2016 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS SUNDAY, MARCH 20 MONDAY, MARCH 21 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM ILLINOIS VOLUNTOURISM (IVT) CONFERENCE REGISTRATION Oak Ridge Cemetery Convention Center
IVT is a unique volunteering opportunity for tourism 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM organizations and their partners all across our state. IVT is a chance to come together by donating our time and giving ICCVB BOARD MEETING back to the historic areas and attractions that make Illinois B2, Convention Center the great tourism destination that it is. The ICCVB board will come together to discuss current During this inaugural event, the Illinois Office of Tourism updates as they relate to the Conference and regional (IOT), working in conjunction with the Illinois Historic tourism opportunities as a whole. Preservation Agency (IHPA), will invite all conference 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM attendees to give back to the Springfield tourism community. Our volunteers will spend half a day cleaning ICCVB NICHE COMMITTEE MEETINGS flower beds, trimming bushes and preparing Illinois’ B4 and B6, Convention Center War Memorials for the coming season. Every year, tens of thousands of guests visit these areas to pay respect MARKET ILLINOIS (B4) to Illinoisans who stepped forward to give the ultimate SPORTS ILLINOIS (B6) sacrifice for their country. 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM Sponsored by: Peoria Area Convention & Visitors Bureau ICCVB CEO MEETING 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM B10, Convention Center
IVT PARTICIPANT THANK YOU RECEPTION 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Dana-Thomas House HAPPY HOUR FOR FIRST TIME ATTENDEES On behalf of the Illinois Office of Tourism and the Illinois DoubleTree Hotel Ballroom Foyer Historic Preservation Agency, we would like to thank all of the participants involved in making a difference during the Kick off the conference an hour early with a special reception Illinois VolunTourism event. for all first-time attendees! You’ll have the chance to network with Cory Jobe, Director of Illinois Office Tourism, in addition To celebrate, our IVT reception will take place at the historic to tourism professionals from across the state. Dana-Thomas House with rejuvenating drinks and hors d’oeuvres! 5:00 PM - 5:45 PM (Please note that this event is by invitation only) PRE-AWARDS COCKTAIL HOUR DoubleTree Hotel Ballroom Foyer In preparation for the Awards Dinner, mingle, greet and network with your fellow travel and tourism industry peers. This cocktail hour serves as a welcome reception to reconnect with old friends and make new ones!
2016 ILLINOIS GOVERNOR’S CONFERENCE ON TRAVEL AND TOURISM 1 2016 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
MONDAY, MARCH 21 (CONT.) TUESDAY, MARCH 22 (CONT.) 5:45 PM - 8:30 PM 10:15 AM - 11:30 AM ILLINOIS EXCELLENCE IN TOURISM AWARDS DINNER NATIONAL TRAVEL UPDATE DoubleTree Hotel Ballroom B11, Convention Center Join us and Governor Bruce Rauner for the 2016 Illinois Get up-to-date on what is happening on the national Excellence in Tourism Awards Dinner honoring innovative scene with our partners from U.S. Travel Association and tourism marketing initiatives that promote the outstanding Brand USA. This session will provide an overview of the destinations, attractions and events throughout the State of national travel scene in America, as well as an overview Illinois. of the international travel market. It will also include a 15-minute Q&A discussion with Cory Jobe, Director of the In honor of the rich presidential history in Illinois, we will Illinois Office of Tourism. be hosting a very special presidential dinner. In addition to a formal dinner and awards ceremony, we will be graced Speakers: Roger Dow, President and CEO, U.S. Travel with the presence of Illinois’ favorite president of the past Association; - President Abraham Lincoln. This is one event you won’t Chris Thompson, President and CEO, Brand USA; Cory want to miss. Jobe, Director, Illinois Office of Tourism Formal attire, black tie optional. Sponsored by: Midwest Living/Meredith Travel Marketing
