Microsoft Canada Evolves Event Management Approach And Works With Maritz To Build Strategic Event Framework24 January 2006
Recognizing the need to drive more strategy behind its events portfolio, Microsoft Canada Co. has undertaken a country-wide assessment and launched a leading-edge strategic event framework. This will help the organization optimize its investment in over 600 customer events every year and align them more closely with overall business strategy and goals. Microsoft has worked with Maritz on this initiative and will be showcasing the solution during the BiZBash Toronto conference being held at the National Trade Centre, Exhibition Place, on January 31 at 12:30 pm.
"Marketing events are often one of the largest controllable expenses for corporations and yet many are not able to measure their return on investment or effectiveness against business objectives," says Alissa Hurley, business manager, Maritz Canada Inc., a leading provider of experiential marketing and performance improvement solutions. "As the marketing mix continues to shift away from traditional advertising to more grass-roots relationship building and event-based interactions, it is becoming even more important to develop an event measurement scorecard -- not only to justify what is being spent but also to validate strategic value and impact."
Through Maritz Research, Microsoft conducted over 1,000 interviews across the country with various audiences in small, medium and large businesses, including business development managers, technology development managers, IT professionals, developers and architects. The objective was to assess event effectiveness through quantifiable data on various communication channels linked to customer lifecycle; pinpoint the most important sources of information for each audience; and understand the most valuable components of each event.
"We challenged the objective of every single event from product launches, trade shows and webcasts to seminars, user groups and hospitality events," says Kelly Smith, senior national events strategy manager at Microsoft Canada. "It is very easy to continue doing an event because it has run before and the perception is that it has been a success. What's really important is to clearly understand how all events link to business strategy. To do this, we solicited both qualitative and quantitative feedback before we started developing a centralized and sophisticated framework to guide us going forward."
Microsoft's overall objective, not surprisingly, is to streamline their events portfolio, better target their audiences and continue to drive new business through their marketing events. A strong focus has been on how to create more meaningful event experiences for their audiences while ensuring that business objectives are being met.
"Maritz' solution has provided Microsoft with a more strategic and ROI-driven approach that gives us an enterprise-wide view of all marketing events and a better understanding of their role and impact within the marketing mix," concludes Smith. "Event participants will enjoy more targeted interactions and event experiences that are closely aligned with the Microsoft brand and value proposition."
NOTE FOR REPORTERS
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If you are interested in attending the Microsoft and Maritz presentation at the BiZBash Toronto show at the National Trade Centre on Tuesday, January 31 at 12:30 pm, please contact Stella Wilson at 905-696-5157.
About Maritz
Maritz Canada drives performance and measurable results by designing and implementing experiential marketing and sales solutions that inform, educate, motivate and reward clients' employees, sales partners and customers. Maritz' expertise, across a variety of sectors, includes: communications, meeting and event management, learning solutions, sales incentives, rewards and recognition, group and incentive travel, e-business solutions and loyalty marketing. Maritz Canada Inc. is a division of privately-held Maritz Inc. based in St. Louis, Missouri, and has been serving the Canadian marketplace since 1980. For more information, visit: www.maritzcanada.com
Maritz Research is one of the world's largest marketing research firms and helps many of today's most successful companies achieve financial gain through a deep understanding of their customers, employees and channel partners. Maritz Research offers a range of strategic and tactical solutions, and employs sector-specific research knowledge, to provide insight into all aspects of brand performance and people behaviour. For more information, visit: www.maritzresearch.com
Maritz Canada and Maritz Research are divisions of privately-held Maritz Inc. based in St. Louis, Missouri. For more information, visit www.maritz.com
For further information: please contact: Stella Wilson, Maritz Canada Inc., Tel. (905) 696-5157, stella.wilson@maritz.com
Source: newswire
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