MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE REPORT No. 01 2014 The Times, They Are Changing
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE REPORT #01, NOV 2014 €19 / 199 SEK
FOR THE MEETINGS AND EVENTS INDUSTRY
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CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT
ECONOMIC IMPACT Policy makers need to see and understand the economic value of our industry. We are still a hidden industry in many economies. Unless you can demonstrate your contribution to GDP, jobs represented and taxes contributed, then you will not be taken seriously.
Content transfer to participants. An ongoing evaluation of the educational tools used, new forms of knowledge transfer implemented, how to mobilize active participation of participants.
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EMBRACE CURIOSITY
INTELLIGENT BUSINESS
Drivers for economic growth are human capital, knowledge incubator, innovation accelerator and international connectivity. Embrace clusters.
When the business intelligence radar is switched on, you might find yourself going from business intelligence to intelligent business.
Smarter Meeting Design
Pushing Sustainability
Developing Talent
Virtual or Live?
Cluster
Most meetings are boring and create little value or growth. Death by bullet points are turning venues into crime scenes.
Is sustainability sustainable? Will sustainability make the case for radical changes in where and how we meet?
The meetings industry needs to position itself as an attractive career path for the young. Gen Z, it’s all about going your own way.
More data, more kinds of data, more analytics, all telling us more things, means more meetings – not less.
Knowledge of the meetings industry is a new kind of function-based cluster, in the space between all branches.
Unforgettable you can leave the islands, but never forget them
visitfaroeislands.com
Berlin’s Special Locations:
From E-Werk to Humboldt-Box
B
erlin – the capital city of Germany – has numerous unique venues – from former train stations and waterworks to modern convention centres. And Berlin is excellently connected: situated in central Europe, the city is very convenient to reach by plane, train, bus or car. In the beginning of May, the CityCube Berlin opened on the premises of the former Deutschlandhalle. Equipped with the latest technology, the multifunction hall can be adapted to the requirements of any event via freely moving walls. The CityCube Berlin has space for 11,000 attendees over three levels. The cube-shaped building is connected directly to Hall 7 on the exhibition grounds via a glass crossing. In this case, events with up to 18,000 attendees can be held. citycube-berlin.de/en/ The Humboldt-Box is an eye-catching building due to its unique, asymmetric architecture, situated in an area rich in history between the Rotes Rathaus, the Berlin Cathedral and Museum Island. With a surface area of 3,000 m² and a total of 28 metres in height over five levels, it is one of Berlin’s special event locations. Adjustable room dividers enable very different events to be held for a maximum of 400 people. Guests can experience a breathtaking panoramic view over Brandenburg Gate and Alexanderplatz from the Sky Lounge. humboldt-box.com/en.html In Berlin, old industrial buildings are being given new life: the “Station-Berlin” is located right in the centre of the capital city – very close to Potsdamer Platz. The former Dresden train station was built in 1875 and is a testament to Berlin’s eventful history. The station was an important connection to West Germany during the period of German division. The exceptional location has a total surface area of 20,000 m². As this area is divided up into seven large halls (500–4,300 m²), the location has a capacity for events from 200 to 4,200 attendees. The viaduct with a ceiling height of more than eleven metres can be rented for exclusive events. The symposium on the first floor with a ADVERTORIAL
floor area of 175 m² has space for 120 to 200 people, depending on the type of event. station-berlin.de/en/home.html Formerly a transformer station, today a popular location for events: E-Werk is the oldest preserved building for commercial power generation in Germany. Its main buildings are two event halls connected to each other by a courtyard, each with a surface area of 600 m². The charm of this old industrial plant makes every event there a special experience. The highlight is the spacious roof terrace that has a unique view over Berlin. E-Werk is suitable for various event sizes with 20 to 2,500 attendees. ewerk.net/home_en.html The artfully illuminated old pumping engines of the Berlin Wasserwerk are an eye-catcher at every event. The industrial building, which is under monument protection, has flexible seating depending on the occasion: There are 420 seats for guests in the banquet seating and up to 600 in the mixed seating. wasserwerk-berlin.de The Berlin Cathedral is not only the biggest church in Germany’s capital but also a historical location for impressive events. The hall Luise-Henriette, flooded with light, is an ideal conference location for up to 100 people with 73.5 m². The elegant hall Sophie-Charlotte is suitable for receptions and evening events. besl-eventservice.de/en/repertoire/berliner-dom The Zwinglikirche in Friedrichshain, not far from the U-Bahn station Warschauer Straße, has its own charisma. Art nouveau reliefs and fresco paintings – this church survived the Second World War almost undamaged. The nave has seats for up to 300 guests. The roof terrace is suitable for events in the summer. kulturraum-zwinglikirche.de Find more information about event locations in Berlin here: venue-finder.visitberlin.com
Meeting planners are the real stars in Berlin. We know all there is to know about arranging meetings.
convention.visitBerlin.com
Do you need to arrange a meeting, convention or any other type of event at short notice? If so, the Berlin Convention Office is on hand 24/7 to give you all the support you need. We work closely with local partners across the city and can quickly provide you with relevant advice, help and information. With the Berlin Convention Office, you can rest assured that your event is in good hands. convention.visitBerlin.com Member of
congressfrankfurt Location. Service. Experience.
Top experience
green venue
Kap Europa – a new standard for congress culture. Close to the exhibition site, at the centre of city life, you’ll find the perfect union between sustainability and a feel-good atmosphere. Welcome to the new location of Messe Frankfurt! www.kapeuropa.de
K
ap Europa is the first congress centre in the world to be awarded a Gold certificate by the German Sustainable Building Council The “greenmeetings und events” conference will take place at the Kap Europa congress centre in Frankfurt on 09–10 February, 2015. The conference is held under the auspices of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety. For the third time, the German Convention Bureau e.V. (GCB) and the European Association of Event Centres (EVVC) are pleased to jointly announce the next conference which focuses on sustainable event planning and organisation. The venue for the event, the Kap Europa congress centre, which opened in May 2014, is setting groundbreaking standards in the area of sustainability, and its environmental and socially responsible design serves as an exemplary role model. “Sustainable management has always been an integral part of the corporate culture of Messe Frankfurt. This is reflected in the activities of all of our divisions. By implementing innovative measures, for example with respect to the energy efficiency of our buildings or photovoltaic systems, we are continuously identifying potentials for keeping our infrastructure operating as sustainably as possible. Kap Europa represents another milestone on this path,” says Uwe Behm, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt GmbH. Matthias Schultze, Managing Director of the GCB, was delighted with the choice of venue. “Once again, we have succeeded in finding an ideal location for the greenmeetings and events conference,” he said. “The Kap Europa congress center will meet outstanding sustainability standards and therefore be the perfect host for the event.” The Kap Europa congress center is in the Europa district of the city of Frankfurt just a few minutes away from the trade fair site and with excellent local public transport services. The congress center offers a 1,000-seater hall, a divisible hall for 600 people and 12 conference rooms over four levels.
