ABPMBriefly_AUG_2015

IN THIS ISSUE
Is Your Program Social? ........................... 1 & 4
From the President’s Desk ........................ 2 & 3
Mark Your Calendar ........................................ 3
Advisory Board ....................................... 8
Supplier Members ................................... 9
ABPM 2015 Sponsors ........................... 10
Members-Only LinkedIn ............................ 5
European Conference Photos ...................... 6
Early Bird Rate for Fall Workshop ............. 7
Membership Update ....................................8
Is Your Program Social?
ASSOCIATION of BRIEFING
PROGRAM MANAGERS
Briefly...
AUGUST 2015
World class briefing programs make a big impact when they create
experiences that customers remember for the value that the briefing
creates for them, especially to the extent that customers are willing
to share their experiences publicly. How do you get customers
to your center, and how do you know if you’ve made the desired
impact? Conventional wisdom regarding getting customers into
your center includes messaging the sales team regarding the virtues
of the program and asking for management support to increase
visibility. Post-briefing methods include surveys immediately after
briefings as well as after time has passed. What are some other
options? Does your company use social media? Here are some
thoughts regarding what can be done using social media to build
your program’s visibility internally and externally as well as doing
market sensing of customer satisfaction.
In those situations where your company uses social media for
communications, there’s a terrific opportunity to increase your
program’s visibility. Whether publicly available social media tools
such as Facebook or Twitter are used or internal tools such as
Salesforce or IBM Connections is in use for internal discussions,
social media does something that the briefing program website has
difficultydoing–itkeepsthe“buzz”abouttheprogramattopofmind.
The social media channel may also serve the important function of
providing an alternate communications channel to employees who
may not be following other notification methodologies as closely
– think Millennials. This methodology is not just for employees
– by using external social media channels your briefing program
can reach customers who may be interested in discussions that
By Damon Wei, Director, Experience Marketing Demonstration Program, AT&T
your center can support. Since there is a continuing infusion of
social-media-aware employees into the marketplace as well as an
increasing use of social media tools such as crowdsourcing, the
use of social media to advertise your briefing program is quickly
becoming a necessity and not just a “nice to have.”
Consider the following scenario. In the pre-briefing environment,
traditional outreach might incorporate distribution of printed or
digital materials or pointing the attendee to a URL. How much
more personalized would the interaction be if there was a social
media interaction that was much more interactive and allowed
for direct customer input into the briefing agenda? Wouldn’t
that increase customer engagement and create a more impactful
customer experience?
In the post-briefing process, typical market sensing tools include the
use of post-briefing surveys. Both the briefing center post-briefing
survey and industry organization anonymous surveys provide
insight regarding the effectiveness of the briefing at a macro as well
as the specific briefing level.The post-briefing survey done by the
briefing center is used most often for continuous improvement and
rarely shared in the public domain. Industry organization surveys
provide valuable insights across the industry but do not provide
feedback to the marketplace about specific positive or negative
customer experiences.
Contrast the above with the ability to identify a specific positive
customer experience that is shared in social media. There is an
continued on page 4

