< PreviousSports incentives, such as driving an authentic racing car, pictured, and inset, can offer attendees a powerful and unforgettable experience. A Sporting Chance BY MAURA KELLER DESTINATION // 18 April/May 2022 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.comChance Sports Incentives Offer Unforgettable Experiences L ooking for an incentive travel option that will provide attendees an experience they simply can’t get on their own? Sports incentive travel programs, as we continue to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, can again be an option. These programs are highly motivating, and involve memorable experiences that can last a lifetime. For Cindy Y. Lo, CEO at RED VELVET, planning sports-based incentives has proven to be one of the most popular event styles for attendees, planners and venues alike. The RED VELVET team has orchestrated F1 Racing incentive events for various brands as part of the F1 Rac- ing Weekend. “They typically have to qualify to be invited to this weekend set of events. If they qualify, we fly them into Austin, Texas, arrange for their hotel and have a fun packed, three-day weekend, including a local Austin tour,” Lo says. “There is definitely lots of local eating and, of course, watching the F1 races themselves. Depending on the client’s budget, we’ll add on extra amenities that are tied to the racing theme. Some of these add-ons may Photos courtesy of Martin Valenti BY MAURA KELLER TheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | April/May 2022 19include custom sunglass shopping, gift- ing of noise-cancellation headphones, a meet-and-greet with the race car driv- ers, etc. These are usually once-in-a- lifetime events. Since they are priced so high, not everyone has the financial ability to attend them regularly,” Lo says. “Other sporting events we have done incentives around include the Super Bowl. People are so excited to attend these once-in-a-lifetime events.” Alisa Walsh, CITP, CIS, CEO of Haute, a creative agency headquar- tered in Austin, Texas, agrees. Before leading Haute, Walsh was CEO at EventWorks in Los Angeles. According to Walsh, sports incentives are such a great option because it is a unique experience, and that’s what people are looking for. “Sports, in general, are about engagement and that emotional connection. Nostalgia is a great motiva- tor and fundamental to delivering such an experience. Whether your clients root for the winner or the underdog, there is elevated emotion, and it can be pretty powerful,” Walsh says. “This is precisely what we aim to create — powerful and memorable experiences. There is nothing better than putting all of these elements together during a sporting event.” Sports incentives offer an opportu- nity to really give someone an excep- tional experience in many different ways. As Walsh further explains, you can have a behind-the-scenes VIP tour of the arena or a meet-and-greet with athletes. You have to look for ways to give your customers access to some- thing they might never be able to expe- rience as a typical spectator. “The goal is to provide a real ‘above-and-beyond’ experience for incentive trips, from start to finish,” Walsh says. “You have to make sure the sport itself is of inter- est to your entire audience. There are levels of interest in different sports. The theater set by enthusiastic crowds, tailgaters, cheerleaders or contests held during breaks — with the sights, smells and energy in a sports arena, is an experience in itself for many.” A sports incentive can be built into the destination event to highlight a local experience with careful consid- eration. Obviously, the draw can be a big-name event. “Still, an itinerary that includes outings to surrounding attrac- tions, like a distillery or local places of interest, offers excursions for a host of tastes and preferences,” Walsh says. “A trip to [the PGA Tour’s] Masters Tournament isn’t something that everyone would be typically able to attend. The opportunity alone can be a big draw and a serious motivator to incentivize the sales team to exceed their goals. It’s the chance to have an experience, considered thrilling by many, that they might not otherwise have the opportunity to see.” Walsh and her team once cre- ated a custom polo match held at a mansion in Santa Barbara, Califor- nia. Top players and their horses were flown in from Argentina and attendees were treated to a private event to learn about polo’s deep and rich history, meet with the players, and be up close to the action during the exhibition. “It was a huge draw,” Walsh says. “Sports and incentives are something we are actively looking to expand with some of our partner companies. We’ve had the opportunity to host some of our clients at pit row during a big NASCAR race, and give them a behind-the-scenes tour and a meeting with the drivers. For a specialized experience, this may be among the coolest.” Embracing the Nuances Sports incentive programs