• Employee Engagement
• Motivating Sales & Channel Partners
• Customer Loyalty
• Meeting & Incentive Travel
• Promotional Consultants

Each seminar is 75-minutes in length. Seminar rooms are located on Level 1 of McCormick Place South. Please access these rooms from the escalators at the end of the center aisle in the exhibit hall (next to booth 4729), or by turning right as you enter McCormick Place South at Gate 4 (taxi unloading).

Questions? Contact moti@heiexpo.com or call 1-866-730-6684.

Engage Your Audience: Grow Your Business: An Engagement Primer
Session TEE11 – Room S102a - REGISTER NOW

Employee engagement has now eclipsed “satisfaction” as the vision for an energized organization filled with committed, caring people.  Engagement represents a stronger bond and a deeper emotional attachment to the business and its customers.  But where does engagement come from?  What does it really look like?  And finally, how can you measure it?  This session will explore employee engagement opportunities and offer practical tools and solutions to grow engagement in your organization. Participants will learn to:

• Understand a model which describes six key components of engagement
• Consider and select ways to measure engagement
• Explore how resources such as meetings, recognition, incentives, training and communications can contribute to engagement

Presenter: Patty Saari, Vice President, Client Services, Engagement & Events, Carlson Marketing

The Web “You.0”: The Next Digital Wave in Employee Recognition
Session TEE12 – Room S102bc - REGISTER NOW

When it comes to reward programs, how are some business leaders increasing motivational impact while reducing costs? How are firms aligning their employee recognition efforts with the strategic direction of their firm? They are using the web. While the internet will never replace a pat on the back, it has helped progressive companies create a culture of recognition across global audiences. This presentation will examine how the web is used to optimize outcomes, increase insight, lower costs, improve controls and give program managers a bigger seat at the planning table. Attendees will learn:

• How and why to build a recognition portal
• How blogs, pod casts, RSS and wikis can reinforce desired outcomes
• Why segmented communications drive outcomes
• How flash technology and data dashboards make information more actionable

Presenter: Mike Ryan, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Client Strategy, Madison Performance Group

Merger Anyone?  How to Effectively Merge Engagement & Recognition Programs
Session TEE21 – Room S102a - REGISTER NOW

Not a day goes by where a merger is not announced in the news.  Getting your employees to support the new company’s goals and vision is critical to ensuring the merger is a success for shareholders and, of course, customers.   The presenters will discuss how to combine the engagement and recognition strategies of the companies and make this an effective tool to minimize the noise and confusion of a merger.  The three panelists will share best practices from real-life merger experiences in over 15 mergers. Attendees will take away:

• Best Practices on integrating employee engagement
• Best Practices on integrating recognition strategies and platforms

Presenters: Kevin Cronin, VP Recognition & Reward Solutions, Perks.com and Director, Recognition Professionals International; Lisa Massiello, CRP, Vice President, Employee Engagement & Recognition Leader, Wachovia Corporation

ROI³: Making the Recognition Numbers Sing

Session TEE22 – Room S102bc - REGISTER NOW

How do you show a real return on your recognition practices and programs? To deal with the C-suite and keep your recognition program budgets alive, you must have clear ROI evidence. But sometimes we’re tone deaf: we either make things too complicated or we don’t go deep enough. Learn how to make your recognition numbers sing! After this session attendees will understand:

• Why it’s important to integrate measurements into every aspect of employee recognition programs and practices
• ROI3: Return on Individual, Return on Intangible, as well as the tried and true, Return on Investment
• Best practices for using metrics to calculate the full impact of a program

Presenter: Roy Saunderson, CRP, President & Founder, Recognition Management Institute

Recognition Strategies that Create Engagement & Drive Results
Session TEE23 – Room S102d - REGISTER NOW

Linking recognition initiatives to organizational results not only demonstrates value, but can create it by uncovering opportunities for optimizing performance. We will examine strategies and processes for identifying key measurements in the planning process, setting objectives around these critical measures, and tracking them throughout the operation in a real-time, actionable manner. Through discussion and examination of case studies, you’ll learn:

• Three critical categories of program measurement
• Proven methodologies for identifying, projecting and tracking key metrics vs. objectives
• Strategies to identify gaps and opportunities and optimize program performance

Presenters: John O’Brien, Vice President, Employee Performance, BI; Adam Veazie, Area Director, BI

Intrinsic Motivation: Find the Missing Link in Incentive Programs
Session TEE31 – Room S102a - REGISTER NOW

Learn how to link intrinsic motivational methods and training with tangible incentive programs.  Join a discussion led by leading motivation experts, including the executives of Motivation Partners, a performance improvement consulting company; Ziglar, Inc. and CanDoGO, two top training companies; and Nightingale Conant, the world’s leading marketer of personal development products.

This panel will focus on:

• Creating performance improvement programs that change behaviors
• Moving the “Middle 60%” of the participant audience
• Providing measurable ROI

Moderator: Ira Ozer, CEO, Motivation Partners, Inc.
Panelists: Kevin Quinn, Vice President, Marketing, Nightingale Conant; Michael Norton, CEO, Ziglar, Inc. & CanDoGO.com

Think Recognition Is Too Expensive? Learn to Build a Program with Real ROI
Session TEE32 – Room S102bc - REGISTER NOW

Companies invest thousands of dollars in their recognition programs yet rarely receive the kind of return they expect. They come to the conclusion that recognition doesn’t work or is too expensive. Neither is right. Whether you are a recognition professional or vendor, this session will help you build an awards and incentives program with real ROI and ensured success.