2
PROGRAM MANAGERS
From the President’s Desk
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of five articles on the topic of “things we are (still) getting wrong.”
From the very early days of the ABPM, founder Franklyn Thiebaud drew a distinction between the ideas of customization and
personalization for the briefing profession. The distinction may not be so clear to those outside of our industry. In fact, it’s come to
our attention that we at the ABPM need to do a better job of socializing that difference, even within our community.
Over the years, I’ve heard many briefing professionals talk about customization while their presentation slides showed examples
of gifts branded with their customers’ logos (personalization). I haven’t said anything, not wanting to correct a presenter… and
expecting that the courses we offer on customization, as well as our important white paper, “Characteristics of a World Class
Briefing Program”, provide that clarification. And it is gratifying to know that so many of you are taking the Core and Advanced
Competency courses, which map to the World Class document, and that so many of you are working toward achieving a World Class
level of excellence in your programs.
So I was a little dismayed when one of the award program jurors in the Customer Experience category sent in her scores and notes
early this year with a cover email that said, in essence, “People are still confused about our deep meaning on a few of these World
Class Characteristics.” Among those she listed was: personalization versus customization.
Personalization…
… as we mean it in the ABPM, is really the easier thing to accomplish. However, by saying that, I don’t
mean to diminish the importance of it at all! It absolutely contributes to a memorable customer experience.
Through personalization, you let the customer know immediately that you are excited about their visit by
displaying their logos on slides or gifts, for example, or by raising their country’s flag if they are
international guests. Of course your guests have pride in their companies and in their countries, so these
initiatives on your part have real meaning for your visitors.
I love visiting centers, on tour days for example, and seeing the ABPM logo! The photo shows cookies that the Lockheed Martin
team put out for our membership at the Spring Conference in Washington DC last April. What a great idea! I was very moved by
that, and you can see that I haven’t forgotten it! It was clear that Lynn Driscoll and her staff were excited to welcome us and had
given some thought to every detail, and had in fact gone to some trouble to make sure we knew just how welcome we were.
That’s the thing about personalization: you can get really creative with it! Have fun with it! One of the most innovative stories I’d
heard about personalization at the time, which was many years ago but still holds true, concerned a visit from BMW. The briefing
program manager put out an email to everyone on campus about the impending visit. The note invited any employees who drove
BMWs to park their cars in the visitor’s parking lot on the morning of the scheduled briefing. BMWs of every stripe appeared that
The First of Five Things We Are (Still) Getting Wrong:
By Roxanne McCreery, President, ABPM
CUSTOMIZATION VS
PERSONALIZATION
1
continued on page 3

3
PROGRAM MANAGERS
From the President’s Desk
Mark Your Calendar ASSOCIATION of BRIEFING
PROGRAM MANAGERS
continued from page 2
August 26, 2015
Developing Your Strategic Leadership
Style (ACC) Virtual Workshop.
Course Outline and online
registration available now.
April 11-13, 2016
ABPM Spring Conference in Atlanta,
GA. Detailed agenda and registration
available in January 2016.
morning. Antiques to new, sedans, coupes, roadsters … every sort of BMW! And that was a memorable day for the honored guests,
who delayed the briefing for some long time in their excitement over the cars in the visitor’s lot!
I’ve since heard of similar ideas. Another briefing manager had everyone involved dress in Lands’ End clothing on the day that
company’s executives visited. You get the idea. Personalization offers great opportunities to be creatively welcoming.
You probably have stories of your own! We’d love to hear them!
Customization…
… is less easy. It is all about content. At its most elegant, it involves SMEs and executives from the host company who have a
deep understanding of the guest’s business: their markets, their challenges. Ideally, for high potential opportunities, research on the
visiting company has been accomplished so all of the participants are completely current.
Over the years, I’ve learned so much from all of you — and your customers — on this topic. I have been involved in the annual
industry research, the “Multi-Client Study on the Role of Executive Briefings”, for all of its 25 years! This is primary research
conducted with end-user and internal customers of briefings. Through the study, I’ve been delighted to watch your profession
evolve in this area of customization. The research results show it, and your end user customers now expect it. Gone are the days
(and this actually happened) when, in an open-ended comment, a study respondent talked about overhearing a discussion leader
whisper to a sales rep “Who are these guys, anyway?” Unprepared speakers used to be a real issue with customer respondents, but
it is not a common complaint in today’s studies.
And that’s because the briefing profession has become ever more intensely customer focused over the years. Discussion leaders
are closely prepped. They may be experts in the customer’s vertical. You, as an industry, have come to realize that out of a robust
conversation about your customer’s business will come a more robust conversation about how your company can partner with that
customer to overcome their challenges and grow their business.
When we visited the Sprint program for a fall event three years ago, John Heiman asked one of his Sales VPs to address our
audience. This VP said something stunning. He said, “The last thing I want to hear a customer say when he leaves a Sprint briefing
is ‘I didn’t know you did all of that!’” Imagine! Well, that got our attention, because of course we all believed that that is — and
should be — precisely what a customer would ideally say! No, according to this VP. “I want a customer to say, ‘I didn’t know
that about my business!” How elegant is that? How profound is your knowledge of that customer if he or she leaves saying that?!
Of course that deep level of customization is a lot of work. It requires the best resources — resources who either have the knowledge
and/or can do the necessary research to plan and execute a highly customized briefing. And therein lies the rub.
Maybe it can’t be done for every briefing. Maybe it can’t even be done for most briefings right now. But it should be a goal for you,
because it would be a great differentiator for your company if your valued customer or prospect felt understood that thoroughly by
your organization. And, in the end, isn’t that exactly what you’re all about?
October 6-9, 2015
ABPM Fall Workshop Series
in Dallas, TX. Detailed agenda
and registration available now.
December 1, 2015
World Class Briefing Award
Submissions due. Call for Entries on
World Class Briefing Awards page at
ABPM.com now.
PROGRAM MANAGERS

