changeimmediately?
Over time?
CUSTOMER/PROSPECT QUESTIONS
• Why do you attend?
• What are the top 3 learnings you have at the
event?
• How do you measure event effectiveness from
an attendee perspective?
• Which elements of the event are working?
• Which elements need to changeimmediately?
Over time?
CHAPTER1|45 DayDiscovery
Learn more about the leading global full-service provider of live events at
ges.com/epicevent oremail MarkThomas at Mark.Thomas@ges.com. 2180-DAYPLAN

4. Step 3: Benchmark (Days 28-35)
In order to set a new path, it is critical to establish standards for measuring success. This can come by
establishing the role of the event in delivering hot, potentially profitable leads to sales, assessing the impact
of the event versus other marketing channels, or comparing the event or program to competitors. The key to
benchmarking is establishing 2-3 benchmarks, and no more than 6-7 key performance metrics on which to
judge event success. Key benchmarks may include:
• Number of hot prospects generated
• $ value and % of participating customers renewingbusiness
• Incremental spend by existing customers
• Changes in brand perception
• % attendees willing to offer a future opportunity to the company
• Revenue generated relative to event investments or costs
Step 4: Summarize Findings (Days 35-45)
Time to bring your findings together, share what you know, what works, what needs to evolve, and what are
preliminary metrics for success. The program summary is also important for setting expectations - provide a
realistic view of the current program and what is required to improve results, provide an indication of the level
of resources and investments required, and a ballpark estimate of what return can beexpected.
Look for trends in the feedback you receive. Then highlight key strengths,
issues and opportunities for your future plan.
This is the time to devise and implement best
practices for a world-class program. It is important
to establish some quick wins to firm up executive
support, and at the same time, to craft your
overarching strategy and start making the necessary
changes and investments that will pay off by the
half-year, year and two-year marks.
This is the time to develop plans that address three
key facets of corporate event success:
• BRAND
• EXPERIENCE
• REVENUE FOCUS (ROMO)
Follow the checklists beginning on the nextpage,
and the event strategy will come into its own:
CHAPTER2 |Develop and Sell the Strategy (DAYS46-75)
Learn more about the leading global full-service provider of live events at
ges.com/epicevent oremail MarkThomas at Mark.Thomas@ges.com. 3180-DAYPLAN

5. The Creative Brief: Roadmap for the Brand
and Customer Experience
A key tool in creating a compelling brand experience is
the creative brief. This document provides details on the
target audience, the current perception of attendees,
and the desired perspective we want attendees to adopt.
In addition, the creative brief highlights the one key fact
that event attendees should take away – this provides the
focus for all other event activities and experiences which
are outlined in the following sections. Finally the creative
brief can touch on the role of the city and the venue in
achieving the event objectives, as well as providing some
descriptive words that capture the tone and personality
of the event. The creative brief forms the roadmap for
the attendee experience. When filling out the brief, it is
important to be concise and prioritize key objectives and
elements – ideally the form should be no more than a
couple of pages in length.
BRAND
ELEMENTS
Check-off oncecompleted ( )
ELEVATOR PITCH:
Craft a 30-word description of the event – Is the
intent clear and audience identified? Will
attendees understand what’s in it for them?
POSITIONING STATEMENT:
What is different about this event that will
prompt attendees to make time in their
scheduled/budget toattend?
CREATIVESTANDARDS:
How do we make this “our event” versus a
gathering that takes place in someone else’s
venue?
BRANDMESSAGING:
What are the key brand attributes that will be
reinforced in all pre-, at- and post- event
messaging? How do we get everyone to literally
sing off the same sheet of music?
MESSAGEDOCUMENTS:
What are the key message documents to be
produced at a corporate and product level?
How will key corporate and product attributes
beconveyed?
REACHING INFLUENCERS:
How will we use the event to reach key industry
influencers? How can we leverage content
beyond the in-person gathering, such as
comments frominfluencers?
VENUE SELECTION:
How will the venue activate the brand? How can
we make the venue a part of the brand and not
vice versa, in a way that adds value to our
company?
STAFFSELECTION:
What staff attributes are most important for
the success of the meeting? How will we select
the right staff?
EMPLOYEETRAINING:
When will training guides be produced? How will
staff be trained on the experience, messages,
use of technology on-site?
WORD OF MOUTH:
What will customers say about their experience
once the event has ended? How do we leverage
the most positive ambassadors to spread
theword?
BRAND
A key element of the strategy is providing a clear
purpose and call to action which reflects your brand and
community that you wish to create through the event.
There are several components to the brand plan. The
goal here is to make sure you focus on really important
elements and fill in key details that best reflect the event
purpose, its reason for being, and the key messagesyou
wish to convey. The elements to the left are listed in the
order in which they should appear in the plan.
Learn more about the leading global full-service provider of live events at
ges.com/epicevent oremail MarkThomas at Mark.Thomas@ges.com. 4180-DAYPLAN

