All Entries Tagged With: "ICCA"
International association meetings shrug off financial pressures: good attendance figures for 2010 and optimism for future growth
Results from a survey jointly carried out by ICCA and IMEX amongst the international association hosted buyers who attended the most recent IMEX in Frankfurt paint a very positive picture for this most resilient sector of the meetings industry.
More than 100 executives (one third of Association Day attendees) responded to the survey, three-quarters of whom organised or were about to hold meetings for more than 500 delegates in 2010, and over 15% of whom organised events of over 5,000 delegates. An impressive 31% reported higher actual or planned attendance for their 2010 events than in previous years and 46% indicated no change, with only 14% reporting slight reductions and fewer than one in ten reporting a “significant” fall in numbers. However, the financial pressures are clearly continuing: only 20% reported higher income from sponsors and exhibitions, 40% showed no change, but the remaining 40% suffered falls in financial support from this side of their budgets.
When asked about their projections for 2011, these executives painted an even more positive picture: almost one-third of associations will be running more meetings in 2011 than in 2010, with only 8% planning to organise fewer; and a massive 53% are projecting higher attendances than in 2010, compared to a tiny 6% who expect their delegate numbers to fall. This is the most positive forward forecast that these regular surveys have ever produced.
Martin Sirk, ICCA CEO responded to the results: “These results provide further powerful evidence that the international association meetings sector is holding firm through these economically rocky times. Like everyone they’re faced with more conservative budgeting by their corporate sponsors, but their key constituents, the association members who attend their major meetings, are proving once again that they are loyal and willing to invest their time and money. Combined with ICCA’s own statistical research showing the continued creation and growth of new association meetings, these results should reassure every destination and company targeting this sector that they have made the right strategic decision.”
Carina Bauer, IMEX Group CEO added: “International associations will continue to be a key hosted buyer sector for IMEX and for our new IMEX America show in 2011. We understand just how strategically important their meetings are to our exhibitors, especially during recessionary or turbulent times, and we are committed to invest in their customised programmes at both shows to make sure their numbers continue to grow strongly. IMEX Association Day 2010 attracted the largest ever gathering of international association executives to take place in Europe, and we intend to keep breaking this record, year after year.”
Meetings industry leaders will discuss the state of the international association meetings market during the 49th ICCA Congress taking place 23-27 October 2010 in Hyderabad, India.
EIBTM & ICCA’S FORUM FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
Highlighting their continued commitment to finding industry ‘leaders of tomorrow’, EIBTM and ICCA are undertaking their annual search for young talent to join them in the annual Forum For Young Professionals at this year’s EIBTM in Barcelona.
The two organisations are on the look out for 20 industry professionals, under the age of 30, to join them from Saturday 27 November to Tuesday 30 November. Selection to the Forum is based on country of origin, current employment and a short essay on either the challenges faced by the industry, social networking or sustainability.
The deadline for applications is Friday 10 September 2010. For full information about the programme and how to apply go to www.iccaworld.com/dbs/fyp <http://www.iccaworld.com/dbs/fyp> or contact Jill Harrison at jill@icca.nl
Martin Sirk, CEO for ICCA comments: “The Forum is a unique opportunity for ambitious young professionals, thrown together from different backgrounds and countries, to join together to learn more about the industry and ICCA. It adds up to an experience that past participants consistently enthuse about.”
Comments from past attendees include:
“The ICCA/EIBTM FYP was an amazing opportunity to collaborate with, and learn from, both experts in our industry and other young professionals. The forum allowed me to build relationships with industry colleagues throughout the world, an opportunity I would have otherwise never had the chance to partake in.” Bethany Teulan – Business Events Sydney
“The Forum is a great opportunity for anyone who is planning a career in our industry. The mix of experienced industry leaders and young ambitious professionals leads to an extraordinary experience with an open and educative atmosphere.” Arvin Singh – MCI Amsterdam
“It is a great opportunity for exchanging experience’s learning and fun. Absorb as much as possible and enjoy.” Ângela Silva – São Paulo Convention and Visitors Bureau
Graeme Barnett, EIBTM Exhibition Director adds: “This initiative is all about the future; the leaders of tomorrow. Together with ICCA we are committed in the long term to help educate and develop the obvious talent that exists around the world.”
Key benefits for those chosen to join the Forum for Young Professionals include:
· A fresh perspective on meetings management and the industry
· Familiarisation with the global meetings industry and its potential for young professionals
· Enhanced professional skills
· Connections and networks with peers from around the world
· Better appreciation of different viewpoints, approaches and cultures
· The experience of working in multi-cultural and buyer-supplier teams
· The ability to plan a career in the industry
· Knowledge of ICCA, its organisation and membership benefits
· Continued motivation and enthusiasm for the industry
· Preview of EIBTM
· Opportunity to meet technology guru Corbin Ball
The Forum for Young Professionals is complimentary and includes three night’s accommodation and a return flight to Barcelona – free flights from within Europe are courtesy of EIBTM, with ICCA covering extra flights up to 1000 Euros for non-European participants. Transfers, lunches, coffee breaks and dinners are included in the package.
