Issue Contents
|
Ray Bloom |
Views from IMEX exhibitors and buyers |
|
Paul Flackett |
Fruitful interaction at Association Day IMEX |
Could you be the next Wild Card? IMEX |
Optimism and competition |
|
Bruce MacMillan, MPI |
COCAL |
Nature gives DMCs a chance to shine euromic |
|
|
DMAI |
Good progress but a way to go |
Sustainability as a learning process EVVC |
IAPCO |
Investments must be linked to business results |
PATA campaigns against British Air Passenger Duty PATA |
Benefits of transparency for tmf tmf |
IMEX Challenge - the final countdown IMEX Challenge |
Professional nourishment for meeting managers IMEX Meetings for Success |
IMEX Awards |
Briefing interview |
Nikki Williams |
Exhibitors leverage IMEX to the full Heather Gough
|
Matthias Schultze, GCB |
IMEX America 2011 Intelligence special edition
IMEX America 2011 Intelligence Special Edition pdf
Buyers with business in mind
IMEX 2010 once again delivered buyers and exhibitors in greater numbers than ever before and with real budgets in hand. Hosted buyers have estimated that they will place US $2.7 billion of business as a result of IMEX 2010, both during and in the 12 months after the show – an increase of 19% on last year’s estimated order values.
We can also see the results of yet another yearly increase in business volume by studying our online appointment numbers. Individual
and group appointments rose by 14% this year, which represents a total of 57,000 business appointments made between buyers and exhibitors before the show doors opened. The number of diary messages exchanged increased
by 9% to over 12,000. Both figures
demonstrate how much communication and
planning is now taking place between buyers and exhibitors to ensure that the face-to-face meetings onsite deliver real value and enhanced business purpose.
Our concerted push to increase the number and proportion of long-haul buyers on our hosted buyer programme also paid off in full this year. Buyers from long-haul destinations, especially the US, Brazil, Russia, India and China, made up a healthy quarter of our total 3,870 hosted buyers at the show. The number of buyers from Eastern Europe also rose to 15%. Both trends provide a good indication of which parts of the global market have more growth to come, and which are confident of
that upswing being sustained.
|
Ray Bloom, Chairman, IMEX Group |
In this issue of Briefing we not only reflect on IMEX 2010,
but also look forward to 2011 with excitement at the expansion of the IMEX brand into America next October. The support and demand from our partners, exhibitors and intermediaries across the world to be a part of IMEX America has been overwhelming and we look forward to the coming year – both to continue to develop and innovate at IMEX in Frankfurt; as well as deliver a truly unique model of tradeshow in the US market with assured business opportunities.
The word from the show floor
“We are an agency organising luxury shows and concerts internationally for up to 60,000 people at a time and with a budget of well over £5m. It is our business to make attendees at our events feel special and I have found a wide range of appropriate and innovative options such as snow castles, exceptional safaris, private jets and mountain locations – with destinations including Tel Aviv and Jordan. IMEX is also a great place to exchange ideas with other buyers. The layout is straightforward, travel arrangements smooth and hassle-free and the staff exceptionally helpful and friendly. A thoroughly enjoyable as well as a valuable experience.”
Hosted buyer Clara Mannant, Consultant, Lilac Palm UK
“IMEX gets better for us year by year and we always come away from the show with concrete requests. The quality of buyers here is very high, with a good mix of association and corporate buyers. This is the place to be!”
Bente Bratland Holm, Managing Director, Norway Convention Bureau
“I represent an agency organising thousands of events typically for between 250 and 4,000 delegates each time and with a budget of over US$1bn. IMEX is an exemplary and purposeful exhibition which complements my online interactions with both clients and suppliers. The helpful scheduling of appointments means that not a moment is wasted. This trip is undoubtedly a sound investment because I can build on our existing relationships and develop new ones in new markets. IMEX definitely enhances our business.”
Hosted buyer Mike Budrovich, Vice President Client and Supplier Relations, Maritz Travel USA
“The opening day of IMEX 2010 is the busiest that I’ve ever seen and we’ve had lots of enquiries and leads on the South African stand. It’s been particularly pleasing to have more appointments than we expected before the show, and so many buyers have visited our stand to make new appointments – everywhere I look is busy.”
Nomasonto Ndlovu, Global Manager Business Tourism, South African Tourism
“I organise around 18 events each year for between 120 and 1200 delegates and with an annual spend of almost US$12m. IMEX is invariably thought-provoking and commercially relevant and of all the shows produced this is the ‘daddy’ of them all. The organising team is experienced in creating world-beating exhibitions and this is clearly in evidence in the skilful set-up. Particularly impressive is the ‘out of hours’ focus for networking events which maximises time available to spend on the show floor.” Hosted buyer Peter Gray, Managing Partner, Motivating People Australia
“This year has been nothing short of amazing – the buyer quality is great, the traffic is good and the business leads are there. IMEX really are ahead of the curve in everything they do. Nobody does it better.”
