Clients and Reviews | Kellen Meetings

Kellen Meetings handles the details to make meetings happen so clients can focus on organizational and strategic objectives during the event. Click on the featured clients below to see how Kellen Meetings made their event a success:

Growing the Attendee Base

Client:	Messenger & Courier Association of America (MCAA)
Situation:	Increasing Annual Conference attendance, with specific focus on on driving "Early Bird" registration.
Strategy:	A strategic pricing structure was implemented to help promote the value of "Early Bird" registration. Securing a good number of registrations early on built great momentum for the remainder of the registration process, enticing more attendees to sign up for a "must attend" event. Kellen also effectively leveraged industry partnerships for securing desirable giveaways to be awarded as incentives on targeted dates during the registration process. Giveaways included complimentary airline tickets, hotel nights and golf packages.
Result:	The Association realized a 25% increase in Early Bird registrations, which stimulated buzz about the conference helped to keep the momentum moving after the Early Bird date had passed. Year-over-year attendee registration has increased over the past 3 years.

Increasing Sponsorships

Client:	Professional society in foodservice management (name confidential per client request)
Situation:	Maximizing sponsorship revenues at the Annual Conference by developing a strategic sponsorship sales and management program.
Strategy:	A Kellen sponsorship team with a successful track record in foodservice developed a strategy to create new avenues of Conference sponsorship revenue, both through types of sponsorships offered and companies approached. Under Kellen's guidance, the Society created a volunteer Sponsorship Task Force that worked in tandem with the Kellen team to establish structured and consistent sponsorship policies and procedures. Weekly sales reports were created, and tracking mechanisms were implemented against projections and performance goals.
Result:	The Society actualized a 35% increase in sponsorship sales their first year. Long-time sponsor companies increased their financial support, and companies who had ceased participating returned with new offerings.

Global Exposure Through a Signature Event

Client:	New York Women in Communications (NYWICI)
Situation:	Positioning a Society through a high profile, celebrity studded using one of the premiere annual events in the New York entertainment and communications industry.
Strategy:	The Kellen Company handles every aspect of the pre, onsite and post production of the Matrix Awards Luncheon, a star-studded event that reads as a "Who's Who" in the media industry. It is the organization's primary fundraiser, generating over $1 million annually. With over 1,400 people in attendance, the event has included such celebrity icons as Oprah Winfrey, Barbara Walters, Martha Stewart, Diane von Furstenberg, Ellen DeGeneres and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Kellen secures all of the honorees and coordinates their complex logistics with talent agencies, public relations firms, celebrity assistants and other handlers. Kellen also manages the Red Carpet Press Reception, all scripting and production of the event, all creative collateral materials (including Save The Date cards, invitations, signage and the step & repeat backdrop), as well as all of the public relations aspects. Over 100 volunteers on 6 different committees are effectively managed by Kellen to create a truly memorable event.
Result:	Under Kellen's leadership, revenue for this event has tripled since its inception. Through our efforts, the event is recognized as one of the most important events of the year in the New York entertainment scene.

Taking a Conference to the Next Level

Client:	Research Chef's Association (RCA)
Situation:	Expanding the development vision of the Association.
Strategy:	With the Annual Conference serving as the Association's most essential component for both member and sponsor value, new Conference initiatives were strategically spearheaded to revamp and broaden the scope of the attendee and sponsor experience. Educational sessions were enhanced to include more dynamic programming, and conference program levels and benefits were redesigned to more effectively meet the needs and expectations of the attendees. The creation of a student culinology completion was a key factor in building lasting partnerships with culinary schools and organizations, and grooming the "next generation" of members.
Result:	The pairing of the Kellen Company and RCA has proven a dynamic partnership. Under Kellen's leadership, RCA has seen memberships more than double through the Reach Out and Recruit ("ROAR") campaign. Also, sponsor revenues have experienced double-digit percentage growth every fiscal year.

"This is the best show for creative companies. We look forward to the Expo every year, and I encourage big and small companies to attend and sponsor a breakout session. Winning the Culinology prize this year is a pivotal moment in the history of my organization!"- John Rosingana, President, Garlic King

Same Planet, Different Worlds

Client:	Drug Information Association (DIA)
Situation:	Bringing together 3 separate associations across an international spectrum to plan one collaborative conference in South Korea.
Strategy:	As the outsourced meeting planning partner, Kellen was tasked with combining the efforts of 3 separate associations with varying objectives and cultures to produce a cohesive international conference in Seoul. Working within the parameters of drug regulatory agencies from 23 different countries, Kellen secured all of the conference speakers, executed all conference logistics and developed session content, all the while working to adhere to the cultural boundaries of Southeast Asia.
Result:	Through diplomacy, tolerance and consensus building, Kellen was able to achieve a consistent score of 4.5 (out of 5) for content, delivery and attendee experience. Each of the 3 associations were extremely pleased with the outcome, and have chosen to partner with Kellen for the next conference.

