HOT TOPICS
HOT TOPICS
under the spotlight
under the spotlight
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Straight to the goal
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From communication campaigns to a national identity film and unconventional workshops: Convention Bureau Italia illustrates Italy at Hand, the Event in a sneak preview of the second edition LUCREZIA NUBIANI
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16 | 01 2019 | MC
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ver since its establishment in 2014, Convention Bureau Italia (CBItalia) has spoilt us with the launch of many new ideas and projects for promoting the Italian meeting industry, all of which are in line with the increasingly demanding international standards: a dense program of promotional-commercial events at international level; a lead-generation project to grow the association segment; constant up-to-date communication. It was within this context that in 2017 Italy at Hand was established as a communication campaign entirely dedicated to the Italian meeting industry. A set of images featuring the universal image of hands brings out the values that make Italy the ideal stage for events: hospitality, entertainment, taste, inspiration, harmony and much more. Continuing in this direction, in early 2018 the Italy at Hand project evolved into a national identity film that takes the audience on a visual journey of allItalian splendour, images, emotions and inspirations.
1 / A cooking class at Le Cesarine 2 / Gala dinner at Palazzo Gnudi 3 / Ginevra: CBItalia’s association workshop 2018 4 / Rome: the Imperial Fora 5 / FICO Eataly World: Carlotta Ferrari (President CBItalia) and Oscar Farinetti (Ceo and Founder Eataly) 6 / Palazzo Gnudi: Ray Bloom during The Best Hand-Shaker Award at Italy at Hand 2018 7 / Palazzo Re Enzo: briefing with the participants at Italy at Hand 8 / Palazzo Re Enzo: business meeting 9 / Palazzo Pepoli: Carlotta Ferrari during the Opening Night
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The new ambitious goal was to transform this film into something tangible that could be used by anyone wishing to choose Italy for their events. To give a first-hand experience of all the potential present in the Italian Mice industry, CBItalia created a veritable “Italian experience” in the form of an unconventional event: Italy at Hand, the Event. FROM COMMUNICATION TO THE EVENT The promise CBItalia made through Italy at Hand, the Event turned out to be quite challenging. This is not a B2B event, but rather a celebration of the Italian meeting industry that enables the international buyers and suppliers in attendance to immerse themselves in all the values that gave rise to the communication campaign. The first edition of the event took place in Bologna in early November 2018 and was a great success: 3 days, 43 buyers from 18 countries, 45 suppliers representing the whole of Italy; 4 networking activities focussing on the values “Taste”, “Excellence”,
“Style” and “Art”. And that’s not all. For the occasion, Bologna opened its most prestigious “doors”: Palazzo Re Enzo, where 888 business meetings were held for operators, plus Palazzo Pepoli − home to the Museum of the History of Bologna − Palazzo Gnudi and FICO Eataly World. Gemma Biagiotti, General Coordinator of the Event, commented: «The countless scenic and cultural resources, combined with historical buildings equipped with the latest technologies, were the strong points that led us to choose Bologna as the destination for an event like ours, whose purpose is to incorporate all the essence of the spirit of Italy, which sits at the very foundation of the communication campaign for the broader Italy at Hand project». To enrich the format of the first edition, prestigious international guests were in attendance, including the Founder of the Imex Group, Ray Bloom, and one of Italy’s most successful businessmen, Oscar Farinetti. AFTER BOLOGNA, ROME The challenge has been accepted for 2019 as well. Indeed, the announcement has
been made for the destination that will host the second edition of the Event, a location that has all the pre-requisites to celebrate true Italian spirit. Italy at Hand will be held in Rome from 7 to 9 November. «We chose Rome as the venue for the Event for several reasons. First of all, the city boasts great professionalism and competence in its rising star of the meeting industry, the Convention Bureau Roma e Lazio. We are confident that this energy will allow Italy at Hand to once again unleash its potential as the first unconventional Mice event. Secondly, organising an international Mice event in one of the most visited destinations of the global meeting industry is a new irrevocable challenge to face» said Tobia Salvadori, Bureau Manager of Convention Bureau Italia. International buyers can already preregister on www.italyathand.com, but that’s not all. They can also request information from and get in contact with Italian hospitality by participating in the events CBItalia is organising in Toronto, Chicago, London, Manchester, Brussels, Zurich, Munich and Düsseldorf.
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Convention Bureau Italia
Piazza Adua, 1 50123 Florence Tel. +39 342 0148387 info@conventionbureauitalia.com www.conventionbureauitalia.com
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