During a session at Sirius Decisions Summit 2019, Spencer Darrington, Senior Director of Field Marketing and Operations at Expedia Group, shared the secrets behind their highly successful event program, and how they leveraged event technology to streamline event management and scale globally.

1. Expedia for Properties Expedia for Properties@ExpediaLPS @expediaforproperties
Stop the Event Madness!
How Expedia Group Scales B2B Events
Sr. Director, Digital Marketing & Operations
Spence Darrington

2. 2
Who is Expedia Group?

3. 3
Our Business Model
75 COUNTRIES 200+ TRAVEL SITES75M MONTLY SHOPPERS
DEMAND
SUPPLY

4. 4
MANAGE MARKETING OPERATIONS
The Role of B2B Marketing
ACQUIRE NEW
LODGING PARTNERS
GROW EXISTING
LODGING PARTNERS
EVENTS

5. 5
PHYSICAL
(sales)
DIGITAL
(marketing)
INVITES/
REMINDERS
WEBSITE
REGISTRATION SURVEY
REPORTING
VENUE CONTENT/
SIGNAGE
FOOD &
BEVERAGE
SWAG
CHECK-IN
Breaking Down Event Support @ Expedia Group EVENTS

6. 6
Marketing Support for Sales
TIER 1
100+ people Full-service
<100 people Hybrid
~50 / year
~300 / year
<50 people Self-service
TIER 3
TIER 2
Event Size Model Quantity

7. 7
The Math of Madness
3500+
GLOBAL SALES
ORGANIZATION
1M+
LODGING
PARTNERS
1000s
OF EVENTS
TIER 1
TIER 3TIER 2
GET $%#@ DONE
APPROACH
8
MARKETERS

8. 8
PHYSICAL
(sales)
DIGITAL
(marketing)
INVITES/
REMINDERS
WEBSITE
REGISTRATION SURVEY
REPORTING
VENUE CONTENT/
SIGNAGE
FOOD &
BEVERAGE
SWAG
CHECK-IN
Breaking Down Event Support @ Expedia Group

9. 9
Breaking Down Event Support @ Expedia Group
PHYSICAL
(sales)
DIGITAL
(marketing)
INVITES/
REMINDERS
WEBSITE
REGISTRATION SURVEY
REPORTING
VENUE CONTENT/
SIGNAGE
FOOD &
BEVERAGE
SWAG
CHECK-IN

10. 10
Invites / Reminders Madness
Branding nightmare Privacy riskInefficiency
INVITES / REMINDERS
EVENTS

11. 11
Breaking Down Event Support
PHYSICAL
(sales)
DIGITAL
(marketing)
INVITES/
REMINDERS
WEBSITE
REGISTRATION SURVEY
REPORTING
VENUE CONTENT/
SIGNAGE
FOOD &
BEVERAGE
SWAG
CHECK-IN

12. 12
Website / Registration Madness
TIER 2TIER 1EVENTS
WEBSITE / REGISTRATION
No Taxonomy No marketing automationInconsistent customer experience

13. 13
Breaking Down Event Support
PHYSICAL
(sales)
DIGITAL
(marketing)
INVITES/
REMINDERS
WEBSITE
REGISTRATION SURVEY
REPORTING
VENUE CONTENT/
SIGNAGE
FOOD &
BEVERAGE
SWAG
CHECK-IN

14. 14
Survey / Reporting Madness
TIER 2EVENTS
SURVEY / REPORTING
Apples to Hammers What’s working?Low Accountability
EVENTS

15. 15
Stop the Madness!
TIER 2TIER 1EVENTS
x 1k+ events

16. 16
A Potpourri of Creativity

17. An Infinity War of Branding

18. 18
Wall of Shame Finalist

19. 19
How Can Event Software Help?
PHYSICALDIGITAL
INVITES/
REMINDERS
WEBSITE
REGISTRATION SURVEY
REPORTING
VENUE CONTENT/
SIGNAGE
FOOD &
BEVERAGE
SWAG
CHECK-IN
DIGITAL ASPECTS OF EVENT MANAGEMENT MANAGED A SINGLE PLATFORM