can be in the form of being a spectator at such prestigious events as the NFL’s Super Bowl or golf’s Ryder Cup, or as a par- ticipant in a sporting challenge, such as racing events. Of course both types of sports incentive programs come with their own set of challenges — from transportation issues to orchestrating team activities, to offering participant- versus-spectator options. “One issue that we usually face that people are surprised by is that, once you arrive at the race track, it’s very hard for us to maneuver our buses/shuttles, so really we have to transport everyone at the same time,” Lo says. “It’s not as easy Courtesy of Martin Valenti Many attendees at Radford Racing School prefer the thrill of driving one of the high-performance cars, while others get a thrill from watching. 20 April/May 2022 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.com ROOM TO INSPIRE Welcome to Colorado Springs, where our wide-open spaces, 300 days of endless blue skies and stunning scenery serve as the backdrop to your meetings and events. Discover historic properties, unique venues and value-priced, first-tier amenities. The Colorado Meetings & Events Incentive program has been extended, offering a 10% rebate on eligible hard costs.* In Colorado Springs – Olympic City USA, you’ll find room to inspire, innovate, connect and re-energize. *See our website for details Learn more at VisitCOS.com/meet KATHY REAK, CFMP Vice President of Sales Kathy@VisitCOS.com | 719.685.7632 Whether your clients root for the winner or the underdog, there is elevated emotion, and it can be pretty powerful. ALISA WALSH, CITP, CIS CEO, HauteROOM TO INSPIRE Welcome to Colorado Springs, where our wide-open spaces, 300 days of endless blue skies and stunning scenery serve as the backdrop to your meetings and events. Discover historic properties, unique venues and value-priced, first-tier amenities. The Colorado Meetings & Events Incentive program has been extended, offering a 10% rebate on eligible hard costs.* In Colorado Springs – Olympic City USA, you’ll find room to inspire, innovate, connect and re-energize. *See our website for details Learn more at VisitCOS.com/meet KATHY REAK, CFMP Vice President of Sales Kathy@VisitCOS.com | 719.685.7632having an extra vehicle on standby to make one-off drives. So, really we have to plan in advance of what their day is going to be like at the race track all day. This isn’t always true of all race tracks, but it is true of the Austin one, and until we have mass transit out to the track, you are essentially ‘stuck’ there until the transportation is scheduled to leave.” In the middle of the pandemic, sports incentives were a bit more chal- lenging because there were so many sports opportunities being held with- out fans. But Walsh is optimistic they’ll return. “Sports incentives will be at the forefront as we advance, without a doubt. Golf tournaments or the Super Bowl will be happening, and those are always popular,” Walsh says. Martin Valenti, vice president of accounts at Arthur Elliott, which is the agency representing NAPA Auto Parts, spoke about the locally owned NAPA Arizona stores in Chandler, Arizona and their corporate group sport incentive experiences at Rad- ford Racing School. Valenti says the biggest draw to sports incentive pro- grams is that most attendees have the opportunity to participate in some- thing they’ve never thought about doing before, or would not normally have the opportunity to do. “Skill level doesn’t matter at these events. Every- one can come and have a wonderful time and enjoy the adrenaline that comes from high-performance driv- ing. In addition to this, they also learn valuable skills that can help them in their everyday driving. NAPA has hosted large events and small intimate events at Radford Rac- ing School. Founded in 1968, the Rad- ford Racing School is the only purpose- built driver-training facility for per- formance enthusiasts and the largest driver-training center of its kind in the world. It is also the Official High Per- formance Driving School of Dodge// SRT. The school maintains more than 80 race-prepared vehicles, sedans, SUVs and open-wheel Formula One cars. The school is also launching new programs for groups, just in time for the anticipated rebound of Arizona tourism and group travel. The programs were designed to accommodate small get- togethers and large gatherings, from groups in the 100s in its event center to 1,000s in its outside venues, for sales incentive trips, team building, shows, exhibits and live performance events. “No matter what type of event, or if there are 200 people or five people, the school is able to accommodate and make sure that each and every attendee gets to experience the thrill of driving high-performance vehicles like they’ve never done before,” Valenti says. “The Radford Racing School does an excel- lent job at making everyone feel special and comfortable, no matter what their skill level is and regardless