Pfister Hotel Adds New Immersive Dimensions to Boardroom Experience

By: Michael Mascioni

The historic Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee has embarked on an effort to break the mold with a high-tech executive boardroom using immersive technologies on the twenty third floor of its hotel.  Chris Anderson, senior vice president of Marcus Hotels & Resorts, talks about the changes that afford greater engagement, interactivity, content exploration and collaboration for its users.

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MILWAUKEE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) will recognize The Pfister Hotel’s 120^th Anniversary Marketing Campaign with a silver Adrian Award for its winning entry in the 58^th annual Adrian Awards, the largest and most prestigious travel marketing competition globally. The Pfister Hotel’s 120^th anniversary coffee table book, “The History, Art & Imagery of The Pfister Hotel,” also received a Platinum MarCom Award in the Marketing Promotion category in this annual international communications award program. The Pfister Hotel is owned and managed by Marcus Hotels & Resorts, a division of The Marcus Corporation(MCS).

The year’s Adrian Award contest garnered more than 1,200 entries from around the world, with entries judged by top executives throughout the industry. The Pfister Hotel’s 120^th Anniversary Marketing Campaign included Emmy-nominated documentary “The Pfister: History & Story” and international award-winning 283-page book, “The History, Art & Imagery of The Pfister Hotel.”

Chris Anderson, senior vice president, sales, marketing and brand development of Marcus Hotels & Resorts, had the challenge of putting together a relevant campaign that would tell the story of a 120-year-old hotel in a modern day format. “As the 120^th anniversary approached, we realized that there was no formal documentation of The Pfister’s life throughout the years for others to learn about and appreciate. In order to tell the iconic hotel’s story in formats that would be intriguing to future generations and Millennials, we needed to create marketing pieces that were appealing and unique. The book and documentary did the job of telling the story of The Pfister not just through words, but through stunning photography and video – leaving a piece of history for future guests and generations to enjoy. We are honored to be able to share the hotel’s extraordinary story with our guests, the Milwaukee community and beyond,” said Anderson.

Depicting the history of Milwaukee’s Pfister Hotel through memories and stories of previous guests, employees, historians and notable local figures, the documentary takes viewers back in time to experience the grandeur of the hotel, including its evolution since it opened its doors to the public in 1893. The personal stories dictated in the film convey The Pfister’s impact on the local Milwaukee community and all those who pass through its doors into the grand marble lobby.

The book captures the timeless beauty, personality and elegance of this world-class hotel through breathtaking original photography by award-winning Milwaukee photographer Jay Filter and stories written by best-selling award-winning writer Tom Jordan. Published by The Marcus Corporation and registered with the Library of Congress, the book’s 283 pages detail the hotel’s simple yet elegant architecture and history, showcasing ironwork railing and staircases, exquisite chandeliers, the Victorian front desk that has greeted guests since 1893 and original paintings.

“We are continually amazed by the creativity of the Adrian Award submissions,” said Fran Brasseux, HSMAI executive vice president. “We saw imaginative campaigns that got results in all categories, and we’re excited about honoring this year’s Adrian Award winners in February.”

HSMAI will pay tribute to The Pfister Hotel’s 120^th Anniversary Campaign during the annual HSMAI Adrian Awards Gala, a black-tie affair attended by more than 1,000 hospitality, travel and tourism marketing executives at the New York Marriott Marquis on February 23, 2015.

Additionally, “The History, Art & Imagery of The Pfister Hotel” book helped win a Platinum award in the 2014 MarCom Awards competition. The MarCom Awards is an international creative competition that recognizes outstanding achievement by marketing and communication professionals. MarCom’s Platinum Award is presented to those entries judged to be among the most outstanding entries in the competition.

In 2014, the documentary also earned the prestigious Telly Award and was nominated for an Emmy in this year’s competition. The book earned top awards at the 2014 International Book Awards and the National Indie Excellence^® Book Awards.

