innovative meetings
BREAKOUT
They Get It
Jacuzzi has had help in reimaging
its International Dealer Conference: BI WORLDWIDE (BIW), a
Minneapolis-headquartered
global engagement agency.
“They are really wonderful
partners,” said Jacuzzi’s Patrick
Williams. “They understand who
our dealers are and what the
intention of the meeting is. Even
as we’ve changed the role of this
meeting over the last three to
four years, they have absolutely
been agile throughout.”
Just as important: BIW is good
at grounding Williams’ flights of
fancy in hard details. “They’re
really effective at organizing
resources, or organizing best
practices to say, ‘Okay, Patrick,
you’re trying to run workshops.
We have two other clients in
different states who try to run
workshops similarly. Here’s the
amount of time or space you’re
going to need for them. Here’s
what you can expect from a
budgeting perspective. Here’s the
way we would move people.’”
Innovative Meetings is supported
by the Irving Convention & Visitors Bureau, irvingtexas.com.
In Nashville, Sundance attendees arrived
on the first day of the conference, Jan. 13, and
had their awards program that night, followed by a marketing program the following
day. Jacuzzi attendees arrived that second
night, when there was a social event for both
groups. Over the next three days — Jan. 15–17
— everyone participated in content sessions
and activities together. The wrap party was
on Jan. 18, the Jacuzzi marketing program
and awards were on Jan. 19, and everyone
departed on Jan. 20.
“The feedback has been wildly positive,”
Williams said. “Our dealers have said, ‘ You’ve
brought in this breath of fresh air — people
who I haven’t met before but whose lives and
businesses and careers are very similar to
my own.’”
3 SOAKING I T IN Not that Jacuzzi has
turned its back completely on its previous
conference model. There are still lots of fun
things for attendees to do, but they’re richer,
more singular. Williams calls them “iconic
experiences.” In Panama City, there was a
meet and greet with Buzz Aldrin. This year
in Nashville, the awards nights were staged
in the Country Music Hall of Fame, while
the wrap party was at the city’s legendary
Ryman Auditorium — “the mother church
of country music,” Williams said — with
private performances by Grammy-winning
songwriter Luke Laird, and John Rich of the
superstar duo Big & Rich. There was also a
Jack Daniel’s tour; Jacuzzi bought a barrel of
the famous Tennessee whiskey and gave each
attendee a bottle from it, garnished with a
custom label.
“That’s some of the things that we haven’t
lost — those nice touches that make our deal-
ers feel special,” Williams said. “At the same
time, we’ve absolutely elevated the level of
business content of this meeting.”
As the 50/50 split among attendees in
Anaheim demonstrated, not everyone is
thrilled with the new direction of the confer-
ence. But a lot of Jacuzzi dealers seem to get
it. As this year’s show wrapped, one of them
came up to Williams and thanked him. “He
said, ‘Patrick, I’ve been in this business more
than 25 years. It takes a lot to teach me some-
thing, and you’ve taught me a lot in the last
couple years,’” Williams said. “And then he
said, ‘ You’ve also made me a lot of money.’” .
Christopher Durso is executive editor of Convene.
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