the meeting planner

Jodi Adcock, CMP
Energy and excitement
Fall 2009

JODI ADCOCK, CMP, is event marketing manager for Dallas, Texas-based Texas Instruments.

MPG:  What attracted you to the meetings industry?

Jodi:  In 1997, I was working in the advertising department at a legal newspaper.  The paper produced a trade show for attorneys.  I wasn’t directly involved in the planning of the event but I was around it enough to know what it was all about and I went on site to help.  I got to see all of the energy and the excitement building up to a day when you unveil all the hard work.  While it wasn’t my hard work, it was attractive to me and, being around the planning process, I saw a skill set that I thought fit me really well.

Ultimately, I left there and I joined the sales department for a legal publishing company that did events all over.  It was through that company that I was able to try my hand at event planning.  A job became available in their meetings’ department and they were willing to give me a try. 

Tell us about your position with Texas Instruments?

As event marketing manager, I am responsible for trade shows, conferences, seminars, and special events of all sizes and all across the US and Canada.  I’ve been in this position for three years.

Within Texas Instruments, please compare the level of travel and meetings in 2009 to previous years.  Do you anticipate any changes in these levels in 2010?

Our company has experienced layoffs this year.  Because of that, it’s been difficult to measure this accurately.  But, because of the layoffs within our department, the number of events and my personal travel to those events hasn’t diminished at all. 

We did see a little downturn in our overall travel and meetings but, especially where they relate to our customers, meetings are absolutely happening.  The ones that aren’t being held as often are the internal meetings.  I do feel like the overall travel in the company is down.  Maybe before you would take a team of ten, now you take five. 

2010 is yet to be determined.  We are still doing a lot of internal things within the community but at a lower budget.  We are still doing the customer training seminars and the trade shows that our people have been attending for 20 to 30 years.

Has the AIG “perception issue” affected your company’s meetings?

Our worldwide manufacturers managers meeting was in Vail, Colorado last year and in Scottsdale the previous year.  It’s a three or four day meeting - a half day of meetings and a half day of activities and team building each day.  This year, we held that same meeting an hour and a half from Dallas.  That decision was all about controlling the perception and controlling the costs.  Our management still thought it was important to talk strategy, to have all the people on the same page and to build that team atmosphere, but they didn’t want to create the perception of spending a lot of money on the meeting.  When you are a publicly traded company, that’s a big deal.

Are you seeing a trend away from face-to-face meetings toward teleconferencing within your company?

No.  We used to do a communicators workshop in September and bring in the marketing communications people from all over the world.  We chose not to hold that meeting this year at all – teleconferencing for that meeting was never considered. 

If you were talking with a group of hotel sales representatives, what advice would you share regarding soliciting meetings business from corporations?

In this environment, I believe that networking is a better idea than phone calls.

Between emails and phone calls, I get an average of 20 solicitations per day.  I simply can’t respond to all of them, so I don’t.  While I know that seems unprofessional, there just aren’t enough hours in the day to follow up with everyone.  I’ve been in sales and I know that it’s important to put your brand and property out in the marketplace for awareness, but incessant sales calls are not the way to build business.  Sometimes I get calls and the salesman sounds bored and frustrated.  If you are going to use up three minutes of my time, please, at least sound excited about it.  It’s a big turn off to me if I hear boredom, frustration or aggressiveness in your voice.

Any specific suggestions about networking?

Any organization or association where meeting planners are involved is a good way to get in the door.  It’s a very non-threatening, non-aggressive way to get to know people and make them aware of who you are, where you work, and what you can offer.

What advice would you share with people considering a career in meeting planning?

Run away!!!  (laughter)  Be prepared to do the grunt work and don’t act like you are above it.  Little details matter and make everything look professional.  Make sure you don’t mind working long hours.  I get calls in the middle of the night and you have to be flexible to be able to work away from the office.  It’s not a 9-5 job.  If you do the job half way, you won’t be good at it.  It’s not as glamorous as people think and you have to love it.

From your perspective, what’s the future of face-to-face meetings?

Some people are wondering if the social networking phenomenon can impact face-to-face meetings.  Sure it can.

The next generation that is now entering the work force was raised on technology.  Ten years ago we didn’t have near the technology that is available and common today.  Certainly, I believe that future meetings will be more technology focused.  You can rent audience response systems currently, but they are cost prohibitive.  As those direct feedback systems become more affordable, they will allow planners to make meetings more interactive and more appealing to younger people.

I don’t think people will ever stop meeting.  I went to the MPI event recently that had a presentation showing meetings through the ages.  Face-to-face meetings have been around for thousands of year and I don’t think they’re going away any time soon. 

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