“We had a general manager telling somebody it was his first job out of high school. He hadn’t been to college and he was starting out as a steward, and he was going to be interacting with Bill Gates. The general manager said, ‘You’re just as important as Bill Gates, you just have a different role in this world.’ That really is our core belief and through that belief we believe in empowering our ladies and gentlemen, and so every single person at The Ritz-Carlton, regardless of their title or their role at the company, is empowered to create ‘wow’ moments for our guests. Now, a lot of that time that means solving a problem or issue or challenge, but hopefully, it’s about taking our guests’ experience to the next level.” –Lisa Holladay, VP-Brand Management and Guest Experience,
The Ritz-Carlton

“The two things people hate the most are going to the dentist and going to the automotive dealerships. What we’re trying to do is leverage the NFL and then use the availability of tickets, promotional events, player appearances and things like that to enable consumers to test our vehicles.” –Chris Hornberger, National Sales Promotion, Manager-GMC Division, General Motors

Are you lucky? “Lucky people: Are skilled at noticing and acting upon unexpected opportunities, talk to lots of people, consciously and regularly introduce changes in their routines and are more relaxed towards life.” –Keith Sawyer, Author, “Zig Zag: The Surprising Path to Greater Creativity”

“We are all competing in the ‘attention economy.’” –Jonathan Gottschall, Author, “The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human”

“There are so many things that actually worked for us in our favor, because in the media business having the opportunity to get publicity on new ideas is of the moment. But this was right because it was right for our brand.” –Laura McEwen, VP and Publisher, SELF magazine

“The good thing about this system is that it basically allows different sponsors to achieve different things. That makes sponsors happy and, of course, that makes us happy.” –Jim Fox, Marketing Director, USA Swimming

“Every single day, Times Square has 500,000 people going through it, so as an event producer, here’s a space that you can activate in on any day of the year and tie into anything you want to do, without having to worry about your product launch or brands leading up to the dates where it is happening.” –Michael McCraw, VP of Creative, Marketing and Project Management, Clear Channel

“The driving factor for going paperless cannot be your financial statement. It costs money to produce the app and provide the Wi-Fi. For Walmart, going paperless is about achieving our goal of sustainability.” –Jon Terlouw, Manager-Shows & Events, Walmart

“It is important to remain top of mind and relevant to our target audience. Media, both traditional and digital, is so fragmented. It’s tough to break through the noise and hit your mark.” –Darryl Ricca, Trade Marketing Manager, Sears Holdings/Craftsman

“Word of mouth carried the day. Every soda maker we sold, sold two more.” Kristin Harp, Marketing Manager, Soda Stream

“Our strategy was focused on word of mouth because it is credible and authentic. You expect your friends to tell you the truth. Word of mouth marketing self selects the optimal target for your message.” –Karen Philip, VP-ClinicalKey Marketing, Elsevier

“Bartenders have highly tuned bullshit detectors, and if anything is off, they’ll immediately be aware of it and you’ll lose them.” –Steve Chasen, Director-Trade Marketing, Pernod Ricard USA

“Delivering the same-old same-old is not the way to change people’s minds.” –Clare Kanter, Director-Absolut Vodka, Pernod Ricard USA

“In 20 years, we will know far more about the audience via contextual tools and data, which will make event marketers better at their jobs. We will also be able to gather a lot more information about audience behavior, all of which will help attendees get more out of the event.” –Joe English, Creative Director-Experiential Marketing, Intel

“My creative process begins with the idea that no one is listening and nobody cares. It stops you from being lazy. We need to seize people’s attention. Our job is to interrupt people, stop them in their tracks and let them know that this is something different and they have to pay attention.” –Paul Blurton, Chief Creative Officer, inVNT

“If you don’t have a destination you can’t have an experience or a journey for attendees. You need to identify that destination first.” –Chris Petit, Creative Director, EWI Worldwide

“When you create experiential journeys, form follows story. You want to divide the experience into a beginning, middle and ending. Defining the peak moments of the experience and including some shock factor are tools for creating effective stories.” –Irma Hardjakusumah, Principal, IH Design

“Even minimal graphics on the roof of a tent can make it pop and stand out from the crowd.” –Lacey Hoff, Director-Creative Services, Grand Central Marketing

The day wrapped up with a Women in Events networking event, a Mixology Jam Session and a networking happy hour. We had too much fun to remember all of what was said at most of these afternoon activities, but we do remember all the good stuff being shared from earlier in the day. Here’s our snapshot of day two, in words.

“Our strategy is to only make things that have ‘nuclear potential’—the sort of exponential, explosive potential for something to become not just a big hit in the video game industry, but a big meaningful brand in pop culture.” –Tim Ellis, Chief Marketing Officer, Activision

“Sometimes we have to reverse the old pattern of ‘don’t just stand there, do something’ to ‘don’t do something, just stand there.” –Matthew May, Author, “The Laws of Subtraction: 6 Simple Rules for Winning in the Age of Excess Everything”

“Trust is the new black.” –John Gerzema, Author, “Spend Shift: How the Post-Crisis Values Revolution is Changing the Way We Buy, Sell & Live”

“The structure alone brought people to it. It was something that was completely different. Even though it had no outward Coca-Cola branding on it, which was part of the intrigue, this kind of a structure, even from a distance, had a message.” –Maxine Chapman, Director-Experiential Marketing, London 2012 Olympics, Coca-Cola Co.