of whether or not they’ve ever experienced any seat time on a race track. The school’s ability to customize group and corpo- rate events to meet the needs of the individual group is second to none.” All of the events orchestrated by NAPA at Radford Racing School included multiple opportunities to drive, however, in most instances, the attendees’ favorite portion of the event was the hot laps provided by the pro- fessional instructors. “Many of the attendees were hesitant at first, but left enjoying their time and wanting to come back to experience more,” Valenti says. “Events at Radford Racing School will stand out in the minds of attend- ees no matter what type of work they do. Get together with the school to put together a plan that will accommodate you and your corporate group.” Radford Racing School has several decades of experience with group pro- grams. They can guide any planner through the options carefully, breaking down details, cost, the timeline, etc., and scale them up or down based on your group size. “I usually just bring the large details to guys at the school, and they create something totally customizable and attractive for the group,” Valenti says. Alisa Walsh, CITP, CIS, CEO of Haute, arranged a trip for clients to watch a polo match with players flown in from Argentina. Attendees got a chance to learn about the game and meet top international players. 22 April/May 2022 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.comSuccess Tips Planning and executing sports incen- tives requires due diligence on the part of meeting planners. It also requires a key understanding of the sporting event itself, the timing of the event and orga- nizing other activities that may keep attendees engaged throughout the sporting competition. “I don’t usually recommend making it a part of a con- ference, but you can encourage peo- ple to stay on or arrive early to attend separately. These events are so large and require a lot more energy that you really don’t want to have it take place before your meeting,” Lo says. “I think it’s great to stay past a conference if this happens to fall the weekend right after.” So do planners need to look at host- ing a sports incentive event at “big name” venues, or can they be smaller in focus as well? For Walsh, if the incentive is the sports event itself, it needs a big-name arena like the AT&T Stadium for a Dallas Cowboys home game. “I think it does require a mar- quee event,” Walsh says. “We can look at smaller sporting events as part of a larger incentive package, but it might not be the entire draw for the program. So if you were going to Europe for a soccer match, there are many ways to flesh out the experience and make it unforgettable.” And planners agree that sports incentives can work for just about any- body. Walsh says that some would say the male demographic might be more inclined and excited, but if a meeting planner does it right, it can be great for any audience. To ensure success, Walsh says planners really need to determine what the marquee name is from a sports perspective if that’s the target you’re going for. Also, deter- mine what that is and begin teasing the details to build excitement early on, so people are really focused. It’s a must to create very intentional buzz surround- ing the incentive, so, from the start, every touchpoint, from the time of announcement through the win- ners’ experience, is felt. “You want to make sure the emotional con- nection to the event will moti- vate them to meet the objec- tives or sales goals. It’s part of the job to ensure the team or individuals are fired up to win,” Walsh says. And as with planning any incentive event, planners have to make sure it’s a holistic expe- rience from start to finish, from the big prize at the end to how the planner rolls out the plan. “Build the buzz, get the winners excited and ready. Logis- tics have to be perfectly planned and executed,” Walsh says. “To me, this is the essential piece: to have every detail perfectly planned, so if they are not particularly interested in the sport itself, they have an exceptional expe- rience.” Also determine if all of the components for an incredible event are locked down. Is there a meet-and-greet, or a private suite with catered food and drink? Make sure the experience wows the attendees — it will make all the dif- ference toward getting them excited. Valenti thinks the future looks bright for experiential sports incen- tives. “When you can bring people with different backgrounds together and have them experience something together that is active and unique from other experiences, the results of team building are really incredible,” Valenti says. “ It breaks down the walls within the teams. Ultimately, it builds relation- ships out of shared experiences that would never have been experienced together. I have yet to find a program that can do all of those things effec- tively, while still having that much fun.” And as Walsh