An Interview with JNR Incorporated–
Top Professionals Share How They Deliver the Wow Year After Year
This is the first of four sections on how meeting professionals create new and memorable programs, year after year, with the same clients.
About JNR Incorporated
JNR Incorporated is a full service incentive marketing company headquartered in Irvine, California. Jim Jalet, President and CEO developed the company over twenty-seven years ago offering corporations the highest level of product and service available. JNR’s sixty-five employees deliver award winning programs that produce exceptional results and lasting impressions. JNR’s wide range of marketing programs include corporate incentives, incentive travel, meeting or convention plannning, debit card programs, merchandise and recognition, special event or entertainment. Two of JNR’s top professionals were interviewed for this article.
Shaking Things Up
As event planning professionals, the one comment we both dread and love to hear is, ”How are you going to top last year’s program—it was fantastic!”
Ever wonder how industry pros pull off their award-winning programs time after time? The secret is a magic formula of client and product knowledge and a good degree of the old crystal ball technique—forecasting what will be new and exciting in the year to follow. An interview with two of the industry’s top event planners who work for JNR Incorporated revealed some intriguing insights into this challenging subject.
Part 1 – Details! Details! Details!
Linda Cote is a twenty year meetings and events industry veteran. She has a reputation for being versatile, knowledgeable, and a perfectionist. She is an undisputed favorite with her clients because they know without a doubt that she will bring them fresh and new approaches to their annual programs. Her event planning background began at one of the nation’s top event companies headquartered in Los Angeles, California. That position lead to her being hired at JNR Incorporated fourteen years ago. Linda’s proven abilities and experience have brought her to her current position at JNR as Special Events Director. She bonds closely with her clients and reaches inside their psyches to discover their “dream” programs, which allows her to deliver extraordinary meeting and incentive travel programs year after year. Linda is also a Board member of International Association of Corporate Entertainment Producers. (IACEP)
As Special Events Director, Linda is responsible for overseeing the operations of an incredibly complex annual incentive travel program for one of JNR’s long-term clients. This incentive program drew its first breath in the late 1980’s and has been running strong ever since. In return for client loyalty, JNR faces the challenge that the program must take place each April in a Hawaiian island location. While Hawaii offers a great mix of the qualities that any incentive planner craves such as great weather, a fun and sun location, experienced infrastructure and marketing excitement, it is still a challenge to offer a “fresh” and extraordinary program every time.
When clients change their destinations geographically from year to year, the marketing challenge isn’t the same as it is when a repeat destination is selected. While change isn’t always the solution, it does offer some advantages because the incentive marketing team can wrap the theme and campaign around the look and feel of each new destination.
Extensive Site Inspections
When the destination remains the same, there are other opportunities, as well as challenges. Linda Cote’s advice is to go the source, or in other words, go to the destination. “You have to do extensive site inspections to discover special nuances and hidden treasures.” One of the advantages that a return location offers is the opportunity to build a highly responsible and reputable “cast”. Linda’s expert team of professionals include a Hawaiian based décor company, a local DMC and production company. This team meets every year with Linda and the client for this working site inspection.
According to Linda, “We started our brainstorming session immediately during the first hotel tour. We generally begin in the ballroom that we are going to use for the awards banquet. We check out ceiling heights, dimensions, light fixtures, wall and carpet colors. We consider our options, and we turn challenges into opportunities.”
After the hotel site inspection, Linda and the team visit each of the offsite venues because this program does a mix of on- and off-property events. “We knew we didn’t want to offer another luau. But, when we visited Kilohana, we liked the new luau pavilion that Fred Atkins has built. Our team discussed options, and we came up with a great concept. We created a retro Hawaii theme so we can include the look and feel of Kilohana and Kauai, but with a different twist. From there, we’ll throw in the extra touches and creative details to make it fresh and exciting.”
Linda had the client and all of her support suppliers in tow when they visited Kilohana. One cast member mentioned that Mick Fleetwood, of Fleetwood Mac fame, now lives on Kauai and has a local Hawaiian band and show. One idea led to another and soon they were working on the concept of a Mick Fleetwood show, backed by his local group to make it feel more authentic to the island theme. The production specialist was there to discuss how to make the show work in the new pavilion and the décor representative was on hand to provide décor and lighting magic. They soon had the foundation for an outstanding theme party.
Tags: Add new tag, Corporate Entertainment, Corporate Travel Incentives, Incentive Travel