“After this year’s outstanding greenmeetings and events conference, we are delighted to have been chosen to host this event in 2015. It will give us the opportunity to present a new sustainable destination to the sector: Kap Europa. Messe Frankfurt’s new congress center has been designed for optimum sustainability throughout its life cycle in accordance with the standards defined by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB). We hope that this new standard will pioneer the way for future event centers,” said Claudia Delius-Fisher, Director of Congress Frankfurt. Kap Europa has already been awarded the DGNB Certificate in Gold issued by the German Sustainable Building Council for its high ecological standards – the first congress center to receive this recognition. It is the reward for an extensive range of measures designed to improve the building’s environmental footprint. Every aspect of sustainability was taken into account during the planning stage – from the environmentally friendly, low-waste construction site to energy efficient operation and a sophisticated deconstruction concept. Foyers with natural daylight and energy efficient windows and facades not only create an inviting ambience but also make a major contribution to the venue’s energy savings. The use of wood, all from certified sustainable sources and mostly from local forests, ensures a pleasant climate in the rooms. The building also features a 1,000 m² green rooftop garden. “As well as the participants and the program, the venue is one of the key factors responsible for the success and effectiveness of an event – and this is particularly true of the greenmeetings and events conference. Germany has a growing number of congress centers, which are setting new global standards in sustainability. We are delighted to be able to use this conference to highlight the strengths of these facilities,” said Joachim König, President of the EVVC.
ADVERTORIAL
Dubai Convention Bureau:
Positioning the Emirate as a leading business tourism destination
T
he Dubai Convention Bureau is a division of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, a non-profit government funded organization, whose aim is to further develop and increase Dubai’s share of the international MICE and special events markets, whilst maximizing the economic prospects of Dubai. The DCB is dedicated to pursue and win events through national and international promotions to advance the position of the Emirate as a leading business tourism destination. “As an organization, we will assist you in the planning and organization of virtually any kind of MICE event you may wish to imagine. Our staff is professional and dedicated to ensuring your event is an outstanding success. We will assist you with the most sophisticated convention and exhibition venues available. Let us be your guide to a variety of event venues, over 500 hotels and hotel apartments, an abundance of airlines, local ambassadors and much more … everything you need to succeed,” says Steen Jakobsen, Director of Dubai Convention Bureau. The Dubai Convention Bureau’s service standards are accredited by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) as part of the BestCities Global Alliance, convention and visitor bureaus that deliver the world’s best service experience for the meeting industry. Consistently high service standards and close cooperation among the partners yield great results for customers. The Dubai Convention Bureau (DCB) provides the following five cornerstones to success: Bid Assistance, Convention Planning, Building Attendance, Onsite Event Servicing, and Destination Expertise. The Dubai Convention Bureau provides local and international hosts with a high
ADVERTORIAL
level of knowledge and expertise in planning and compiling bid documents, including: Identifying bid criteria that require addressing. Sourcing written endorsements from key political and tourism industry contacts. Implementing detailed event searches using our global network to ensure a thorough knowledge of bid requirements. Undertaking research to identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of competing cities. Identifying various funding assistance schemes available. Preparing preliminary budgets with a Professional Conference Organizer (PCO). Planning personalized bid strategies. Writing bespoke bid documents. Providing bid presentation support – promotional stands, conducting bid presentations and preparing promotional literature. Providing audiovisual aids, multimedia, video and slides. Facilitating venue and accommodation selection and providing recommendations. Securing provisional room and venue allocations. Providing access to event budgeting and financial planning services. Providing site inspection support. Preparing and distributing direct mail communications to lobby key decision makers. Liaising between local government and industry. Coordinating letters of support. Promoting bids – implementing mailings and providing PR assistance. The Dubai Convention Bureau provides invaluable unbiased local assistance during the initial planning stages of an event including: Site inspections of local venues, accommodation and infrastructure. The recommendation of a PCO or DMC if required. Introductions to local industry and government contacts. Development of pre and post tour programmes and a selection of other products and services relevant to the event.
The Dubai Convention Bureau is committed to making your event a memorable success and maximizing delegate attendance. We can help with all aspects of pre-event marketing and communications and have a wide range of experience in putting together effective recruitment campaigns and services including: Promotional collateral – videos, slides and brochure. Assistance in developing recruitment strategies. Destination web links to conference registration website. The Dubai Convention Bureau also offers a number of value added services, on-site, to complement an event: Complimentary visitor guides for delegates. Visitor information booths for events comprising over 1,000 delegates. Information listings on local services – restaurants, entertainment and shopping. Post event de-briefs to gain valuable feedback on how effectively the city facilitated the conference. “We have also our own destination experts and a dedicated meeting planners’ guide. We do requests for proposals that serve as a brief for site selection. We have Expertise on local products and services, we do facilitation of educational visits and give access to local industry and government contacts and of course help our clients with itinerary planning and suggestions. In addition to providing the above, we arrange appointments and introductions with professional conference organizers, destination management companies, special event planners and a wide range of business tourism product and service suppliers,” says Steen Jakobsen.
VILNIUS
LE GA LLY R E SPONSIB LE ED I TO R I N C HI EF Atti Soenarso
atti.soenarso@meetingsinternational.com PU B LISH E R Roger Kellerman
roger.kellerman@meetingsinternational.com INTE R NATIONA L DIR EC TO R O F SALES Graham Jones
graham.jones@meetingsinternational.com W R ITE R S Roger Kellerman, Pravasan Pillay,
Bryan Ralph, Atti Soenarso. TR A NSL ATION Dennis Brice dennis@writingservices.se EDITOR Pravasan Pillay ART DIRECTOR kellermandesign.com E DITOR IA L R AYS OF SU NS HI NE Bimo’s cello ensemble
No. 01
2014 The Times, They Are Changing
13 INTRO
Business Intelligence Atti Soenarso: From business intelligence to intelligent business.
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14 IMPACT
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22 GENERATION Z
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34 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
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49 COLLABORATION
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50 CULINARY SYMPHONY
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90 KELLERMAN
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INTRO | 13
Business INTELLIGENCE While working on this magazine we have come to the following conclusion: The meaning of business intelligence can be perceived differently between people depending on, for example, the country, culture or organisation they come from. For us, business intelligence means the evaluation that is carried out, but also the work leading up to the final analysis. A well-established business environment reconnaissance requires the involvement of several people with different perspectives. Business intelligence can of course be more or less advanced depending on the resources at hand. An essential part of the business intelligence process is to identify the various driving forces and to focus on the motives that are seen as being especially important in order to better understand and analyse the information one is party to. We have attempted to identify some of the many ideas that exist in the global meetings industry and find out how these ideas can possibly be developed to influence the meetings industry in a greater perspective and over time. Essentially, business intelligence is about developing your business
using new technology while adopting a new approach to information. All information is constantly at hand. It is just as much about knowing what not to select as choosing the relevant data in given situations. Business intelligence has become a necessity everywhere, even in small businesses, associations, big and large organisations and countries. It is largely about deciding which knowledge is significant to extract from internal and external data. One change that is becoming increasingly apparent is that information needs to be instantly accessible while remaining secure. Facts can be had that are continuously updated and accessible on computers, tablets and mobiles immediately when required. Many people are driven by the idea that we can understand and predict most things around us with the help of technology, information and analysis to such an extent that we have simply forgotten the most important factor for a decision: the human factor. We have forgotten ourselves and the reality we are a part of. We have forgotten to dig where we stand. We tend to fix our gaze too far forward, too far away from our own
reality and we are used to diminishing our own role. Nothing is stronger than we are and we are never stronger than when we are being ourselves. Who can we trust if we cannot trust ourselves? The thing is it is not always possible to be logical and rational in a world that is everything but logical and rational. The improbable tends to occur more often than not and to master this kind of insecurity is not always as easy as it seems. We need to embrace curiosity and the thirst for knowledge. It is also about finding new sources of knowledge, not to look where the light is shining the brightest, but occasionally at new sources far removed from floodlit places. To have the courage to leave the red lake for the blue ocean, because when the business intelligence radar is switched on, you might find yourself going from business intelligence to intelligent business.