• Learn from best (and worst!) practices
• Separate the myths from the realities of effective recognition
• Leave with tools for ensuring your success

Presenter: Cindy Ventrice, Employee Loyalty Specialist, Management Consultant, Professional Speaker & Author of Make Their Day! Employee Recognition that Works

How Your Technology Choice Can Make or Break Program Success
Session TEE33 – Room S102d - REGISTER NOW

The decisions you make about a technology platform can make or break your program’s initial adoption and ultimate success.  Learn the following at this interactive session:

• How to evaluate a system
• How to determine if a system is right for your program
• How to integrate multiple recognition and reward initiatives through a single platform

Presenter: Rob Danna, Director, Performance Improvement Technology, ITAGroup

Leveraging Social Networking to Increase Engagement & Retention: Case Study with TD Canada Trust
Session WEE11 – Room S102a - REGISTER NOW

Today recognition professionals must introduce innovative programs that increase engagement, productivity and retention without increasing the rewards budget. To meet this challenge, TD Canada Trust introduced Wow Moments - a unique implementation of social networking in the workplace that empowers 35,000 employees to share ideas and recognition through a public online forum.  Only two months after program launch, more than 75 percent of branches across North America have shared recognition stories with their peers.  This session will inspire attendees to: 

• Leverage social media to support workforce recognition initiatives
• Encourage executives to adopt new solutions during economic turmoil
• Encourage employee commitment through active participation
• Develop effective methods to measure results and enhance organizational performance through a unique workforce recognition program

Presenters: Karey Stanley, Senior Manager, Employee Spirit & Recognition, TD Canada Trust; Steven Green, Founder and President, PollStream Inc.

Doing More with Less: Adapting a Reward & Recognition Strategy to Meet Economic Challenges: Case Study with T-Mobile
Session WEE12 – Room S102bc - REGISTER NOW

T-Mobile believes motivated and engaged employees are more important than ever.  But how do you cope with a 75 percent reduction in your rewards and recognition budget and still achieve performance improvements?  Hear how finding a way to do more with less resulted in new reward and recognition strategies including:

• Focusing efforts and dollars on the frontline employees, creating a much larger impact than efforts aimed at management
• Translating employee loyalty into customer loyalty when customers are faced with tough economic choices
• Moving to "scrappy" grassroots and guerrilla recognition

Presenter: Hilary Dreiling, Senior Manager, Recognition, Meetings & Events T-Mobile USA

Generation Motivation
Session WEE21 – Room S102a - REGISTER NOW

For years, Baby Boomers' preferences, beliefs, and psychology have dominated the workplace. But Generations X and Y now outnumber the Boomers in the workforce, and that means a shift in the way companies train and motivate their employees. A panel of training experts explores the differences and the strategies that work best for each generation.

Moderator: Lorri Freifeld, Editor-in-Chief, Training & Sales Magazine and Marketing Management Magazine
Panelists: Aiden Livingston, Director of Gen Y Consulting, Training; Richard Goldman, COO, Birkman International; Michelle Bonterre, Vice President, Marketing, AchieveGlobal

Accelerate Strategic Initiatives with Online Recognition Tools: Case Study with Wolters Kluwer
Session WEE22 – Room S102bc - REGISTER NOW

Technology + Fun are the keys to Wolters Kluwer’s behavior- and improvement-based sales and service recognition programs. How can you ensure your valued employees are recognized, engaged, retained and producing the results you need? By utilizing an online incentive and recognition platform, employees earn points for knowledge validation, best practices, desired behaviors, goal attainment, etc. Attendees will learn how this simple, affordable online recognition platform will:

• Improve morale and create loyalty
• Increase productivity/results
• Grow desired employee competencies
• Develop the coaches tool box
• Access research and data that supports the “How To” methodology

Presenters: Cindy Burrows, Director, Customer and Sales Training, Wolters Kluwer Law and Business; Louise Anderson, President, Anderson Performance Improvement

Build a Culture of Engagement & Improve Your Bottom Line: Case Study with WSFS Bank
Session WEE23 – Room S102d - REGISTER NOW

Learn to create a culture of engagement in the workplace using key strategies for building high levels of Associate engagement that will positively affect your bottom line.  In this current economic environment, now is the time to leverage your Human Capital to discover how to reduce turnover, gain market share and experience lifted results while improving workgroup performance through fostering high levels of engagement in your organization.  A model that includes the following will be shared:

• Build a foundation of service and cultivate relationships for long term success
• Drive meaningful results and earn your seat at “the table” where strategic decisions are made
• Create a culture of engagement and learn various evolving dynamics

Presenter: Peggy Eddens, Executive Vice President of Human Capital, WSFS Bank

One Size Does NOT Fit All:  Recognition in a Down Economy
Session WEE31 – Room S102a - REGISTER NOW

How you treat your employees during this downturn in the economy will greatly affect whether you retain them in the upturn.  Successful reward and recognition systems should not be “ONE SIZE FITS ALL” propositions.  In this session we will address the key components of building a successful and participatory recognition and reward system.  We will cover:

• Key system components
• Driving employee/manager participation
• Building a social network
• It’s not about the stuff
• How to link recognition, engagement and retention

Presenter: John J. Mills, Executive Vice President, Business Development, Rideau Recognition Solutions

Rewarding Healthy Behaviors Promotes a Healthy Bottom Line: Case Study with the Kellogg Company
Session WEE32 – Room S102bc - REGISTER NOW

Learn how a commitment to promoting healthy behavior can move all employees from complacency into action.  Learn from Kellogg’s multi-pronged approach to health management, including:

• How to get your employees back on track
• Essentials of the Kellogg incentive structure
• Motivating union employees who are accustomed to full health coverage
• Engaging all segments of a population, including a mobile sales force
• Lessons learned in the process

Presenter: David Tanis, Health Promotion Specialist, Kellogg Company

The Three New Rules for Leadership: It’s About People, People, People
Session REE11 – Room S102a - REGISTER NOW