EIBTM takes place at Fira Gran Via, Barcelona from Tuesday 30 November – Thursday 2 December 2010.
6th ICCA Association Expert Seminar focuses on interactive strategies and sustainability of associations
By Mathijs Vleeming
The 6th ICCA Association Expert Seminar (AES) took place the weekend before IMEX (22-24 May) at the MARITIM Hotel Frankfurt. This unique, interactive seminar is organised by ICCA and brings together 20 international association executives and 40 international suppliers (ICCA members) to share information and experiences, and to update themselves on the latest trends and ideas relating to international association conferences.
The faculty consisted of a mix of experienced international association executives, association management company professionals, and senior ICCA suppliers (CVB’s, Centres, PCO’s). The AES is moderated by Gary Grimmer, CEO of Gary Grimmer & Company and supported by Association Meetings International, Bosch Congress Rental Network, IMEX, Maritim Hotel Frankfurt and MCI.
This article covers the main topics discussed at this year’s edition of the Association Expert Seminar.
Broadcasting age vs. conversation age
Keynote speaker Michael Priem, CEO of Interactive Agency & Media Company USDM.net immediately set the trend by kicking off with his session on Interactive Strategies.
Recent statistics show the importance of including online strategies in marketing and communication to target audiences: 80% of all travel is booked online, global search engines are becoming vital (84% of people find a website through search engines) and advertising and media spend is moving online (e.g. internet advertising revenue share has surpassed television spend in the United Kingdom). Michael Priem stated that these new ways of communicating have moved society from a “broadcasting age” into a “conversation age”.
Social Media
Today, 62% of all internet users worldwide have created a social network profile.
The rise of social media provides new opportunities for the way we communicate; social networks such as Twitter allow for real-time online interaction to take place.
Associations are being challenged to use electronic marketing and communication and develop social media strategies. Many associations as well as suppliers are currently discussing how to use social media in their marketing and communication.
A lot of educating needs to be done on social media. Associations expressed their needs for a better understanding on how to monitor content of social media and expressed their lack of resources to implement and administer social media strategies. Social networks are still often seen as “fun” and “leisure” and do not get the priority they deserve.
The attendees also expressed the challenge of the generation gap; local representatives of international associations who are involved in organising a local meeting are often of an older generation, which is not as involved in interactive media as generation X and Y.
Anecdotal stories showed how social networks offer new opportunities like generating feedback and facilitating online networking and online association governance.
Sustainability of associations
The main value propositions for associations are seen to be:
1. Content
2. Community/Networking
3. Commitment
Content
Corporations which offer online webinars and information which is freely available on the web are potential competitors for associations, which makes it more important for associations to differentiate themselves by delivering quality in content. In other words: Associations should be developing organic, live content which is accessible for members only and seen to be highly credible.
Community
Virtual communities will not replace face-to-face meetings. Social networks provide extended networking opportunities for face-to-face networking, like pre- and post congress networking; they do not threaten it. Or as meetings technology Guru Corbin Ball puts it: “There is no such thing as a virtual beer”!
Commitment
Association branding plays a key role in this process: associations have to earn their brand reputation by showing commitment in delivering their brand promise and by showing consistency in their communication, products and services.
Association membership focus will switch from delivering bundled services to members to delivering specific services to customers. Therefore, associations are moving from being service providers to being marketing professionals. Recruitment and servicing of membership will no longer be the only objective; marketing the association’s services through different channels will play a key role. Associations will be less worried about the number of members and will be more interested in the number of “followers” of their association.
Associations have to become more efficient and will be run by professionals – either dedicated in-house staffs or management companies – and will be less based on volunteers. Many associations already have a clear distinction between the non-profit and for-profit parts in their governance structure.
Associations have to find new value propositions for members: networking is king, and content of association meetings and webinars has to be new, authentic and exclusive. Associations have to offer accredited webinars, for example.
Representation and advocacy will become a more important task for associations in the future. Human interest associations will be free (no paid membership) and fully rely on sponsorship.
Association meetings
Meeting budgets of international associations are being cut and time pressure of volunteers is increasing.
The location of a meeting has a huge impact on the number of participants attending it. As association meetings are pressured by the economic climate and the increased competition, new regions or countries may not be chosen because of attendance pressure. Moreover, a global rotation area could undermine the attendance base of association meetings, as large groups of members may choose not to cross borders to attend international meetings because it will come back to their region in a couple of years.
Therefore it is foreseen global associations will organise smaller, regional meetings, which will compete with national meetings.
Another trend though, which seems contradictory, is that regional associations are merging and globalising for commercial and/or knowledge reasons.
Especially for participants over 45 years, networking at an international meeting is more important than education. At very large meetings (e.g. 14,000 participants) networking is very difficult, but they will not disappear as people want to be there because “everybody is going”. Middle size meetings could have a problem though.