4
PROGRAM MANAGERS
Is your program doing something innovative that you’d like to share with fellow members? Is there something you’d like to see
in a future issue? Email info@abpm.com or call +1 214-389-0990 to let us know your ideas.We’d love to hear from you!
assumption that there is a capability to sense and identify messages
that are about your program – that’s another article! Social media
messagesareusuallyunfiltered–meaningthatthemessageprobably
hasn’t been massaged by a PR or communications function and
is more likely to be an honest appraisal of the experience. It is
frequently sent within a short timeframe after the briefing, which
provides timely feedback on the impact of the briefing session.
Unlike a conventional testimonial, a shared message in social
media is typically public and could be viewed globally instantly.
Even if the message is negative, there is an opportunity to act
quickly to address potential issues. What’s not to like?
Social media, make that the social business model, is rapidly
becoming more important in our culture. Start planning how to
incorporate it into your program!
continued from page 1
Is Your Program Social?
PROGRAM MANAGERS
YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS
your compelling visitor center
We build your story.
your incredibly important event
thebrandexperience.com
Schedule • Track • Report • Follow up
www.brieﬁngedge.com • 828.338.2066

PROGRAM MANAGERS
We love the wonderful discussions on the ABPM’s Members-Only
LinkedIn.com page. So much, in fact, that we select one question
from recent discussions and feature it in each issue of Briefly.
There are many more great discussions in addition to this one so
we encourage you to go check out the other discussions and be part
of the conversations. Admittance to the ABPM page on LinkedIn.
com is a member benefit. If you haven’t requested to join yet, go
here today http://tinyurl.com/pyplsj3!
Question:
Center Maps and Wayfinding: “Does anyone have good examples
of simplified maps and way finding for your centers? We are in
the process of updating all of our graphics on our video walls
and in other media, and I’m looking for good ideas on simplified
layouts. Right now I am leaning towards a shopping mall style
block approach, without a lot of detail, with good high contrast
colors, and locations highlighted very clearly. Our current maps
are too detail oriented, as I’ve seen in many other centers and
public spaces as well.” (Editor note: Example Links can be found
in question via above link)

Answers:
• Excellent question. Simplicity works best.
• I agree. Simplicity works best. However, at times more detail
is required... We’ve posted both detailed and block style on our
websites and in the briefing attendee collateral.
 
• I agree that simplicity would be great, but we have existing
centers and room names that tie to our brand, so changing them
to numbers is not an option.
• Great ideas. We recently redesigned our campus maps that
are used by both customer visitors and employees from other
locations. Several challenges - buildings that are located away
from our main campus and new buildings under construction
that could result in maps out-dating quickly. We’ve gotten good
responses on our approach, which is similar to some above.
5
ABPM Members-Only LinkedIn
Group Discussion Highlight
PROGRAM MANAGERS

6
PROGRAM MANAGERS
ABPM European Conference
ABPM was pleased to host members in London in June for the 4th Annual European Conference.
Selected photos are below. For more photos go to ABPM’s Facebook page.