Groundbreaking research by the Forum proposes a new definition of business:  a “purveyor of relationships.”  No matter what business you’re in, the goods you produce are a function of a spectrum of relationships that starts inside the organization, connects to people in the distribution channel, moves on to customers and ultimately touches society.  “Stuff” is simply a byproduct.  The role of leadership becomes building these connections to get the most from the varied relationships, allowing the company and its people to prosper and thrive.  This session will explore this shift in strategy and the new possibilities that any organization can take advantage of. After this session you will:

• Understand the new strategy of Human Value Connections across the business system
• Recognize the link between people and business profitability
• Learn the key leadership behaviors that build and sustain Human Value Connections
• Be able to grow your organization by creating a culture that addresses how all constituents relate, internally and externally

Presenters: Michelle Smith, CPIM, CRP, Vice President, Business Development, O.C. Tanner Recognition Company; Rick Blabolil, President, Marketing Innovators International

Defend & Extend Your Incentive Dollars
Session TMS11 – Room S101a - REGISTER NOW

If you manage an incentive, reward or recognition budget, you’ve likely been asked to make cuts during the past year.  And if you don’t have the data to show return on investment, your chances of retaining your programs may be slim.  Join this session to discuss tools and best practices for ensuring the programs you believe in survive and grow in any economy:

• Understand how to build up-front investment justification to get programs approved
• Find out how to optimize your spend – put your money where results matter
• Learn about ongoing investment management – driving efficiencies to get more for less
• Build your case with post-program results – and avoid arbitrary cuts in the future

Presenter: Jennifer Kallery, Vice President, Business Intelligence, Maritz Loyalty Marketing

Selling Smart in Tough Times by Understanding the Four Personality Types
Session TMS12 – Room S101b - REGISTER NOW

Learn how to sell people the way they want to buy…NOT the way you want to sell. Drive sales growth with a new selling style that accounts for personality dynamics. During this session, which includes a self-scoring personality test, we"ll discuss the proven techniques for communicating with the four personality types.

Presenter: Daniel Abramson, CTS, President, Staffdynamics

Rewarding Green: Unique Perspectives on Being Eco-Friendly: Case Study with Home Depot & Ritz-Carlton
Session TMS21 – Room S101a - REGISTER NOW

Hear how three experts provide unique perspectives for one incredible panel discussion covering Green trends in incentive merchandise, Green trends and popular Green initiatives in people performance management; Green expectations for trips and events, as well as Home Depot’s efforts regarding Green; and Ritz-Carlton’s efforts to promote Green and the value they bring to corporate incentive clients. Attendees will learn:

• How incentive companies, suppliers and customers work together to “move the Green”
• How Green can be naturally built into a variety of performance improvement initiatives
• The latest Green trends

Moderator: ITAGroup
Panelists: Larisa Mendenhall, Director, Individual Awards, ITAGroup; Denise Naguib, Corporate Director, Environmental Programs, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C.; Audrey Davies, Senior Manager, Events Management, The Home Depot

Secret Formula Revealed - A New Approach to Measurable Incentive Impact: Case Study with Coca-Cola Bottling
Session TMS22 – Room S101b - REGISTER NOW

In this case study, see how Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated has taken a multi-year path to align its reward and recognition programs with business goals and objectives.  In this session you will learn:

• How Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated centralized its Reward and Recognition programs into its SPARC Rewards web platform
• Why it leverages its SPARC Rewards platform to work with all levels of the organization to design programs that optimize performance for all levels of the organization
• How it mines ROI performance data and continually tracks and modifies future program designs off that data

Presenter: Chris Ceravalo, Director of Compensation, Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated

Winning in a Down Economy: How Targeted Recognition Can Get Your Sales Force Back on Track
Session TMS31 – Room S101a - REGISTER NOW

Are you losing on price? Guess again. In a down economy, the smartest firms make an extra effort to reward selling behaviors that satisfy the buyer"s desire for added value. In this session attendees will learn:

• Why tough times can bring out the worst in some sales people 
• Why most sales people lose (This will surprise you!)
• What reps can do to gain an advantage, protect share and drive incremental revenue, even during down periods
• How recognition can help managers facilitate “localized” results while promoting a higher level of sales rep.

Presenter: Mike Ryan, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Client Strategy, Madison Performance Group

Maximize Your Training Results by Integrating with Your Reward Strategy
Session TMS32 – Room S101b - REGISTER NOW

Learn how to increase your training effectiveness by integrating your recognition and reward tools into your training strategy. Your customers will win by having better trained employees and your employees will feel valued, engaged and offer more discretionary effort in driving business results. Attendees will leave this session with:

• Best Practices on how to integrate a reward system into a training strategy
• What current research says about training and employee engagement
• How to begin to measure success

Presenters: Kevin Cronin, Vice President, Recognition and Reward Solutions, Perks.com and Director, Recognition Professionals International; Brett Strauss, President, Media Defined

Incentives in a Sales 2.0 World: What It Means for You
Session WMS11 – Room S101a - REGISTER NOW

Incentives can play a key role in fostering a Sales 2.0 culture at your organization. By merging several trends and technologies, Sales 2.0 has transformed selling from a personal art into an interactive science, with better tools and improved processes that enable salespeople to connect and collaborate more efficiently. In this session you will:

• Learn about the five basic tenets of Sales 2.0
• Gain insight and practical tools for sustaining a Sales 2.0 culture
• Understand the role incentives play in a Sales 2.0 environment

Presenter: Rick Blabolil, President, Marketing Innovators International

The Importance of Face Time & Other Key Strategies for Motivating a Sales Force: Case Study with Cisco Systems
Session WMS12 – Room S101b - REGISTER NOW

Cisco Systems finds that including meetings with senior executives during incentive travel programs is a powerful motivator for participants, and generates valuable resources for the company. This session will cover:

• Cisco’s philosophy about incentives
• How Cisco changed their sales recognition program
• How Cisco established winner criteria that is both quantitative and qualitative in measurement
• Key program highlights