6. ATTENDEEEXPERIENCE
With creative brief and brand plan in hand, it is time
to craft the attendee experience. In an age where
data analytics are king, it is important to establisha
personalized experience for attendees complemented by
access to experts and peers who will help deepen their
understanding and expand use of your products and
services. Use the key elements to the left to craft the
attendee experience.
ATTENDEE
EXPERIENCE
ELEMENTS
Check-off oncecompleted ( )
ATTENDEEEXPECTATIONS:
How will you capture the needs and wants of the
targetattendee?
PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCE:
How will you get a personalized and differentiat-
ed customerexperience?
ACCESSTO EXPERTS:
How will you provide access to key staff
membersand executives?
COMMUNITYBUILDING:
How will the event expand the community and
continue the conversation well after the closing
session?
USER FEEDBACK:
How will the event gather valuable feedback and
input to strengthen products and services and
salesfollow-up post-event?
RETENTION/ RISK:
How will the event drive retention or address
at-risk customers?
NETWORKING:
What activities in the exhibit and after the show
will deepen and expand relationships and
networks?
EXTRATOUCH:
How will the event provide an added concierge
service to go over and above attendee
expectations?
EASYACCESS:
How will you make it easy for customers to
receive approval to attend and organize
theirtrip?
MEASURE:
What process will you use to measure the
effectiveness of the customer experience?
What measures can you use to document
post-show sales and marketing follow-up
and sales opportunities identified through
theevent?
USER SECURITY:
How will user information and insights
besecured?
Learn more about the leading global full-service provider of live events at
ges.com/epicevent oremail MarkThomas at Mark.Thomas@ges.com. 5180-DAYPLAN

7. This is where the rubber meets the road – what kind of
business opportunities are generated, and how is the
company measuring success? In addition to futurerevenues,
what attendee insights and opportunities can be obtained
through the event? As importantly, how will the event
generate a return through registration pricing, exhibits and
sponsors, and other revenue generating activities? Your plan
is essential to demonstrate the business purpose–
and returns of theevent.
RETURNON
MARKETINGOBJECTIVES(ROMO)
RETURNON
MARKETINGOBJECTIVES
ELEMENTS
CHECK-OFFONCECOMPLETED( )
KPIs:
Are your Key Performance Indicators identified,
clearly defined and measurable?
REVENUEGOALS:
What are your revenue goals for this event?
REGISTRATION:
What will you charge attendees to attend?
FUTURESALES:
Will you be able to launch new products for
new/expanded revenuestreams?
ATTENDEEINSIGHTS:
What information (i.e. database, product
information, customer perception) will you
capture to guide future marketing by expanding
our customer knowledge?
EVENTPRICING:
What will you charge partners, media or others
to participate in the event?
SPONSORSHIP:
What sponsorships will you offer and what
revenue can you expect to generate?
TARGET ATTENDEES:
Who are the target attendees in the audience
representing the best opportunity to close new
business in the near future?
Getting the strategy and focus right is critical, but
implementation makes the experience real. So
before the strategy is even over it is time to line
up the right team and resources and bring the
experience to life.
Step 1: Identify Best Resources (Days 50-90)
As the strategy comes together, this is a good time
to determine which skills and resources are required
internally, and what partners will need to beinvolved
during execution. Most companies will issue multiple
RFPs, send out large, complex questionnaires, and
then sit through hours of presentations. This can be
very informative- yet taxing. We advocate turning
the model on its head. Once you have determined
what types of partners that you need, talk with
CHAPTER3 |Execute (DAYS 50-150)
peers, consult key publications like Event Marketer,
ANA or AdAge, and then shortlist 3-4 firms that
you think are best placed to deliver on your goals.
Learn more about the leading global full-service provider of live events at
ges.com/epicevent oremail MarkThomas at Mark.Thomas@ges.com. 6180-DAYPLAN

