Kellogg School of Management
EVENT MARKETING
Northwestern University’s Kellogg School
of Management consistently ranks in the top tier
of the most respected MBA programs in the nation.
In support of this position, Kellogg develops and
hosts, with corporate partners, a variety of conferences
and forums designed to advance its standing on
critical issues of concern to current and future
business leaders.
The need
In 1990, the Chicago office of Spencer Stuart,
through its advisory board, approached the Kellogg
School to host an invitation-only conference
covering an issue of ongoing concern to senior
management and their boards of directors: corporate
governance. The recruiting firm was seeking to
solidify its reputation as the firm of choice
for board searches and believed this sponsorship
would, over time, achieve that objective. Hodge
Schindler, Spencer Stuart’s agency at the
time, was part of the team charged with developing
the concept for the annual Corporate Governance
Conference.
Our approach
We guided a variety of aspects of the program,
from presentation format (a series of panel discussions
opened to audience participation) to event marketing
collateral development (folders with speaker
bios, sponsor credits, appropriate news clips).
We also provided input as to structure: It was
decided to fund this entirely through sponsorships,
rather than charge for attendance, which was
limited to those specifically invited by Kellogg
or one of the sponsors as a means of heightening
the event’s exclusivity and cachet among
corporate leaders. Unless asked to participate
as speakers, the media would not be invited.
Additionally,
as a means of marketing the event to past and future
attendees, we arranged to record and transcribe
the proceedings. Hodge Schindler edited the content
to ensure the commentary flowed and showed continuity,
and made sure all speakers (including audience
members) approved the edits to their comments.
After three rounds of edits, the content was handed
over to a graphic designer and ultimately printed
as a soft-cover, 80-page book. This conference
report was distributed to speakers, audience members
and the complete board of directors of each participating
corporation, covered by a letter inviting them
to attend the next year’s conference. Seventeen
years later, Hodge Schindler is still involved
in the conference as editor of the book; Kellogg
manages event details in-house.
The outcomes
Over the years, the Kellogg Corporate Governance
Conference has become one of the premier summits
on corporate governance, attracting the highest
profile executives in the United States (and
many from Europe, as well). From a first-year
attendance of 50 chief executives and directors,
attendance has grown to more than 200 – a
capacity crowd for Kellogg’s facilities.
And for the two corporate sponsors – Spencer
Stuart and Booz Allen Hamilton – participation
has firmly solidified their standing as partners
of choice to senior management.
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