Marc Reede just got back from the Incentive Travel Industry’s biggest exposition of the year- The Motivation Show in Chicago, also called ITME. This is the chance for corporate meeting planners, incentive travel company executives, and destination management companies to see who’s who in their industry while getting a feel for a feel for trends and updates. And it’s all in the name of The Billion Dollar Corporate Convention Industry.
Every hotel in the world is represented here, as are cities and countries. The Las Vegas “booth” is almost an acre in size; it feels like you’re walking down the Las Vegas Strip, with exhibits and representatives from each hotel lining the mini-city. The Starwood Hotels booth is the size of a restaurant, with probably 100 sales people from Starwood properties around the countrymixing and mingling with guests. Walk a few blocks to Hawaii, down the way to Germany to taste the beer. It’s a fascinating experience even for me, and I’ve been coming for 15 years! I just had my picture taken with a baby kangaroo at the Australia booth, watched a Dixie Chicks look-a-like trio perform in their booth, ate Churros at the Mexico booth while watching authentic dancers in the aisles, and got an update on the World’s newest casino destination- Macau.
The event wasn’t without its share of celebrities: NASCAR legend Richard Petty was signing at the Richard Petty Teambuilding experience booth, Indy champion Mario Andretti shook hands at his car, I picked up an autographed New York City Firefighters calendar for my wife, and what would a Chicago trade show be without an appearance by a real-life Chicago Bear–Steve McMichael from The Bears winning teams of the past was on hand signing photos of his famed Joe Montana tackle (or that’s how HE described it!).
But if you looked closely yesterday, you’d have caught a glimpse of Dick Vermeil in one of the booth areas. Coach Vermeil won The Super Bowl at the helm of The St. Louis Rams in 2000, and has made a legend for himself as a winning coach and a tremendous broadcaster. But this year, enjoying his retirement, Dick’s an in-demand motivational speaker, and he’s in Chicago with The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company. Ritz Carlton has invited 300 of their top customers to a breakfast at the beautiful Harold Washington Library Center near the McCormick Place trade show site. And Dick’s 40-minute talk to them on “What It Takes To Be a Leader” has many taking notes, even at this early hour of the day.
We head back to the show after Coach Vermeil’s inspiring remarks to see the crowd at a unique booth. Not a hotel or a city- this is an exciting new Team Building program called Lights, Camera, Interaction. Gaining quick heat in the corporate meeting market with bookings from the likes of Discover Card, Baxter, Pepsi Food Services, Morton’s Steakhouses, and Schering Plough, Lights, Camera, Interaction offers a unique approach to Teamwork, Interaction, and Empowerment. This is Hollywood-themed Team Building, where real-life directors, cameramen, and production types lead convention audiences in the quest to make the best 60-second commercial about their company. Large audiences are broken up into 15-person Production Crews after being introduced to the many similarities between what they do on a daily basis (a team working together toward a common goal) and what a Hollywood production team does. And as you watch the preview reel that’s running in the Lights, Camera, Interaction booth, you get a great feel for the creativity and genius that you’re about to buy into for your company in a half-day package.
I watched as the Lights, Camera folks were inviting interested meeting planners to check out a LIVE event on October 2nd in Minneapolis, this one for 600 General Mills attendees in the Convention Center. Watch for more on this program soon, and check out the updated preview reel that was showing at the booth on our website now.