Swedish-Indonesian Atti Soenarso has worked as a journalist for more than 30 years. She has worked for Scandinavia’s largest daily newspaper, was TV4’s first travel editor, has written for many Swedish travel magazines and has had several international clients. She has travelled the length and breadth of the world and written about destinations, people and meetings.
2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
14 | IMPACT
A New Channel for KNOWLEDGE BUILDING So finally UNWTO (World Tourism Organization) has written a report on the meeting industry’s importance and significance. It can be downloaded in its entirety on UNWTO’s website. Do it. Both ICCA and MPI are involved in the report, several Spanish meeting industry organizations as UNWTO headquarters are in Madrid, but also MCI, who wrote their part of the report with an in-depth look at destination development. They ask themselves, in their first question: Are the strategies that the world’s top destinations rely on still valid when it comes to creating more meetings? No, says MCI powerfully in their own answer to the question. The next question is: Why do destinations need a simple, powerful and focused strategy? Because destination marketing is not about tourism, it’s about economic development. Meetings of today are not only a good revenue channel but also a very effective one if you think about ROI. They point to the economic impact studies done in recent years that show that now in the UK around 30 percent of all visitors to the country come for meetings and conventions. Mexico has 780,000 people working in the meetings industry and in Canada the meetings industry has turnover of over 200 billion. It has happened during the last 25 years,
MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
and Sweden is going the exact same way, as is the rest of Scandinavia. This is what ICCA’s statistics on world congress countries for 2013 look like: 1. US 829 2. Germany 722 3. Spain 562 4. France 527 5. United Kingdom 525 6. Italy 447 7. Japan 342 8. China-P. R. 340 9. Brazil 315 10. The Netherlands 302 11. Canada 290 12. The Republic of Korea 260 13. Portugal 249 14. Austria 244 15. Sweden 238 16. Australia 231 17. Argentina 223 18. Turkey 221 19. Belgium 214 20. Switzerland 205 22. Finland 171 24. Denmark 161 29. Norway 136 59. Iceland 33 According to ICCA’s statistics for 2013, we can see that Sweden has 15th place with a total of 238 meetings, Finland 171, Denmark 161, Norway 136, and Iceland 33 meetings. But if we put the five small Scandinavian countries together, the picture is quite different.
1. United States 829 (313 million inhabitants) 2. Scandinavia 739 (26 million) 3. Germany 722 (80 million) 4. Spain 562 (46 million) 5. France 527 (62 million) 6. UK 525 (62 million) 7. Japan 342 (127 million) 8. China 340 (1,3 billion) 9. Brazil 315 (192) 10. The Netherlands 302 (17 million) 15. Sweden 238 (10 million) MCI argues that hyper-competition, economic cycles, culture, technology and new generations of people totally changes the requirements and that the world is now facing a brutal change of the entire global meetings industry. See our first Business Intelligence Report as the beginning of a new channel for knowledge building. Atti Soenarso Editor-in-Chief Roger Kellerman Publisher Founders and owners of Meetings International Magazine
URBAN LAWS | 15
“The mayors of some of the world’s major cities are already acting as if they are heads of state. We need go no further than London and Boris Johnson to find an example. The man with the electric hair represents, how it is now formally, a significant part of his country’s economy. Already today, it’s cities rather than countries that compete for everything from investment to talent. Just look at something as mundane as the tourism industry – one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries – choosing to focus on our cities. Visit Paris over the weekend. Not a word about France.” Excerpt from the book Urban Express by Kjell A. Nordström and Per Schlingmann, published by Forum 2014, with the tagline: “15 urban laws that will help you navigate the new world being taken over by women and cities.”
2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
RADAR | 17
“The . Meetings Industry is one of Seoul’s future core industries because of its economic impact,” says Park Won Soon, Mayor of Seoul.
There are four policy tasks involved in the Master Plan to develop the Meetings Industry in Seoul:
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There is the development and expansion of Seoul’s meetings infrastructure. This includes the expansion of three major regions: the Metropolitan area (Dongdaemun and Seoul Station area), Yeongdong, and the southwest region (Magok area). Seoul plans to expand the meetings infrastructure by three times by 2020.
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The expansion of attraction through seeking potential demand for Meetings Industry events in Seoul. Potential demand. Marketing to attract meetings. Support programmes. Hosting of the event. Establishment of the Meetings Industry information and sharing of bidding system. Also, through the implementation of the plan, we are looking to seek out more unique venues to be used as meetings facilities. Seoul will devise a customized marketing plan fit for a target buyer and be proactive, not reactive, in promoting our city.
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The expansion of added value services for Meetings Industry events. Efforts are being made to connect tourists with meetings participants and increase satisfaction by customizing meetings tourism for international visitors through services such as the Seoul MICE discount card, etc.
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The reinforcement of the local Meetings Industry and its professionals. Educating new generations of meetings professionals, strengthening Meetings Industry organisations and institutions with a convention mindset and promotion of businesses to raise awareness of the industry’s importance.
2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
18 | RADAR
“The important points of future economic development are knowledge, creativity, dissemination of information, communication and convergence”
Seoul is rapidly transforming into one of the world’s leading meetings cities. Furthermore active policies are being implemented to develop the city’s Meetings Industry. We met Park Won Soon, Mayor of Seoul, and asked him the following questions: What is the government’s current policy for attracting Meetings Industry events to Seoul?
“Seoul has been operating a one-stop support programme covering the initial stage of attracting international meetings to the actual hosting of the event. In 2008, Seoul City established the Seoul Convention Bureau, a division of the Seoul Tourism Organization, consisting of Meetings Industry professionals. During the first phase of attracting an event, the following support services are available: assistance in bid preparation, a oneon-one presentation workshop and consultation on successful bidding strategies, site inspections of convention facilities and unique venues and information on tourist attractions. Administrative and financial support are also provided, such as support funds, cultural performances and promotional materials.”
MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
What is Seoul’s goal for the future of the Meetings Industry?
“Seoul will aim to become a global center of knowledge and economy and a leading global city of innovation with the latest information and techniques communicated and shared through the Meetings Industry. The important points of future economic development are knowledge, creativity, dissemination of information, communication and convergence. The Meetings Industry will function as the platform for the development of these factors that enhances the economy. If this goal is met, it can be stated that the Meetings Industry will bring growth in the economic, social, and cultural areas of this city and in turn will enrich the very lives of the citizens of Seoul.”
20 | CHANGES
Everything We Know IS WRONG! Many people rate their innate ability to detect changes – their trendspotting ability, if you will – as “above average.” In the past few years, I have made a point of asking people I meet to rate their own skill at detecting changes on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being superior. I’ve asked over thousand people in all walks of life around the world, and a majority of these people, well above 80 percent, rate themselves as being 5+ or “above average.” This is akin to those surveys in which 80 percent of car drivers rate themselves as being in the top 20 percent in terms of ability, i.e. better than 80 percent of all car drivers. We want to believe that we are more adept at detecting changes because that particular skill is highly rewarded, especially in the world of business and stock markets. Many of us are wrong, however. We’re not nearly as good at detecting changes as we like to believe. The broken lens through which we look at the world is what shields an entire world of insights from our view. It is the kind of cracks in the lens and the shades of invisibility they generate which will be the focus of each chapter in my book Everything We Know is Wrong, and from which this is an excerpt. This book is organized into seven chapters, with each chapter focusing on a particular reason why certain kinds of trends are invisible to us. I will illustrate each of these trends with an example that has changed and MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
shaped my worldview in the past few years. It is my hope and belief that these stories will be inspiring and eye-opening to you as well. Besides, you can read the book in two different ways – as an insight into perception or as an insight into current worldchanging trends. The seven shades of invisibility are:
1
Invisibility by gradualism – The changes were too slow for us to notice!