Alan F. Waxler, President and CEO, AWG Inc USA
“We are an agency organising events involving hundreds and thousands of delegates and a budget of more than Euro 100m. IMEX certainly helps us to grow our business and we have brought 40 people here for 2010. As a result of contacts made last year we have opened offices in Spain, and this year we are on the hunt for an opportunity in Turkey. An exceptional show as always.” Hosted buyer Dan Rivlin, Managing Director, Kenes Group Switzerland
“This year’s show has been fantastic! Anyone in this industry simply has to be here as the quality of buyers is fabulous and the variety of exhibitors is strong with lots of international and emerging markets. We decided to have two people managing leads via the online appointment system this year due to the level of interest in previous years, and the result is that we have been extremely busy for three days solid, which is great!”
Denise MacDonald, Director of Meetings Team, EMEA, InterContinental Hotel Group
The future is bright
When I hear comments such as “I was bowled over by the quality of the show floor, the organisation, the smooth flow” I know we are doing something right. It is always great to receive compliments and it makes us realise that the hard work involved in delivering IMEX is worthwhile. At IMEX we are always striving to improve the service we offer. We benefit from excellent partnerships with some very knowledgeable companies. Nevertheless, no matter how much planning is put in, events outside our control can pop up and create their own challenges. The important thing is that “it’s business as usual” on the show floor. Our job is to make sure that the “smooth flow” is seamless and that we support exhibitors in doing as much business as possible with buyers.
“IMEX truly is a barometer of the way the world is changing”
This year we welcomed a number of new exhibitors, notably Colombia and several cruise companies and hotel groups, plus several existing exhibitors who took substantially larger stands, including Japan, Canada and Spain. The growth amongst exhibitors was
reflected in changes within the make-up of the hosted buyer programme, with some countries showing substantial increases. IMEX truly is a barometer of the way the world is changing.
|
Paul Flackett, Managing Director, IMEX Group |
Every year at the Gala Dinner I am also reminded of the many industry colleagues who go the extra mile and therefore make their own indelible mark. It is always an enormous pleasure to receive their nominations and realise how much their peers appreciate their achievements. At the same time I looked at the 125 students who attended the Future Leaders Forum and was delighted to see their talent and ambition. The future of our industry is in extremely good hands.
Fruitful interaction at Association Day
|
The eighth IMEX Association Day took place on 24 May at the Messe Frankfurt Congress Centre. The resilience of the industry was evident as a record 294 association meeting planners came together at this annual event organised by IMEX and ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association), with input from many of the industry’s leading global associations.
“the place to meet MICE experts” Association executives were treated to an exclusive snapshot of the first results from the Convention 2020 research. Rohit Talwar, CEO from Fast Future Research outlined how changing business models, technology and funding patterns are likely to transform the way in which associations plan and deliver large scale events in the next 10 years. |
The day’s education ended with the popular round-table sessions organised by MCI - the sessions that give delegates the opportunity to discuss issues of their choice with their industry peers. Lambert Okrah, Secretary General, The Institute of Cultural Affairs International, Quebec, Canada gave her feedback “The round-table format of Association Day made for a
lot of very fruitful interaction – this is definitely the place to meet MICE experts and to develop one’s own professionalism.”
www.imex-frankfurt.com/assc-day.html
Could you be the next Wild Card?
|
|
|
Uganda, 2011 Wild Card Winner |
Applications are now open for 2011 Wild Card exhibitors. To qualify applicants must prove their potential as a new MICE destination or a new convention and conference centre from a new and emerging destination. None are permitted to have exhibited at a meetings or incentive travel show before. They also have to demonstrate their capacity to handle new business and prove that their destination has the infrastructure to support the demands of the market. www.imex-frankfurt.com/wildcard.html
|
|
Optimism and competition
ICCA’s Association Seminar at IMEX |
With another year of fully subscribed ICCA activities at IMEX behind us, we’re left with two thoughts: firstly, the signs of optimism we’d been gradually hearing over the months leading up to IMEX became unmistakable and concrete. Of course there is still fragility in the market, of course there are worries about the sustainability of the recovery, but instead of silent phones our members are reporting that corporate meetings are booking and contracting all over the world. And ICCA’s longterm message about the resilience of the international association meetings market is also standing up to scrutiny - there was a short, sharp shock to this sector administered by the Iceland volcanic eruption, the topic of ICCA’s IMEX morning seminar, but the impact hasn’t been long-term: associations continue to need to meet, and are keeping to their commitments. |
“a tougher, faster, more transparent world”
| Secondly, it was also clear that competition is going to get even stronger with emerging destinations fighting for a louder share of voice and higher visibility, and with consolidation continuing in the PCO world to create ever stronger global players. Every player in our industry must now re-examine their products and services, and re-imagine their business models and creative inputs if they want to succeed in the tougher, faster, more transparent world that’s currently emerging. This was also one of the conclusions of the Convention 2020 research study, the initial findings of which were announced at IMEX, and of which ICCA is proud to be one of the founding partners. | |
ICCA had one of its most successful IMEX’s ever: not only were our seminars and receptions fully booked, but we received more enquiries from potential new members than ever and ran more database demonstrations for existing members than ever. We left IMEX with a sense of renewed optimism, but optimism that was grounded in reality.
|
Martin Sirk, CEO, ICCA |
MPI set for success
First and foremost, Meeting Professionals International (MPI) extends heartfelt congratulations on such a successful IMEX 2010. The record breaking hosted buyer attendance and sheer range of countries represented are two of the many reasons why MPI has established a strategic partnership with IMEX America.
