The society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) Foundation asked the C-Suite how incentive travel is part of their business growth plan. We will sit down with SITE Chief Marketing Officer Padraic Gilligan; and Endowed Professor with the Brierley Institute for Customer Engagement, Marci Armstrong, to unpack what their responses mean for meeting professionals delivering on these new goals.
You will learn:
- How remote work and The Great Recession are putting pressure on incentive programs to deliver more strategic goals
- Why incentive travel is more powerful than dollars for motivating behavior
- How incentive travel shapes company culture
- Suggestions for shifting agendas to focus on creating robust networks
- Where groups want to travel now
Pádraic Gilligan is Chief Marketing Officer at Society for Incentive Travel Excellence and Managing Partner at SoolNua, a marketing agency working with destinations, venues, agencies, associations, and hotels. Before forming SoolNua with his business partner, Patrick Delaney, Gilligan was Vice President of Ovation, MCI’s global DMC network, and Vice President of Industry Relations at MCI. He has served on the Hospitality Partners’ Advisory Council at FICP, on the Advisory Board of the Special Event, and the Advisory Board of the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB). He has been recognized and awarded extensively for his work as a business events professional and is in high demand as a speaker at MICE events worldwide. Pádraic is a passionate supporter of Arsenal Football Club, a performing singer-songwriter, and loves to run and ride his bicycle. He blogs at www.padraicino.com
Marci Armstrong, Ph.D., is an Endowed Professor with the Brierley Institute for Customer Engagement at Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business. The Institute brings together students, professors, and business practitioners to study how and why customer engagement and experiences drive customer loyalty and value. Recent corporate projects include work with the SITE Foundation, American Airlines, AMC, Chevron, Chili’s, Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Neiman Marcus, Pabst Brewing, Pizza Hut, Sam’s Club, Southwest Airlines, and Topgolf. Marci is passionate about traveling and being outdoors in her free time, including her recent trip to Iceland for hiking, biking, kayaking, and caving.
