Cvent announced that Creative Group, one of the largest and most influential meeting planning and incentive management companies, has selected Cvent as its Strategic Meetings Management technology partner, following an extensive 9-month review of available solutions. 
 
Creative Group manages close to $100 million in annual meetings and events spend for a client roster including Fortune 500 as well as smaller companies, many of which are in the insurance/financial services and healthcare industries. The company operates more than 400 programs and moves more than 60,000 travelers to domestic and international destinations each year. In 2010, Creative Group booked 85,000 room nights for meeting and incentive programs.
 
With the addition of Creative Group, Cvent is now powering SMM programs for 11 of Corporate Meetings & Incentives magazine’s “CMI 25” list of the top 25 meeting planning and incentive management companies in North America.
 
“It was critical to us to find just the right SMM partner – one with truly best-in-class technology, the ability to support our business on a global level, and superior service,” said Brad Langley, President and Chief Operating Officer of Creative Group. “Following an in-depth evaluation, we found Cvent to be the best choice. Cvent’s strategic vision, innovative and consistently enhanced product, and flexibility are unsurpassed in the market. This also dovetails nicely with our recent announcement regarding Jane Wolfe’s appointment to the VP, Strategic Sourcing and Business Development position at CGI. Jane brings the intellectual capital to truly optimize Cvent’s offerings in our client space.”
 
Cvent’s web-based SMM solution encompasses strategic sourcing, meeting registration, budgeting, payment processing, approval coordination, report generation and return on investment analysis, and will help Creative Group deliver meetings programs for its clients that:
-  Provide full visibility into and consolidate overall meetings spend;
- Mitigate risk associated with supplier selection and contracting;
-  Ensure compliance with industry standards and meeting policies; and
-  Drive quantifiable cost savings and cost avoidance benefits.
 
Under the partnership, Cvent will support the launch and ongoing training and use of its SMM technology solution at Creative Group, as well as assist the company with cultural change management and work closely with the Creative Group team on continuous enhancements to Cvent’s product.