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April 5, 2010

Corporate Meetings Go Bare Bones

As Hartford’s publicly traded companies slowly recover from the economic funk, they’re certainly not splurging on their shareholders.

Annual shareholders meetings — once elaborate events rolling out the red carpet for attendees — have been stripped to the bare-bone essentials. Gone are the exotic locales, delicious spreads and gift bags. What remains are simple business presentations held at or near a company’s headquarters.

That’s not welcome news for the area’s event planners, who also are trying to gain ground in a tough economy.

“Over time, these meetings are less of a circus than they have been as they aren’t the only way we can reach our shareholders,” said Jonathan Friedland, spokesman for the Walt Disney Co., whose subsidiary ESPN is headquartered in Bristol.

While the economic recession leaves companies hording pennies anywhere possible, the shift toward more modest annual shareholders meetings began before companies’ finances headed south. Rather than caring about gifts and buffets, investors are looking for companies that spend their resources wisely, making those companies thrifty in their budgets for shareholders meetings, said James Cash, president of the Bloomfield-based Tru Group, which coordinates corporate events nationwide.

The Hartford Financial Services Group traditionally convenes its shareholders meeting at the Wallace Stevens Theater inside its headquarters in Hartford, saving the company money on renting out a meeting space, said Shannon Lapierre, spokeswoman for The Hartford.

Hosting a meeting at an offsite location runs several thousand dollars, or more depending on the embellishments, said Sally Rider, co-owner of North Granby-based Rider Productions, which coordinates corporate events. Even with meetings scaled way back — full bars and live entertainment have been replaced by coffee and smart company presentations — the offsite costs still outweigh onsite savings.

“They are most cost-effectively delivering the message they need to get out,” Rider said.

With The Hartford under the microscope for its federal bailout last year, the company spent the extra cash for a large room at the Hartford Marriott Downtown because a bigger crowd was expected, Lapierre said. The masses never materialized, so The Hartford shifted this year’s meeting back to the cost-efficient Wallace Stevens Theater. A date for the meeting will be announced when the company files its proxy.

Bristol-Myers Squibb, with facilities in Wallingford, previously rented an offsite location for its annual shareholders meeting, but switched to an onsite meeting at its Plainsboro, N.J. facilities for the 2009 meeting. This year’s May 4 meeting will be at the same location.

“That allowed our shareholders to get a glimpse at the inter-workings of our company, and it also allowed us to save some money,” said Sonia Choi, Bristol-Myers Squibb spokeswoman.

In the Hartford area, companies have loosened up their wallets for select functions, even if they still are skimping for the annual shareholders meetings, said Arnold Berman, president of East Hartford-based Event Resources, which does the majority of its business in Connecticut. Berman’s clients are spending more on events catered to customers, potential investors and employees.

The event planning business steadily declined for the latter part of the last decade — bottoming out in 2009 — but 2010 started better than the years before it, Cash said. Client meetings benefit from these increased event budgets, with Tru Group helping host events in places like Yankee Stadium.

“When we get into the world of the consumer, these events get really elaborate,” Cash said. “But companies are still being very careful when it comes to the investor and shareholder meetings because they are being watched on their spending. Every penny has to be accounted for, and every penny has to have a purpose out there.”

The Walt Disney Co. is the one exception among companies with local ties in going above and beyond for the shareholders meetings. Disney rotates its location every year and provides something special for each host city, such as announcing New Orleans as the setting for “The Princess and The Frog” movie when the Big Easy hosted Disney’s shareholder event in 2009.

Disney’s rotation of cities — Hartford played host in 2002 — stems more from the company’s large shareholder base than a desire to provide exotic locales for shareholders, Friedland said, pointing to the March 10 gathering in San Antonio.

Between corporate information available online, conference calls to discuss finances and Webcasts presenting quarterly fiscal results, Friedland said corporate shareholders meetings no longer are the end-all-be-all of company-investor relations.

Cigna Corp., with facilities in Bloomfield, held its annual meeting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art for six of the past seven years because it needs a large space near its headquarters. The company pays for parking, but nothing else beyond the shareholder materials will be provided at this year’s April 28 meeting, said Chris Curran, Cigna spokesman.

ING Financial, with facilities in Windsor, hosts its April 27 shareholders meeting in an exotic locale — Amsterdam — but that is because the company calls The Netherlands home.

“If you want to be there, you pay your own way,” ING spokesman Dana Ripley said.

Northeast Utilities, based in Hartford, rotates its annual meeting among Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire because the company services those three states. Unlike most local companies, the NU shareholders meeting will feature a basic breakfast buffet May 11 at the Hartford Marriott Downtown, but the 50 or so shareholders anticipated to attend shouldn’t expect anything elaborate.

“They are always low-key events, and this year won’t be any different,” said Al Lara, NU spokesman. “We are a regulated power company, so we aren’t trying to sell new software or amusement park rides or anything like that.”

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