2015 was described in December as “The Year Of The Millennial Customer” by Forbes Magazine.
Millennials is the term used to describe those born between the early 1980s and early 2000s, sometimes referred to as Generation Y and/or Digital Natives.
The leading characteristic of the Generation is referenced by the “Digital Natives” tag, as those born during this period were born into an emerging world of technology and have grown up surrounded by smart phones, laptops, tablets and other gadgets.
As increasingly larger numbers of Millennials enter and make up the workforce, businesses are adapting and adjusting to the expectations of this new generation and how they ‘expect’ to operate, whether they are employees, suppliers, or customers.
Such a shift in demographic was one of the reasons why Marriott recently launched their Meetings Imagined concept with a sequence of show and tell events across their London hotels portfolio.
Eventopedia attended breakfast and evening events at St Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square, Grosvenor House a JW Marriott Hotel, to experience and understand the different interpretations of the concept.
Whilst attending the breakfast event at the initial concept hotel, London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square, we got chatting to Hotel Executive Chef, Jamie Welch.
How was the Meetings Imagined concept first pitched to you?
“Meetings Imagined was described to me as an innovative online conference, events and meeting tool designed to help meeting organisers’ visualise, plan and implement their event. It is a stand-alone microsite, which encourages planners to identify the purpose of their meeting (Celebrate, Decide, Educate, Ideate, Network, Produce or Promote) and tailor their event using the site’s expert tips and trends.
It sounds like an excellent tool complementing Eventopedia.com, taking planners from the planning and souring stages to the design stage of the event, for those booking Marriott.
Personalisation is key to Meetings Imagined, as Welch explains, “…Users can create personalised inspiration galleries to share ideas with colleagues and the in-house hotel team in order to book their perfect event.”
What were your initial thoughts about how this concept related to food?
“My initial thoughts were great! As it meant that we could create menus tailored to clients’ specific desires.”
There is the personalisation theme again, which many writers and authoritative commentators on Millennails have emphasised is a key generational trait. Personal and Customised is key to marketing to and engaging with Millennials, as Debra Kaye emphasises for Entrepreneur “Marketing to Millennials? Make It Personal and Customized”.
“We implement this by working closely with our in-house event team to ensure the catering fits the wider theme and tweak dishes, so they are perfect for the client. Feedback from menu tastings are also a vital part of finalising a menu and ensuring dishes are flawless on the night.”
Personalisation and Customisation are not the only buzzwords, as Creativity, Flexibility and Innovation all play their part in the concept too.
Welch informs us “…The launch of this new concept also meant we were able to revitalise our menus to create dishes that suit each of the seven themes within Meetings Imagined. As London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square was the concept hotel for Meetings Imagined in 2014, we have been able to hone the banqueting available and for 2015 the hotel will have numerous meeting, event and banqueting menus available which will cater for all seven meeting types.”
To what extent were you free to provide your own interpretation of the Meetings Imagined concept to food?
“We have ensured catering follows the model of Meetings Imagined, whilst being able to apply our own interpretation of the concept within the design of the dishes. London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square allowed me and the team to create menus we are passionate about with each dish reflecting our creative and explorative personalities.”
Although there will be some constraints within brand guidelines, it is noticeable that Marriott have recognised the importance of freedom and individuality in the creative process, allowing the Chef’s passions to flourish.
“A passion of mine is sourcing local produce as there are great ingredients available on our doorstep. The ability to buy amazing and varied ingredients in London meant we were able to create dishes with influences from around the world.”
The sharing of knowledge and expertise is key to our own business, so it’s pleasing to hear how the Marriott chefs are utilising technology to share expertise.
Welch explains, “I also gained ideas from the Meetings Imagined website as Marriott chefs are able to share visual ideas, sparking new dishes or adapting existing ones. We were ultimately given a wide scope, enabling us to create a catering menu that truly reflects the team working within the hotel.”
Can you provide examples of what Meetings Imagined means in terms of flexibility of food options?
“The seven different themes within Meetings Imagined creates a high level of flexibility for the menus and individual dishes available. As organisers can tailor their meeting to suit their exact requirements it means the food available to delegates needs to match the type of event they are attending. For example they may require a quick power lunch, light bite or afternoon tea for day business meetings, whilst banquets and weddings may prefer silver service or buffet style menus.
