In a business environment where professionals consistently strive to validate meeting and event expenditures, Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and MeetingMetrics can now demonstrate a more than 340 percent return on investment (ROI) for attendees of the 2010 World Education Congress (WEC).
“Reports, including FutureWatch 2011 have indicated the importance of measuring ROI as a performance tool. Now we’ve proven it,” said Bruce MacMillan, president and chief executive officer of MPI.
“WEC 2010 in Vancouver delivered measurable business results, and more importantly, we’ve shown that major conferences and events can deliver value if they make performance measurement a priority.”
The comprehensive study calculates ROI based on the total investment to attend the conference including time away from work, airfare, registration, accommodations, food and transit and the resulting financial impact of business accomplishments and lessons learned.
During WEC 2010, MPI offered delegates a two-day competency building workshop highlighting the importance of ROI prior to the first days of the conference.
Those sessions were complimented by multiple offerings of education throughout the event based on the business value of meetings, strategic meetings management and insights into leading industry research like Meetings Deliver.
Following the conference, through MyROI, a MeetingMetrics product, study participants were provided a confidential, post-event report that details the results of an education experience including application of an attendee’s learning to their current job, impacts of post-event job achievement and an individual ROI computation.
Study respondents, a majority of whom were meeting planners, all attended WEC and can now answer the top request from supervisors when seeking approval for future attendance – proven value for related business expenditures.
“MPI has taken a magnifying glass to the value of quality business events and it has proven to be multiple times the investment,” said MaryAnne Bobrow, CAE, CMP, CMM, CHE. “There is no more guess work, WEC is worth it.”