Slow, long-term changes are invisible because our brain fails to register them. If changes span decades, each generation will increasingly adapt to them over time and they will become embedded as a natural part of life. Take environmental pollution as one example. Imagine if signs with “Poison – No swimming” were erected overnight by lakes or rivers in our near cities. We’d panic and make furious attempts to find the culprit. Since environmental damage has slowly become a natural fact of life over decades, however, nobody raises an eyebrow when weather reports warn of high smog or rivers and lakes are too dirty to swim in.
2 trees!
Invisibility by minuscule changes – We couldn’t see the forest for all those damn
Human vision is trained to see things as fixed and rigid when they are really
made up of constantly moving parts. Mountains are seen as eternal when they are in actual constantly shrinking from all the wear and tear of the elements. People’s personalities are seen as static except when it comes to you – you can change, but few others can. Because we have this idea about rigidity, we start applying it to markets and to society in general. Organizations define themselves by boundaries and create elaborate mission statements and brand strategies. Industries are given names and borders. People are grouped into clusters. Geographical territories are defined as nations – by artificial borders in the soil. This rigid vision is often erroneous. It makes us overlook changes that might have been taking place right before our eyes. We were so busy watching the forest we didn’t notice that the trees had moved on.
3
Invisibility by suddenness – We blinked and missed it!
If slow and gradual change make us blind to change, then at least we should be able to detect drastic and sudden change, right? Wrong. The atrocities of 9/11 were sudden and seen by millions around the world. We were taken by surprise mostly because our lens hadn’t adapted to present conditions. The 1990s had been called “the history-less decade” by some and the new wealth generated by the dotcom boom had made many blind to underlying changes in
CHANGES | 21
geopolitics after the end of the cold war. We are constantly surprised by manifestations like these because we fail to grasp the underlying, invisible changes. We focus on the “hardware”, so to speak, and miss the “software.” This also implies that we may fail to understand how certain changes in our midst, from globalization to the rise of the Internet, are altering our ways of thinking and functioning as human beings.
4
Invisibility by linear thinking – We fail to think exponentially!
We want the world to feel somewhat safe and predicable, which may be one of the reasons we have something called “trends” to begin with. Trends give names to abstract developments and give us a sense of control. Many trends, however, are merely linear extrapolations of things we see today. The future may instead be shaped by phenomena, technological or otherwise, that seemingly come out of nowhere and explode within a few years. This kind of non-linear thinking is highly difficult to master, which leaves most of us blind to the kinds of trend that follow this sort of trajectory.
5
Invisibility by presentism – We believe that tomorrow will be like today, more or less
Henry Ford famously said that people would most likely have wanted “faster horses” had he asked them what he could produce for them. Similarly, we often fail to take many changes into account because they challenge our worldview too much. We like to think that the future is somewhat familiar and this sense of familiarity is what many science fiction films and television series exploit. Sure, there are fancy new gadgets and flying saucers, but the basic sociological structures in society are still intact. We want to
think that only the leaves on the tree will change and not the tree’s stem and branches.
6
Invisibility by myopia – We believe that our world is the world.
We all believe that the image of the world we see before our eyes is an accurate portrayal of the world as it really is. If this silent agreement between eyes and brain were to be broken, we would most likely succumb to madness. Human consciousness is a lot more complex than this, however, and the world we see when we peer out is a highly personal one. This means that most people have their own little trend map, and when a critical mass of people register a certain phenomenon, that’s when we start referring to it as “a trend”, “a fad” or “a new, new thing”, even if it has been with us for several years.
7
Invisibility by pessimism – Since we are all doomed, how can things get better?
People are sloppy when thinking about the future. We spend 12 percent of our time – an hour of every eighthour working day – thinking about the future, but few of us use this hour constructively. We tend to quickly ponder certain questions – most of them negative – only to let them slide into oblivion as quickly as they arose. Will I get promoted? Will my children be happy? What if I fall ill? When will the markets crash? When will the next terrorist strike happen? And so on. These are questions that tend to make us worry. The result is that our overall vision of the future is one of gloom and doom. Most media channels do their part to add to this drama as well. Have you ever read a newspaper focusing on happy news? Of course not. News thrives on drama, conflict, pain, misery and
destruction that we can relate to. Furthermore, we are loss-averse and tend to fear and grieve loss more than we celebrate winning. All this adds up to a collective vision of the future as quite a bleak place. What we miss because of this is all the ways in which the world is becoming a better place. A healthier, wealthier, more peaceful place. Each chapter will be followed by a Trendsetting Mission Manual, in which I will inspire you to apply the ideas I’ve just raised to become a better trendsetter. The missions I’ve laid out are intended to be short, simple and potentially mind-altering. I want to promote better trendsetting and future thinking by making you aware of these seven trendspotting pitfalls. These errors of vision and perception stem from deeply rooted psychological mechanisms, so attempting to cure them completely is too big a challenge. We’ll leave that to the “Change your life in seven days” writers. Yet I believe that making people aware of these shortcomings represents a first step towards a world where more people have a truer worldview – not always more optimistic, but more useful. To make decisions. To make more money. To make us happier as human beings. Let’s go trendspotting! Excerpt from the book: “Everything We Know is Wrong – The Trendspotter’s Handbook” by Magnus Lindkvist. Published by Marshall Cavendish Business.