As attendees in Las Vegas enjoy the largest hosted buyer show in
North America and build new
business relationships, MPI will
provide education aimed at senior,
decision making meeting and event
professionals. The thought
leadership content will cover CSR,
globalisation and future trends
among others.
For the 2010 World Education Congress (WEC) in Vancouver, scheduled July 23-25, MPI is preparing to exceed members’ expectations. The game-changing content will cover executive education, environmental intelligence and Strategic Meeting Management (SMM). The recent progress that MPI has made concerning SMM will be the central focus of many sessions at WEC. In response to the economic environment, steps have been taken to ensure that all members have tools to assist them in explaining their contribution to the company bottom line.
|
Bruce MacMillan, CEO, MPI www.mpiweb.org |
COCAL sets sights on quality
COCAL is the main and most important association of PCOs and CVBs in Latin America and has set its sights on a number of projects, including certification and acquiring databases in an effort to improve the quality of Latin America meetings.
These projects will combine marketing,
communication tools and knowledge exchange together with experience to encourage COCAL’s
members to share information for improvement
of the region. COCAL is also planning to build
upon and expand its integration with
international organisations and partners such as
IMEX to host meeting resource programmes.
Latin America regularly ranks among the
most interesting regions to host events and
meetings. The country offers solid experience to
incentive groups and has a track record of
hosting international events.
COCAL provides information on all
destinations available in the region and has a
vast array of experience and guidance to offer.
Latin America has substantial hotel
accommodation which is available at a variety
of flexible pricing tiers. It also boasts several
new convention and exhibition centres and is
extremely accessible by air. In addition,
qualified PCO and DMC partners and
destination experts are always on hand and
combine enthusiasm, good local knowledge
and professionalism.
Consider consolidation
A few years ago, the marriage of transient travel and meetings under a single management organisation began to gain pace. For many companies initial steps to join the two began by combining hotel and meetings requirements with hotel sourcing. The combined spend provides buyers with added leverage plus a comprehensive view of total spend which hoteliers can use to evaluate for proposals.
“cost savings are most often cited as the single
reason for change”
A Carlson Wagonlit Travel survey revealed how savings can be achieved when the two are
merged: “Meeting spend is typically between
25 and 35% of a company’s travel and
entertainment (T&E) spend, with an estimated
37% of it being hotel spend. If this spend is
directed to preferred suppliers already used for
transient travel, the combined spend means
even deeper discounts during negotiations.”
Many organisations now consider this
marriage a best practice. In addition to
leveraged sourcing, companies can derive
additional benefits from improved
management of supplier relationships, risk
mitigation and more accurate spend reporting.
Of course cost savings are most often cited
as the single reason to undertake the change. Speaking at the recent ACTE (Association of
Corporate Travel Executives) Global Education
Conference, Accenture procurement BPO
European category lead for travel services, Paul
Cleveland, said companies are, “now claiming
around 10 to 15% savings on their conferences
by combining spend. Other benefits include
reduced hotel cancellation charges and an
additional 20% on transient travel savings.”
Picking up on this, the ACTE Global
Education Conference in Berlin 3 – 5 October
2010 will feature three sessions on corporate
meetings including one on how to achieve a
standardised buying process, a consolidated
supply base and, as a result, further savings in
the sourcing of combined transient hotel and
meeting spend.
Nature gives DMCs a chance to shine
It can occasionally be easy to forget the value of a DMC to a meeting planner. However, sometimes, outside forces intervene leaving planners in need of someone on the ground who they can rely on completely.
In April, Eyjafjallajökull, the Icelandic volcano, brought air traffic in Northern Europe to a halt, giving members of the DMC consortium euromic the chance to demonstrate the power of local knowledge to their clients.
Examples include Spanish Heritage in
Barcelona who stressed how important
it was that their client, a pharmaceutical
company, should have 24-hour mobile
numbers for all staff. This allowed the
DMC to quickly amend plans and keep
the client up to date. In Vienna Blaguss
event.pro’s emergency team worked
with clients around the clock and
arranged for congress delegates, some
from as far as Moscow, to return home
by bus or train.
“using in-depth local knowledge to provide creative solutions to big problems”
The ODS Turkey response team
distributed ‘emergency kits’, which
contained snacks, medicine, pillows,
socks and other items to keep their
clients comfortable and calm while
alternative plans were put in place.
