HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings a Huge Success….JS&A and HSMAI Celebrate their One-Year Anniversary as Strategic Partners

HSMAI's Affordable Meetings a Huge Success....JS&A and HSMAI Celebrate their One-Year Anniversary as Strategic Partners

Challenge

The purchase of George Little Management by DMG World Business Media in October 2007 prompted a rapid search by HSMAI to identify a new strategic partner to manage their popular series of conferences and tradeshows known as Affordable Meetings.  HSMAI contracted with J. Spargo & Associates, Inc. in September 2008 a mere seven months before the HSMAI Affordable Meetings Conference and Exposition staged in Chicago.  With a challenged economy, declining industry spending and a negative perception of meetings being portrayed by government officials, JS&A and HSMAI had their work cut out for them. 

Solution

JS&A and HSMAI started the transition in September 2008. Knowing the state of the marketplace, a five pronged approach to sales and marketing, including direct mail, email, telemarketing, voice mail/text messaging and social media was launched. In addition, new initiatives were implemented, such as attendee/exhibitor match-making programs, mobile solutions and new or improved pavilions in the exhibit hall including Unique Venues, Elite Meetings and ETE (Event Technology Expo). The educational offerings at each event were expanded and upgraded and partnerships with other industry organizations were enhanced.

Result

Fran Brasseux, Executive Vice President of HSMAI says it best:

"We made it through our first year as partners on HSMAI's Affordable Meetings and I wanted to stop and say a sincere thank you.  It was a difficult transition process due to the time restraints we were handed, and I think I understand what we put you all through to get to where we wanted to be.

You delivered!  Who knew we would be in the worst downturn in our history, or have the negative press and business impact on meetings that AIG disaster brought to us this year.  We look forward to our continued partnership and all the new ideas we introduced to refresh the show.  Hindsight would not have changed my mind on the value of working with one of the industry's best meeting/event management teams - J. Spargo & Associates."