The documentary is available online at: http://www.thepfisterhotel.com/boutique-hotel/pfister-history or at www.marcushotels.com.

Boardroom presentations can often be staid, one dimensional affairs.  The historic Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee has embarked on an effort to break that mold with a high-tech executive boardroom using immersive technologies on the twenty third floor of its hotel that affords greater engagement, interactivity,  content exploration, and collaboration.

The boardroom, dubbed Twenty 3, is designed to enhance and add new dimensions to business meetings and events using such immersive and interactive technologies as 3D, gesture-based technology, iPads, an iMac Lab, crestron interactive controls, and mapping technology.  It accommodates meetings of up to 24 people for periods from  two hours to multiple days. The boardroom has drawn “over 50 groups from such sectors as financial, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, manufacturing, and marketing,” reports Chris Anderson, SVP of Sales, Marketing, and Brand Development for Marcus Hotels and Resorts.

The room is particularly targeted at “millennial or technology-forward” business travelers “looking to impress during a presentation or meeting,” he notes. The Pfister hotel began testing its high-tech boardroom in May, 2013, and has been “continually evolving” the room’s capabilities and features based on feedback from participants regarding their likes and dislikes in the room, says Anderson.

The boardroom is designed to expand the scope of standard Powerpoint presentations, videos, graphs, and Keynote files by adding a “razzle dazzle” element to those presentation materials using immersive technologies. Presentation material is displayed on two 65” side by side video monitors in the room.

One of the more popular technology features in the boardoom is the gesture-based interface, which allows users to control presentations using their hands- as such, they can “swipe the air to switch slides and use finger motions to play videos and move objects on screen .” Anderson notes that this feature is “very easy to use and understand.”

At the moment, augmented reality isn’t being used in the boardroom though it’s used in the lobby and 2nd floor area of the hotel, reports Anderson.

The hotel has enlisted American Audiovisual to examine the potential application of virtual reality in their high-tech boardroom as he believes “that is the next phase of usage.”

The Pfister Hotel’s boardroom is serving as an “incubator” for testing new concepts in meetings technologies, according to Anderson. Marcus Hotels and Resorts has plans to “replicate the room’s capabilities in other locations” after the current boardroom test ends at the Pfister in December.

In an effort to dispel any initial skepticism and concern about the value of their room, the hotel provide an online demo of the room to prospective participants. To insure meeting participants in the room effectively utilize the equipment in the room, the hotel assigns a “content manager, not just an A/V person,” points out Anderson. He stresses the importance of “teaching participants” how to use the technology in their boardroom to make the boardroom experience truly effective.

To make use of the room more user friendly, the room allows participants to manipulate multimedia material with iPad controls. Anderson contends that the equipment in the room “isn’t very difficult to use” and is akin to that found in “home theater” systems.

Anderson notes that the “next level” of interactive presentations in the boardroom will be enabled by gamification, which will allow participants to effectively play games tied to those presentations by answering questions” and participating in other exercises during those presentations.  He believes gamification will play a key role in “holding participant interest” in their high-tech boardrooms.

The cost of the Pfister boardroom isn’t much different from standard boardrooms- typically costs for the room “run from $600 for 2 hours rental to $2,400 a day,” says Anderson.

The Pfister Hotel is also leveraging its boardroom as a “demand generator” to attract more groups to have their meetings at the hotel, notes Anderson.

Grand Geneva Resort Celebrates Winter in Style

End January on a fun note at the Winter Carnival at The Mountain Top on Saturday, Jan. 31 from noon to 8 p.m. Enjoy ski school demonstrations, an impressive Snowboard Slope Style Competition, and Slalom racing for skiers and snowboarders. In addition, fun activities like Human Bowling, Sack Toss, Bucky’s Buckets, Water Balloon Launches, Paint Ball Galleries and more will be open for the public along with face painting and toboggan competitions. End the carnival with a fantastic torch light parade and fireworks.

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