Presenter: Christine Castle, Director, Global Sales Incentives and Engagement Programs, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Profitability Through Salespeople: Two New Studies Build the Case for the Value of Engaged Employees
Session WMS21 – Room S101a - REGISTER NOW

Salespeople on the front line play a pivotal role in business success thus necessitating their engagement and commitment. In the first study presented, the Forum demonstrates the link of salespeople to customer loyalty, as compared to the brand. Building on this, the second study explores ways to strengthen the bond between the employee and the organization through recognition and rewards. These studies will enable you to:

• Express the value salespeople contribute to customer loyalty, as compared to the company brand
• Understand how recognition and rewards can impact the manager-salesperson relationship
• Understand how recognition and rewards can influence salespeople toward company loyalty, participation, and service delivery

Presenters: Jennifer Rosenzweig, CPT, Research Director, Forum for People Performance Management; Lauren Pulido, Director, Total Recognition, Michael C. Fina

Drive Channel Sales in a Slow Economy
Session WMS22 – Room S101b - REGISTER NOW

This session will identify positive steps you can take to ensure the most prudent use of limited, and perhaps even shrinking, marketing and promotional budgets. How can you continue to maintain market share while we wait for the economy to recover? How can you achieve this goal when consumers and corporations are sitting on their wallets? Attend this presentation and learn:

• How different elements of the marketing mix directly drive channel sales
• Why point of promotion marketing gives the strongest ROI during a down economy
• How reallocation of marketing dollars to spiffs can help manufacturers weather the storm

Presenter: George Kriza, Chairman & Founder, MTCPerformance

Principles of Results-Based Sales Incentive Program Design for End Users
Session WMS31 – Room S101a - REGISTER NOW

This fast-paced session will deliver invaluable insights and tactics for developing, implementing and measuring the impact of sales incentive programs. This program from the Incentive Marketing Association is the incentive industry"s most comprehensive curriculum focused on program results measurement. It is based on sound research from a variety of sources including the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement, the Incentive Federation, and the Incentive Research Foundation. Using a variety of program applications, this session will cover:

• Underlying motivation theories
• Program design principles
• Award selection and administration
• Results measurement

Presenter: Ira Ozer, CEO, Motivation Partners, Inc.

Learn to Produce Results in any Economy
Session WMS32 – Room S101b - REGISTER NOW

This session provides strategies and examples for maintaining and adapting incentive and recognition programs to produce results in any economy. From what to do with your top performer programs, to managing change, to different rewards options, you"ll gain new tools for designing and managing business-building initiatives. Key learnings include:

• Why it’s important to maintain incentive and recognition strategies in any economy
• Ideas for structuring to produce results in top performers and everyone else
• A case study on how maintaining an incentive strategy produces lasting results

Presenter: Mike Spellecy, Vice President, Sales Effectiveness Managing Consultant, Maritz

Developing Sales Incentive Programs with Impact
Session RMS11 – Room S101a - REGISTER NOW

This session will walk you through the critical steps that must be taken in planning a sales incentive then focuses on what to do during the program and after you complete it.  Planning, execution and assessment are critical phases that need the full attention of the program administrator as well as senior management to maximize results. Attendees will leave with:

• An understanding of how to better plan Sales Incentive programs
• A process map to plan a Sales Incentive
• An understanding of the importance of communication during a program
• An ability to measure their success

Presenter: Kevin Cronin, Vice President, Recognition and Reward Solutions, Perks.com and Director, Recognition Professionals International

Customer Loyalty:  Voices & Insights Drive Successful Programs
Session TCL11 – Room S104a - REGISTER NOW

Learn how using a "voice of the customer" approach can increase the effectiveness and efficacy of your customer loyalty, incentive/reward and engagement marketing initiatives. The voice and opinions of customers are the key to designing a new loyalty program and enhancing goals of existing programs.

In this session attendees will learn to:

• Listen to your stakeholders to design programs that are relevant, timely and engaging
• Design programs with the voice of the customer at the core
• Use new social media, real time feedback mechanisms, behavioral and promotional optimization, lifestyle/life stage modeling approaches to enhance programs
• Use social media to interact with and listen to your participants (Facebook, Twitter, internal blogs and forums)

Presenter: Mark Johnson, President & CEO, Loyalty 360, Loyalty Expo, Loyalty Management

Ten for 2010: Loyalty & Engagement Trends
Session TCL12 – Room S104b - REGISTER NOW

The future may not be what it used to be, but marketers that have loyalty and engagement metrics in place will have a handle on the trends that are going to show up in their businesses.  With 2010 just around the corner, this will be more important than ever – because in a changing economic environment, being prepared is half the victory.  This session will cover the ten major trends that will have a direct impact on the success – or failure – of brand marketing efforts in 2010.

Presenter: Robert Passikoff, Ph.D., Founder and President, Brand Keys, Inc.

Leverage Emotions to Leverage Loyalty
Session TCL21 – Room S104a - REGISTER NOW

While emotion is a dominant force in consumer loyalty and in their purchase decisions, it is not easy for the customer to articulate. Using the recent Microsoft and Apple advertising war as a case study, this session will reveal what this much-publicized advertising actually did for the brands after the smoke had cleared. What you will learn from this fascinating study, written up in the New York Times and other publications is:

• Why direct questioning on motivation fails to deliver emotional strategic insights a brand desperately needs in today’s consumer engagement marketplace
• How to apply emotional loyalty metrics to your planning and execution

Presenter: Amy Shea, Executive Vice President, Brand Keys, Inc.