2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
22 | GENERATION Z
MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
GENERATION Z | 23
The Digital Native GENERATION “For Gen Z, it’s all about going your own way”
In recent years there has been much talk amongst marketers and trend-spotters about Generation Y otherwise known as Millennials. In fact they are the most researched generation in history. And for good reason: Millennials have had a huge impact on their world. Their tastes and preferences have changed many aspects of society and business, for instance the seismic shift away from traditional and cable television to instant streaming services such as Netflix. Not to mention the primacy Millennials place on the internet, social media and apps, which for the meetings industry has meant embracing a brand new meetings paradigm. But now as Millennials grow older the focus is starting to shift onto a new generation, who have been called amongst other terms the ‘Selfie Generation’ and ‘Generation Z.’ A new
research report by ad agency Sparks & Honey has revealed that a great deal differentiates Gen Z from Millennials. Sparks & Honey go as far as to say that in many ways Gen Zers are the opposites or extreme versions of Millennials. As such these differences are something that marketers will have to adjust to. Born in 1995 and onwards, Gen Z forms a sizable part of the population. In fact in the U.S. a little more than a quarter of the population (25.9 %) are under the age of 19, which is more than Millennials (24.5 %) – and the forecast is for this segment to grow even more. Gen Z, according to Sparks & Honey, receive 16.90 dollars in allowance every week which translates to 44 billion dollars a year. This is a generation that does not know the world before the internet and smartphones, a world before 2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
24 | GENERATION Z
“They have learned that traditional choices don’t necessarily guarantee success”
Google, Facebook, Instagram and Vine. They are digital natives. In a compelling recent piece Maria Elmqvist, Cultural Strategy Trainee, Sparks & Honey, writes: “Growing up as digital natives, this group has always had access to digital tools which have helped them gain exposure (for good or for bad) online. Platforms and tools like Youtube and Snapchat have enabled both the fame-inclined and the everyday sharer the ability to create their own fully-formed brand or casual presence online.” Elmqvist argues that the key to this fearless behavior lies in their fearless attitude: “For Gen Z, it’s all about going your own way – starting your own company or creating a new product without having to wait for permission, the right skill set, an academic degree, or even years of work experience.” Gen Z, state Sparks & Honey, are a product of growing up in a post 9/11 world during a recession. This has had a profound impact on their outlook on the world. For instance, they have learned that traditional choices don’t necessarily guarantee success. They have seen the struggles of Millennials, perhaps their older brothers
MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
or sisters, and have decided that they will do things differently. Entrepreneurship comes naturally to Gen Z, it is part of their DNA. The statistics bear this out: 72 percent of high school students want to start a business someday, compared to 64 percent of college students. 61 percent of high school students want to be an entrepreneur rather than an employee, compared to 43 percent of college students. This is also a generation that wants to change the world, with 26 percent of 16–19 yearolds currently volunteering. A large majority (80 %) are also hyper aware and concerned about man’s impact on the planet. Gen Z are extremely at home learning and seeking knowledge on the internet with 85 percent having researched online, 33 percent having watched lessons online, and 32 percent having worked on a project with classmates online. They also utilize social media as a research tool with 52 percent of teens using Youtube or other social media sites for a typical research assignment in school. This generation, according to the report, also loves the ephemeral and rarity. They are drawn to social media which disintegrates and self-de-
structs. They suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out) more than Millennials, so being culturally connected is critical. Gen Z also multi-task across five different screens and unsurprisingly their attention spans are getting shorter. They are, state Sparks & Honey, the ultimate consumers of ‘snack media.’ They communicate rapidly, in bite sizes and with images and symbols such as emoticons and emojis. Sparks & Honey write: “Research studies suggest that their brains have evolved to process more information at faster speeds, and are cognitively more nimble to handle bigger mental challenges. But, getting and keeping their attention is challenging.” In an interview earlier this year Sarah DaVanzo, Chief Cultural Strategy Officer at Sparks & Honey, emphasised the gap between Gen Zers and Millennials: “Don’t treat Gen Z like Millennials – they’re different. Feed their desire to ‘make,’ collaborate and co-create as they want controls and preference settings, turning their data on and off as they toggle between being ‘INsumers’ and ‘OUTsumers.’ Brand marketing and storytelling needs to be 5-screen:
GENERATION Z | 25
“Gen Z also multi-task across five different screens”
phone, computer, TV, tablet, wearable, and brand engagement needs to be live-streaming video, not just IM [instant messaging] or chat. The pendulum is also swinging back to value messaging because Gen Z are frugal and discerning and less brand loyal so brands need to re-win over Gen Z at each purchase.” Maria Elmqvist outlined a winning strategy in her piece: “This fast food chain (Taco Bell) has become successful with Gen Z because it is talking the same language as modern teenagers and dares to create social media content in real time. It tests new ideas based on how teenagers communicate with each other (for example, Vine), and with successful results it has built connections with them as friends instead of talking with them as a corporation.”
Stay up to speed on what platform they are using, and tailor the content to each platform. Game social media platforms are relatively new, and new ones (e.g. Twitch) are coming. This gives room for brands to invent within the platform and test new things. Listen to what teens are actually talking about and dare to use the same language and style of communication as they do. Make stuff – or help them make stuff. This is the end of people as “consumers” and the beginning of us as creators. We have made the switch from consumer to producer and there are opportunities for brands to take advantage of this space to connect with people.
Elmqvist also provided the following checklist for connecting with Gen Z: Use social media to connect to people on a one-on-one level. Allow people to “pull” information from the brand channels instead of just “pushing” out a one-way “advertising message.”
2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
26 | PROFESSIONALISM
Identify
The 10 Most Important Questions IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS
2 Christian Mutschlechner CEO, Vienna Convention Bureau It is difficult to identify the ten most important questions for our industry as change and time provoke ongoing adaptation and some ideas might be in place by tomorrow, some might take longer. It is a little bit like looking into the crystal ball but here are some thoughts and ideas which we might see in the future.
1
Ethical behaviour
Ethical behaviour will be key in the future on all levels especially when it comes to destination selection, supplier selection etcetera. Standardized procedures will be in place, making the whole process more transparent to all candidates and eliminating individual influences on decisions. We might also call it more professionalism, which in many cases still doesn’t exist but needs to be in place sooner rather than later in order to also underline the value and importance of the meeting industry. Rules and regulations in the whole process will be implemented, making it absolutely clear to everybody what the consequences of misbehaviour will be. MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
New Venues
The venue of the future for meetings will be with highest flexibility – movable walls, rooms sizes can be designed by the meeting planner, the typical purpose built convention center will disappear from the market, space flexibility will be the future. This also includes a complete rethinking of ingredients provided by venues. More than just chairs and tables, either classroom style or banquet style offered, the portfolio of the venue will include a wide variety of lounge furniture, cushions, even carpets – whatever the delegates wants will be available. A sophisticated lightning culture will be key in the venue of the future. Aroma management as well as music background entertainment, depending on the area of the venue will help and support the success of the event.
3
Length of meeting
The meeting will be running 24 hours a day, partly live for the delegates, partly streamed or edited for the rest of the world – production units at the venue will be key in the future, operation times of the venue will be quite different to today. Live action will probably start already at 7am and run until 10pm, sometimes even earlier. This has an impact on venue management, staffing etcetera – a complete different world in the future.
4
Scientific content
Scientific meetings will be more than ever under impartial scientific evaluation. No scientific meeting in the future will survive if it doesn’t match two key criteria: Content – top quality content, highest scientific value and measured by a “Scientific Impact Factor” – only those with the highest results will survive and attract participants. And the challenge is not once but regularly as every year those meetings have to prove to be the scientifically best! Content transfer to participants – an ongoing evaluation of the educational tools used, new forms of knowledge transfer implemented, how to mobilize active participation of participants – another key criteria in the future.
5
Change in the world of meeting jobs
Traditional jobs in the meeting industry will partly disappear but new ones will come up or sometimes “transfer” from other industries. Stronger mentor programmes in scientific meetings, specialized moderators for smaller delegate groups, “animateurs” during the meeting, technology specialists who handle new tools and manage them to the benefit of the meeting and the delegates – think the unthinkable in this environment.
PROFESSIONALISM | 27
“Meetings surviving only with subventions are not sustainable”
6
Virtual Alter Ego
We will have our Alter Ego on the web, describing exactly what we like and what we do not like when we come to meetings, including preferred type of hotel room, food, where to sit in meeting rooms, subjects of interests, key areas in daily work etcetera. Creating a complete new world of possible networking etcetera. And also simplifying any registration process. This Alter Ego searches for individual face to face meetings with other delegates during a meeting, matching interests, proposing meetings and by that further enhancing the quality of attendance.
7
Subventions will disappear
Meetings which need an important financial cash contribution in order to take place will struggle in the future. The raison d’etre is not cash but content – if content is excellent the participants will come, meetings surviving only with subventions are not sustainable. The market of meetings will therefore change – we might have less in numbers but more with higher attendance.