Training providers such as etc.venues and cct.venues who have conducted research into the food & beverage offerings that are more conducive to aid learning have pioneered this flexibility towards the food & beverage offering, matching the type of food to the style of event.
Hotel groups extending such leadership may well add new dimensions to such creative flair. Certainly, Welch has been able to demonstrate some innovative ideas that have gained recognition and support…
“During my time developing the Meetings Imagined catering menu we were encouraged to build relationships with manufacturers and suppliers leading me to build a close relationship with ‘Tiptree’, after falling in love with their Lemon Curd. This inspired me to create a Lemon Posset with a twist, a dry ice version. Tiptree loved the idea and manufactured a special Tiptree branded jam jar for our dessert to be presented in.”
Any Google search on how to connect with Millennials will inform you that Storytelling is a critical aspect of the connection. Our own Creative Director, Pete Davies, an ex-BBC TV programme & documentary maker, can – and will – provide a lot of interesting facts on the subject, but that’s for another blog! It’s clear Welch and Marriott understand the impact of the narrative of the product.
“Providence of ingredients is important to delegates and we devised a serving station to bring the farm to fork concept to life. We did this by introducing a ‘Ringden Farm to Glass’ Apple Juice on our all day stations, where guests can juice a crate of fresh apples themselves. We also like to encourage delegates to enjoy the outdoors by serving Ice Cream in Grosvenor Square Park, which works particularly well in the warmer months.
We are also in the process of launching our version of the ‘Bunny Chow’, named ‘Bunny Wow’. These will be a selection of mini dishes created out of hollowed out rolls filled with various ingredients to create bite size nibbles for networking events. We have so far trialled the H Forman & Sons dish, which is a roll containing smoked salmon, cocktail sausage, Clarence court scrambled egg, crème fraiche and dill – this has been highly praised by delegates.”
Recent IACC research featured in C&IT Magazine, indicates that a growing trend is the approach to meeting room style and aesthetic design, as it’s recognised rooms can set the mood. A key aspect of Meetings Imagined is the approach to meeting room set-up, which the research shows “…have seen ‘radical makeovers’ in terms of design, colour and creative seating options.” Indeed, some of the furniture and room set-ups look likely to pose logistical challenges for operations, and maybe even for the catering teams.
How is your brigade adapting to overcome the logistical challenges posed by the flexibility characterised by Meetings Imagined, particularly to maintain Gross Profit?
“We have a great team of chefs and they all have their clear roles. The key to running a successful kitchen when your menus offer clients a large choice of options is to ensure that communication is maintained throughout the booking, organisation and execution process. We’ve had one years’ practice and so we are well versed in implementing Meetings Imagined and are looking forward to executing the dishes available in 2015 and beyond.”
How important a role do you feel food plays in the success of an event and its objectives?
“Food is an extremely important part of a meeting or event. If the food is bad then your client and guests will remember and may not return. Menus or dishes can also bring to life an organisers theme through presentation of dishes, smell and ingredients. For example if a client has a sea theme, main ingredients used could be purely seafood. We don’t just eat with our taste buds but with our eyes too.”
Such recognition of engaging multiple senses is an increasingly big factor in how events are created and executed. Identifying sensory stimulation on multiple levels is a method for creating unforgettable brand experiences. Marriott and Welch appear to have a clear understanding of this concept and how it relates to, not only their own brand, but also the experience of the customer.
“London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square has built up an excellent reputation for catering over 30 years and we are passionate about ensuring that it remains one of London’s best conference and events venues.”
Summary
Millennials are a tough crowd to please; demanding a near endless amount of choice and personalisation, while expecting the very best brand experience and quality too.
The Marriott’s innovative response to catering to the needs and expectations of this generation offer a great lesson to everyone else in the events industry looking to raise the bar and attract the (substantial) business of Millennials.
Eventopedia would like to thank Jamie Welch for taking time out of his busy schedule to engage with our questions, and to the whole team at Marriott London Grosvenor Square for the invitation to experience their spin on the Marriott Meetings Imagined concept.
