Travel Insider: Are You the Picasso of Incentive Travel?
June 11, 2008
By Brian Martenis
I have often spoken of the fact that a creative, well run and memorable incentive travel program is like creating a fine work of art. Just as a painting on the wall is appreciated for its beauty and the way it makes the viewer feel, your travel program is an original piece that requires creativity and an artistic sense of balance. But no matter how genius your "work of art" may be, it can still be an artistic failure if it doesn't accomplish what it's supposed to.
Earlier in my career, when I worked in advertising, no one ever spoke of the beauty of an ad or the clever and witty banter on the radio or television. The ad was considered successful only if it raised sales. The same holds true for determining the success of an incentive travel program. Did the program accomplish the expected goals? If so, it was a success. Even the most magnificent incentive travel program ever run is a dismal failure if the resulting expectations are not met.
Purposeful Art
So how do you go about creating your creative and, more importantly, successful incentive travel program? I would like to begin on a blank canvas—large, clean, ready.
• Grab participant interest. Personally, I cringe when I hear the words, "I'm ready to get home." I want to hear, "Please, one more day!" An incentive travel program should be enough, but not too much. Certainly more than a "tease" but not so much that the destination becomes too familiar to the participants. As magnificent as some destinations can be, a trip to the south of France or Spain for example, can get old very quickly if you are not going to create excitement. For a memorable five-night program in Nice, Monte Carlo, Cannes, San Remo (Italy) and some of the small mountain towns must be examined as possibilities. In Spain or Portugal, the same holds true. These are magical destinations, quite capable of becoming exactly what you know they can be, but you are the artist. You are Picasso and you must paint! Get creative.
• In the beginning of the program, use muted shades of color. Fully-scheduled travel days in Europe or the Caribbean can be brutal to your participants—especially for the inexperienced. Some people deal with jet lag and travel fatigue better than others. I believe it is better to assume that everyone will be tired upon arrival. You should be fresh, patient and sympathetic to the "horrors" of rude flight attendants or the bumpy roads leading to the hotel. Concentrate on a smooth and uneventful check-in. Consider a low key orientation to the destination, but don't expect much. Generally people either don't show up or are really too tired to truly comprehend much. It is important that the gesture has been made. It can also serve as a terrific "time-fill" for rooms not quite ready yet.
Some sort of refreshment is important here. Never forget that an incentive is akin to entertaining at home. Would you ever have guests without the offering of some sort of food or drink?
• Paint each event, tour and meal with broad strokes of "I am special!" Always look for ways to make your incentive travel participants get some preferential treatment. I remember once, taking my incentive travel group to a show at a resort hotel. Everyone was lined up ready to go in. I had arranged for advance seating. As we alighted the motor-coaches, we were walked past the other line of waiting guests. Grunts of "Who are they?" and "Who do they think they are?" ensued as we were allowed in before the rest. My privileged group feigned embarrassment but their gleeful grins gave them away. They were delighted and it no longer mattered if the show was great. The occasion was already a success.
• Try to think of your program with a sense of progression. All works of art need to include some sort of crescendo. As said previously, use muted colors to paint the first evening's dinner experience, then gradually add more color until the final night's event. If possible, pull out all the stops and stop them dead in their tracks.
Example: November 8, 2005. I had 102 guests in St. Petersburg, Russia. The weather had been unusually mild and the program was varied and very well received. The final evening we were coached to the Yussupov Palace, once the private home (now a museum) of the undisputed wealthiest family's in all of Russia at that time. All gathered in the elegant chandeliered rotunda foyer of the grand ballroom at the top of the spectacular staircase. Chimes rang out as the heavy, carved and gilded doors were opened slowly and very dramatically by white gloved footmen. The gasps could be heard above the tuxedo-ed orchestra as the guests first gazed at the exquisite ballroom, opulent and very grand. At the opposite end, an orchestra played enchanting music while before them where two long tables set for 51. It was a scene right out of every fairy tale—with red velvet décor, gold-trimmed china and rose-filled centerpieces. The total effect? Sheer enchantment.
Painting Pros
A masterpiece is created by a "master." It is not the result of an unlimited budget, exclusive destinations or private jets. It is about a program with color, balance, light, dark and subject—like a fine painting. The group of individuals participating in the program might all be seeing the "art" differently, but the experience needs to be the same. The colors, the mood and the magic is all created by you. You are Picasso. What would you rather create? A masterpiece or paint by numbers?
After 10 years as Sales Promotion Director for one company and 19 years as Sales Incentives Manager for another, INCENTIVE online columnist Brian Martenis is currently managing director of Boutique Incentive Travel, a division of Philidelphia-based Gil Travel. Brian brings to this company nearly 30 years of designing and implementing very successful incentive travel programs all over the world. Brian is passionate about every aspect of his programs and is often asked to write and speak about incentives, incentive travel and motivation.
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