Safety and security and therefore risk management and flexibility will play a bigger role and more meetings, as well as headquarters of associations, will move to emerging destinations in Asia, Middle East and Africa.
The generation change and the use of technology will change the architecture of future meetings. The new generations have other educational needs based on more interaction.
Convention and Visitors Bureaus have to understand the core objectives of an association: instead of asking them “What are you looking for in a destination?” they should ask: “What are the strategic goals of your congress?”
Corporate Social Responsibility and the environment
Lots of associations are doing CSR on a tactical level, while CSR of associations should be at strategic level; associations should be driving sustainability by helping their members to be sustainable. Sustainability is a lifelong commitment; just using recycled congress bags and glass water bottles instead of plastic is not enough.
CSR should play a big role in the decision-making processes of international associations on where their next meeting will be held. Currently, if a venue is “green” it does not play a decisive role in that process yet.
“Meetings are a catalyst for change”
It is a mission for associations and suppliers to create awareness of CSR for the world outside the meetings industry.
Association meetings can influence the long term legacy of sustainability of destinations. An example would be the European Wind Energy Association which does not go to a destination that does not live up to their standards – the city of Marseille in France now lives up to those standards because it wanted to host the EWEA meeting.
The recent Copenhagen climate meeting also illustrates this. Inspired by the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) that took place in Denmark’s capital in December 2009, seven innovative organisations created a coalition to further increase the sustainability of this event and other large international meetings in the future. The initiative is called the Copenhagen Sustainable Meetings Protocol (CSMP). The CSMP offers a flexible, umbrella framework that can be used to organise large, complex meetings in a more sustainable way. The protocol is intended to inspire planners to strive for excellence in sustainable management of their meetings now and in the future (more information on www.csmp.dk).
But it also works the other way around: CVBs and Venues also influence associations to be green by offering free public transportation or technological solutions for printing hard copy papers.
Several initiatives of green venues are arising; Melbourne just opened the greenest venue in the world and a “Green Venue Alliance” of Cape Town, Liverpool and Melbourne has been launched. New congress venues have to be green due to social pressure. All venues represented at the AES stated that being green definitely makes a difference. Though, at the moment, corporations seem more interested in choosing green venues for their meetings than are associations.
Convention 2020
Rohit Talwar, Chief Executive of Fast Future, presented some of the findings of the Convention 2020 study, of which ICCA and IMEX are the founding sponsors. Fast Future Research launched a ‘Pathfinder Report’ on the key strategic challenges and choices facing the industry over the next decade during IMEX.
Rohit Talwar pointed out that the meetings industry needs to be aware of what is happening in a couple of years and have an open mind to it. All the technology challenges should not be perceived as threats but as new opportunities.
A lot of the technological innovations are used already e.g. during the recent no-fly zone due to the Icelandic ash cloud when cancelled meetings were replaced by virtual meetings. Also, many associations are using technological innovations just to try something different.
An implication of the new format of future meetings is that the cost structure will change: revenue will switch from registration fees to payment for online pay-per-view sessions. Suppliers need to be more flexible on the number of participants of an event by taking an investment risk together with the association and share the profit of a meeting.
The Pathfinder Report provides a glimpse of the content of the full phase 1 report to be released in July 2010 as part of the groundbreaking Convention 2020 study on the future of meetings, venues and destinations. It can be downloaded from the Convention 2020 website:http://convention2020.meetingsreview.com/Phase1Report. The final report will be presented in October at the ICCA Congress in Hyderabad, India.
Best edition yet
Moderator Gary Grimmer says: “The AES has always gotten pretty good marks from the participants over the years, because it is a unique opportunity for association executives and ICCA members to get together to discuss current issues in the international meetings market. To me, this was the best year yet. We had some very interesting discussions that were at very a high strategic level. I think it gave the association executives a lot to think about, and the ICCA members went away with a much better understanding of the challenges their customers are facing.”
“The ICCA Association Expert Seminar is the right place to meet the right people and interact with each of them. Buyers and suppliers learn to comprehend each other.” says Irina Radu of the MSC Association.
Hazel Kennedy of the Liverpool Convention Bureau: “The Association Expert Seminar was a great way to meet face to face with Association members and really get ‘inside their heads’ to understand the challenges and opportunities they face.”
The ICCA Association Expert Seminar will take place again next year, right before IMEX and is open to ICCA members and Association Executives only.
ICCA announces destinations for 2013 ICCA Congress and 2012 ICCA Research, Sales & Marketing Programme
The 52nd ICCA Congress will be held in Shanghai, China-P.R. on 2 – 6 November 2013
The ICCA Board’s decision was made at the IMEX 2010 exhibition in Frankfurt and was revealed on the last day of the show. The other finalists in the bidding competition were Houston, TX, U.S.A. and Gold Coast, Qld., Australia.
