Hilke Ahrens

Director, Corporate Sales
Choose Chicago

Hello fellow CEMA members! I appreciate the opportunity to tell you a bit about me.

I was born and raised in Germany (I actually have a green card) and have lived in the US for about 14 years. I came to the States during a year abroad in college. I was lucky enough to start my career as a Sales Admin at Starwood hotels and opened the Sheraton Grand Phoenix. I was promoted to Sales Manager at the same property and following that, switched to the Convention Center side and worked for the Phoenix Convention Center for a few years.

I moved to Chicago four years ago to work as National Sales Manager at McCormick Place. In this role, I worked very closely with Choose Chicago and two years ago, I was thrilled to be named Director of Corporate Sales at Choose Chicago. Since that time, I’ve been working with corporations for their citywide meetings.

Other “fun facts” about me:

• – I am getting close to my goal of reading every single Steven King book (almost there!)
• – I drive a stick-shift turbo charged mini cooper and my mantra is “drive it like you stole it” (no tickets yet in this car!)
• – I have 2 rescue doggies

I feel absolutely honored to be chosen to provide you all, my treasured event marketing colleagues, with a glimpse of me. I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming CEMA event.

CEMA Executive Profile

Eileen Page

Manager, Digital Solutions
InVision

Joined InVision: 2015
Years of Experience: Since 2001

Eileen has over 17 years of experience crafting digital solutions for clients across multiple industries, including pharmaceutical, CPG and professional services. She thrives on applying her passion for digital directly to the attendee journey to enhance and expand upon it – before, during, after and outside of events.

Eileen’s clients appreciate her unique ability to distill complicated information and make technology more accessible to them by clearly articulating complex concepts and view her as a true strategic partner.

Eileen lives in Chicago with her husband Nick, kids (Gavin, Brendan and Angela) and dog Toby, where they enjoy the lakefront, parks and trying new restaurants. When she isn’t running after her three small children, she enjoys running as a hobby and plans to complete her fifth marathon in 2020.

High Five for Platinum Plus Member Freeman!

Our thanks to CEMA Platinum Plus Member Freeman, sponsoring our electronic newsletter for September. Freeman is the world’s leading brand experience company. Freeman helps o clients design and deliver immersive live experiences for their most important audiences. Through comprehensive offerings including strategy, creative, logistics, digital, and event technology, Freeman helps increase audience engagement and drive business results. What makes Freeman different is their collaborative culture, intuitive knowledge, global perspective, and personalized approach, which they have gained from our 90 years as an industry leader. For more information, please visit https://www.freeman.com/.

Calling all Event Leaders ~ Are you interested in a CEMA Board of Directors position?

We are currently seeking candidates for some incredibly important CEMA Board of Directors positions. If you have what it takes or know of a colleague who would rock the Board fill out the board nomination form https://cemaonline.com/board-nomination/. Final applications must be submitted by October 11th.

You Can Earn CMP Credits as a CEMA Member

An exclusive benefit of CEMA membership, CEMA members who attend our premier events have the opportunity to earn CMP credits. In 2019, CEMA members have earned 55 hours in CMP credits. If you would like more information, please contact Stacey@CEMAonline.com.

Planning for 2020? Something to Add to Your Budget…

As you budget for 2020, please don’t forget to account for your 2020 CEMA membership, 2020 CEMA sponsorship and CEMA Summit 2020 fees. CEMA 2019 Memberships expire Dec. 31, 2019.

2020 Membership Pricing

• Individual Client-Side Event Marketer-$325
• Corporate Client-Side Event Marketer (4 individuals) $995
• Add on to the Corporate EM Membership is $195 per person
• Individual Industry Partner $495
• Corporate Standard IP $1000 for 2
• Add on is $500 per person for a max of 4

2020 Summit Pricing:

• Event Marketer Early Bird $1195, Regular Price $1395
• Industry Partner Early Bird $1495, Regular Price $1595

We also offer Premium Memberships with some amazing extra benefits for your company. Please contact Stacey at Stacey@CEMAonline.com regarding many membership questions.

CEMA in the News: Thoughts About CEMA Summit 2019 from a First-Timer

We are so grateful to hear our CEMA members appreciate all the hard work. Check out this piece by one of our CEMA Summit newcomers. Thank you and welcome to the family, Tracey!

CEMA in the News: Thoughts About CEMA Summit 2019 from a First-Timer

We are so grateful to hear our CEMA members appreciate all the hard work. Check out this piece by one of our CEMA Summit newcomers. Thank you and welcome to the family, Tracey!

Event Councils? How Do CEMA Members Advise Kicking One off?

Do you have a question you’d like to pose to our premier community of event marketing leaders? CEMA members have the chance to utilize a special benefit called ASK CEMA. In this forum, you may ask a question of your fellow CEMA members who will then provide experienced advice.

To access this benefit, log in as a member and ask your question. CEMA members will answer your question.

ASK CEMA Question for September:

“I am trying to start an Event Council. We currently have a very loose Alignment Meeting once a quarter, but I want to formalize it. I am wondering how many CEMA members have a formalized Event Council in their orgs. I would also like to solicit advice on starting one.”

ASK CEMA Answer:

We have helped a few clients with setting up an events council. We have done these for larger global companies or smaller, mid-sized firms. The key is to understand the objectives and goals to develop a council with goals and objectives that meets the individual company’s needs. I would be willing to hop on a call to discuss best practices with the person asking the question. To help, let me share an item they should consider and ones we help our clients with. These are examples based on other client’s requirements for setting up an events council and would need to be tweaked to this company’s needs.

Global Events Marketing Council (GEMC) is developed to provide a forum for optimized intra-company communications on event marketing and disseminate the information to other groups resulting in efficient event spending and maximized event effectiveness. Focusing on 4 major areas: Communication; Transparency; Accountability; and Consolidation. NOTE: for this client, one of their goals was to reduce the number of events they were sponsoring.

Ultimately to the goal is hold the right events, for the right reasons, at the right time.

A second example:

Project Objective

The objective of this project is to improve your event marketing effectiveness through the development of improved communications, the deployment of tools, and the assembly of a team to assist in implementing the required changes to existing processes.

The Event Marketing Partners Solution

Based upon the briefing meeting and subsequent conversations, it is clear that the overriding mission of the Global Events team is to improve the effectiveness and communications of event marketing activity across all regions.

We focused our services on these categories:

• • Communication – Global Events Council
• • Transparency – Tools and approval process
• • Measurement – Program to measure the effectiveness of events

Communication – Establish a Global Events Council

• Responsible for developing, communicating, and administrating the rules and tools for all aspects of event programs worldwide resulting in optimized program efficiency and effectiveness
• Processes for determining whether an event is the best solution to a marketing objective
• Implementation and communication of event calendars designed to eliminate both redundancy and customer confusion over event choices
• Development and communication of measurement tools for determining Return on Objectives
• Syndicating Best Practices proven successful events and event processes. Deploy event solutions in one region, test them, and expand successful solutions to other countries/regions
• Collaborate with Procurement