Christy Lamagna is an international event planner. She specializes in disruptive events. Today she tells us on our blog how to evolve towards creative strategies to design immersive events focused on satisfying the main objectives.
Jul 16, 2018
Christy Lamagna is the founder and CEO of Strategic Meetings & Events, an international, award-winning planning firm. Her focus is now on disrupting the industry. By teaching planners to evolve into meeting strategists who think with curious minds, act strategically and utilize technology. She donates her time to numerous charities and mentoring and believes that giving back is one of the most valuable ways she can spend her time and contribute to the world. In this interview, she shares her insights and tips on how to deliver results with every event.
I began my career as a journalist, which lead me to covering community events for a local hospital. I quickly found that planning events was even more engaging than writing about them, so instead of being a writer who planned, I am now a planner who writes.
My career has been full and enriching. I worked in Corporate America for years, was part of four start up teams and founded my own company in 2001. I’ve taught strategic planning for ten years at a college level and I am now transitioning to full time speaking, book writing, coaching and mentoring.
I want to share everything I have learned so others can build upon it and enrich their own lives and careers. Giving back is my greatest joy. Whether that is providing clients with event return beyond their expectations or mentoring up and coming entrepreneurs. Whatever I can do to enhance someone’s experience is something I value.
Being a speaker and a coach gives me a perspective that enhances my ability to produce events. I can see the event through the eyes of the audience, the talent, the planner and the executives. By factoring in and creating a single point of focus for all parties involved, events are elevated to the status of marketing tools and sales support. Understanding that each person comes with their own needs, and finding a way to create a central theme that meets everyone’s goals, has opened my eyes to the importance of viewing content from all perspectives. The outcome is events that deliver results to the bottom line.
The first question we ask is, ‘what is the goal?’ If we start with the end in mind, we then work backwards and make sure all program elements are designed to support and further that goal. We meet with key executives and a sample of the target audience to test our assumptions and then create a year-long marketing strategy to support the communication process and bring the message to life before, during and after the event. Our clients understand our process and are excited to get to work when they call us.
New clients are unfamiliar with how Strategic Meetings & Events approaches planning. They expect to hear questions about budget or desired dates and can’t figure out why we start by discussing content and learning objectives. Once they understand the difference between traditional events and strategic events, they quickly get on board and are eager to reap benefits from their programs that they didn’t know were possible. It’s an amazing experience for all those involved.
The first question we ask is, ‘what is the goal?’ If we start with the end in mind, we then work backwards and make sure all program elements are designed to support and further that goal.
I want very much for there to be a licensing or set of minimum requirements to become a vendor in the M&E business, but that’s not the case. Anyone can join the industry as a planner or supplier and there are a wide range of expertise levels as well as standards around quality, honesty and integrity. I know that is the case with many professions. In any situation where there is a lack of standards or requirements needed to join, it hurts those who work hard to deliver quality products and service. I would like an exam that is required to be a planner. The CMP is not mandatory and is not focused enough on strategy and achieving goals to fill that need. A higher standard should be set, and a unilateral agreement by the industry to enforce it is the only way that can happen. I don’t think it will, but I like to imagine it as I see what could be and wish we could get there.
We choose properties and locations based on the goal. If the meeting is designed for intense training, we don’t want to be too far from the airport and have too many distractions. If the event is designed for teambuilding and networking, we want outdoor activities, larger properties, dine around options, and a destination that offers variety and activities.
Each client has its own set of values that are to be factored in once a destination is chosen. Some clients value being the only or largest group in a property, others want gourmet food and exemplary service. Once we understand the goal and find space that can achieve that goal, we work with properties to find the right fit for the client’s onsite needs.
This approach allows us to experience a wide variety of hotels, locations and meeting setups. There is so much to factor in beyond the size of the ballroom and F&B minimums when you approach the process strategically.
All events should support and shorten sales cycles while bringing marketing messages to life. There should be a year-long communication strategy in place, of which the event is a moment in time, not the only time the message is heard. All content should be driven by achieving goals-be it learning how to sell a new product, enhance negotiating skills, learning how to thrive in a competitive marketplace- events are sales and marketing messages come to life. When done strategically, that gives the meeting purpose, shares content with the attendees that they are hungry for and appreciate and the marketing reinforces the message and makes it even more exciting to experience.
Creativity is more important than money. Always. By working with your local experts at both the hotel and the destination you can incorporate creative food choices, local flavors and elements into the décor and experience all the destination has to offer. Music is often another way to bring the destination into your program. Brainstorming is an integral part of the process. Once the goal is established and declared, and the venue is contracted, hold brainstorming sessions that include your target audience. Ask people what they want. They will tell you! We like to write down everything we’ve done and then make sure none of those things appear at this year’s event. We draw inspiration from what we see in magazines, store windows, what people are wearing-look around. Creativity is everywhere!
Once the goal is established and declared, and the venue is contracted, hold brainstorming sessions that include your target audience. Ask people what they want. They will tell you!
I expect to see additional hotels slashing commissions and offering enhanced perks to individual and corporate event travelers who book without third party assistance.
I also see AI and VR becoming more prominent at events. I don’t believe technology will ever replace events; people need the one on one connection that events provide, but I do see technology becoming an even more integral component of events.
I was once asked to get camels for an event in New York City. We had to figure out where to get them, where they would stay, what, when and how much they ate, if we needed permits, if they needed to wear muzzles, could be ridden, needed proof of shots and of course, the cost. What made it extraordinary was the NYC location. We ended up not using the camels, but we learned a lot in the process.
We’ve been asked to make accommodations for cadavers in hotel refrigerators (the answer, was, of course, ‘no’), 300 pounds of only white snacks, 1000 mannequins, hand stitched soccer balls, every copy of a particular author’s book from every bookstore in London- It’s always an adventure! No one has stumped us yet!
Aspire to be more than a planner. Anyone can execute logistics. The future of meetings lies in strategy. Focus on goals and the value the meeting represents to the company and the audience. Make sure the two align. Create experiences that support and drive the sales cycle while bringing marketing messages to life. Events are not about logistics. They are about influencing your target audience to perform a desired behavior through education and motivation. Anyone who isn’t looking at events this way should consider approaching their job strategically. It’s where the future is taking us.