“It’s great for us to know that our owners are going to events and feel like they are being treated like a VIP.” –Tim Rittenhouse, Senior Experiential Marketing Specialist, BMW

“Clearly there’s a love affair in pop culture today with crime stories. Crime is relevant and we were sitting on a goldmine of data about the latest trend: cybercrime.” –Colleen McKenna, Director-Global Marketing, Symantec

“We don’t have as much money as the other guys do, so we know marketing at the grassroots sponsorship level is where we’re going to hit our mark.” –Shana Gritsavage, Director of Global Events, Under Armour

“Take your largest property and really envelop them in that, so they can feel all the excitement around it and feel what it is like to be part of the larger platform.” –Erin Keating, Senior Manager-Experiential Marketing, Audi

“A trend in meetings is that less is happening in the actual meeting room, and more activity is taking place in the actual destination, such as a scavenger hunt or special dinners in the city.” –Gilda Benedetti, VP-Global Sales Effectiveness Strategy & Operations, MasterCard Worldwide

“If it makes you feel uncomfortable, you know you’re doing a good job.” –Kerry Ann Doyle, Senior VP, Team Detroit

“Show up differently every time, both internally and externally.” –Kathy Searle, VP, Textron (parent of Bell Helicopter)

“We realized we needed to flip the model by talking to our drinkers and getting them to recruit new members. We had to figure out a way to insert our brand into their one-to-one conversations. It’s all about mentorship and advocacy.” –Troy Gorczyca, Senior Brand Manager, The Glenlivet

“The best way to be inspired as a b-to-b marketer is to watch what consumers are doing. Open your eyes and be flexible for trends and hot ideas.” –Archie Lyons, Creative Director, Caterpillar

“In changing the speed of the game, we’ve changed the experience.” –John Campbell, National Event Director, 5-hour Energy

Key strategic insight re: the value of enlisting bloggers to create content. “Witnessed by a few, experienced by many.” –Kazzie Zerface, Manager-Consumer Marketing, Cotton Inc.

“When you do what you love and are good at at the same time, it’s liberating.” –Gina Rudan, Author, “Practical Genius: The Real Smarts You Need to Get Your Talents & Passions Working for You”

“As event marketers, we are a disruptive bunch; we’re trying to disrupt, augment and enhance people’s experiences. Everything we do focuses on how humans interact with our campaigns.” –Scott Burns, Executive Creative Director, Switch: Liberate Your Brand

“Most of the people attending your events have a smartphone in their pocket and high definition flat screens at home. You have to give them something they’re not going to get somewhere else or you’re not going to get their attention. These are really savvy customers with high expectations.” –Darren Davis, CEO, Stimulant

“Transparent LCD screens are entertaining, engaging and people have not seen this technology yet. It’s a jaw-dropping effect for product reveals.” –Mike Schaiman, Managing Partner, Helios Interactive

“When it comes down to it, marketing isn’t magic—magic is just good marketing.” –Don Richards, Creative Director, Foghorn Creative

“B-to-B meetings are about the attendees. What do they want to get out of this meeting and what do we need to do to motivate them to do a better job? People in the audience like to see their own people onstage, so find and incorporate people who have a passion about their brand and really want to speak.” –Chuck Santoro, Chief Creative Officer, Proscenium

Facts: In 2012, Chrysler retail sales were up 20%, the brand gained 1% in market share, profits were up 47% and 9,000 new jobs were created. “We have to prove it. We can’t just talk about it. We have to show it and we have to let people touch it and feel it. We have to target it to specific groups and engage with them with the people that interest them and that they’re going to listen to and react to, and have them spread the word. When you do that, you can start to see things like [these results]. That’s why experiential is such a big part of our marketing mix.” –George Neill, Head of Marketing Strategy & Operations Chrysler

“Everybody in a group is an individual, so bring life experiences to the table. It’s valuable. Everything from wilderness camping to street performing to conversations you had with your kids in the morning over breakfast—it all counts.” –Seth Kahan, Author, “Getting Innovation Right”

“The more we know about our guys, the better we are going to be at communicating with them on an ongoing basis.” –Gene Song, Brand Director, The Macallan

“It is a universal truth that people love to compete and love to watch others compete. They love getting their hands on it, and it’s happening all over the world.” –Molly O’Donnell, Director-Experiential Marketing at Microsoft for the Windows Phone

“When we started looking at Twitter followings for all these key artists, it was incredible. I mean, when Justin Bieber sneezes, that gets tweeted a million times. So, we saw there was a really huge opportunity in what we could do with music.” –Dick Podiak, Director of Marketing, Kellogg Co.