7
PROGRAM MANAGERS
August 28th Early Bird Rate Expiration Date Approaching
for ABPM’s Annual Fall Workshop Series
We invite you to join us for:
• Networking and relaxing with fellow Briefing Professionals
during the Welcome Reception on Tuesday night, before the
valuable educational sessions over the following two days.
• Hard work and lots of fun during four in-depth half-day
workshops on subjects of importance to Briefing Professionals,
where attendees will come away with fantastic tools and ideas for
their programs. Full workshop descriptions can be found via the
link above.
• Thursday evening’s dinner, included in your registration fee,
is always a great time to network and let loose after all your
hard work! This year we’ll enjoy an evening at the Trinity River
Audubon Center.
• The proverbial icing on the cake: Friday morning’s Tour Day!
Our final half-day features three highly-regarded briefing programs:
Long-time ABPM member program Alcatel-Lucent, 2015 World-
Class award-winning center IBM, and young and fast-evolving
program VCE. Registrants will see 2 of 3 programs.
Core Competency Courses: The Core Competency Curriculum is
intended to benefit those briefing professionals working to develop
their careers in the profession. The ABPM is pleased to continue
offering these courses that focus on the training and development of
briefing professionals at this Fall Workshop Series. The ABPM will
offer seven core competency courses covering the basic competencies
of the briefing profession and sixAdvanced Level courses.Advanced
Level courses do not require completion of the core courses and can
be taken at any time. Core Competency Courses offered during this
Workshop Series are indicated in the session titles with a “CCC”
(Core Competencies Course) or “ACC” (Advanced Competencies
Course). The ABPM maintains records of completion (members
can monitor their records via their online profiles), and once you’ve
completed any core competency course, the ABPM will apply credit
We are looking forward to welcoming you to Dallas for this year’s Fall Workshop Series October 6-9 (welcome reception begins at
6pm on Tuesday, October 6). Agenda and Registration for the event can be found here. A reminder that the Early Bird rate expires on
Friday, August 28th. After that date, registration fees will increase $150 per attendee.
to your ABPM profile and provide you with a digital certificate of
completion upon request.
Please feel free to call +1 214-389-0990 or email info@abpm.com if
you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you in Dallas!
PROGRAM MANAGERS

8
ABPM currently has 374 Company, Associate, and Individual Members representing 123 Companies
and 91 Supplier Members from 32 Supplier Companies, for a total of 466 Members from 155 Companies.
SAS Institute Inc.
Schneider Electric
Seagate Technologies
ServiceNow
Siemens
Splunk
Sprint
Steelcase Inc.
Symantec
Tableau Software*
Telenor
Telstra
Tetra Pak
TIBCO Software
TransUnion
TriZetto Corporation
UnitedHealth Group
University of Phoenix
Varonis Systems
VCE
Verizon
Visa
VMware
Wind River
Wipro Technologies
Xerox
Xilinx
Yahoo!
Zebra Technologies
Zuora
* New Member
Accenture
Adobe
ADP
Aetna Inc.
Akamai
Alcatel-Lucent
Alestra
Amadeus
AMD
Andreessen Horowitz
Apple
Aruba Networks
AT&T
Autodesk, Inc.
Avaya
Axis Communications
Barco
BMC Software
Boeing
Brocade
CA Technologies
Cardinal Health
CDK Global*
CenturyLink
Cerner Corporation
Cisco Systems
Citrix Systems
Comcast Business
CommVault
Dassault Systèmes
Dell
Dimension Data
Downstream
Dun & Bradstreet*
eBay, Inc.
EMC
Ericsson
Esri
Experian
F5 Networks
Fidelity Investments
FIS
Fishnet Security
GitHub
Guidewire Software
Haemonetics
Harris Corporation
Hill-Rom*
Hitachi Data Systems
Honeywell
Hospira
HP
IBM
Infoblox
Informatica
Intel Corporation
Johnson Controls, Inc.
Juniper Networks
Kaiser Permanente
Lenovo
LexisNexis
Lexmark
Lockheed Martin
McKesson Corporation
Microsoft Corporation
Motorola Solutions
NCR
NetApp
Nokia
NTT Group
Optum*
Oracle
Palo Alto Networks
Panduit
Philips Lighting
Polycom
PTC
Pure Storage Inc*
Rackspace Hosting
Red Hat
Ricoh
Riverbed Technologies
RMG Networks
Roche Diagnostics
SABIC
Sales Benchmark Index
Salesforce.com
Samsung Electronics
America
SAP
Membership Update ASSOCIATION of BRIEFING
PROGRAM MANAGERS
Mr. Larry Gallmeier
Managing Director, Aetna Customer Center
Aetna
Ms. Karen Bintz
Area VP, Customer Experience
BMC Software
Mrs. Barb Anderson
Director, Customer Event Marketing
Boeing
Mr. Tim Larson
President
Downstream
Mrs. Nicole Hale
Center Manager
HP
Mrs.Andrea Raabe
Executive Briefing Program Regional Manager
IBM
Mrs. Sherrie Williams
Director, Global Customer Visits and Engagements
Johnson Controls, Inc.
Mrs.Lynne Driscoll
Global Vision Center Director
Lockheed Martin
PROGRAM MANAGERS
ABPM Advisory Board
Mr. David Rogers
Director of Operations & Technology Integration
Microsoft
Ms. Suzanne Pallottelli
Director, Customer Experience
NetApp
Mr. John Heiman
Director, Marketing
Sprint
Mrs. Darby Mason-Werner
EBC Program Manager
Xilinx, Inc.