ICCA CEO Martin Sirk said: “The standard of bids received from our member destinations continues to improve each year, and Shanghai needed to produce an exceptional proposal in order to win this tough competition. Their bid involved members from all over China, it positioned the ICCA Congress as a key milestone in the strategic development of China’s international meetings industry, it was packed with creative concepts, and clearly communicated the enthusiasm and commitment of the host team. We anticipate that this will be a superb event, and look forward to working with our Chinese colleagues on a programme that will expose ICCA members to China and its business potential, and which will transfer cutting-edge knowledge and expertise to the Chinese meetings industry.”
ICCA Research, Sales & Marketing Programme 2012 goes to Vorarlberg, Austria
The programme will be held from 14-16 June 2012 at the Festival House Bregenz.
Marina Knittel, Project Manager, Convention Partner Vorarlberg says: “We are proud and excited to host the ICCA Research, Sales & Marketing Programme 2012. Vorarlberg will definitely impress the delegates by its fascinating scenery between Lake Constance and the Alps, our highly-awarded congress facilities (The Festival House Bregenz was awarded by EVVC as one of the 3 „Best Centers” in 2009), and the hospitality and friendliness of the local people. Sustainable event organising is a matter of course in our region and we look forward to applying our principle of economic, ecological and social responsibility to the organisation of the programme. We are confident that the delegates will enjoy both the educational and recreational part of their stay in Vorarlberg.”
ICCA publishes country and city rankings 2009
U.S.A. and Vienna still most popular association meeting destinations
The ICCA rankings cover meetings organised by international associations which take place on a regular basis and which rotate between a minimum of three countries. The data represents a “snapshot” of qualifying events in the ICCA Association Database as sampled on 11 May 2010. ICCA’s Association Database is designed as a sales and marketing resource for its members to target future international association meetings, which is why it does not include one-off events or those which do not move between locations.
This year the ICCA Data researchers have identified 8,294 events which took place in 2009, 800 events more than were identified last year. Partly this reflects the strength of the association meetings market despite the economic downturn; partly it is thanks to a record number of ICCA members sending us their calendar information to help identify new events.
Table 1: ICCA country and city ranking measured by number of meetings organised in 2009
As has been the case since 2004, U.S.A. and Germany are the number one and two countries respectively measured by the number of international meetings organised in 2009. The U.S.A. is widening its gap with Germany with 32 events, compared to the 2008 figures. Spain remains third. Italy jumps from 6th to 4th place with an increase of 54 events compared to 2008, and the United Kingdom remains 5th. China-P.R. and Austria (which shares 10th place with The Netherlands) are newcomers in the top 10.
For the fifth year in a row, Vienna is the most popular city with an increase of 21 meetings over 2008. Barcelona jumped from 3rd to 2nd place and Paris, who shared 1st place with Vienna last year, is now 3rd. The only newcomer in the top 20 is Madrid, at 13th place.
ICCA is now working on the details behind these headline results. The full ICCA statistics report for 2009 will be released end of June. The 10 Year statistics report covering 2000-2009 will be published late July.
The ICCA statistics reports will only be available online to ICCA members. “The International Association Meetings Market 2009” will also be sent to 6,000 association meeting planners all over the world. ICCA encourages associations to use the statistics as a practical way to identify potential new destinations for their events.
ICCA & the international association market at IMEX
ICCA Statistics: Country and city rankings 2009
A survey of ICCA member companies has revealed the massive global impact of the recent volcanic ash-induced European no-fly zone.
The no-fly zone has hit the international association sector as well as corporate meetings, triggering cancellations, postponements and delegate reductions in this previously resilient sector, something the current economic crisis has failed to achieve. Whilst European events were most badly affected (over 70% reporting negative impacts), conferences held in locations as far distant as the West Coast of North America and the Malaysian state of Sarawak also suffered, with reduced delegate attendances, missing keynote speakers, and frustrated organisers.
ICCA UK & IRELAND JOINS FORCES WITH MIA AND ABPCO FOR SUMMER DEBATE
ICC London ExCeL to host joint industry event
ICCA UK & Ireland has announced its 2010 Summer Debate will take place on 15th - 16th July and be held at London’s first International Convention Centre at ExCeL London.
In a collaborative move, the 2010 debate will be supported by both the Meetings Industry Association (MIA) and the Association of British Professional Conference Organisers (ABPCO), who will promote the event to its own membership and contribute to the development of content.
Chair of ICCA UK & Ireland Chapter, James Rees comments; “Since the Association Summit took place in Birmingham last year during National Meetings Week, we have been looking at ways in which we can work more closely with other associations in the sector that share our values, and I’m delighted that both the MIA and ABPCO will be participating in and supporting this event. Their input will help to shape the event for the benefit of all members.”
The programme for the debate will include a series of keynote sessions, workshops and a welcome reception and dinner within East London, close to the Olympic Park, details of which will be published in the next few weeks.
James concludes; “The Summer Debate will offer members from all three associations the opportunity to learn from shared experiences across a variety of sectors and demonstrates how we are working together for the benefit of the wider industry.”
Jane Evans, Chief Executive of the MIA comments; “We’re committed to working closer with other associations and are particularly delighted to have aligned ourselves with both ICCA and ABPCO for the Summer Debate. Our newly launched Destination Group is all about coming together to share best practice through a more collaborative approach and working in partnership with ICCA and ABPCO on this event is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to sharing best practice with the wider industry.”