8
The “feel well and open” of the participant
Many hurdles that a participant experiences today need to disappear in the future. The focus has to be on maximizing individual convenience and to simply tailor the service and delivery of the meeting environment and content to the best of the participant. We need to reconsider and to analyze how participants behave and what are their expectations. We need to find out by using psychology, neuroscience, psychotherapy etcetera in order to build an ideal environment for the participants in order to maximize the learning effects, the networking effects, the ROI effects for the participant.
9
10
One thing does not change
A lot of things will change in the future however one key parameter is not discussed anymore: physical meetings will continue to exist, but only those which deliver a great environment and a great experience for the participants. Human beings are desperate for face to face meetings, the meeting industry can and will deliver the framework if we adapt and change at the right time, with the right tools.
The role of Meeting Media
Media at large in the meeting industry will survive only if they play an integral part in knowledge distribution, describing positive examples of Know-How delivery. The future is not the “perfect” meeting destination feature, our media needs to go deeper and broader in reporting, analyzing and describing the meetings we as an meeting industry provide or better, support.
2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
28 | RADAR
The Center of Gravity OF THE WORLD IS SHIFTING “How many new airports and convention centers will be built?” “Next Eleven” or the acronym “N-11” are the countries expected to follow the BRIC countries, as the world’s main development engines. BRIC stands for Brazil, Russia, India and China – it’s nowadays known as BRICS, with the addition of South Africa. N-11 countries are Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Turkey and Vietnam. N-11 was identified by Goldman Sachs and economist Jim O’Neill in a research paper as having high potential of becoming, along with the BRICS, the world’s largest economies in the 21st century. Goldman Sachs chose these states, all with promising outlooks for investment and future growth, on December 12, 2005. At the end of 2011, the four most prominent countries in the Next Eleven, Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey, made up 73 percent of all Next Eleven GDP. BRIC GDP was $13.5 trillion, while MINT GDP was at almost 30 percent of that: $3.9 trillion. The criteria that Goldman Sachs used were macroeconomic stability, political maturity, openness of trade and investment policies, and the qualMEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
ity of education. The N-11 paper is a follow-up to the bank’s 2003 paper on the four emerging BRIC economies. It can be compared with the CIVETS list coined by Robert Ward, global forecasting director for the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) – it has a few differences, but many similarities. The CIVETS are six favored emerging markets countries – Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa. These countries are favored for several reasons, such as “a diverse and dynamic economy” and “a young, growing population”. The economies that are part of this group are considered to be very promising because they have reasonably sophisticated financial systems, controlled inflation, and soaring young populations. Michael Geoghegan has called these countries “the new BRICS” because of their potential as secondgeneration emerging economies. In 2010 he said, “emerging markets will grow three times as fast as developed countries this year”, adding that the center of gravity of the world was moving towards the East and the South (Asia and Latin America).
As well as being seen as attractive markets, the role of CIVETS countries in global governance is also discussed, especially at the G20, of which Indonesia, South Africa and Turkey are members. They are already perceived as “development providers investing in peer-to-peer learning and horizontal partnerships and (…) are bound to become strategic players at the G20, UN and IFI levels”. In view of this, during the 2011 annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the economy and finance ministers of the CIVETS countries established a formal mechanism for communication and coordination. All the CIVETS countries except Colombia and South Africa are also Next Eleven countries. Stop one moment and think about how many meetings and conventions these countries will create during the next decade. How many new airports and convention centers will be built?
FORECAST | 29
Amex Meetings & Events PREDICTS GLOBAL EXPANSION OF MEETINGS ACTIVITY IN 2015 According to the American Express Meetings & Events 2015 Global Meetings Forecast (“the Forecast”), meetings are expected to play a critical role in a return to business fundamentals in 2015, a trend which should help drive the long-term health of the industry. Following a period of economic recovery for the meetings industry as well as new budget pressures in 2014, 2015 meeting budgets are likely to show positive movement, either through growth or less of a decline than was seen previously. This is due to powerful drivers, such as compliance, global expansion, and standardized processes that can help to reduce risk and elevate the visibility and strategic importance of meetings programs within companies. New for this year’s edition, the 2015 Forecast breaks down predictions by meeting type to provide more insight into the purpose of meetings and where business priorities lie. “The meeting industry overall appears to be very much ‘back in business’, in particular as a key component of sales and marketing strategies for many organizations,” said Issa Jouaneh, Vice President and General Manager, American Express Meetings & Events. “The last few years have given focus to meetings and events in a way that has driven a more disciplined approach around approvals processes, increased scrutiny on spend and a larger focus around accountability and expected outcomes for meetings.
“2014 has been an exciting year for American Express Meetings & Events, as we have worked with clients to help develop and expand their programs – often in response to global need and growth, and together identified strategies to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the changing technology landscape. In 2015, we look forward to continuing this momentum with existing clients and jointly designing and implementing meetings programs with new clients.” In North America, the positive sentiment for 2014 continued with a slight 0.3 percent increase in meetings activity expected in 2015. At the same time, many meetings have been reduced in size over the past few years, increasing the demand for meetings at airport properties, as meeting owners try to maximize the productive time available for attendees. Overall, there is a continued push to stay close to home and host meetings where the largest number of attendees live. Attendee levels in North America seem to have stabilized, with no major changes expected next year. For the first time, respondents were also asked to answer questions on meeting activity, number of attendees, length and more by individual meeting type. Training meetings lead the pack in North America in terms of growth in number of meetings, and in regard to meeting length, the findings revealed that incentive and special events were
reported to be the longest meeting by category, followed by conferences. In Europe, meeting activity predictions from survey respondents generally mirrors the current economic situation of the individual countries. Across Europe, an incremental decline in the number of attendees in nearly all meeting types are predicted. Germany and the United Kingdom, two regions with positive predictions in the 2014 Forecast, are expecting slight declines in attendees across the board in the coming year, while Spain and France are seeing smaller declines predicted for 2015, compared to previous years. Doing more with less is the mantra of most meeting owners, and their 2015 budgets reflect that. The outlier among European countries in meeting length is clearly Spain, where incentives and special events last on average almost five days, nearly two days longer than the European average. Meeting activity in Asia Pacific is more mixed, surging ahead in some countries and softening in others. The Chinese mainland continues to experience strong demand as a destination and healthy growth in the number of meetings, while in Australia some meeting cancellations are contributing to a slowdown. A similar softening seems to be underway in Hong Kong. Across the region, attendee levels range from stable to moderately reduced, and meeting owners are leaning toward fewer and 2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
30 | FORECAST
shorter meetings overall, freeing up resources to spend on marquee events. Over 85 percent of meetings and events in Asia and 94 percent of those in Australia are expected to take place in large cities in 2015. Central and South American respondents see meeting activity remaining much the same in 2015 as predicted for 2014, but are expected to make the most significant adjustments. Like North America, training meetings appear to be ‘coming back’ in 2015, with the largest increase of 2.4 percent predicted, followed by incentive and special events at 1.3 percent. The dominant effect of the recent sporting events in Brazil is expected to continue through the 2016 global sporting event in Rio de Janeiro. In addition, respondents are predicting a rise in the share of meetings in large cities from 65 percent in 2014 to 72 percent in 2015. Below are high-level snapshots of the key 2015 predictions based on a survey of meetings professionals in each region. See » Survey Highlights: Regional Meetings Professional Predictions
The Forecast reveals that in North America, Orlando, Florida slipped to second place this year, with Chicago, Illinois ranking as the number one meeting destination choice among meeting planners. Las Vegas, Nevada; Atlanta, Georgia; and San Diego, California rank in the top five meeting destinations in North America for the second consecutive year. In Central and South America, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the Riviera Maya/ Cancun region in Mexico retained the top two spots for meetings and events. In Europe, all top four cities, including London, UK; Paris, France; Barcelona, Spain; and Amsterdam, the Netherlands, have retained their MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
spots from last year’s Forecast. In Asia Pacific, Singapore took the top spot from Shanghai, China, which ranked number one in 2014. See » Survey Highlights: Predicted Change in Number of Meetings by Meeting Type
Insights and Best Practices
Forecast participants also provided insight into what’s top of mind for 2015 meetings and events planning. Key areas of consideration for 2015 include: Empowering Digital Event Solutions Meeting professionals now have the opportunity to rethink meeting design and content delivery to capitalize on digital solutions and engage the audience in new and exciting ways. Four solutions – attendee management, event mobile applications, social media solutions and hybrid meeting solutions – can increase the prevalence and importance in digital event solutions. Planning Meetings & Events in Emerging Countries The meeting business in emerging countries has grown significantly in recent years, as these economies have increased in importance. There are five aspects to meeting planning that are imperative for planners to focus on in order to ensure their meeting goes smoothly in an emerging country: security, technology, transportation, food & beverage, and payments. The Benefits of Attendee Travel Management Best practices and customer feedback have demonstrated that integrating travel planning with meetings management can provide substantial benefits related to experience, cost, and duty of care. Integrating air travel as part of the overall planning process can benefit meeting plan-
ners and attendees alike. Air travel is an integral part of the logistical, financial, and experiential aspect of an event. In particular, group air planning can benefit a meeting at all stages, from destination evaluation, budgetary savings, and agenda optimization to improved communications, increased productivity, and risk reduction.