points out, we are headed toward a more “experience” economy in general, and it will only increase as we go forward. “People are excited to touch and feel, to be back where the action is in a safe environment,” Walsh says. “Once we have the confidence that, for the sake of public safety, the timing is right, the sports incentive trend will grow ever stronger.” C&IT DepositPhotos.com Attending a live sporting event can be exciting, but to really make an impact, try to arrange for a meet-and-greet with a few of the athletes. TheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | April/May 2022 23 Once we have the confidence that, for the sake of public safety, the timing is right, the sports incentive trend will grow ever stronger. MARTIN VALENTI Vice President of Accounts Arthur ElliottLooking to keep your attendees around through the last day? Save the best activities for last. ENDGAME Skilled Planners Keep Attendees Engaged Through the Last Day BY NANCY MUELLER PLANNER TIPS // A s a corporate meeting planner, you’ve done your homework. Together, with your client, you have coordinated all the ele- ments for what is sure to be an outstanding conference. All goes well until the last day, when you observe attendees’ attention flagging. You can see it in their faces, their overall body language. They stop taking notes. They no longer ask questions. A glazed look crosses their faces. Some continually check their watches or phones or even start checking in for their flights home. What’s a meeting planner to do? First, know that you are not alone. Survey respondents often cite “lack of Photo by Alan Alabastro 24 April/May 2022 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.comengagement” as one of the top three challenges of in-person, hybrid or vir- tual conferences and events. And espe- cially among virtual attendees, “Zoom fatigue” has become an all-too-familiar refrain. In fact, says John Chen, CEO of Engaging Virtual Meetings, “We have statistical data that shows that multi- day physical and virtual conferences do have a drop in visits and attendees by the last day.” Even with an anticipated drop in meeting attendee costs due to pan- demic budget constraints, “33.7% of marketers say that the average cost per virtual event attendee is between $500 to $1,000,” according to Mar- kletic — not exactly inexpensive by any measure when seeking as high an ROI as possible on overall confer- ence costs. Obviously, it’s in event organizers’ best interests to maintain momentum and attendee engage- ment throughout the duration of the entire conference so they’ll come to the next one. Define Meeting Roles and Expectations Eileen McDargh, CEO of The Resil- iency Group, identifies three key roles in coordinating a successful confer- ence: host, speaker and tech support. The host brings the “synergy and the energy,” says McDargh, also author of “Burnout to Breakthrough: Building Resilience to Refuel, Recharge, and Reclaim What Matters.” “The host keeps the ball rolling, asks attend- ees questions; provides a summary of takeaways.” In a nutshell, she adds, “If you’re the host, you’re the glue.” By managing the program pacing and attendee interaction while exuding “energy, playfulness and spontaneity,” the host assumes a critical role in the overall success of the conference. Chen, author of “Engaging Virtual Meetings: Openers, Games, and Activi- ties for Communication, Morale, and Trust,” agrees: “Never lead a meeting alone so the speaker can focus on the attendees. Use a producer.“ As an in-demand conference speaker — speakers being the second element — McDargh says, “I bring my own level of energy. It’s what keeps people engaged.” She also advises that “You can’t ignore the virtual audi- ence” in a hybrid meeting. McDargh refers to her experience at the Music Hall of Fame in which her presenta- tion was livestreamed to attendees around the world. She brought the in- person audience together with virtual attendees by sparking conversation between the two groups: “What do you want to say to people joining us here today from Brussels?” While the scope of McDargh’s presentation typically includes a keynote and/or facilitating follow-up conversations with attendees in one or more breakout sessions, she makes a point to watch speaker presen- tations that precede and follow hers. As a result, she’s able to tie in key points in each of those presentations with her own program content and to the con- ference theme as a whole. The third critical component to ensuring a successful conference, according to McDargh, is the quality of the technology employed, which entails everything from the flexibility of the platform used — in one incident, McDargh was unable to play music while speaking, for example — to equipment set up, audio and internet connectivity. It also pertains to recording options for playback purposes. She cites one recording of her presentation in which the main visual became the slide deck of her