How Mature Is Your Customer Experience? Grow up to Competitive Advantage
TCL22 – Room S104b - REGISTER NOW

At this very moment, customers are experiencing your brand and your people through multiple channels. The quality of these experiences - strongly determined by your culture and degree of employee engagement - are collectively either strengthening or weakening your competitive stance. Based upon the Customer Experience Maturity Monitor, a qualitative and quantitative research investigation, you can learn how - and why - to seize this opportunity for achieving marketplace advantage.

In this session, you will learn the:

• Customer experience strategies and tactics used by successful companies
• Advantages that accrue to companies with superior customer experiences
• Enablers and inhibitors for delivering excellent customer experiences
• Developmental path indicating Customer Experience Maturity (CEM) progress

Presenter: Thomas Lacki, Ph.D., Senior Advisor, Peppers & Rogers Group

Holistic Strategies that Turbocharge Customer Loyalty
Session TCL31 – Room S104a - REGISTER NOW

Hear how dramatic shifts in communication trends and breakthroughs in software technology have changed the rules and create turbocharged opportunities for innovative companies of every size to build long-term meaningful relationships with customers. You will learn:

• Important trends that Millennials are creating and the marketplace is adopting
• Multiple relationship building tactics that can be deployed individually or in combination
• Resources to tap including discounted products and services, forums, blogs, training, networking, points programs and e-marketing software
• Content strategies that make deployment fast and economical

Presenter: Todd Hanson, President & Founder, Catalyst Performance Group, Inc.

Extending & Enhancing Traditional Loyalty Programs with Loyalty Shopping
Session TCL32 – Room S104b - REGISTER NOW

One of the fastest growing trends in loyalty programs is the incorporation of merchant-funded loyalty shopping. In these programs, consumers can shop with hundreds of merchant partners and earn additional rewards: rebates, points, miles, credit or any other loyalty currency. Program success results from a win-win-win value proposition for merchant partners, consumers and loyalty program operators. In this session learn how to build a program of merchant-funded rewards that:

• Earns additional rebates and special deals for customers
• Grows customers and revenues for merchants
• Improves outcomes for loyalty program operators while the rewards are paid for by merchants

Presenter: David L. Andre, Founder and Chairman, Mall Networks

Using Customer Loyalty Programs to Increase Top Line Sales: Regardless of Channel; with Hammacher Schlemmer, Claim Jumper Restaurants & Sunglass Hut/Luxottica Retail
Session TCL33 – Room S106a - REGISTER NOW

Learn from Hammacher Schlemmer, Claim Jumper Restaurants and Sunglass Hut/Luxottica Retail how successful partnership marketing through select loyalty programs helps achieve key sales, customer growth and retention metrics, and how participation in performance media can provide an additional channel for incremental revenue that merchants may not otherwise obtain. Understand how pay-for-performance marketing works in conjunction with customer loyalty programs to increase top line sales across all channels.  In this session participants will also learn:

• How leveraging brand association, trusted relationships and the goodwill of financial institutions, airlines, affinity groups and others who have established relationships with millions of consumers can help attract new customers and generate measurable, incremental revenue
• How to increase customer retention by recognizing and rewarding your most valuable customers with special offers

Moderator: Peter Davis, President, Vesdia Corporation
Panelists: Mark Spiwak, Corporate Sales Executive, Hammacher Schlemmer; Shaun Krusmark, Director of Gift Card Sales, Claim Jumper Restaurants; Angie Martin, Sunglass Hut, Marketing Manager, Luxottica Retail

The Value of Loyalty Programs in a Changing Economic Climate
Session WCL11 – Room S104a - REGISTER NOW

In this economy, customers place increased emphasis on loyalty programs, but don’t always match that with spending. The challenge for program managers shifts from combating loyalty fatigue to creating programs engaging enough to warrant continued customer spending. The power of the brand becomes paramount. In this session attendees will learn to:

• Leverage brands to create enticing motivation programs
• Create loyalty platforms that elicit action from their targets
• Motivate across multiple audiences simultaneously with customized programs

Presenter: Martin Hood, Vice President, Partnership Sales, American Express Incentive Services

Get Clued In to Experience Management:  How to Keep Customers Coming Back Again & Again
Session WCL12 – Room S104b - REGISTER NOW

Based on the best-selling book, "Clued In – How to Keep Customers Coming Back Again and Again" hear examples of companies who have leveraged experience management and succeeded, and companies who have failed to embrace customer experience and all but disappeared. Tap into the power of human experience to create stronger relationships and more loyal customers. Your customer cannot “NOT” have an experience so learn how to make it a memorable one. Attendees will learn how to:

• Incorporate Experience Management into their work environment
• Connect to customers on an emotional level
• Focus new tools and practices on how experiences make the customer feel

Presenter: Lou Carbone, Author, "Clued In – How to Keep Customers Coming Back Again and Again"

Doggone Loyalty: A Fun & Effective Means to Create Your Action Plan for a Loyal Following
Session WCL13 – Room S106a - REGISTER NOW

Leaders, do you know what drives loyalty from your followers and why you need it to increase profitability? See how dogs can show us the way. In this informative and entertaining session you will learn:

• Why people direct loyalty to leaders in the workplace
• How to strengthen employee loyalty in your organization with immediately available tools
• The results of improved employee loyalty

Presenter: Paul Osbourn, Founder, Loyalty Nation and author of Doggone Loyalty

Win the Battle for Customers’ Hearts & Minds: Case Study with Zions Bancorporation
Session WCL21 – Room S104a - REGISTER NOW

Dr. Gary Rhoads, industry engagement pioneer will discuss adopting a culture and practice that increases the level of customer engagement to grow revenue and create a competitive advantage that goes beyond providing great service and low price. Claire Howells will then share how, over the past three years, Zions Bancorporation successfully pioneered engagement tactics to win the customer loyalty battle. In this session you will:

• Explore the link between customer and employee engagement
• Use attitudinal data to drive revenue decisions
• Learn to use the right technology the right way
• Hear top best practices to utilize engagement and grow faster 
• Connect engagement initiatives to business outcomes, KPIs and revenue