Event Production Trends and Insights As technology and the role of mobile apps, virtual/hybrid meeting tools and more play an increasing role in meetings and events, event production agencies can serve as a guide to integration into the overarching event experience. Meeting owners should consider if the use of technology is appropriate for the event experience and if it can serve a real purpose and not act as a distraction.
The Forecast findings are based on a comprehensive survey, extensive meetings and events data, and indepth interviews of meetings professionals – including planners, buyers and hotel suppliers from around the world – conducted by American Express Meetings & Events. The Forecast examines predictions regarding budget, spend, the number of meetings, lead times and other meetingsspecific metrics by geographic region. It also provides insight into key trends in meeting planning for 2015, and explores some of the key tactics meeting planners are expected to use to reduce costs and improve program efficiency. Please note that forecasts can change due to unforeseen circumstances. The full report can be downloaded on www.amexglobalbusinesstravel.com/ meetingsforecast2015
FORECAST | 31
The Forecast identifies key meetings activities and trends for 2015 on a global and regional basis, to help meeting professionals and executives strategically direct and make effective use of their meeting investment. To develop the 2015 Meetings Forecast, a number of sources were used including proprietary American Express Meetings & Events data sources, licensed third-party data and indus-
try information, as well as interviews with industry leaders. Information and data was gathered from actual and planned meetings activity of American Express Meetings & Events globally. Surveys of meeting professionals were conducted via Cvent’s proprietary web survey software to gather trends across North America, Europe (France, BeNeLux, Germany, Nordic, Spain and United
Kingdom), Asia Pacific and Central/South America. A survey of leading hotel suppliers and follow-up interviews were also used to inform the finding in this Forecast.
Survey Highlights: Regional Meetings Professional Predictions Number of meetings Number of attendees per meeting
North America
Europe
Asia Pacific
Central/South America
+0.3 %
+0.4 %
+2.1 %
+0.1 %
+0.2 %
-1.0 %
+1.3 %
-0.5 %
2.3
2.2
4.0
2.4
-0.7 %
0.0 %
+0.2 %
+0.9 %
+4.6 %
+1.1 %
+4.3 %
+2.3 %
Days per meeting Overall meeting spend within organization Group hotel prices Top 5 Meetings Destinations
1. Chicago
1. London
1. Singapore
1. Rio de Janeiro
2. Orlando
2. Paris
2. Hong Kong/Macau
2. Riviera Maya/Cancun
3. Las Vegas
3. Barcelona
3. Shanghai
3. Ciudad de Panama
4. Atlanta
4. Amsterdam
4. Sydney
4. Sao Paulo
5. San Diego
5. Berlin
5. Bali
5. Cartagena de Indias/Bogotá
Source: Cvent, 2014, within the U.S.
Survey Highlights: Predicted Change in Number of Meetings by Meeting Type North America
Europe
Asia Pacific
Central/South America
Sales/Marketing
+0.5 %
+0.2 %
+1.1 %
-1.2 %
Training
+0.9 %
+0.1 %
+1.0 %
+2.4 %
Internal Team Meeting
0.0 %
+0.5 %
+1.9 %
+0.4 %
Product Launch (Internal/External)
0.0 %
0.0 %
+0.6 %
-0.5 %
Conferences/Tradeshows
+0.1 %
+0.4 %
+0.9 %
-1.1 %
Senior Leadership Meeting/Board Meeting
+0.7 %
+0.5 %
+2.0 %
-0.2 %
Advisory Board
+0.5 %
+1.2 %
+0.2 %
-0.7 %
Incentive/Special Events
-0.2 %
0.0 %
+0.7 %
+1.3 %
2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
© iStock.com/vliet/Donker Utrecht
32 | PAGESCIENCE 32 | LIFE TITLE
Utrecht Science Park IS THE ENERGISER FOR SOCIETY Health and quality of life is being given increasing importance. Throughout the world research is being conducted to find new drugs and technical solutions that will improve our lives. Companies, universities and care institutions are putting more and more resources into life science. Life Science is an umbrella term for natural science fields such as mathematics, physics, engineering, biology, chemistry, and medicine. The pulse of life science could be described as all the research disciplines together focusing on how living conditions can be improved. Primarily to understand the mechanisms for how living conditions can be improved, but also to gain the knowledge by which to understand the mechanisms better in order to improve life and health during various forms of treatment. When society, university and the private sector collaborate, a lot of things happen that could improve MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
people’s lives and health. The Dutch Utrecht Science Park (USP) offers an international and innovative research environment where various types of meetings are in focus. The mixture of researchers, students, care staff and residents creates innovative meetings that give rise to new ideas, and even more meetings. USP has 23,000 employees and 50,000 new recruits, as well as 80 innovative companies and research institutes. Friso Smit, PhD, Business Development Manager at Utrecht Science Park, works in a small team with the goal of: establishing society value and visualising the course of events. He says that 43 percent of the city’s labour force has a university degree and 85 percent speak at least three languages. In addition, Utrecht is a geographical hub just 30 minutes from Amsterdam Airport with a well-reputed university (founded in 1636), and the city, which is steeped in culture, works in harness with
Utrecht Science Park. That alone is a stimulating combination. “We work thematically with sustainability, life sciences and health, and we are a hub for cancer care. Our success is down to many factors, but one is that we are in the same geographical location, a place that functions for meetings.” Utrecht Science Park is a dynamic cluster for life science and Fris Smit talks of how it can be expanded through new health entrepreneurs. “We unite the best people to improve health for this and future generations by connecting scientists, entrepreneurs and regional governors, unlocking key expertise and facilities, translating science into societal solutions. We also try to attract companies and deliver economic activity.”
