You have just returned from a trip to Fiji. You have to check your email of course and surf the net to relax. Suddenly, the ads that you see in your Yahoo mailbox, on MSN, and on Amazon are all about hotels, air travel, and Fiji. Is that just a coincidence? Of course not. It is the result of a specific type of marketing known as behavioral advertising.

Behavioral advertising is an effective way to match consumer-buying patterns with their online browsing patterns. It works like this: the information gathered through Internet data is sold to companies that express interest in a specific segment of consumer online browsing. What is not sold includes names, addresses, or credit card numbers.

In the travel industry the scenario would be more like this: Joe Traveler booked a flight to Australia, he traveled first class, and requested a rental car at the airport. The company buying the information would not know Joe’s name simply that someone using his computer booked that flight and needed a rental.

Expedia admits to using behavioral advertising and calls its program PassportAds. The program is a bit controversial. Proponents argue that no personal identification information is given out so it’s harmless to consumers. Opponents insist that consumers are not well informed about this practice and they may object to it after full disclosure. Where do you stand on this interesting method of advertising?

Today everyone is pinching pennies, and for good reason; the economic crisis has been frightening. Anyone who isn’t at least a little worried isn’t paying attention. That said, it seems that it is possible to be too careful. One of those ways most meeting planners have already seen–companies are canceling meetings by the score, and others are going to teleconferencing and web meetings. While VoIP technology has made it possible to hold meetings more cheaply overall, it also costs in the long run. The values of “face time” are numerous.

The Risk of Impersonal Contact

Although email and other automated communications can save time and money, it also creates a barrier to more humanistic contact. Everyone has known someone who was misunderstood because of an email and created tension and disagreements–what a waste of company time! Meeting the people you email with keeps the humanity in conversations, and helps keep civility in them as well. People are a little less quick on their hot button when they can put a face with an email handle. Read the rest of this entry »

Any planner who wants to specialize in green meetings has some research to do. There are so many ways to “go green” it’s difficult to keep track of them all long enough to decide which ones will apply in each situation. However, there are some basics that can help you keep your ideas organized and give you a way to build a large file on green meetings–paperless, of course.

First, let’s divide ideas into four categories. The three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), automation, waste impact, and community impact. You can easily reduce waste by requiring advertisers to offer reusable items, like water bottles, grocery sized canvas bags, reusable coffee mugs with lids, etc. This will reduce the use of throw-away plastic bottles and cardboard cups. Ask that the materials used are made from post-consumer waste, and this should also go for any printed material (which will also be recycled locally). You can also request that handouts be delivered electronically as well, or provided on portable digital media. Read the rest of this entry »