Case Study in Public Relations

Client:	National Society for Healthcare Food Service Management (HFM)
Situation:	Impacting the negative perception of hospital foodservice by drawing media attention to the culinary and customer service achievements in the industry.
Strategy:	To help promote the message that hospital foodservice is an innovative industry that is raising the bar for foodservice in healthcare, the HFM Annual Culinary Competition was established at the Annual Conference. Facility chefs showcase their skills in a live culinary competition featuring gourmet recipes. Winners of the competition go on to compete in national culinary competitions with chefs from all sectors, building the reputation of healthcare chefs and highlighting their accomplishments in healthcare foodservice.
Result:	Major press was generated by the Culinary Competition, including a front page piece in the Personal Journal section of the Wall Street Journal entitled, "Hospital Food That Won't Make You Sick".

Building a User Conference from the Ground Up

Client:	GuestLogix
Situation:	Creating a first time User Conference
Strategy:	As the leading global provider of inflight store technology and merchandising onboard commercial aircraft, GuestLogix sought to expand their presence within the industry by hosting a User Conference. For their inaugural event, GuestLogix partnered with Kellen to draw upon their experience with creating a unique and impactful conference. Under Kellen's guidance, GuestLogix was able to navigate the logistical nuances of creating an exceptional User Conference, with an agenda featuring engaging speakers delivering dynamic programming.
Result:	GuestLogix's first User Conference drew a solid base of existing and potential customers, resulting in their ability to strengthen current relationships and acquire new clients. While onsite at the conference, many of the participating companies signed up for the second conference before a date and venue had even been selected.

"Kellen Meetings is an excellent business partner with a passion for clear and practical approaches to meetings management."- Dan Thompson, Director of Marketing, GuestLogix

Reducing Attrition Liabilities

Client:	CoreNet Global
Situation:	CoreNet Global, the world's leading association for corporate real estate professionals, service providers and economic developers, had been doing everything right with the planning of their Annual North American Summits. The Association was planning 3 years out for their Summit locations, and were drawing a solid base of 2,500 attendees year over year.
Strategy:	When the economic crisis hit in 2008, Summit attendance dropped by almost 50% and CoreNet was painfully aware that it would take some time to recover. In order to avoid enormous financial liabilities from signed hotel and convention center contracts for future years, CoreNet Global relied on Kellen's buying power within the hospitality industry to mitigate attrition accountabilities early on.
Result:	With over $30 million in annual actualized room nights across all major hotel brands, Kellen was successful in re-negotiating several existing contracts on CoreNet's behalf, thereby reducing potential attrition penalties by nearly 40%. By using special clauses from Kellen's contract templates, CoreNet has been able to eliminate attrition clauses from certain future hotel contracts altogether.

Extending a Brand

Client:	Select Registry
Situation:	Differentiating your member base from the competition by going beyond the borders of the brand.
Strategy:	Select Registry, a trade association comprised of more than 400 of the finest country inns, B&Bs and unique small hotels, sought to set its members apart from the competition by expanding beyond "quality inns and bed & breakfasts" to an "exceptional dining experience". Kellen partnered with Select Registry to create "The Inn-Credible Breakfast Cook Off", a national culinary competition held at the Select Registry National Conference. The strategic timeline included all collateral development, sponsorship activities, member communications and all pre and post event press activity.
Result:	The event garnered more than 80 press mentions (with a comparable advertising value of more than $140,000), and established Select Registry's brand reputation as more than just a luxury inn management association. The National Conference was also able to secure a new market segment of high profile sponsors such as Eggland's Best, Le Creuset, Starbuck's, Chef's catalog and MetroKitchen.

Power in Partnerships

Client:	Airline Passenger Experience (APEX) and International Flight Services Association (IFSA)
Situation:	Partnering 2 associations from the same industry to broaden the impact of an Annual Conference.
Strategy:	With Kellen managing both associations, the stage was set for a mutually beneficial partnering of the 2 organizations to increase the scope and influence of their Annual Conferences. Through cost sharing and increased buying power, more desirable meeting locations were secured and a more engaging agenda was developed.
Result:	By co-joining the 2 events, Kellen was able to help leverage the combined power of both associations to secure high-caliber speakers and impactful sponsorships. Overall attendance also increased, as airline partners were able to send more people to one conference, rather than incur the expense of sending employees to 2 separate events.

"The IFSA Conference and Tradeshow is paramount to our business, it is a great hub for connecting with partners and customers in our industry. It is a must-attend Conference!"- Paul Normand, Harvey Alpert & Company