presentation while her image ended up the size of a postage stamp in the corner of the screen. Although “content is king,” as Chen attests, it’s challenging to keep viewers engaged in replays without the added energy of a host and speaker to land the content unless recorded effectively. In some cases, McDargh has been asked to pre-record her presentation, which risks even more lack of attendee engagement without the speaker’s abil- ity to leverage the energy in the virtual or in-person room. Even though “Technology gives you the ability to be invited into peo- ple’s homes,” McDargh says, it’s up to the host, speaker and tech support to ensure the program comes off with- out a hitch. That’s not always been the case for McDargh, who mentions one particularly high-profile event at a des- tination hotel that was inundated with problems due to a poor internet con- nection, among other on-site technol- ogy snags that disrupted the program. To minimize the potential for such dis- ruptions, she says, “You have to have multiple dry runs” with key stakehold- ers in the program’s success. Photo by Jeff Marsh Jan Dwyer Bang, MBA, CSP, president, Boundless Results, suggests keeping the event’s energy high through the last day to keep attendees engaged. TheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | April/May 2022 25Keep the Ball Rolling Through collaboration and coor- dination among the host, speaker and tech support, the odds of enticing attendees to stay to the end increase exponentially. “What seems to work for me,” says Jan Dwyer Bang, MBA, CSP, president of Boundless Results, “is having the meeting attendees discuss in small groups — or break- out groups if virtual — so they have a chance to share what they learned and how they will apply what they learned in their work lives; then having a few people share when they come back together as a whole group, or if time, having one per- son from each small group share some takeaways to the large group.” Also important: Don’t for- get to break up the content into small bites at times. “You need to give frequent breaks, but not just leave a blank screen,” McDargh says. “You could show a trivia game or scavenger hunt, like ‘Right now, find one thing from your childhood.’” She adds, “I’ll also say, ‘Looks like you could all use a break.’ Then, I’ll put on music and have everyone get up and move around, dance.” Dwyer Bang also advo- cates keeping the energy high: “I think having some- thing upbeat, and posi- tive planned — perhaps a funny video that gets people engaged or an activity that gets meeting attendees on their feet in a large group activity, or an activity in small groups. Even if they are doing the activity where they share with oth- ers what they learned — this could be done stand- ing up or with a chart, etc. Having music at the end can help too.” She cautions, “Sometimes, when I train people who are more quiet and introverted, having peo- ple share in small groups may be something they don’t prefer, so some- times that group can be ‘quiet.’ I have found jumping into the small groups in Zoom breakout groups just to see how conversations are going helps a lot.” Beyond creating energizing activi- ties while meetings are in session, Chen reminds planners: “It’s not a conference, it’s a community” As he explains, “Events still have event cul- ture, meaning that the natural energy for a conference is before and during the conference; it’s much more chal- lenging after the conference. The best conferences create a community” in which people continue to participate. He cites a number of ways event orga- nizers can do so effectively: “They can create ways to opt-in to join a com- munity, such as a Facebook group or on Slack. They also continue to add value throughout the year between conferences.” For Chen’s conference communities, “A great example is Gamicon’s Game Garage. After Game Garage became a hit at the conference, they continued every Friday featur- ing a different speaker every week. It helped involve speakers who didn’t get chosen to speak at the conference and gave attendees access to new ideas and networking every week. I host a virtual happy hour every Fri- day since March 2020 that has a loyal following.” Dwyer Bang adds that following up with the client is a good practice. “I like to do a client debrief call after the event so that I can hear from the client how things went and also provide some consultation on what things they can do to reinforce the concepts when their meeting attendees are back in the workforce.” With her group attendees, she says that “Sometimes 30-day or 60-day check- ins are helpful, or engaging them after the workshop by providing follow-up resources and tools, and a summary of some of the highlights of the workshop.” She continues, “Since I use assessment tools, I also share to meeting attendees that, if they would like their team to engage in some assessments as a follow-up to what they learned, I am