Buses were brought in from Germany
and Slovakia to transport delegates
home from Istanbul. In Israel, Amiel
Destination Management negotiated
special rates on hotel extensions for
stranded clients.
When it comes to unexpected conditions, the situation in each destination is always unique. In each of these cases, DMCs were able to use their in-depth local knowledge to provide creative solutions to big problems.
Standing room only for DMAI
In November, DMAI (Destination Marketing Association International) will hold its Leadership Forum – Europe in Brussels, bringing together key DMOs (destination marketing organisations) to exchange ideas on today’s industry challenges and find practical solutions for attracting business.
At this year’s IMEX, DMAI met with many
global members and strengthened its position
with new global contacts. As a result several
new DMOs will be joining the association. As in
previous years, DMAI provided DMO-focused
education, with this year’s seminar “Emerging
destinations - how to establish and build a
CVB” presented to a standing-room only
audience.
Also at the show, 20 industry professionals
were recognised for successfully completing the
Destination Pro programme, a joint initiative
between DMAI and European Cities Marketing
(ECM), and sponsored by IMEX. Recipients
represented destinations from Slovenia, Poland,
Gdansk, Belgrade, Serbia, Warsaw, Opatija,
Copenhagen and Belgium.
“These individuals should be commended
for their achievements,” said Michael D. Gehrisch, DMAI President & CEO. “These
programme graduates have shown a
commitment to a high level of professionalism
and productivity in all areas of destination
business tourism sales and marketing.”
Several DMAI members were also
recognised as part of IMEX’s salute to heroes of
the sector – the annual IMEX Academy Awards.
They included Suprebha Moleeratanond,
Thailand CEB; Greg Ortale, Houston; and
Christian Mutschlechner, Vienna CB.
Good progress but a way to go
News that there were signs of economic
recovery prompted a huge sigh of relief
throughout our industry. But we still have a
way to go, and obstacles to clear before things
go back to what we would like to think of as‘normal’. As an industry, we need to accept that
we still have work to do and as convention
centres, we realise that much of that work is
close to home.
“for meetings and conferences to thrive we
need to work together”
Over 70% of AIPC members are owned by
some level of government. This means they are
on the front line of experiencing the impact of
government debt that’s been taken on in
response to the financial crisis.
For one thing this means we will see an
increasing reluctance by governments to invest
more public money in facilities. For another, we
will find it harder to explain the financial
consequences of clients looking for more
savings at our expense. Centres can’t absorb
these impacts alone. For meetings and
conferences to thrive we need to work
together. In this game, nobody can succeed at
the expense of others.
 |
Edgar Hirt, President, AIPC and Managing Director, CCH, Congress Center Hamburg www.aipc.org |
Events like IMEX give us the chance to work together in resolving these challenges. Let’s take full advantage of this in the years ahead to make sure we overcome the inevitable consequences of what may be a slow recovery.
Sustainability as a learning process
EVVC (European Association of
Event Centres) and Green Globe
Certification are jointly developing a
special certification process for
sustainability in event locations.
For several years, Green Globe
Certification has gained experience
in the certification of hotels and
tourist facilities around the world and examines all aspects of
sustainability during the process. A
total of 125 criteria are currently
assessed. Working with the EVVC
these will now be supplemented by
further criteria specific to the events
industry. This will make the new
label “EVVC/ Green Globe” the only
way to achieve a sustainability
certification specifically for event
companies.
“a sustained optimisation and
improvement process”
The EVVC/ Green Globe
certification system is very simple
and purely internet-based. To obtain
the certificate at least 51% of
criteria must be met. These will be
assessed by an independent auditor
with results stored in a database for
easy reference. Audits will be
conducted every two years. In this
way, participating companies not
only receive certification but also
become involved in a sustained
optimisation and improvement
process.
“For us it was very important to
find an experienced partner that
could give us all the opportunity to
develop our learning,” aid EVVC
President Joachim König. “Probably
only a few in our industry know
where they currently stand
regarding sustainability and also
how they might want to improve it.
We are sure that many will also now
save money due to the proposed
EVVC/ Green Globe optimisation
measures.”
Ethics or transparency?
“Once again, IMEX has been a wonderful networking event which has enabled the meetings community to exchange and debate various subjects”, says Philippe Fournier, IAPCO President. It is also during IMEX that IAPCO revealed many of the meetings industry future trends experienced by PCOs.
For the third year running, IAPCO published
their annual report at IMEX, this time featuring
2009 data. The total number of meetings
handled by the 100 IAPCO members worldwide
rose by 9% over 2008, a staggering total of
5,641 run over the year with the total number
of participants rising from 1,968,519 to
2,117,915. Overall budgets managed by IAPCO
members are equivalent to Euro 1,121bn (Euro
530 per registrant) for meetings and about Euro
0.3bn (Euro 545 per sqm) for exhibitions. This
equates to Euro 3,431bn of economic impact.
Meetings matter for the economy!