8. Key criteria: does the firm have proven experience in
your space, or have they created compelling events in
another space (or industry)? Does the company have
multiple capabilities to simplify your life and make for
aone-stop shop? Does the company offer the financial
strength and investment in innovation to take your
event from launch to growth and industry leadership?
Then meet with each agency or company, and get a
feel for the team and the company capabilities. Since
you will be working intensively with the team, be sure
they have the right expertise, understanding and
personalities that fit with you and your team. With this
insight and comfort, you can either choose a firm that
is best placed to be your partner or run a brief RFP
specifically focused on your event so you can choose a
partner with the best ideas andexperience.
Step 2: Produce and Execute (Days 90-120)
This is where the rubber meets the road – whenthe
event plan comes together and execution happens.
Keep the strategy close at hand and remember
to focus on those top 2-3 objectives. Resistthe
temptation to get lost in the details - that is whyyou
formed a team and brought in partners. Another
related challenge: when you get distracted by a
minor detail, you lose sight of a major objective.
Keep the customer front and center. Make sure the
employees you invite to staff the event recognize their
participation as a privilege and not a requirement
– the most compelling event environment and
experience can fall apart if staff are notinformed
and engaged with attendees. Finally and most
importantly, be sure to collect insights from attendees
so you know how the event affects their perspective
and likelihood to purchase. Remember: the event
is not just to celebrate your brand and offerings
(although there should be plenty of that!) – it isto
deliver business results.
Step 3: Analyze and Immediate Follow-up
(Days 90-150) As the lights are dimmed onsite,
that is when the sales and marketing machine hits
overdrive. Make sure all insights are analyzed and
hot leads are passed to sales immediately with
supporting information or data. Remember: the best
way to judge an event is through the actions that are
taken – closed sales, meetings scheduled and taken,
exploratory meeting set up – all within 8-10 weeks
post-event. Another key element is to make sure post-
event communications are prepared well before the
event, support sales follow-up activities, and move
towards execution once the event concludes.
The plan and execution cycle may repeat itself once
or countless times depending upon the size of your
event portfolio and the consistency of your brand.
What is most important is the discipline underwhich
the event planning and execution takes place.
The first phases of discovery, strategy, planning
and execution are over. This is the time to analyze
and identify what is working, what needs toexpand
or cease, and how you will improve your key
performance indicators. This is also agreat time
to remind key executives and stakeholders about
the effectiveness of your program. So compile that
ROI or ROMO report AND highlight how you plan
to elevate the program to drive even betterresults.
Keep the executive summary concise, with bullets
and simple charts to show effectiveness, and keep
in mind that if you are seeking further support or
input from the executives that you state clearly what
you hope to obtain from them. This reportshould be
reviewed and reported quarterly. Otherwise, keepthe
analysis and improvement recommendations coming,
and look for industry awards to submit your program
as best in class and stand on the winner’s podium!
CHAPTER4 |Monitor, Measure and Elevate (DAYS150-180)
©2016 Global Experience Specialists, Inc. (GES). All other trademarks are properties of their respective companies.
Learn more about the leading global full-service provider of live events at
ges.com/epicevent oremail MarkThomas at Mark.Thomas@ges.com. 7180-DAYPLAN