Further details for delegate registration will be available at www.iccaworld.com shortly.
“ICCA Research, Sales & Marketing Programme will provide 50 business leads per delegate”
“Events nowadays should no longer offer education alone; real on-site business opportunities are becoming more and more important”, says Martin Sirk, ICCA CEO.
ICCA claims that its Research, Sales & Marketing Programme, taking place from 15-17 July 2010 in Vilnius, Lithuania is the only meetings industry event in Europe which not only provides a high quality educational programme with top Association and Corporate clients and suppliers, but also delivers high-value business leads.
Business Exchange
Last year over 50 delegates participated in the Business Exchange at the ICCA Research, Sales & Marketing Programme, each bringing information on an association congress they have recently organised, to share this valuable information with their colleagues. By sharing this information through the Business Exchange, each participant is able to return to their offices with literally dozens of new and high potential international association meetings sales leads.
For the first time at the ICCA Research, Sales & Marketing Programme, ICCA will be using Spotme to facilitate networking and to improve the Business Exchange.
Martin Sirk added: “We’re determined to make this Programme the most cost-effective, personalised, business-generating training programme in our industry, and a “must-attend” event for every ambitious junior manager within our membership. I urge every ICCA member to send some of their key frontline sales and marketing personnel on an annual basis, and look forward to personally contributing to this unique, innovative educational programme”.
The Programme: Refreshingly Different
Attending the ICCA Research, Sales & Marketing Programme will help delegates in their daily work and does not have to be regarded as time away from the office. The education programme provides practical content that delivers results. An experienced conference faculty from leading ICCA destinations/companies, top clients and the ICCA CEO offers customised coaching to address individual objectives.
Client speakers:
- Anna Frick, Director, AstraZenica
- Thomas Reiser, Executive Director, International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO)
- Dan Rivlin, Managing Director, Kenes International (Core PCO for numerous leading medical associations)
Other leading speakers:
- Martin Sirk, CEO, ICCA
- Rob Davidson, Senior Lecturer, University of Westminster
- Christian Mutschlechner, Director, Vienna Convention Bureau
- Bente Bratland Holm, Director, Norway Convention Bureau
- Jacquie Rogers, General Manager, Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool
- Jolanta Beniuliene, Director, Vilnius City Tourist Office & Convention Bureau
- Miranda Ioannou, Managing Director, SCS Limited
To register and for more details, please visit the event website: http://www.iccaworld.com/dbs/programme2010.
New Business Models, Radical Price Incentives, Deep Personalisation and Onsite Transactions will shape the industry landscape in 2020
Convention 2020 initial survey findings show hypercompetition, technology and changing delegate behaviours are driving industry transformationThe Industry Today
- The biggest current barriers to event effectiveness are seen to be the cost of attending, poor organisation and a lack of focus in the design
- The quality of content, interaction, technology and networking were seen to be the main drivers of an effective and exciting event
For events in 2020
- Reasons to Attend - The Quality of Networking (76%) was the biggest single factor that would encourage delegates to attend events, less than 50% cited price as an influencing factor and only 1% said they would not attend live events in 2020.
- Meeting Demand - 74% felt their organisation would maintain their investment in live events in 2020, while 46% felt time and cost pressure might deter organisations from sending delegates and 59% felt their organisation would be investing far more in alternatives to live event.
- Meeting Supply - 49% said there would be fewer but larger events, while 79% expected a growth in smaller more specialised meetings and 48% thought there would be an explosion in the number of free or very low cost evening only meetings held in low cost venues.
- Business Models - 77% believe events will need to offer strong price based incentives to attract the desired delegates, 60% expect to see a rise in pay as you go / pay per session type models and 76% think there will be far more opportunities to conduct transactions at events.
- Event Technology – The most commonly expected developments are ‘Live video streaming to remote participants ‘(75%), ‘A social network before, during and after events’ (70%) and ‘All event content downloaded to our mobile phones’ (64%). Whilst more advanced immersive and experiential technologies were not ranked highly as individual developments, there was strong support for their potential applications when discussed subsequently in scenarios for personalisation.
- Personalisation – 79% expect a totally personalised technology experience and 70% felt this individual customisation would extend to areas such as food and seating. 93% believe that technology will enable capture and analysis of every activity, presentation and conversation.
- Sustainability – 70% say ethical and environmental factors will continue to influence the decision to attend.
- Convention Centre Challenges – The greatest competition to convention centres is expected to come from ‘Schools, universities and colleges’ (63%), ‘Museums, galleries and libraries’ (56%) and ‘Meeting facilities in office buildings’ (50%)
CMP Exam to be held at ICCA Congress in India for first time
The Convention Industry Council (CIC), in their continued focus on the globalization of the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation, is pleased to announce that a CMP exam will be held in conjunction with International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) at the 49th Annual ICCA Congress in Hyderabad, India on Saturday, October 23, 2010.