There was also the opportunity to launch
IAPCO’s new seminar initiative, The Meetings
Masterclass. Continuing their educational drive,
the Wolfsberg Alumni Party, the third to take
place at IMEX, created an enthusiastic
gathering of participants drawn from the past
35 years of IAPCO seminars.
“Ethics are more important than transparency”
 |
Philippe Fournier President, IAPCO |
In addition, IAPCO led an interesting conference debate about transparency and the relationship between different stakeholders. On the surface it would appear that achieving budget transparency should be obvious, but argues Roslyn McLeod, MD, arinex Australia, and IAPCO Council Member: “Ethics are more important than transparency. Ethical behaviour creates trust and enables all parties to manage their contribution to an event in an empowered way.”
Investments must be linked to business results
A recent Site Index survey focused on measurement asked respondents why they engage in motivational programmes. While the top answers remain constant; to increase profits, sales and competitive advantage, there were other answers as well such as improve performance, promote new products, and increase commitment to the organisation.
As a part of the motivational experience
process, do you know how you can support
clients in measuring success? How can you
support the corporate client in qualifying not
only the satisfaction of the experience but also
in the participants desire to be a loyal team
member motivated to achieve future
business objectives?
The RFP process today is competitive but if
you want to add value you must not skip the
questions that will demonstrate your desire to
be a strategic partner such as: What is this
group being recognised for?
What do you want the participants to feel
or think about your organisation? What can we
support in terms of measurement? What
behaviour do you want participants to deliver
post programme?
While you may not get these answers in the
RFP process, you will be demonstrating that
your organisation is intent on delivering more
than just a commodity experience. While
business may be won on price, it will only be
held on to by demonstrating value.
The Site Index survey showed that 73.5% of
respondents want to learn how to better build
ROI metrics into their programmes. Will you
step up and support that need?
The Site Index: Focus on Measurement was distributed at IMEX 2010 and it is also available on line at Siteglobal.com. Site is dedicated to bringing members and our community information that is key to your personal business success. We appreciate the opportunity we had to connect with
 |
Brenda Anderson, CEO, Site www.siteglobal.com |
colleagues at IMEX through Site Nite Europe, Site education and greeting members and friends in our stand. Ours is a world where meeting face to face deepens relationships and extends industry knowledge. Consider meeting Site at our International Conference in Cape Town, South Africa 4 – 7 December 2010 or visit us online. We are here for you!
PATA campaigns against British Air Passenger Duty
PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) is one of the leading bodies fighting against British Air Passenger Duty (APD). In 2008, the UK restructured its APD to take distance into account, making long distance flying significantly more expensive.
The tax adds a considerable burden
to travellers visiting long-haul
destinations in the Asia Pacific region,
and PATA’s concern is that other
European nations may choose to adopt
this type of tax on travel.
PATA has campaigned strongly against this fee as tourism is among the top three income generators for most countries in the Pacific region and is the top sector for employment in almost all of them. Long-haul visitors contribute significant numbers and the industry fears that this segment is at considerable risk because of the planned further increases in APD in November 2010. PATA will continue to press for a fundamental review and PATA chapters around the world have joined together to lobby British Ambassadors and High Commissioners.
Germany is also considering an eco
tax on airlines. This recent
announcement has been met with
concern that this is the ‘wrong move at
the wrong time’ for volcano-stricken
carriers. Marion Buttler, Director of
PATA’s European office based in Frankfurt, Germany, emphasises that
PATA is willing to support all partners
intervening against additional taxes. If
necessary, PATA stands ready to extend
its UK campaign to other countries as
well.
Benefits of transparency for tmf
There is often nothing more helpful
than a good recommendation from
a colleague. With this in mind, tmf
GmbH offers a number of industry
solutions through tmf-forum.de.
“a new platform to support younger industry
members”
German-speaking event planners can now
exchange their opinions and experiences online
with industry peers using the Forum website. Under the title of “fair play”, agency and
corporate planners can compare notes on
various suppliers. In return, international
suppliers such as event locations, hotels,
destination management companies and city
convention
bureaus can
register to be
listed on the
site and
create a short
profile, introducing their services to the
planner community.
tmf GMbH has also developed a
new platform in an effort to support
younger industry members. “MICE
Junioren” students and young
professionals are invited to seek support, either
by blogging with MICE experts or joining a
coaching programme. As an extension to this
new initiative, tmf GmbH is also currently
developing a job exchange for internships,
working students and junior project managers.
tmf-forum.de was originally launched as an
information service to gather all of the
newsletters of various international destinations
into one place. Information is collected and
provided to help the daily work flow of
planners and reduce the
volume of information
they need to receive
from individual
sources.
IMEX Challenge - the final countdown
The countdown is underway for the first ever IMEX
Challenge taking place in less than two months from
13-15 September in Warsaw. The idea behind the
Challenge is to give meetings industry
professionals the opportunity to work together
in a physical challenge that benefits a local
community and leaves behind a lasting legacy
for the future.
