We’re back recharged and inspired after the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) conference in San Diego!This year at GBTA, we were all about Strategic Meetings Management (SMM), and how it can help companies save money, and create more meaningful meetings and events that drive efficiency, engagement, and growth for their business.We shared an independent research study from Aberdeen Group, wherein compliant companies reported seeing 167% higher cost savings from SMM.Additionally, we unveiled the second edition of our SMM best practices eBook, which includes value tips and insights from SMM experts at companies such as Carlson Wagonlit Travel and American Express. The book includes tips and tricks for creating a SMM program, controlling spend, managing risk, using social media and gaming to improve attendee engagement, and implementing global SMM.
- In our booth we demonstrated several of our products, namely:
- The all new ACTIVE RegOnline™, our entry-level event-management software that makes it easy and intuitive for planners at all levels of experience to manage events.
- ACTIVE Conference™, our enterprise-level solution for large, complex conferences. This tool includes attendee management, speaker and exhibitor management, integrated online communities, advanced mobile event app with gamification, and lead management.
- ACTIVE StarCite™, our SMM offering that provides organizations with end-to-end visibility into their entire event program. This tool includes attendee management, approval workflow, budget management, compliance, Healthcare Professional (HCP) tracking, small meetings management, spend management, budget reconciliation, and in-depth business analytics.
- ACTIVE Marketplace™, formerly known as the StarCite Marketplace, helps connect buyers with suppliers of hotels and venues for their events.
Busy conference goers around stayed hydrated with the smoothies, champagne and Mimosas served!GBTA pulled out the stops this year with the daily General Session keynote addresses. On Monday, Jewel spoke about songwriting and showed us what real “yodeling” sounds like. Former First Lady Laura Bush spoke about her time in the White House, and Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton emphasized the importance of travel to the global economy. The caliber of these programs was top notch!A couple of our own spoke at GBTA, as well. Kevin Iwamoto, vice president of Industry Strategy hosted a panel entitled “eRFP Best Practices: Perspectives from all Stakeholders.” Experts from Hyatt Hotels, Symantec and HRG Worldwide weighed in on how suppliers, travel managers, and event planners can ensure quality, rather than quantity, of RFPs.Linda McNairy, vice president of Strategic Partner Management, moderated a panel entitled, "SMM: From Concept to Application.” Representatives from Bondurant Consulting, Maritz Travel Company and Wellpoint shared their experiences and best practices for implementing SMM.We’re looking forward to seeing you next year in Los Angeles!
© 2013 The Active Network, Inc. All rights reserved. ACTIVE Conference, ACTIVE Marketplace, ACTIVE Network, ACTIVE RegOnline, ACTIVE StarCite, Activity and Participant Management, and SMART EVENTS are trademarks of The Active Network, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
The Aberdeen Group Study available for download here, and the SMM eBook available for download here.
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