Financial services powerhouse Morgan Stanley has its ear to the ground when it comes to the economy. Based in New York, the firm has big clients nationwide who want to know what Morgan Stanley knows. So once a year, thousands of those investors gather at local events to mingle, nosh, and get the latest data and analysis from the experts.

Here's the twist: These clients aren't attending local stops on a nationwide roadshow. They're all showing up at their local events on the same night to hear the same message delivered by the same speakers.

Using a high-end television studio in Manhattan, Morgan Stanley does the presentation as a satellite broadcast, downlinked to each local gathering.

To book the sites and coordinate the downlinks, Morgan Stanley hired EventCom Technologies by Marriott, based in Chicago. “They coordinated 45 locations around the country. We invited high-level clients so we needed an exclusive, high-level feel,” say Eric Davis, vice president and director, television communications, at Morgan Stanley. “They helped us find locations based on the specific requirements of local managers.” Some, for example, planned plated dinners; others held receptions. “The big deal is that they take it seriously,” Davis says of EventCom. “You know the ball isn't going to be dropped.”

EventCom is “a tech company that also does hotels,” in the words of Tom Maguire, CMP, director. EventCom originally was launched as a one-stop shop for multiproperty technical events, coordinating sales and service of communications technologies at Marriott properties worldwide. It has evolved into a sort of independent planning company that knows its way around a satellite dish. While a Marriott company, EventCom doesn't book just Marriotts — or just hotels for that matter. For more information, go to www.eventcomtechnologies.com.