20. 20
The Power of Platform
TIER 2TIER 1EVENTS

21. 21
The Power of Platform
TIER 2TIER 1EVENTS
SEAMLESS, GOVERNED EXPERIENCE COMMON DATA/REPORTS
Brand compliance Privacy compliance Apples to Apples
Build once use many Marketing automation Transparency

22. 22
The Power of Platform
TIER 2TIER 1EVENTS
PRE
EVENT
POST
EVENT
AT
EVENT
invite reg reminder check-in survey report nurture
INCREDIBLE, CONSISTENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

23. 23
The Power of Platform
TIER 2TIER 1EVENTS
PRE
EVENT
POST
EVENT
AT
EVENT
invite reg reminder check-in survey report nurture
INCREDIBLE, CONSISTENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

24. 24
The Power of Platform
TIER 2TIER 1EVENTS
PRE
EVENT
POST
EVENT
AT
EVENT
invite reg reminder check-in survey report nurture
INCREDIBLE, CONSISTENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

25. 25
The Power of Platform
TIER 2TIER 1EVENTS
PRE
EVENT
POST
EVENT
AT
EVENT
invite reg reminder check-in survey report nurture
INCREDIBLE, CONSISTENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

26. 26
The Power of Platform
TIER 2TIER 1EVENTS
PRE
EVENT
POST
EVENT
AT
EVENT
invite reg reminder check-in survey report nurture
INCREDIBLE, CONSISTENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

27. 27
The Power of Platform
TIER 2TIER 1EVENTS
PRE
EVENT
POST
EVENT
AT
EVENT
invite reg reminder check-in survey report nurture
INCREDIBLE, CONSISTENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

28. 28
The Power of Platform
TIER 2TIER 1EVENTS
PRE
EVENT
POST
EVENT
AT
EVENT
invite reg reminder check-in survey report nurture
INCREDIBLE, CONSISTENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

29. 29
The Power of Platform
TIER 2TIER 1EVENTS
PRE
EVENT
POST
EVENT
AT
EVENT
invite reg reminder check-in survey report nurture
INCREDIBLE, CONSISTENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

30. 30
The Power of Platform
TIER 2TIER 1EVENTS
PRE
EVENT
POST
EVENT
AT
EVENT
invite reg reminder check-in survey report nurture
INCREDIBLE, CONSISTENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
COMING
SOON!

31. 31
Deploying Splash (Grossly Oversimplified J)
FOUND
BEST FIT
CREATED
STANDARD
THEMES
IMPLENTED
THEMES
LOCALIZED
THEMES
IMPLEMENTED
STANDARD
TAXONOMY

32. 32
Finding the Best Fit
EASY-TO-USE
B2C CAPABILITY
SUPER-POWERED
B2B CAPABILITYBEST OF BOTH WORLDS

33. 33
Standard Event Themes Enable…

34. 34
…Efficient Event Management at Scale
36
LANGUAGES

35. 35
…Efficient Event Management at Scale
CHINESE
INVITE
ITALIAN SAVE
THE DATE
PORTUGUESE
CONFIRMATION
GREEK
REMINDER
HEBREW
SURVEY

36. 36
Standard Taxonomy Enables…

37. 37
…A Foundation for Powerful Reporting

38. 38
…A Foundation for Powerful Reporting

39. 39
Deploying Across the Enterprise
TIER 1
TIER 3
TIER 2
ADMINS
POWER
USERS
SELF
SERVICE

40. 40
The Power of Self Service
TIER 3
APPROVAL
WORKFLOW

41. 41
The Driving Force Behind Our Splash Journey!
MARISA MONETADANI MACY

42. 42
Results (Last 12 Months)
45 – 60
hours saved
per event
23k
hours saved
11.5
headcount
freed up
567
Events run in
Splash
150
events
417
events
TIER 1 TIER 3TIER 2

43. 43
In a Sea of SaaS, How Do You Find “The One?”
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!
Me! Me!
Choose Me!