available.” She adds, “These are all very helpful, but I think when a meeting Courtesy of Eileen McDargh Eileen McDargh, CEO of The Resiliency Group, uses a storyline that runs though the event’s last day. 26 April/May 2022 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.com Have something upbeat and positive planned — perhaps a funny video that gets people engaged, or an activity that gets meeting attendees on their feet ... JAN DWYER BANG, MBA, CSP President Boundless Resultsattendee has a positive, emotional experience during the event — and they were able to learn something and make connections with others — that memory can be a motivator too.” Incentivize Engagement A number of years ago, so a popular story goes, someone sat next to Terry Eugene Bollea, aka Hulk Hogan, in first class on a domestic flight. When the person asked for the secret of the enter- tainer’s success as a wrestler and TV personality, Bollea reportedly leaned in, and whispered, “Ya gotta have a gim- mick.” The same can be said for moti- vating attendees to stick around for the final session of a multi-day conference: You have to give them a reason to keep coming back for more. For Dwyer Bang, the answer lies in setting the stage on the first day of her three-day leadership training pro- gram. “Each person picks a person’s name randomly at the beginning of the training. Their assignment is to observe that person model effective leadership. I emphasize that they are not ‘stalk- ing,’ but rather, they are to observe that person whose name they were given and take what we are learning and see if there is an example of some leader- ship trait in their behavior, or perhaps it is something they said in class that the attendee was impressed by, or the way they operated in small groups, etc. At the end of the third day, in 30 sec- onds or less, a participant shares their observation and positive affirmation of that person’s leadership, and presents them with their certificate of comple- tion. Then, the person that just was affirmed will share the person they are affirming. It’s a great way to engage the entire leadership class.” McDargh does something similar in her presentations by creating a storyline, what she calls “dropping a trail of bread crumbs like in Hansel and Gretel, or a compelling Netflix drama,” that weaves the program content through the conference from the first day to the last. Attendees must attend the last session to hear how the story ends. “And who closes a book without reading through to the end to see what happens?” McDargh asks. She also likes offering giveaways, such as her book, Starbucks cards and other goodies on the last day of the conference. Chen notes that “people love prizes.” He says, “Having a raffle or prize drawing with ‘Must Be Present To Win’ has helped keep the excite- ment for those who stay to the end.” He adds, “There’s nothing like texting your friend who missed a grand prize because they left early.” Chen recommends additional strat- egies to incentivize attendance on the final day of the conference. “Save your best keynote speakers for the end,” he says. “For instance, at one in-person conference, Oprah Winfrey was the closing keynote speaker, and people waited eight hours in line for the best seats.” While most meeting planners may not have the budget to bring in a celebrity keynote speaker with the cachet of Oprah, what they can do, Chen says, is “Give the people what they want. On the last day of my five-day conference, we input all the fun, team build- ing and experiential activi- ties. Those who stay want to experience the latest in team building, and every session is fun and engaging as there are no lecture programs on this day. Putting hosted buyer sessions on the last day is another way to get key people to stay.” Ultimately, Chen says, “If you want engagement, ENGAGE. To me, engage- ment on the last day is the same as engagement on the first day. Engage and interact with every attendee before the end of the session. Make sure your speakers look good and sound good as presenters.” He also suggests orches- trating the event “[like] air-traffic control. Engage by making sure only one person is talking at a time. Get productive with amazing virtual tools, like polls, whiteboards and simultane- ous editing documents to engage your audience.” Finally, he says, “End on a high note, coach your speakers to end not on Q&A, but a high note. Research shows that in a product market demo, people are more likely to buy if they have a high note with the product in the last five minutes. Your meeting is exactly the same way.” C&IT Photo by Alan Alabastro John Chen, CEO of Engaging Virtual Meetings, says offer a grand prize awarded only on the event’s last day. TheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | April/May 2022 27 The host brings the synergy and the energy. The host keeps the ball rolling, asks attendees questions ... EILEEN MCDARGH CEO, The Resiliency GroupNext >