“the first of many IMEX Challenges”
In this inaugural IMEX Challenge, a team of
meetings industry volunteers will help non-governmental
organisation OUR HOME refurbish
and renovate the garden of a foster home near
Warsaw. The foster family currently cares for seven
children all under the age of 12. The Challenge team’s task
is to work together to re-landscape the area and fit a range of new play facilities in just
three days.
The last place on the 12-strong Challenge team was secured during IMEX in
Frankfurt by Eggert Thor Olason, Project Manager for Iceland Congress. Each volunteer
will cover the cost of their travel to Warsaw, although basic accommodation and food
will be provided.
This month the new playground climbing equipment is due to be purchased, this is
set to form the centrepiece of the new garden facilities. A local company has also been
appointed to supply all the new plants, flowers and shrubbery that the team will
be planting.
The Convention Bureau of Poland, which is part of the Polish Tourist Organisation;
Meeting Designers; OUR HOME; the Warsaw Convention Bureau and Radisson Blu Hotel
Krakow are all supporting the IMEX Challenge through sponsorship.
The final organising committee meeting will take place in Poland this month and
then Warsaw will be ready to welcome the team in September. IMEX hopes that this
will be the first of many IMEX Challenges that are set to take place bi-annually. All
funds raised by the Challenge team will directly benefit the children. The Challenge will
also aim to create funding for the ongoing upkeep of the garden and play area and
support for the long-term educational development and care of children who live with
the foster family in the future.
www.imex-frankfurt.com/imexchallenge.html
Professional nourishment for meeting managers
25 invited participants comprising senior corporate buyers, agency executives and association leaders joined the second Meetings for Success Forum during this year’s show.
Meetings for Success was launched last year
as a joint initiative between IMEX and JMIC to
give senior corporate meeting executives the
opportunity to discuss issues directly relevant to
their business. The objectives are: examine the
challenges corporate meeting planners are
facing under changing economic, political and
PR pressures, to debate and share experiences
and successes within the workplace, and
importantly to consider how to promote the
power of meetings more effectively to corporate
executives and corporate boards.
Aiding the discussions at this year’s Forum
was graphic facilitator Oliver Prothero from ©Cognitive Media whose ‘scribing’ and ‘visual
mappings’ helped delegates to visualise their
thinking, providing a pictoral record of the
meeting.
The common point that arose from the
Forum was meetings mean business. Other key
points observed were
logistics have to be
perfect, CSR is here to
stay, and the industry is
changing because of the
economy, technology and
the need to justify what
we do. We are there to
support the corporation
and align meetings with
its strategies and
objectives. “We will have
a seat at the table if we
come with the figures,
with the ROI and if we come by proving what
we are doing is helping the corporation,” summed up facilitator Eric Rozenberg, President
of Swantegy and Chairman of MPI.
“providing clarity of direction for meeting
managers”
Terri Breining of Breining Group, USA
commented “At a time when the entire
meetings industry is being redefined, Meetings for Success provides an environment for high
level discussion, providing professional
nourishment and clarity of direction for meeting
managers. The Meetings for Success programme
is a great opportunity for the planners that were
able to participate, but more importantly, it is
another sign of the commitment on the part of
IMEX to continually look to the future and to
explore how meetings and meeting managers
can be served more effectively.”
www.imex-frankfurt.com/meetingsforsuccess.html
Recognising excellence
The evening of 26 May was one to remember for the whole host of industry peers celebrating their award winning achievements at the IMEX Gala Dinner.
|
Academy Award winner for Europe Nic Racic with Ray Bloom |
IMEX Academy Awards went to Suprabha Moleeratanond, Director, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) for Asia Pacific; Greg Ortale, President & CEO, Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau for the Americas; Nik Racic, Executive Director, Croatian Convention Bureau for Europe and to Yousef Husseiny, Exhibitions Manager, Jordan Tourism Board for Africa and the Middle East. |
This year’s JMIC (Joint Meetings Industry Council) Unity Award was presented to Christian Mutschlechner, Director of the Vienna Convention Bureau for his outstanding work in the meetings industry. Christian has led from the top for over 20 years as Director of the Vienna Convention Bureau, one of the five departments of the Vienna Tourist Office. Christian is a well-known figure in the industry having served as ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) President for four years.
The joint IMEX-MPI Foundation Student Scholarship Award is given to the winner of the international IMEX-MPI University Challenge programme. Students are judged on presentations given at Forums around the world, with the final held during the show at IMEX. This year, Renea Anderson was the deserved winner and picked up her award from Bruce MacMillan, CEO and President, MPI.
|
Site Master Motivator Award winner Laurie Sprouse with SITE CEO, Brenda Anderson |
COP15 Logistics and CSMP Team working within The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs collected the coveted 2010 IMEX Green Meetings Gold Award, presented in recognition of the UN Climate Change Summit COP15. With sustainability as its raison d’être, the organisation strategy for this event encompassed everything from accountability, social responsibility and stakeholder engagement to producing a lasting legacy and commitment to change. The 2010 IMEX Silver Green Meetings Award went to Intel Corporation, Corporate Event Marketing for its Intel Development Forum (IDF) America event. The IMEX Commitment to the Community Award was presented to Tourism Toronto in recognition of their Relax, Recharge & Renew (RRR) programme. The RRR programme provides the parents of children with special needs much-needed luxury weekend getaways.
|
|
Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau (SCIB) picked up the IMEX Green Exhibitor Award, in recognition of their use of Swiss
wood in their stand construction. The wood is a renewable resource
and net remover of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. All the
promotional material used at IMEX was printed carbon-neutral. In
addition, all staff, including the stand builders, travelled to Frankfurt
by train to reduce carbon emissions.
