Carlson Marketing Worldwide

Plymouth, Minn.
(763) 212-4520
www.carlsonmarketing.com

Founded: 1938

Leadership: Jeff Balagna, president & CEO; Fay Beauchine, executive VP, global engagement & events

Corporate meetings in 2007:
896

Incentive travel programs in 2007:
387

Portion of meeting and incentive travel programs held outside the U.S.:
25%

Room nights booked for meetings and incentives:
360,000

Full-time employees:
2,526

At a glance: Carlson Marketing Worldwide is among the largest and most diverse companies on the CMI 25 list, splitting its focus between meetings and events and brand loyalty programs. It's part of the global Carlson Cos., with sister brands such as Radisson Hotels & Resorts and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. For Carlson Marketing, the top trend in the meeting and event space is the use of mobile technology. Spurred by environmentalism and changing demographics, Carlson is capitalizing on its partnerships with technology providers such as Nokia to foster interactivity before, during, and after events through PDA communications and Web-based tools.

Creative Group Inc.

Appleton, Wis.
(920) 739-8850
www.creativegroupinc.com

Founded: 1970

Leadership: Ron Officer, chairman & CEO; Brad Langley, president & COO

Corporate meetings in 2007:
321

Incentive travel programs in 2007:
68

Portion of meeting and incentive travel programs held outside the U.S.:
16%

Room nights booked for meetings and incentives:
150,000*

Full-time employees:
116

*2006 data, as reported for the 2007 CMI 25 report

At a glance: Creative Group announced a partnership this year with another Wisconsin company, Milwaukee-based Adelman Travel. Adelman will recommend Creative Group to its customers needing corporate meeting and incentive planning and Creative Group will recommend Adelman for corporate travel management. This year Creative Group also partnered with MeetingMetrics, and now offers a variety of strategic surveys that measure such things as return on investment of the meeting.

Enterprise Events Group

San Rafael, Calif.
(415) 499-4444
www.eeginc.com

Founded: 1995

Leadership: Matthew Gillam, officer; Richard Calcaterra, officer

Corporate meetings in 2007:
69

Incentive travel programs in 2007:
18

Portion of meeting and incentive travel programs held outside the U.S.:
15%

Room nights booked for meetings and incentives:
94,770

Full-time employees:
96

At a glance: Among EEG's in-house services are Web registration and Web site development, including a customizable proprietary software called Scheduler that allows attendees to enroll in courses and track sessions through the event Web site. In addition to its headquarters in San Rafael, Calif., the company has offices in Austin, Texas, and Palm Springs, Calif. EEG has executives serving on the advisory boards for Four Seasons, Fairmont, and the New Orleans CVB.

Excellence In Motivation

Dayton, Ohio
(937) 222-2900
www.eim-inc.com

Founded: 1993

Leadership: Bob Miller, CEO/president; John Kernan, CFO

Corporate meetings in 2007:
20

Incentive travel programs in 2007:
84

Portion of meeting and incentive travel programs held outside the U.S.:
25%

Room nights booked for meetings and incentives:
86,000

Full-time employees:
300

At a glance: As a performance improvement company, EIM gets 70 percent of its revenues from incentives, 20 percent from meetings, and 10 percent from other sources. In addition to travel programs, the company's services include a VISA co-branded EIM debit card for use as an incentive reward and a robust online merchandise and individual travel catalog with more than 2,000 items. EIM is headquartered in Dayton and has offices in seven other cities around the U.S.

Experient

Twinsburg, Ohio
(330) 425-8333
www.experient-inc.com

Founded: 2006

Leadership: George Benson, CEO, David Erich, COO

Corporate meetings and incentives in 2007:
1,363*

Portion of meeting and incentive travel programs held outside the U.S.:
5%

Room nights booked for meetings and incentives:
483,549

Full-time employees:
698

*Combined meetings and incentive programs

At a glance: In addition to meeting and event management, Experient — formerly Conferon Global Services — offers registration, housing, and lead-retrieval services. About 25 percent of the company's revenues come from corporate meetings. The company is proud to note that it has 74 Certified Meeting Professionals on staff, and it recently announced a preferred partner agreement with zuku, a Madison, Conn.-based company whose audience interaction system allows organizations to connect with attendees using text messaging on their mobile phones.

Fox Premier Meetings and Incentives

Oshkosh, Wis.
(920) 236-8030
www.gopmi.com

Founded: 1980

Leadership: David Juedes, president; Geoff Kuhnz, executive VP

Corporate meetings in 2007:
62

Incentive travel programs in 2007:
85

Portion of meeting and incentive travel programs held outside the U.S.:
29%

Room nights booked for meetings and incentives:
About 20,000

Full-time employees:
17

At a glance: Fox Premier is an arm of Fox World Travel, the 19th largest travel-management company as ranked by Business Travel News. The division rebranded itself in July, changing from Premier Meetings and Incentives to more closely align itself with the parent company. Its top clients are in the insurance industry, with 40 percent of its revenues coming from meetings, 55 percent from incentives, and 5 percent from other sources.

Gavel International Inc.

Lincolnshire, Ill.
(847) 945-8150
www.gavelintl.com

Founded: 1985

Leadership: John Seehausen, managing director; Peter H. Reichenbach, executive VP; Michael Richardson, executive VP

Corporate meetings in 2007:
115

Incentive travel programs in 2007:
75

Portion of meeting and incentive travel programs held outside the U.S.:
15%

Room nights booked for meetings and incentives:
212,000

Full-time employees:
48

At a glance: Gavel International is headquartered just outside of Chicago in Lincolnshire, Ill., and has offices in Detroit and Indianapolis. About 60 percent of its revenues come from meetings, 35 percent from incentives, and 5 percent from other sources. Its services include program design, attendee messaging, performance tracking, an in-house air department, registration and housing management, and all aspects of meeting management.