Presenters: Claire Howells, Vice President, Customer Engagement, Zions Bancorporation; Dr. Gary Rhoads, Engagement Expert, Allegiance Co-Founder

Innovative Programs that Drive Customer Relationships, Retention & Sales Growth: Case Study with LexisNexis
Session WCL22 – Room S104b - REGISTER NOW

How do you plan to hold your top line sales in these challenging times? Most companies are focusing reduced marketing and sales budgets on retaining and identifying sales opportunities within their current customer base, where customer relationships become the biggest influence on this strategy. The LexisNexis story and their “Top Customer” programs offer innovative ideas attendees can take back to their organizations to:

• Engage the most valuable customers in highly relevant and meaningful ways that differentiate you from other providers and systematically build deeper relationships and sales penetration
• Link “Top Customer” programs directly with activities that drive retention and identify additional revenue opportunities

Presenters: Ellen Campbell-Kaminski, Vice President, Marketing, LexisNexis; Sean Geehan, CEO & Founder, Geehan Group

Optimize Customer Loyalty: Talk to Their Listening
Session WCL31 – Room S104a - REGISTER NOW

With an abundance of me-too loyalty programs competing for the same audience, companies have become increasingly less effective at cutting through the clutter and noise. This session will provide attendees with proven strategies on how to more effectively reach and motivate audiences. Attendees will leave:

• With a clear understanding of how to "talk to the listening" of audiences
• Able to effectively engage people for better results

Presenter: Bruce Silcoff, President, Fairlane Group

Create the Celebrity Experience: Insider Secrets to Delivering Red-Carpet Customer Service
Session WCL32 – Room S104b - REGISTER NOW

Based on the book "Celebrity Experience, Insider Secrets to Delivering Red-Carpet Customer Service", this session gives participants hands-on action ideas for turning customers into lifelong, adoring fans by delivering consistent red-carpet customer service. Based on interviews with hundreds of professionals who exclusively serve celebrity clients, this session mixes their best practices with those of the business world to show you how to make every customer feel like a superstar! In this session you will:

• Define red-carpet customer service and relate it to your specific business or field
• List 50 or more ways to make Red-Carpet Impressions on your customers
• Develop the creativity and flexibility to deliver on every customer request
• Generate buzz and positive word-of-mouth by treating your customers like stars

Presenter: Donna Cutting, President & CEO, Donna Cutting Presents, Inc.

Strategies & Implementation of Loyalty Programs: Enterprise, Engagement & Economic Considerations
Session RCL11 – Room S104a - REGISTER NOW

Are you working with outdated and uncompetitive loyalty strategies; massive systems integration issues; customer attrition; siloed product focus; no B2B and B2C integration; growing expenses and liability; no correlation to underlying P&L; depleted marketing budgets?  This session will help you address these issues as you learn:

• How to design an enterprise loyalty strategy around your program’s value proposition, incorporating innovative elements like “user-generated” pooling and house-holding
• How some large programs are moving from a product-focused approach to a customer-centric approach
• How to revamp the underlying economics of your program

Presenter: Carlos Dunlap, Practice Director, Loyalty Consulting, Kobie Marketing

Fasten Your Seat Belts – It’s a Bumpy Flight: How to Survive So You Can Thrive
Session TMT12 – Room S103bc - REGISTER NOW

Government, the press and everybody else, along with a faltering economy, is in your face. This interactive session will discuss what’s happening and how you can cope from a business and legal perspective, as well as provide an opportunity for you to share your ideas with others. Join legal guru Jonathan T. Howe as he helps you adjust your seat belt to meet the needs of today. From this session you will:

• Understand what is impacting the meeting, event and incentive industry
• Learn tips to help you get through this time and ease the situation

Presenter: Jonathan T. Howe, Esq., President/Senior Partner, Howe & Hutton, Ltd and Legal Counsel for Meeting Professionals International

Leverage the Latest Research to Justify and Improve Your Incentive Program
Session TMT21 – Room S103bc - REGISTER NOW

This session spanning the incentive and motivation gamut will discuss the latest research as well as how to leverage these findings when planning and justifying your incentive program.  In this session, you will learn:

• Techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of incentive programs
• How to leverage trending to your advantage
• How to tailor rewards to your target audience

Moderator: Matt Harris, Vice President, Marketing, American Express Incentive Services
Panelists: Leo Jakobson, Senior Editor, Incentive Magazine; Rodger Stotz, Chief Research Officer, Incentive Research Foundation; Brent Watters, Director of Marketing / Analyst, Prepaid Advisory Service, Mercator Advisory Group

Thought-Leaders Panel: Strategic Meetings Management in Challenging Economic Times
Session TMT22 – Room S103a - REGISTER NOW

Learn to take the increasingly crucial first steps toward identifying and leveraging meeting spend, a process known as strategic meetings management (SMMP). A must for planners at every level: entry-level planners will leave with an introduction to SMMP; mid-level planners will have an action plan for identifying and consolidating at least some expenses within their companies; senior-level planners will be able to benchmark with other experienced SMMP practitioners.  In addition learn how SMMP can:

• Mitigate contract risk
• Increase savings
• Provide pro-active and formalized sourcing

Moderator: Barbara Scofidio, Editor, Corporate Meetings & Incentives
Panelists: Tamara Gordon, Director-Travel, Meetings, Fleet, Boston Scientific; Kate Demarest Lastinger, CMM, CMP, Founding Partner, Metaphrasis Group; Kelly Everhart, Managing Partner, Strategic Management Solutions LLC

Get the Best out of Your Stakeholders in a Down Economy
Session TMT31 – Rom S103bc - REGISTER NOW