“Over the past few years CIC has made significant progress in its efforts to expand globally”, says Cathy Breden, CAE, CMP, Chief Operating Officer for the International Association of Exhibitions and Events and CMP Board Chair. “This is a tremendous opportunity for meeting professionals and we are thrilled that we now have a direct presence in India and are extremely proud to partner with ICCA.”
“We’re delighted that CIC has agreed to run a CMP exam linked to this year’s ICCA Congress in Hyderabad. We’re big supporters of CMP as the only professional accreditation programme with global credibility and our Congress education programmes have been earning CMP credits for delegates for a number of years, but this is a big step forward to communicate the importance of CMP to a global audience.” says Martin Sirk, CEO, ICCA.
The ICCA Congress provides top quality educational content for senior executives. The education programme is custom-designed every year, and features a mix of speakers from all regions of the world, including top corporate and association meetings clients, expert business speakers from outside the meetings industry, and of course a selection of some of the most experienced ICCA members. More information on the ICCA Congress in Hyderabad can be found at: http://www.iccaworld.com/dbs/congress2010.
The CMP program recognizes individuals who have demonstrated key understanding and excellence in the meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry. This exam is open to all professionals who have met all application requirements as of the Thursday, August 20, 2010 application deadline.
Obtaining the CMP designation is a two-part process, consisting of an application and a written examination administered and monitored by an independent testing agency. Eligibility to take the examination is based on an extensive review of professional qualifications. Candidates must have at least three years of employment in the meeting, event, exhibition and hospitality/tourism industry and twenty-five hours of continuing education. The comprehensive written examination tests knowledge of all functions of meeting management. Additional information on the Convention Industry Council and the CMP program can be found at www.conventionindustry.org.
ICCA further expands Association Database
ICCA Association Database
Since 1972, the ICCA Research Department has assembled information on international association meetings. The structure of the Association Database is designed to perfectly suit the marketing information needs of suppliers in the international meeting business. ICCA members use this database for their research, marketing and sales activities to identify prospective association clients and to bid for important international congresses.
3,000 “incomplete” profiles added
Up to now a considerable number of incomplete- (meeting series without a clear contact reference) or outdated (historical overview not up-to-date) profiles were automatically “hidden” in the online database. As ICCA members indicated that they would like to see this data nonetheless because they would be happy to further research these profiles for their marketing purposes, these profiles are now added to the online database.
ICCA expects to generate a lot of useful information amongst its members, who can use an online “Report on Update” form to update and add missing information.
The Association Database Online currently contains over 13,000 profiles of rotating and regularly occurring meeting and profiles of more than 130,000 individual events since 1873.
“Having recently upgraded and simplified the “report an update” functionality on our database, it was a logical step to add the incomplete records to the congresses that are visible to our members – we’re anticipating a massive increase in feedback of commercially relevant information. And with international associations continuing to be the most recession-proof sector in the global meetings market this will open up even more congress bidding opportunities for our members.”, says Martin Sirk, ICCA CEO.
Link to UIA data
Last month ICCA already linked the profiles of 4,500 regularly occurring meetings within ICCA’s extensive database of international association events to supplementary UIA data. The new data provides valuable background information that will enable more relevant and targeted proposals to be created.
ICCA announces first ever data collaboration with UIA
4,500 regularly occuring meetings within ICCA’s extensive database of international association events have now been enhanced through access to supplementary UIA data. This is the first time these two long-established organisations have collaborated in this way.
ICCA members use this database for their research, marketing and sales activities to identify prospective association clients and to bid for important international congresses, and the new data provides valuable background information that will enable more relevant and targetted proposals to be created.
ICCA CEO Martin Sirk expained why this deal is so significant: “Whilst ICCA is the acknowledged global leader in meetings-related association data, UIA collects a vast amount of non-meetings-related background data on these organisations – this collaboration enables ICCA members to obtain a much more complete picture of each of these potential clients for zero additional cost. And since international association meetings are the most recession-proof segment of our industry this increased competitiveness is welcome news in today’s troubled economic climate.”
Eco-venues partner in Global Green Alliance
The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), together with two of the world’s most renowned eco-friendly convention centres: the Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool and the Cape Town International Convention Centre, have joined forces to create a Global Green Alliance.
This initiative was a direct result of relationships forged at the recent ICCA Congress in Florence with the alliance aiming to promote industry best-practice for hosting sustainable events.
Anne Jamieson, Director of Sales at the MCEC said: ‘The launch of this new partnership marks an exciting new era for the meetings and events sector as we collaborate in developing new eco-friendly venue design features and packaged services. We anticipate that event organisers will benefit from a significantly enhanced sustainable offer and the industry as a whole will see best-practice improved across the board.’
Kerrin MacPhie, Head of Sales at the BT Convention Centre, part of ACC Liverpool, believes that event organisers have been under increasing pressure for some time now to meet CSR and sustainability targets.