44. 44
Thin the Herd
G2 CROWD LAUNCHPOINT

45. 45
Event Feature Description Questions
Branding / event look
and feel
Ability to create an “Expedia”
experience for attendees from the
moment they receive an invitation,
until they register, and all
communications during and post
event (survey)?
Can the following items be branded /
customized for an Expedia look and
feel?
• Registration page
• Event website
• Communications (invite,
registration confirmation,
reminders, thank you for
attending, survey request,
etc.)
• Pre or post event survey
How easy is it to populate out of the
box templates with Expedia logos,
colors, images, etc.?
How much is it to create custom
templates? Does this have to be
Eventbrite, or does it just require
good web dev skills (CSS, HTML,
etc.)?
Communications All communications surrounding the
event
• Invitation to attend
• Registration confirmation
• Registration waitlist
notification
• Registration waitlist
rejection/acceptance
• Event reminder
• In event notifications
• Post event thank you
• Post event survey
• Sorry we missed you
• Etc.
What email communications are
available out of the box?
What are the components of the
emails (schedule, event title,
description, speakers, maps) that are
available out of the box?
In what languages are these
communications available?
What ability is there to trigger the
timing of the communications (e.g. 1
week before launch, day before
launch reminders)?
How much flexibility is there to edit
the content of event
communications? Turn off
communications? Add a custom or
unique communication?
G2 CROWD KNOCKOUT ATTRIBUTES
Create Your “Knockout” List of Attributes

46. 46
Score and Select Your Winner
Event Feature Description Questions
Branding / event look
and feel
Ability to create an “Expedia”
experience for attendees from the
moment they receive an invitation,
until they register, and all
communications during and post
event (survey)?
Can the following items be branded /
customized for an Expedia look and
feel?
• Registration page
• Event website
• Communications (invite,
registration confirmation,
reminders, thank you for
attending, survey request,
etc.)
• Pre or post event survey
How easy is it to populate out of the
box templates with Expedia logos,
colors, images, etc.?
How much is it to create custom
templates? Does this have to be
Eventbrite, or does it just require
good web dev skills (CSS, HTML,
etc.)?
Communications All communications surrounding the
event
• Invitation to attend
• Registration confirmation
• Registration waitlist
notification
• Registration waitlist
rejection/acceptance
• Event reminder
• In event notifications
• Post event thank you
• Post event survey
• Sorry we missed you
• Etc.
What email communications are
available out of the box?
What are the components of the
emails (schedule, event title,
description, speakers, maps) that are
available out of the box?
In what languages are these
communications available?
What ability is there to trigger the
timing of the communications (e.g. 1
week before launch, day before
launch reminders)?
How much flexibility is there to edit
the content of event
communications? Turn off
communications? Add a custom or
unique communication?
EVENT TOOLS BEING EVALUATED
A B C
+10
KNOCKOUT LIST OF ATTRIBUTES
+10 +20
+15 +30 +15
+25 +40 +35

47. 47
Make the Case to Leadership and…
50$
300
500$ 225,000$ 300,000$ 375,000$
250$ 150,000$ 225,000$ 300,000$
50$ 90,000$ 165,000$ 240,000$
5 10 15
Hours saved per event
Inc.Profit/Event
Number of events
Avg Fully Loaded Hourly Rate
PROFIT + EFFICIENCY EFFICIENCY ONLY
50$
450 112,500$ 225,000$ 337,500$
300 75,000$ 150,000$ 225,000$
150 37,500$ 75,000$ 112,500$
5 10 15
Hours saved per event
#ofevents
Avg Fully Loaded Hourly Rate
Privacy/brand
compliance
Marketing
automation
Financial
Accountability
Data
Security
Apples to Apples
Reporting

48. 48
…Stop the Madness!
3500+
GLOBAL SALES
ORGANIZATION
1M+
LODGING
PARTNERS
1000s
OF EVENTS
TIER 1
TIER 3TIER 2
GET $%#@ DONE
APPROACH
8
MARKETERS

49. 49
…Stop the Madness!
3500+
GLOBAL SALES
ORGANIZATION
1M+
LODGING
PARTNERS
1000s
OF EVENTS
TIER 1
TIER 3TIER 2
STRUCTURED
APPROACH W/
EVENT SOFTWARE
8
MARKETERS

50. Q & A