Emcee: Laura Schwartz 11:30 AM - 11:45 AM Sponsored by: The Village of Rosemont SPECIAL REMARKS: TUESDAY, MARCH 22 ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE We’re very excited to have Illinois Department of 8:00 AM - 8:30 AM Commerce Director, Jim Schultz, speak at the conference ARRIVAL AND BREAKFAST this year! In his role, Jim provides leadership and strategic guidance to the Department’s efforts to grow the State’s B11, Convention Center economy by encouraging businesses to invest and create 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM jobs, by connecting resources to support entrepreneurs and investors, by positioning Illinois as a global business OPENING KEYNOTE SESSION - PETER GREENBERG destination for Foreign Direct Investment, by encouraging B11, Convention Center top talent to live and work here, and by promoting Illinois We’re kicking off the conference with Peter Greenberg, as world-class tourism and film destination. America’s most recognized, honored and respected front- Speaker: Jim Schultz, Director, Illinois Department of line travel news journalist. Peter is Travel Editor for CBS Commerce News, has appeared on The Early Show, CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, CBS Sunday Morning, and across 11:45 AM - 12:00 PM - TRADESHOW HALL/ many broadcast platforms. He is the consummate insider NETWORKING BREAK when it comes to reporting the travel business as news. No Visit our Tradeshow exhibitors now and throughout the day other journalist brings his extensive level of expertise and to network with fellow tourism and travel professionals, experience to the travel process. An Emmy Award-winning acquire new business opportunities and more! investigative reporter and producer, Peter was named one of 12:00 PM - 12:15 PM the most influential people in travel by Travel Weekly, along TRAVEL TIME TO DOUBLETREE with Al Gore, Bill Marriott and Richard Branson. Speaker: Peter Greenberg, Travel & Tourism Industry Expert Sponsored by: Great Rivers Country
10:00 AM - 10:15 AM - BREAK/NETWORKING TIME Sponsored by: Illinois Restaurant Association
2016 ILLINOIS GOVERNOR’S CONFERENCE ON TRAVEL AND TOURISM 2 2016 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
This luncheon will be revisiting the marketing and advertising TUESDAY, MARCH 22 (CONT.) strategies that contributed to an amazing year for Illinois tourism. Director Cory Jobe will share our vision for the 12:15 PM - 2:15 PM industry and offer a sneak preview of the exciting new ANNUAL STATE OF THE STATE TOURISM initiatives and programs sure to make 2016 another great ADDRESS LUNCHEON year. DoubleTree Ballroom Speaker: Cory Jobe, Director, Illinois Office of Tourism Sponsored by: Museums in the Park
2:15 PM - 3:00 PM - TRADESHOW HALL/NETWORKING BREAK
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM BREAKOUT SESSION OPTION 1 YOU HAVE GAME: FROM SMALL, MEDIUM TO LARGE MARKETS YOU TOO CAN STAKE YOUR SHARE IN THE BILLION DOLLAR SPORTS TOURISM INDUSTRY… B4, Convention Center So you think you may not have the right venue to host a sporting event? You may be wrong. This session, designed for new professionals to the industry and veterans alike, will highlight the variety of needs that event owners are looking for from your community that you just may have and didn’t know it. Learn from industry leaders, event rights holders and national governing bodies about the economic impact benefits to hosting sporting events, current industry trends, marketing and community advancement in the field of sport tourism. Speakers: Don Flynn, Development Director, Game Day USA; Jeff Jarnecke, Director/Championships and Alliances, NCAA; Don Schumacher, Executive Director, National Association of Sports commissions; Jim Estes, Director of Events, USA Track & Field Sponsored by: Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
BREAKOUT SESSION OPTION 2 HIT THE GROUND RUNNING B6, Convention Center We all have to start somewhere! For those organizations and leaders that are just starting to get their feet wet with tourism marketing, planning and management, this session will be a boon. Understanding the foundation of the industry is instrumental to prolonged success, and in this session, we’ll provide all the tools available to make your entity—and career—grow. This is a judgement-free roundtable discussion where you bring the questions you’ve always wanted to ask! If you have been in your current position for less than one year (whether it be in hotels, attractions, festivals or destination marketing), we highly recommend this one-hour pow wow with the state’s elite.
Speaker: Neville Bhada, Founder & CEO of Tourism Skills Group
2016 ILLINOIS GOVERNOR’S CONFERENCE ON TRAVEL AND TOURISM 3 2016 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
BREAKOUT SESSION OPTION 3 CONNECTING THE DOTS: CONTENT EVOLUTION: INSPIRING WITH STORYTELLING; PAINTING THE PATH TO CONVERSION B7, Convention Center
Madden Media will expand on their popular webinar focusing on storytelling. Madden Media will use new examples of stories and statistics from destinations, disclosing their latest storytelling tactics that inspire potential travelers to visit. It doesn’t stop with the story. This webinar ties in additional marketing tactics required to get heads in beds. Madden Media will present other digital tactics including programmatic display advertising and focused retargeting, showing how these tactics, combined with storytelling, will give your destination a solid advantage over the rest of the field.