The IMEX Green Supplier Gold Award was presented to the Adelaide
Convention Centre for their innovative efforts to reduce the
environmental impact of operations through planning,
implementation and evaluation, all important strategies that helped
them to win silver last year. Australia doubled up as the Brisbane
Convention & Exhibition Centre was also celebrating after receiving
this year’s Green Supplier Silver Award in this category.
And finally the IMEX-AACB (Association of Australian Convention
Bureau) Vin Barron Prize for Bureau Staff went to Deborah Lonne,
Coordinator, Brisbane Marketing Convention Bureau for her paper, “The challenges facing a destination promoting itself for business
events in the next decade”.
www.imex-frankfurt.com/imexawards.html
Briefing interview
An interview with Leigh Harry, President of the Joint Meetings Industry Council
Briefing: You spoke at this year’s IMEX Opening Ceremony about the need for the meetings industry to be ‘better prepared’ should there be another PR crisis in the future. What did you mean?
The most recent “image crisis” was a direct result of our industry being seen by many as more closely related to leisure than economic and professional development. This is a real problem if we want to be taken seriously and seen as a priority for future government planning. But because the impact varied considerably in different parts of the world, there are many who don’t see it as an issue. The point is that if it happened in some areas, it could just as easily happen anywhere under similar conditions.
As an industry we simply weren’t
prepared to deal with criticism and that
made us unnecessarily vulnerable. But it’s
not just that we need to be better at
defending ourselves – it’s that we’re missing
a huge opportunity to be seen as an
important part of the overall economic
development process – in being taken
seriously by the key decision makers. We’ve
undersold our role as economic generators.
To address this, we need three things. First to shape our arguments about why the industry has value and what it accomplishes in terms of the larger economy. Second, we need better data to back up those assertions. Finally, we need to establish better, ongoing communications with our respective communities and governments so we have a better base of understanding.
Briefing: What are the biggest
challenges we face in doing this?
Well, they are largely of our own making. We operate with many different organisations and sectors, each competing to some extent, and have few vehicles for reaching consensus. This weakens overall impact and our ability to speak with one voice when required.
Also, we have a tendency to want to
deal with issues at a high level when most
of the real action takes place at a regional
or community level. We need to
concentrate efforts on creating tools that
will help individual industry members tell
their story more effectively in their own
countries and communities.
Finally, we are challenged by the fact
that our greatest value is difficult to
measure – and that few in the industry even
try to calculate. That is, what meetings
actually accomplish such as professional and
technical advancement, new investment,
innovation and knowledge transfer. These
are the real reasons meetings and
conventions take place, and should be the
cornerstone of our arguments.
Briefing: Australian venues and
suppliers always put on a very strong
showing in the IMEX Awards. Knowing
what you do about the Australian
meetings industry, what makes the
country such a strong contender?
Australians have always had a good sense
of what it takes to engage with the rest of
the world and a willingness to do what it
takes to work together in order to achieve
this. At the same time, we have often
created our own institutions rather than just
adopting those that exist in other parts of the world. Together, these generate a lot of innovation. For us, it’s doing what’s needed to be competitive, but if it attracts attention and recognition, that’s not such a bad thing either!
Briefing: Can you tell us a little about
JMIC’s plans for the coming year?
JMIC’s initial priority was to create a
consistent and independent Council
management process as a basis for
representing industry interests in an evenhanded
way. With this defined we now
have a series of programme elements, each
of which will be developed as resources
allow.
First, we want to facilitate interactions
amongst industry organisations. The JMIC
web site will be a primary vehicle for this
second information exchange.
Second, we will also continue to build
industry profile by developing messaging,
materials and strategies for local advocacy
and making these widely available to
support local action. We have now
published a comprehensive guide to
community and government relations plus
other materials which will again be available
via the website.
Third, we are working to create a
united “voice” for the industry, initially
through work with the trade media. We are
also starting to advance industry
measurement tools with initial emphasis on
helping individual destinations and regions
to calculate their own impacts, and we are
looking to develop a value measurement for
meetings outcomes. Both will be tough, but
are essential for our industry’s story to be
told in a credible way.
Finally, we will convene industry-wide
meetings to develop some consensus
around key issues and refine the messages
we need to communicate. Our objective
here is to achieve agreement at a high level.
This kind of forum has not existed before
but is essential in building our credibility.