Mr. Tom Kelley
VP, Sales
AVI-SPL
Mr. Jeffrey Hannah
President
Gielissen Interiors & Exhibitions USA
Mr. Hal Kantner
Senior Vice President
HOK
Ms. Stevanie Demko
Principal
id3A, LLC
Mr. Gavin Nathan
Partner
Ignite Advisory Group
Mr. Marcio Macedo
Marketing
iRobot
Mrs. Kathleen Redd
Principal & VP, Training Services
Mandel Communications
Mr. Robert Balgley
CEO
Mersive
Mr. Tony Amato
President
MRA Experiential Tours & Equipment
The following supplier members were nominated by company members who were pleased enough with the products and services they
provided to their Executive Briefing Program that they would enthusiastically recommend them to their peers. For more information about
our supplier members, consult the Supplier Members section of the Member Companies page on our web site: www.abpm.com
9
Ms. Jen Uner
Director of Communications & Events
Oblong Industries, Inc.
Mr. Bryan Nunes
VP, Marketing
Signet
Mr. Ben Nazario
SVP
SPARKS
Mr. Kevin Dew
President and CRO
Taptera
Ms. Diane Lubinskas
President
VisitOps
Mr. Richard Houskamp
Managing Partner
VisitWorks
Mr. JIm Stephens
Director, Enterprise Accounts
Whitlock
Mr. Richard ZampiPrincipal
ZB SPACE Inc.
Supplier Members
Mr. Jeff Dumo
Partner/ VP of Marketing
Array Interactive
Mr. Tom Kelley
VP, Sales
AVI-SPL
Ms. Mary Landis
Account Executive
Avidex Industries, LLC
Mr. Eric Braux
Country & Regional Manager, France
Barco SAS
Ms. Roseanne Bell
President
Bellwether Design LLC
Ms. Ann Benett
President
Benett Communications
Executive Briefing Consulting
Ms. Trent Oliver
CEO
Blue Telescope
Mr. Dale Tesmond
Chief Experience Officer
The Brand Experience
Mr. Tom Matthews
President
BriefingEdge LLC
Mr. Russ Fowler
Executive Creative Director
Derse
Mr. Leon Papkoff
CEO
Design Reactor
Mr. Tim Larson
President
Downstream
Ms. Ellen Barnes-Pfiffner
EBC Consultant
EBP Business Consulting
Ms. Susan Fisher
Sr. VP, Business Development
EDE Corporation
Mr. Eric Griffin
Client Director, Discussion Leader Skills
Exec-Comm
PROGRAM MANAGERS

ABPM GOLD SPONSORS
ABPM SILVER SPONSORS
ABPM PLATINUM SPONSORS
ABPM 2015 Sponsors ASSOCIATION of BRIEFING
PROGRAM MANAGERS
10

MISSION STATEMENT
ABPM fosters the success of its members by
facilitating the exchange of information, developing
briefing professionals, defining standards of excellence,
and delivering innovative programs and resources.
Briefly... Newsletter
ABPM
PO Box 141079
Dallas, Texas 75214
Phone: +1 214-389-0990
Fax: +1 972-362-1072
E-mail: info@abpm.com
Web site: www.abpm.com
PROGRAM MANAGERS
Briefly...

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