Learn how a solid recession like the one we’re experiencing presents opportunities. This session will discuss why companies, more than ever, still need to engage and educate their key stakeholders, and what some of the most effective strategies and approaches entail.  The presenter will share real life examples of engagement strategies that cut across industry verticals and hone in on the various audience touch points during the event lifecycle. In this session participants will:

• Gain insight into marketplace opinions on this topic
• Understand why engagement is a differentiator
• View real life examples of engagement in motion

Presenter: Kurt Paben, Senior Vice President, Engagement & Events, Carlson Marketing

Protecting Your Program & Budget Through Your DMC Partner
Session TMT32 – Room S103a - REGISTER NOW

In an unstable economy, how can a planner watch the bottom line and ensure the vendors and suppliers they are working with are financially stable?  Despite so much information in the market and on the Internet, a planner can’t guarantee that information is accurate, nor can they guarantee they will receive the best rate or service by going direct. Through this panel of DMC owners, this session will uncover and educate planners on the following:

• How working with a DMC is your “insurance policy” that vendors and suppliers are reputable and financially stable
• The power of DMC relationships to protect a client financially and legally
• How International DMCs can guarantee a better hotel rate
• How DMCs maximize their longstanding relationships to offer planners a lower price than booking direct

Moderator: Chris White, Chairman & CEO, Global Events Partners
Panelists: Rhonda Marko, CMP, CMM, DMCP, President & CEO, Destination Nashville; Michael O’Connor, President, Chicago Is…Inc.; Grant Snider, President, JPdL Toronto; Stefan Herzl, President, Panorama Tours & Travel

It"s No Longer Just Personal – It's Business: Driving Significant Business Results Through Incentives
Session WMT11 – Room S103bc - REGISTER NOW

Learn why incentive providers can no longer depend on relationship selling alone.  Today every end user is asking, “Where’s the beef?” In this session you will:

• Chronicle the change to evidence-based incentive design and operation
• Show how incentive programs are driving significant business results

Presenter: Rodger Stotz, Chief Research Officer, Incentive Research Foundation

Save my Meeting! Ten Ways to Cut Costs & Retain Quality
Session WMT12 – Room S103a - REGISTER NOW

This session will provide creative ideas to help meeting professionals maximize their bottom line and find out-of-the-box solutions to manage budgets, while keeping program integrity. During this seminar you will explore:

• Ten areas where content and budget can be structured and managed more effectively
• Challenges planners face in today’s economy
• How to retain the quality and ROI of your meeting
• New ways to speak intelligently to senior management, clients and decision-makers about how to “save their program”

Presenter: April Mescher, Executive Director, Excellence In Motivation, Inc.

To Meet or Not to Meet: Is That Your Question?
Session WMT21 – Room S103bc - REGISTER NOW

This session answers the why’s and how’s of effective strategic design and illustrates the power of credible results measurement for meetings, events and incentives. Learn to use an approach that is effective with stockholders, employees, other key stakeholders and the media. Delivering measurable results answers the questions around your program’s survival, and, often, your organization’s success. You will take away tactics to:

• Design incentives and meetings intelligently
• Measure results credibly, including deliverable and believable ROI
• Justify past and defend current programs
• Successfully gain support for new programs

Presenters: Michael Sengstock, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Clark National; Todd Hanson, President & Founder, Catalyst Performance Group, Inc.

Mitigating Reputational Risk in Meetings, Events & Incentives
Session WMT22 – Room S103a - REGISTER NOW

Media attention has intensified the scrutiny of meetings, events and incentives. To address this new environment, this session will help you change how you plan and evaluate these activities. We will explore how to:

• Maintain strategy while executing differently
• Equip your organization to tell your value story
• Create a transparent model and ensure spend transparency
• Create value
• Engage participants

Presenter: Chris Gaia, Vice President, Marketing, Maritz Travel

Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter (oh my!): Taking the Fear out of Social Media
Session WMT23 – Room S103d - REGISTER NOW

Everyone"s talking about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media, but what does it really mean to you and your business? And how do you even get started using social media when you don’t know a wall from a tweet The fact is that social media is experiencing faster adoption rates than any other form of media in history. Used correctly, you can gain unprecedented engagement with the audiences that matter most to you. For anyone who has ever felt intimidated by the seeming explosion of social media and networking, this session will break it all down into simple and straightforward language. Attendees will learn:

• What social media is and how it works
• Understanding the big three that matter today: Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn
• Tricks of the trade: how event and meeting planners can leverage social media
• Simple ways to get started using social media today

Presenters: Timothy Cook, Director, Interactive Services, MarketSense; Beth Albright, Director, Account Services, MarketSense

Strategic Hotel Sourcing: Domestic & International
Session WMT31 – Room S103bc - REGISTER NOW

Selecting the right destination and property is absolutely critical for the success of your program. This session will show you how to build a strategic sourcing process that will save you time, provide consistency to your clients, and hone your negotiation skills by tracking current trends. You will take away:

• The ability to implement a strategic sourcing division within your organization
• The ability to identify destinations and properties aligned with event objectives
• A general knowledge of technologies that facilitate the sourcing process
• Tools to work efficiently with your NSO
• The ability to leverage aggregate spent and relationships to build your negotiation strategy
• An understanding of hard and soft dollar concession opportunities

Presenter: Agnès Canonica, CMP, CMM, Director/International Services, Meetings & Incentives; David Sachs, Director/Global Sourcing Services, Meeting & Incentives

Entertain Me: Why Entertainment Is a Value-Added Necessity
Session WMT32 – Room S103a - REGISTER NOW

Come learn the nine secret benefits that entertainment can bring to your next program. Presenters will share different entertainment styles and techniques to enhance your message, engage your audience and help you justify the budget for entertainment programming. They will also discuss new trends in meeting entertainment and show you how to take advantage of them to maximize your ROI. As a result of attending this session you will be able to:

• Identify the nine secret benefits of booking music and entertainment
• Justify budget expenditures for entertainment
• Fully leverage your event messaging with entertainment
• Become educated on new entertainment trends 
• Learn how to use entertainment trends to improve your ROI

Presenters: Nancy Hays, President and CEO, Nancy Hays Entertainment, Inc.; Sue Tinnish, Principal, SEAL, Inc.