“Live like an attendee at your event. Walk the spaces with different devices to sniff out the attendee experience. Wireless is dynamic. You must constantly monitor and be prepared to adjust when necessary.” –John O’Gara, Group Manager-Event Technology, Microsoft

“Sustainability is a strategy no matter what the state of the economy is. It is a way to drive good attendee experiences, impact your bottom line and do good for the planet.” –Paul Salinger, VP-Marketing, Oracle

“In order to try things, you have to have a business culture that will allow you to try and fail.” –Scott Trepanier, Senior Manager PR and Promotions at Columbia Sportswear

“Don’t ignore the 1:10:89 Principle when structuring a crowdsourcing project: 1% will create, 10% will contribute and 89% will be lurkers.” –Jeff Howe, Author, “Why the Power of the Crowd is Driving the Future of Business”

“What was amazing was the feedback. We weren’t really used to feeling the love at this event.” –Alex Sapiz, Director-Sales, Partner Engagement and Recognition Programs, Cisco

“Traditional marketing is dead, baby… Many pieces of the marketing mix such as advertising, direct mail, promotion and online, have their benefits but also have their problems. Better, stronger marketing programs integrate experiential into the mix.” –Dan Hanover, Editor & Publisher, Event Marketer magazine

Re: This Coke Australia program: “People need to see themselves in your brand… quite literally.” –Cecily Sommers, Author, “Think Like a Futurist: Know What Changes, What Doesn’t, and What’s Next”

“Projection mapping is a technology and a technique that allows us to turn any surface—from the side of a building to a football field—into a canvas for high-resolution video and motion graphics. It’s like a fireworks show; you may have seen fireworks before, but you always stop to watch.” –Jeffrey Berke, President, DWP Live

“User experience is design thinking. Agencies, brands and service providers are all part of the design process, and we all need to start thinking that way.” –Bill Fleig, VP, JUXT

“Everyone wants to do more with less. Understanding what’s most important and what the priorities are is key when space planning for a project.” –Mike Ellery, Senior VP-Creative, Sparks

“You can’t force people to engage with you on each and every platform, because people have the power to select what they want. It’s all about producing the right platforms for the right people.” –Simon Fairweather, Chief Creative Officer, EEI Global

On Wednesday at 8:30 a.m., VP-Brand Management and Guest Experience at Ritz-Carlton Lisa Holladay is going to give you exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the strategic thinking behind one of the world’s oldest and most renowned hoteliers. If you’ve ever stayed at a Ritz-Carlton, you know that it’s not just a hotel stay—it an experience. And that, folks, is by design. This keynote will give you insights into the art and science that’s kept the brand relevant for 100 years, and will help you understand how ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’ (our corny tagline, not theirs) can apply to your brand and events, too. See you there.

The Macallan knows all about the power of intimate, customized experiences. Its Raise the Macallan tasting events are chock-full of technology that gives the brand instant feedback about attendee preferences while giving the guests immersive insight into the perfect dram for them. The consumers check in to unlock a wireless connection and a custom mobile web app on their phones that they can then use to participate in the experience. Each scan prompts consumers to answer a question or two about his or her drinking habits or preferences. The Macallan uses this data to follow up with news, surveys and invites to future events, including its super-exclusive The Finest Cut.

Find out why you need to “democratize” your content to amp up your experiences, how it works and why the ultimate payoff is totally relevant experiences every single day.

See sneak previews of The Macallan’s programs here and here.

Which is why we scheduled a session for Wednesday at 2:30 guaranteed to send you home flying high, happy and inspired. Clear Channel VP Mike McGraw will take you inside the Clear Channel Dunk Tank—an interactive billboard + Facebook app + live interaction program that had consumers hanging around Times Square in the hopes that an Augmented Reality beach ball would land on them and send them into the drink. At the heart of the campaign was an innovative strategy that brought large-scale outdoor billboards together with crowd participation and social media as a way to prove the viability of Clear Channel’s products for clients and advertisers—all disguised as a consumer event.

Curious where the future of billboard advertising and events is headed? It’s here and Clear Channel’s got it. You don’t want to miss out on this session. Or the final day of EMS.

Get a sneak preview here and here.

Mobile technology is one of the most significant areas of change facing the meetings industry today. It is not only shifting the way companies do business, it’s also presenting opportunities to increase engagement and extend the life of each meeting. This session will explore how mobile trends are creating new marketing channels, new levels of social media sharing, and new event sponsorship opportunities, while also making the entire event experience more fun and interactive for attendees.

In this session, attendees will:

• Learn how to select an app that meets the goals of their event
• Learn how to inspire attendees to utilize the app
• Learn how to create ROI from the app by engaging exhibitors and sponsors

Presenter: Billy McGee
Title: Senior Sales Executive, Mobile Solutions
Company: Cvent, Inc.

With so many choices on the market, which tool should you use? Solutions range from comprehensive, robust platforms to quick and easy ticketing engines. Are the larger platforms nimble enough for smaller events? How far can the ticketing solutions be stretched? Get clarity on tool and feature sets that best match the type, size and lifecycle of your events.

Presenter: Leonora Valvo
Title: CEO
Company: etouches

This isn’t new stuff for SodaStream. The brand’s been been living this philosophy for years, including at Spring Break 2012 in Panama City Beach. There, the brand got college kids excited about the product, and extended the activations through some clever after-event communications. Mark your calendars for May 8th and, in the meantime, check out the full story here.