Speaker: Brett Gordon, Senior VP of Strategy Innovation, Madden Media Sponsored by: Madden Media
TUESDAY, MARCH 22 (CONT.) WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23 4:00 PM - 4:15 PM - TRADESHOW HALL/ 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM NETWORKING BREAK Sponsored by: Illinois Restaurant Association CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST AND KEYNOTE SESSION - THE ECONOMIST WHO LOVED ME 4:15 PM - 5:15 PM B11, Convention Center GENERAL SESSION - THE BIGGEST MISTAKES IN TRAVEL We’re starting off the day with Anirban Basu, chairman and MARKETING, AND WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THEM CEO of Sage Policy Group, Inc. This presentation provides a detailed, data-driven update of the performance of the B11, Convention Center global, national, and relevant regional economy. Special Marketing disasters are amusing to everyone...well, except attention is given to key aspects of economic life, including the ones who committed them. Travel writer and author trends characterizing financial, real estate, energy and labor Doug Lansky presents hilarious highlights from the world’s markets. largest collection of travel-related marketing mistakes Speaker: The Economist, Anirban Basu, Chairman & CEO, including the worst tourism slogans and hotel names. Sage Policy Group Those amusing mistakes can go viral and cause serious brand damage, but can be also prevented with some basic Sponsored by: TimeZoneOne control measures. 9:30 AM - 9:45 AM - BREAK/NETWORKING TIME This program will have the audience laughing, but also thinking about travel in a new light. 9:45 AM - 10:45 AM Speaker: Doug Lansky, Award-Winning Travel Writer, GENERAL SESSION - GROUP TRAVEL, NOT YOUR World-Travel Expert, Travel Trends Futurist GRANDFATHER’S TRIP 5:15 PM - 6:00 PM - TRADESHOW RECEPTION B11, Convention Center Mingle with exhibitors and industry peers at the closing The session will dispel the myths about group travel, show Tradeshow Reception. you how to be prepared for today’s independent group 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM travelers, and how to get a piece of this multi-billion dollar sector of the leisure travel market. PRESIDENTIAL RECEPTION Speaker: Peter Pantuso, President & CEO, American Bus Old State Capitol Building Association Join us Tuesday night for an evening of networking in the Sponsored by: JWT halls that Abraham Lincoln once roamed. The Old State Capitol Building served as the seat of state government 10:45 AM - 11:00 AM - BREAK/NETWORKING TIME and a center of Illinois political life from 1839 to 1876. During the dramatic years leading to the Civil War, the building had an important role in the political struggle between Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861) and Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865).
2016 ILLINOIS GOVERNOR’S CONFERENCE ON TRAVEL AND TOURISM 4 2016 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23 (CONT.)
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM BREAKOUT SESSION OPTION 1 MARKETING ON A SHOESTRING BUDGET B4, Convention Center Let’s face it – we are all stretched when it comes to maximizing marketing dollars. You may be tempted to limit the time you spend toward marketing but don’t succumb to that temptation! If customers do not know about you, how can they find you? Instead, think about creative ways to enhance the tools at your disposal. Bhada explores ways to market your destination when you don’t have a lot of cash on hand. He also prioritizes your resources when you have limited budgets or staff. Speaker: Neville Bhada, Founder & CEO of Tourism Skills Group
BREAKOUT SESSION OPTION 2 FROM DISTRACTED TO PRODUCTIVE: FINDING YOUR FOCUS IN TODAY’S INCREASINGLY INTERRUPTED WORLD B6, Convention Center E-mail. Texts. Interruptions. Project Transitions. Office Clutter. Social and Other Media. Even Family and Friends. These seven “distractors” sometimes make it almost impossible to get anything done. But with some forethought and effective strategies, as well as some personal discipline, it is more than possible to find your focus once again, even in a hyper-distracted world. As a matter of fact, those using these strategies will have a long-term competitive advantage - both professionally and personally. In this new program by popular time and tech management speaker Randy Dean, he’ll look at each of these key areas of distraction and define strategies for enhancing long-term focus, productivity and performance. He’ll share “game plan” ideas for getting and keeping your distractors under control, and finding critical “focused productivity” time every day, leading to performance, clarity of mind and purpose. Speaker: Randy Dean, known as “The E-Mail Sanity Expert” ™ and author of the recent Amazon.com #1 E-Mail Bestseller, Taming the E-Mail Beast Sponsored by: AAA Living
BREAKOUT SESSION OPTION 3 REDEFINING THE FEMALE TRAVELER B7, Convention Center With a base of nearly 14,000 female respondents, Midwest Living is able to provide a detailed look into their travel trends and behaviors. Specifically calling out statistical differences between generations (millennials, Gen X, boomers), moms and Hispanic women to help travel marketers focus in on travelers’ intentions and best craft their message to sell their destination. Midwest Living will be deepening our understanding of female readers’ vacation preferences and involvement with vacation travel, particularly with respect to planning resources, magazine travel articles/advertisements, travel banner ads and vacation food/beverage activities. Speaker: Melissa Luebbe, National Travel Director, Midwest Living Sponsored by: Midwest Living
2016 ILLINOIS GOVERNOR’S CONFERENCE ON TRAVEL AND TOURISM 5 2016 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23 (CONT.)
12:00 PM - 12:15 PM - BREAK/NETWORKING TIME
12:15 PM - 2:15 PM CLOSING LUNCHEON AND GOOGLE KEYNOTE B11, Convention Center We’re closing the conference with Laura Sardegna, the Head of Industry for Catalyst at Google. Her team is focused on delivering digital media solutions to clients that meet their business objectives. She partners with clients across various industries including travel, finance, pharma, health services, retail, auto and technology. Laura has been at Google for five years and has held various roles including Head of Performance-Mobile, Head of Performance- Search and Strategy Lead for Shopper Marketing. Prior to joining Google, she was Director of Brand Management for Craftsman, Chief of Staff to the CMO of Sears Holdings and was a turnaround management and strategy consultant for Alvarez & Marsal LLC. She holds a BBA from the Ross School of Management at the University of Michigan and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management. Speaker: Laura Sardegna, Head of Industry for Catalyst, Google Sponsored by: Maxus
2016 ILLINOIS GOVERNOR’S CONFERENCE ON TRAVEL AND TOURISM 6