How Well Do You Know Your Market? What 2008/2009 Incentive Travel & Rewards Trends Mean for Your Business
Session RMT11 – Room S103bc - REGISTER NOW

What is happening in our marketplace: what are the trends and what are they telling us? The Incentive Research Foundation has been monitoring the industry with surveys throughout 2008 and 2009. In this session you will hear:

• The latest data from industry surveys
• Insights into current trends and where they point for the future

Presenter: Rodger Stotz, Chief Research Officer, Incentive Research Foundation

Intro to Selling Incentives
Session TPC11 – Room S106b - REGISTER NOW

Regardless of the economic environment, your customers need to drive sales, recruit and retain top employees, and increase customer loyalty. Incentive programs are proven business tools organizations of any size can use to achieve these critical goals. This seminar, developed by the Incentive Marketing Association, will help you provide value to your customers and increase your profits by selling them incentives. In this session you will learn:

• How to develop the business case for implementing incentive programs
• Basic incentive program applications
• Components of an effective incentive program, including open and closed-ended budgets
• How to access brand name products for incentive programs

Presenters: Pete Mitchell, Director, B-to-B Sales, Samsonite Corporation; Gary Slavonic, Partner, Premier Incentives

Principles of Results-Based Incentive Program Design for Promotional Consultants
Session TPC21 – Room S106b - REGISTER NOW

This session is designed for distributors who are interested in expanding their sales in the dynamic, $46 billion plus incentive marketplace. The curriculum is based on research from a variety of sources including the Forum for People Performance Management & Measurement, the Incentive Federation, the Incentive Research foundation, and well-known and respected industry suppliers. The program addresses:

• Underlying motivation theories
• Incentives vs. compensation
• Approaching the market
• Discovery process
• Program design principles
• Measurement
• Communications
• Award selection and administration

Presenters: Mark Repkin, CPIM, Vice President, Certif-A-Gift; Brant Dolan, CPIM, Director, Business Development, Certif-A-Gift

“Campaign in a Box”: How to Pack a Punch with Integrated Marketing
Session TPC31 – Room S106b - REGISTER NOW

When developed and distributed in a one-off effort, posters, brochures, job aids and promotional items are each marginally successful. Yet we continue trying to come up with that one piece that stands out in a pile of mail. Is it even possible to create an impact with promotional collateral anymore? This thought provoking session unveils how big-name companies, such as AT&T, DIRECTV, Dr Pepper and Sonic, are rediscovering the value of promotional material through a "campaign-in-a-box" approach. You will learn how to:

• Pack a powerful new punch using some of the same old material
• Drive consistent branding and messaging
• Uncover the value of launch simplicity
• Turn promotional material into talked-about mail

Presenter: Mike May, President, Spear One

Peer-to-Peer Panel: Make a Client for Life: Using Promotional Products to Develop Client Relationships & Show ROI
Session WPC11 – Room S106b - REGISTER NOW

Promotional products mining and prospecting can be difficult work. In this session you’ll hear from industry veterans the best methods for determining which types of organizations to work with and how you can make promotional products work for your clients’ goals.  You will learn:

• Methods of prospecting and what to look for
• The right questions to ask potential clients
• How to demonstrate the ROI of marketing that includes promotional products
• How to make yourself indispensable

Panelists: Kevin Flynn, CAS, Director of Sales, TBK Promotions, Inc. and President, Promotional Professionals Association of Chicago; Matt Hunt, Vice President, Hunt Insurance Group

Slaying the Myths: What You Need to Know About Selling Retail Brands
Session WPC21 – Room S106b - CANCELLED

Retail Branded Suppliers are very different from Promotional Products Suppliers. Distributors can maximize their experience with Branded Suppliers by knowing more about how they operate, what “buttons” to push and how they view our market. This fast-paced, interactive panel discussion will de-mystify the retail-branded supplier. You'll learn how to:

• Effectively interact with Retail Branded Suppliers
• Get and keep the Supplier's attention
• Understand the Retail Branded Suppliers view of Promotional Products Distributors, and how to change their perceptions
• Work with “Incentive” Representatives to get what you want when you want it

Panelists: Pete Mitchell, Director, B-to-B Sales, Samsonite Corporation; Dean Resnekov, President, Indigo; Dan Ohlson, Vice President, Sales, Aloe Up; Mike Landry, Director of Special Markets, Tumi; Mark Oldenburg, President, Great Lakes Incentive Group; Jody Wallin, Vice President, Special Markets, VLC Distribution; Tripp Lewis, Regional Sales Manager, Bulova Corp; Joy Gretsch, Founder and President, Gretsch Incentives

“Get in the Game” of Selling Incentives
Session WPC31 – Room S106b - REGISTER NOW

Today"s promotional product salespeople face a dilemma. How can they balance the transactional sales of promotional items with the consultative approach of program selling? While their personal expertise lies in transactional promotional product sales, the greatest opportunities for differentiation lie in helping their existing clients implement incentive and recognition programs. This thought-provoking panel discussion offers case histories and examples from both supplier and distributor perspectives and leaves attendees with practical solutions, which can be immediately put into action. This session will address:

• Developing an incentive and recognition strategy for existing clients
• Prospecting techniques
• Questions to ask
• How to become more educated on best practices

Panelists: Mark Repkin, CPIM, Vice President, The Certif-A-Gift Company; Linda Heyse-Highland, President & Founder, LinJen Promotions, Inc.; Brant Dolan, Director of Sales, The Certif-A-Gift Company