‘With this new Global Green Alliance, we will not only offer clients an outstanding, eco-friendly venue in the UK, but can extend that offer to include partner convention centres across the world that we know will meet their sustainability targets as well as we do at ACC Liverpool.’
Esmare Van Tonder, International Sales Manager for Cape Town International Convention Centre added: ‘There is a lot of hype regarding the green agenda, which makes it difficult for organisers to distinguish veneer policies from tangible deliverables that truly have an impact on improving sustainability targets. With this new alliance, we are setting the bar in terms of eco-venue standards and giving organisers a clear choice of partner organisations that can support their CSR needs.’
The alliance will focus on developing its combined offer and joint international marketing activities. Over the coming months, the alliance will announce a range of service offerings and other initiatives to further develop industry best practice and enable clients to gain maximum value from holding sustainable events.
ICCA, IMEX and Fast Future Announce Launch of Ground Breaking Global Study on the Future of Meetings, Venues and Meeting Destinations
Future research methods to be adopted to create a wake-up call, challenge old assumptions and drive new thinking across the industry
ICCA – The International Congress and Convention Association, the IMEX Group and Fast Future Research announced the formal launch of Convention 2020 – a groundbreaking research study looking at the future of live events, venues and meeting destinations. All three organisations have become founder sponsors of the study. Discussions are underway with a number of other potential sponsors.
The study is being conducted by Fast Future Research and will explore the underlying trends and drivers that could shape the industry over the next decade. The aim is to develop a range of models and scenarios for how live meetings might evolve over that time period. The study will centre on understanding the ‘meeting experience’ and the changing needs of live event attendees. These insights will help drive new thinking on event design, facilitate innovation in business models and highlight the strategic implications for venues, destinations and industry suppliers.
Martin Sirk, CEO of ICCA and Ray Bloom chairman of the IMEX Group – the founding sponsors of the study – explained that “We agreed to support Fast Future’s study because of their track record in doing high quality futures work, the innovative and comprehensive nature of the proposed study and their willingness to contribute their own funds to support a study for the benefit of the entire industry.”
Sirk went to say that “the research programme is designed to answer very practical questions such as what will attendees want from live events, how will they maximise their learning and how can they ensure a worthwhile return on their investment of time and energy. For event owners, venues and suppliers it will help them consider how events could be funded and the implications for the design, services, technology platforms and business models required for successful meetings and venues.
Finally it will help meeting destinations think through the strategic implications for developing and promoting themselves in a fast changing world.”
The study is also designed to ensure that the industry’s responds to the current downturn and future shocks in a strategic manner that ensures long term success. Bloom explained that “The economic downturn has highlighted the importance of thinking ahead and preparing for an uncertain future. We all believe in the importance of live meetings – but belief is not a strategy. We need to challenge our assumptions, develop real insight into what the future may hold, and rethink our event designs and business models to help all members of the meetings industry prepare for the decade ahead and ensure they stay competitive.”
The study concepts were tested on attendees at the ICCA Congress in Florence on November 9th and 10th 2009. “The Response was phenomenal”, said Rohit Talwar– CEO of Fast Future Research – co-sponsors and research leaders of the project. Talwar went on to add that “The interest in becoming a sponsor was overwhelming. Meetings companies, venues, destinations and industry suppliers from around the world all recognised the strategic value of the insights the study would provide. They could also see the benefits to their brand from being associated with such a comprehensive and forward-looking piece of work that would receive global distribution and widespread coverage.”
Sirk explained that “We are at a crucial turning point for the meetings industry. The sector faces major challenges and opportunities arising from changing political attitudes to the meetings sector, technological advances, economic power shifts, environmental pressures, a deepening understanding of how we learn and evolving social attitudes. The research is designed to kick start new thinking across the meetings industry and engage people at every level in coming up with strateiges, ideas and solutions that will work in their local markets.”
The study will have three main deliverables – a report on a global survey on the future of meetings to be published in January 2010, a report on the ‘Future Meeting Experience’ to be launched at IMEX in Frankfurt in May 2010 and a final report on ‘Tomorrow’s Convention Centre’ to be launched at the ICCA Congress in Hyderabad India in October 2010.
The study will provide a number of web-based mechanisms to encourage participation and a number of workshops and seminars will be held around the world to provide input. Expert input is also a critical component of the study design. Bloom explained “A key feature of the study is the involvement of a large number of the industry’s leading experts in helping to shape the study and ensure the outputs stretch the boundaries of our thinking. We felt it was critical that we combined ‘outside-in’ thinking with real engagement from professionals and the leading thinkers across the sector. We are delighted that those on the cutting edge of industry thinking in areas such as event design, learning, business models, technology, event strategy and sustainability have all given their full support and commitment to participate.”
The intention is to create a ‘living and growing’ online body of knowledge, case studies and ideas which will continue to expand and develop even after the study completes in October 2010. Talwar added that “The aim is to go beyond traditional forecasting and use a range of highly participative futures methods to engage both event attendees and those in the industry to think imaginatively about the future of the sector in a fast changing world. We will make full use of both traditional futures methods such as trend scanning, scenario planning and expert interviews along with new tools such as social media dialogues and crowdsourcing to generate ideas and stimulate new thinking.”
