In June, Fay Beauchine was named
executive vice president, global meetings, incentives and events,
at Minneapolis-based Carlson Marketing. M&C recently
spoke with her about her plans and the industry.
What’s on tap for
Carlson?
We have an ambitious plan to double our
global meeting, incentive and event business, especially with large
pharmaceutical, automotive, financial and technology companies --
all industry segments with plenty of room for growth.
Given the current struggles
of the U.S. auto industry, what are your prospects for growing this
segment of business?
When any industry is going through
major changes, it is an opportunity to review all activities for
their effectiveness. With our broad array of services, we have
marketing approaches that some of our clients might not have
thought of or seen at work.
Our CEO, Jim Schroer, a former
marketing executive at Chrysler, often talks about the money he
pulled from the advertising budget to conduct Camp Jeep [an
incentive program]. He says the mistake he made was not pulling
more ad dollars and doing more Camp Jeeps. The “return on event”
proved it was a much better investment than just another ad.
We can review a client’s marketing
spend, review the return on investment and recommend activities
that boost that return. Will it always include incentive trips or
events? No. Our recommendation will include what’s best for the
client.
Are clients willing to
expand or change their programs?
Clients want to do more things because
their business models are changing. One company told us that half
of their employees now work from home, which is a very different
model than they had 10 years ago. To keep them engaged, you have to
deliver an event to them over the Internet or by global
marketing.