Why M-Plus Global Events Approaches Programs With an Always-Say-Yes Mindset

Jay Klein is CEO of M-Plus Global Events and a founding member of Miami-based A-Plus Meetings and Incentives. He brings more than 25 years of experience in meeting and incentive planning. Before founding A-Plus, Klein was a consultant at McKinsey & Company. 

He holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, along with an MS in Industrial Engineering and a BS in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan. 

Originally from the Detroit area, Klein now lives in Miami and has traveled to 95 countries (so far). Beyond his own adventures around the world, he is helping shape the future of the travel experience for others as a member of the Hyatt Resort Alliance Customer Advisory Board. 

What differentiates M-Plus Global Events in today’s competitive meetings and events landscape? 

As a Skift Meetings and Incentives 15 company, we’re certainly large enough to deliver at scale, but we’re also small enough to care about our clients. We don’t just handle logistics — we create experiences. 

Our volume allows us to offer our clients the best pricing, which is vital with recent inflation. However, cost management isn’t paramount for our clients — return on that investment is key. We combine cutting-edge technology with an old-school customer service mindset to deliver value and ensure the attendees at our events leave with meaningful knowledge and networking connections that drive more business. 

I founded the company with my late wife, and she was the most customer service-oriented person I have ever known. That focus on putting the client first continues to drive every member of our team. The team is empowered to say yes to client requests to ensure both attendees and internal planners have the best possible experience.

Can you share one or two recent programs that best illustrate the company’s strengths or signature approach? 

We recently held a corporate meeting for 1,200 senior-level executive attendees, featuring 40 concurrent breakout sessions, a 60-booth tradeshow, and multiple off-site events. This required a fully integrated approach from a team of planners, technology specialists, air agents, and tradeshow designers. 

Our tools enabled us to create a highly personalized experience, including custom websites, individual agendas based on attendee interests, self-service and agent-assisted airline reservations, tradeshow attendee tracking, and one-on-one meeting scheduling. The result was a program that felt tailored to each attendee while delivering meaningful connections.

On the incentive side, a B2B sales organization recently entrusted us with a 250-couple experience to Rome. Our role extended well beyond executing the trip itself: Through online leaderboards, custom websites, individualized teasers, and contest communications, we worked closely with our client to leverage the excitement of the trip and drive additional sales revenue. 

Once winners were selected, we continued to build momentum with pre-trip packages delivered to participants’ homes, a fully customized website, and a detailed registration process that included individual activity and dine-around selections. Winners were also able to select pre- or post-trip extensions — an approach informed by our parallel expertise in high-end luxury leisure travel. 

On-site, our personalized service ensured high attendee satisfaction and generated strong buzz for the following year’s contest, ultimately increasing engagement and ROI for the program.

Looking ahead, what do you see as the biggest change, opportunity, or challenge facing clients when it comes to meetings and incentive programs, and how is M-Plus helping them respond?

The biggest challenge for our clients is employee engagement — especially among younger employees — with the rise of remote and hybrid work over the past few years. Meetings and incentive travel are vital for driving engagement and creating those experiences to drive performance and loyalty. 

At M-Plus, we help clients by delivering highly personalized experiences that blend the latest technologies with human connection. AI tools allow us to tailor communications and connect attendees before, during, and after programs, and self-service capabilities for flight bookings and activity and educational sessions are improving ​​logistics. However, we aren’t relying on technology for everything. Here, new tech tools are always combined with access to personal service.

This article is an enhanced sponsored profile of our M&I 15 feature. To learn more about M-Plus Global Events and the rest of the most powerful agencies in the industry, read the entire listing.

This content was created collaboratively by M-Plus Global Events and Skift’s branded content studio, SkiftX.