Hosted programme expands
IMEX welcomed 45 new hosted buyer
groups to Frankfurt this year, including
new groups from North and South
America, Asia and across Europe.
Exhibitors noticed a continued
improvement in not only the quantity,
but also the quality of the buyers at the
show, who came with significant
budgets and real business to place.
“more buyers stayed at the show for three full days”
With a 9% increase this year on the number of diary messages exchanged (to over 12,000), the online diary and appointment messaging tools are undoubtedly helping buyers to extract the maximum out of every single minute they’re at the show and we’re pleased to see them taking advantage of our investment and innovation in this area. There will be further refinements and developments over the summer as we’re coming up with new ideas and trying to enhance our service to buyers and exhibitors wherever possible.
IMEX in Frankfurt also undoubtedly benefited from the launch of IMEX America which made the industry stand up and take even more notice than usual. In fact, this year US buyers moved up the rankings to be the third largest group hosted
|
Nikki Williams, Director of Hosted Buyer Programmes, IMEX Group |
in Frankfurt. We still have another IMEX in Frankfurt to go before IMEX America launches in Las Vegas in October 2011. However, interest levels from buyers and intermediaries to participate in the programme are already extremely encouraging and we’re going to be working hard to make sure new US partners and prospective buyers understand quite how unique the IMEX trade show model is.
Exhibitors leverage IMEX to the full
Exhibitor feedback from IMEX 2010 has been
outstanding, with many of our 3,500 exhibitors
reporting an increased optimism from buyers
across the world and an increased seriousness
from hosted buyers who arrived at the show
with real business to place.
We were also pleased to welcome both new exhibitors and all our returning companies who came back into the market with a vengeance. Independent and hotel chains were much in evidence making up over 600 of the exhibitors at IMEX, with many taking advantage of IMEX’s unique hosted buyer model to invite their top clients from around the world to the show. Neal Jones, Vice President Global Sales, Europe for Marriott Hotels International summed up the general exhibitor sentiment at the show when he told us, “The quality of buyers that we are meeting with, as always, is outstanding. We’ve met with 300 of our own hosted buyers as well as many hundreds more, making this year another highly successful year for us. IMEX is by far the leading show as a hosted buyer provider and we are already looking forward to next year and, indeed, IMEX America.”
Our diary messaging and online
appointment tools are also proving a huge hit
with exhibitors, as is the ‘Contact the buyers’
guide for those that use it to proactively market
to buyers in advance of the show. As a result,
exhibitors are better prepared for buyer
meetings, they can make sure the right staff
handle the right meetings and they leave IMEX
with facts and figures in hand that prove the
volume and quality of business they’ve
achieved.
|
Heather Gough, Sales Director, IMEX Group |
“diary messaging and online appointment tools a huge hit with exhibitors”
While we’re all looking forward to bringing
our IMEX ‘magic’ to Las Vegas next year -
working with both new and existing exhibitors
who are interested in truly targeting the
powerful US buyer market - we are
already working hard on IMEX 2011.
Germany on top again
Matthias Schultze, GCB, Joachim Konig, EVVC, Ray Bloom, IMEX with Prof. Dr. Michael-Thaddaus Schreiber, EITW, at the Meeting & EventBarometer 2010 press conference
|
As a destination for meetings and conventions, Germany is number one in Europe for the sixth time running and number two in the worldwide rankings recently published by the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA).
|
“Germany’s image as a meeting and event
destination is constantly improving”
As the new Managing Director of the GCB
German Convention Bureau, I am very happy to
see that Germany has successfully reinforced its
leading position over the last six years. This is
very important not only in the face of ever
fiercer competition in the meetings and events
sector but it also goes to show that our value
for money is absolutely competitive - even in
times of tight event planner budgets.
The ICCA results are all the more
interesting, if viewed together with the core
findings from our current Meeting &
EventBarometer 2010 - a survey of the meetings
and event market in Germany. Despite a strong
decline in demand, both suppliers and
organisers from Germany and abroad still
consider Germany the number one meeting
destination. Around 80% of both groups are
convinced that Germany’s image as a meeting
and event destination is constantly improving.
We presented the results of this market leading survey together with our partners during a press conference at this year’s IMEX. The comprehensive survey conducted by the European Institute for the Convention Industry (EITW) on behalf of the European Association of Event Centres (EVVC), the German National Tourist Board, and the GCB German Convention Bureau, analyses this important market, delivers the latest figures and casts a glance over key directional trends. A good half of all interviewed suppliers and organisers believe that we have reached the bottom of the economic crisis and that
 |
Matthias Schultze, Managing Director,
GCB |
things are now looking up again. They see great potential above all in the field of virtual communication and in growing demand for green meetings in Germany. Around 67% of suppliers intend to invest in their own product (hardware) in 2010, while only one-third wants to raise prices. Meeting hotels in particular believe that VAT reduction will give the market an additional boost, although Germany already scores high on an international level for the excellent value for money of its hotels.
