Employee engagement meetings are powerful experiences. Done well, corporate meetings can have a transformative effect on an organization, unifying employees and elevating the company’s goals and objectives. However, meetings that don’t live up to their potential can be damaging, with a negative effect on morale, a failure to deliver key messages, and provide little in the way of ROI. At Jack Morton, we’ve been elevating corporate meetings and engagements for over 75 years, and we’re sharing our thoughts on four principles that are proven to deliver extraordinary results for our clients. Read our POV, and make your meetings extraordinary.

1. Jack
POV
4 steps to
extraordinary
meetings
–

2. While the marketing spectrum is increasingly focused
on experiences and many companies are focused on
enhancing their brand experience across all of the many
touch points they have with customers, suppliers, channel
partners and employees, corporate meetings have
continued to be misunderstood and incorrectly applied.
At too many companies, the corporate meeting is
excluded from being a part of the brand experience
strategy; however, it can play a vital role in delivering
business results for the enterprise.
The following will address the misconceptions with
corporate meetings and offer a solution to align, plan,
build, and extend to ultimately transform meetings into
something extraordinary.
2
Extraordinary
is a term seldom
(if ever) used
in describing
corporate
meetings — and
we think this
has to stop.

3. 3
This perspective
fails to recognize
the tremendous
power of meetings
in driving business
value.
Meetings are inaccurately valued
and not utilized to their fullest
potential, and it has a very real
effect:
Attendees are often left looking for more
Meeting planners have strapped budgets and feel
stuck in being able to embrace new ideas
Company management has few meaningful inputs
about the value provided and has minimal reason to
buy-into the return on investment
Corporate meetings are viewed solely as cost centers
whose success or failure is judged based on attendee
feedback of hors d’oeuvres and travel logistics

4. Meetings can actually be
transformative to business,
and we believe that every
brand, organization and
industry can adopt the
following considerations
to achieve scalable,
customizable solutions,
extending their meetings
beyond a moment in time.
–
Here are 4 steps
to get the most
of meetings.
Align
Plan
Build
Extend
4

5. A meeting isn’t
just one part of the
marketing mix, it’s
the entire marketing
mix in one event —
supporting many of
your short and long
term business goals
at once.
1 Align meetings
with marketing
Align your meetings with your core business mission:
The same integrated thinking used to tie marketing tactics to
business goals should be applied to planning and executing
meetings.
Say something that matters and give tools for success:
The meeting should be purpose-driven. Rely on storytelling to
bring the brand’s mission to life for employees and give them the
right tools and ideas to perform their jobs better.
Always consider the context: Look at aspects of the location
and your communication channels as added ways to engage the
audience and help them better understand your message.
Align
Plan
Build
Extend
5

6. You’ll be better
equipped to fix
things that aren’t
working and
improve upon
those that are.
Align
Plan
Build
Extend
Plan ways to
prove the value
Don’t be afraid of measurement:
Track what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear.
Commit to planning with measurement in mind:
Set actionable goals for your meeting.
Think about assessing business impact:
Measuring meeting logistics only won’t cut it. Feedback on session
effectiveness is more valuable than feedback on how much
employees enjoyed their night out.
2
6

7. Employees expect
to participate
and need to feel
like they are part
of something in
order to achieve
their best work.
Align
Plan
Build
Extend
3 Build an active
experience
Employees are participants, not attendees: Value and invest in
them as much as your end consumers, and put them at the center of the
meeting. Involving them when developing meeting content, agendas and
workshops leads to a more authentic meeting and stronger buy-in.
People want to participate and connect with one another:
Setting up more networking opportunities and inviting the right people
is imperative. Putting a group of people together who all share a
common passion creates a community rife with inspiration, insights and
innovations.
Inspiring content can come from all corners of the business:
The desire for knowledge-sharing amongst peers is bigger than ever.
Re-thinking your teachers and storytellers as your product experts, power
users and your own audience facilitates unique learning and adds to the
relevancy of the conversation.
Empowering attendees and igniting ideas requires
rethinking the environment: Structured un-structure through
dedicated ‘hang spaces’ fosters organic meet-ups and thinking amongst
peers. Collaboration workspaces empower users to share ideas, while
igniting dwell time.
7

8. Align
Plan
Build
Extend
4 Extend and
amplify your
message(s)
No meeting is an island: Meetings need the same support as
any campaign. Aim to tease your event, generate excitement and get
attendees to look forward to attending.
Extend the community outside of the meeting:
Create virtual communities and experiences that are just as participatory
and impactful as face-to-face interaction.
Make the best use of your time with attendees: Assign work
or thinking for your audience to do beforehand and ask for input from
stakeholders so the meeting is planned with them in mind.
Keep track of key learnings in real-time:
Optimize this year and apply to next year.
Sustain the messages and encourage continuous action:
Think about how to keep the event alive before it begins and long
after it’s over. Extend the themes and messages over time to reinforce
content and lengthen its impact.
Meetings aren’t
a moment in
time — they’re
a time to spark
many future
successful
moments.
8

9. Making the most of meetings is worth it.
As an industry leader, we know that meetings...
9
Reinforce why
people love their
work and aligns
them to your
organization
through stronger
engagement
Refuel and
empower
meeting planners
to further unlock
the potential of
what they do
Reinvigorate
perspective on
the business
value of meetings
as a marketing
asset

10. Talk to us
—
Contact Peter Sun
VP, Brand Marketing
peter_sun@jackmorton.com
+1 212.401.7015
Read our blog at
jackmorton.com/blog
Follow us on twitter
@jackmorton
Visit us online at
jackmorton.com
About Jack Morton
We’re a global brand experience agency.
We generate breakthrough ideas,
connecting brands and people through
experiences that transform business.
Our portfolio of award-winning work
spans 75 years across event marketing,
sponsorship marketing, promotion and
activation, experience strategy, employee
engagement, digital, social, and mobile.
Ranked at the top of our field, Jack
Morton is a part of the Interpublic Group
or Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG).
© Jack Morton Worldwide 2015
10