Full details on the study and sponsorship opportunity are available from convention2020@fastfuture.com. The survey on the future of meetings can be found at http://tinyurl.com/ICCA2020.
Latest joint research by IMEX and ICCA confirms continued strength of international association meetings market
Preliminary results from research conducted over the last few weeks amongst international association executives continue to provide the industry with much needed grounds for optimism.
Questions about the performance of their main 2009 congresses indicated that fewer than a third of respondents experienced falling delegate numbers, with only one in ten saying this fall was “significant”, whilst a quarter saw their attendance climbing, with over 9% saying this growth was “significant”. Sponsorship and exhibition revenue presented not quite such a rosy picture, with only 14% reporting increases and 46% reporting decreases, of which 14% were “significant”, but another third saw no change to their financial picture. These figures are very much in line with results from research conducted amongst IMEX Association Day participants in June 2009, when the same questions were asked about actual and anticipated 2009 results.
A new question was asked in this survey about expectations for their major events in 2010. Here the optimism was even more clear-cut: Whilst 44% expected no change compared to 2009, 39% anticipated higher attendance, and only 16% were expecting a fall.
Commenting on these results, ICCA CEO Martin Sirk said: “These latest quantitative results match up to the numerous anecdotal stories we are hearing from our members and from other international association executives. The economic downturn has had an impact, of course, but it has been far less serious than for other market sectors of the meetings industry. The fact that so many associations are experiencing rising delegate numbers and revenue during this period would be remarkable were it not for the case that international associations have been
consistently demonstrating this resilience for many, many years. We are confident that those destinations and companies which have a strong mix that includes international association meetings in their business portfolios will always cope more easily with downturns than competitors who have put all their efforts into the corporate meetings market.”
“This latest research reinforces the earlier messages we were hearing immediately after this year’s IMEX, that international association meetings have been holding up solidly in 2009 and that most of the planners are anticipating a very strong 2010. This makes us extremely confident that next year’s IMEX will attract even more of these vitally important buyers, which is great news for our exhibitors.”, said Carina Bauer, IMEX Marketing & Operations Director.
The research results are currently being discussed in Florence, Italy, where a record number of leading suppliers to the international association meetings market are meeting for the annual ICCA Congress & Exhibition.
YET ANOTHER INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR SÃO PAULO TOURISM
ICCA names the SPCVB as Hot Leader of the Year
Business tourism in São Paulo has achieved yet another international milestone. The International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA) has just recognized the São Paulo Convention & Visitors Bureau (SPCVB) as Hot Leader of the Year. This award acknowledges the high quality research conducted by the SPCVB’s international sales department, which has helped the ICCA improve its database information of other members.
“By identifying new events to be prospected and which are not yet in the ICCA database, we immediately send them to the ICCA before we even try to secure them for the city. This gives all members simultaneous access to this information, which contributes to an effective integration of industry events worldwide,” explains Toni Sando, the SPCVB’s CEO.
The SPCVB’s work has been instrumental in allowing São Paulo to rise dramatically in the ICCA’s annual ranking. Six years ago the city had 11 registered international events and occupied 80th place, while by 2008 it was in 12th place, with 75 events. “This result was good for everyone: São Paulo, Brazil and Latin America, thanks to our international sales department, headed by Elisabete Sorrentino, and to sales analyst Frederico Torres, who was responsible for the painstaking research work,” Toni explained. Both he and Elisabete will formally receive the award this November in Florence Italy, site of the next ICCA Congress.
ICCA Congress attracts record attendance!
The 2009 annual ICCA Congress & Exhibition taking place from 7-11 November in Florence Italy, officially broke the record for the number of registered attendees. With more than 4 weeks to go a record-breaking attendance of 847 delegates from 66 countries are booked in.
The previous record was 814 delegates for the 2007 ICCA Congress in Thailand.
Education programme
ICCA CEO Martin Sirk: “The 2009 Congress will feature our biggest and best choice of sessions ever. The ICCA Congress education programme is custom-designed every year, and features a mix of speakers including top corporate and association meetings clients, expert business speakers from outside the meetings industry, and of course a selection of some of the most experienced ICCA members. Our speakers are drawn from all regions of the world, matching the global mix and interests of our delegates. Each year we invest more and more in our speakers, and strive to create a programme that will be fresh, thought-provoking, strategically-oriented, and packed with new ideas for improving your personal performance and your organisation’s bottom line.
Serious about association business
Sirk continues: “We have strategically positioned ICCA as the specialist expert association for the association meetings market, and as a result have seen membership growth continue over recent months despite all the turmoil in world markets – 85 companies joined ICCA so far in 2009. We believe the main reason for this performance is that more and more suppliers have realised they need to take the international association meetings market more seriously.”
See the latest Meetings:Review interview with Martin Sirk during his visit in China, in which the Association Meetings Market and the ICCA Congress are discussed.