34 | TACIT KNOWLEDGE
MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT | 35
© lassedesignen/Dollar Photo Club
Tacit KNOWLEDGE “I shall reconsider human knowledge by starting from the fact that we can know more than we can tell,” writes Michael Polanyi, whose work paved the way for the likes of Thomas Kuhn and Karl Popper. The book The Tacit Dimension argues that tacit knowledge – tradition, inherited practices, implied values, and prejudgments – is a crucial part of scientific knowledge. Tacit knowledge (as opposed to formal, codified or explicit knowledge) is the kind of knowledge that is difficult to transfer to another person by means of writing it down or verbalizing it. For example, stating to someone that London is in the United Kingdom is a piece of explicit knowledge that can be written down, transmitted, and understood by a recipient. However, the ability to speak a language, use algebra, or design and use complex equipment requires all sorts of knowledge that is not always known explicitly, even by expert practitioners, and which is difficult or impossible to explicitly transfer to other users. The term “tacit knowing” or “tacit knowledge” was first introduced into philosophy by Michael Polanyi in 1958 in his magnum opus Personal Knowledge. He famously summarizes the idea in his later work The Tacit Dimension with the assertion that “we can know more than we can tell.” According to him, not only is there knowledge that cannot be adequately
articulated by verbal means, but also all knowledge is rooted in tacit knowledge in the strong sense of that term. With tacit knowledge, people are not often aware of the knowledge they possess or how it can be valuable to others. Effective transfer of tacit knowledge generally requires extensive personal contact, regular interaction and trust. This kind of knowledge can only be revealed through practice in a particular context and transmitted through social networks. To some extent it is “captured” when the knowledge holder joins a network or a community of practice. Some examples of daily activities and tacit knowledge are: riding a bike, playing the piano, driving a car, and hitting a nail with a hammer. The formal knowledge of how to ride a bicycle is that in order to balance, if the bike falls to the left, one steers to the left. To turn right the rider first steers to the left, and then when the bike falls right, the rider steers to the right. You may know explicitly how turning of the handle bars or steering wheel change the direction of a bike or car, but you cannot simultaneously focus on this and at the same time orient yourself in traffic. Similarly, you may know explicitly how to hold the handle of a hammer, but you cannot simultaneously focus on the handle and hit the nail correctly with the hammer. The master pianist can perform brilliantly, but
if he begins to concentrate on the movements of his fingers instead of the music, he will not be able to play as a master. Tacit knowledge is not easily shared. Although it is what is used by all people, it is not necessarily able to be easily articulated. It consists of beliefs, ideals, values, schemata and mental models which are deeply ingrained in us and which we often take for granted. While difficult to articulate, this cognitive dimension of tacit knowledge shapes the way we perceive the world. In the field of knowledge management, the concept of tacit knowledge refers to knowledge possessed only by an individual and difficult to communicate to others via words and symbols. Therefore, an individual can acquire tacit knowledge without language. Apprentices, for example, work with their mentors and learn craftsmanship not through language but by observation, imitation, and practice. The key to acquiring tacit knowledge is experience. Without some form of shared experience, it is extremely difficult for people to share each other’s thinking processes. Tacit knowledge has been described as “know-how” – as opposed to “know-what” (facts), “know-why” (science), or “know-who” (networking). It involves learning and skill but not in a way that can be written down. On this account knowing-how or 2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
36 | KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
“One of the most convincing examples of tacit knowledge is facial recognition”
embodied knowledge is characteristic of the expert, who acts, makes judgments, and so forth without explicitly reflecting on the principles or rules involved. The expert works without having a theory of his or her work; he or she just performs skillfully without deliberation or focused attention. Tacit knowledge vs. Explicit knowledge: Although it is possible to distinguish conceptually between explicit and tacit knowledge, they are not separate and discrete in practice. The interaction between these two modes of knowing is vital for the creation of new knowledge. Tacit knowledge can be distinguished from explicit knowledge in three major areas: Codifiability and mechanism of transferring knowledge: while explicit knowledge can be codified, and easily transferred without the knowing subject, tacit knowledge is intuitive and unarticulated knowledge that cannot be communicated, understood or used without the ‘knowing subject’. Unlike the transfer of explicit knowledge, the transfer of tacit knowledge requires close interaction and the buildup of shared understanding and trust among them. Main methods for the acquisition and accumulation: Explicit knowledge can be generated through logical MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
deduction and acquired through practical experience in the relevant context. In contrast, tacit knowledge can only be acquired through practical experience in the relevant context. Potential of aggregation and modes of appropriation: Explicit knowledge can be aggregated at a single location, stored in objective forms and appropriated without the participation of the knowing subject. Tacit knowledge in contrast, is personal contextual. It is distributive, and cannot easily be aggregated. The realization of its full potential requires the close involvement and cooperation of the knowing subject. The process of transforming tacit knowledge into explicit or specifiable knowledge is known as codification, articulation, or specification. The tacit aspects of knowledge are those that cannot be codified, but can only be transmitted via training or gained through personal experience. There is a view against the distinction, where it is believed that all propositional knowledge (knowledge that) is ultimately reducible to practical knowledge (knowledge how). A chief practice of technological development is the codification of tacit knowledge into explicit programmed operations so that processes previously requiring skilled
employees can be automated for greater efficiency and consistency at lower cost. Such codification involves mechanically replicating the performance of persons who possess relevant tacit knowledge; in doing so, however, the ability of the skilled practitioner to innovate and adapt to unforeseen circumstances based on the tacit “feel” of the situation is often lost. The technical remedy is to attempt to substitute brute-force methods capitalizing on the computing power of a system, such as those that enable a supercomputer programmed to “play” chess against a grandmaster whose tacit knowledge of the game is broad and deep. The conflicts demonstrated in the previous two paragraphs are reflected in Ikujiro Nonaka’s model of organizational knowledge creation, in which he proposes that tacit knowledge can be converted to explicit knowledge. In that model tacit knowledge is presented variously as uncodifiable (“tacit aspects of knowledge are those that cannot be codified”) and codifiable (“transforming tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge is known as codification”). This ambiguity is common in the knowledge management literature. Nonaka’s view may be contrasted with Polanyi’s original view of “tacit
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT | 37
“An individual can acquire tacit knowledge without language”
knowing.” Polanyi believed that while declarative knowledge may be needed for acquiring skills, it is unnecessary for using those skills once the novice becomes an expert. One of the most convincing examples of tacit knowledge is facial recognition. ‘‘We know a person’s face, and can recognize it among a thousand, indeed a million. Yet we usually cannot tell how we recognize a face we know, so most of this cannot be put into words.’’ When you see a face, you are not conscious about your knowledge of the individual features (eye, nose, mouth), but you see and recognize the face as a whole. Another example of tacit knowledge is the notion of language itself – it is not possible to learn a language just by being taught the rules of grammar – a native speaker picks it up at a young age, almost entirely unaware of the formal grammar which they may be taught later. Other examples are how to ride a bike, how tight to make a bandage, or knowing whether a senior surgeon feels an intern may be ready to learn the intricacies of surgery; this can only be learned through personal experimentation. Collins showed that Western laboratories long had difficulties in successfully replicating an experiment (in this case, measuring the quality, Q,
factors of sapphire) which the team led by Vladimir Braginsky at Moscow State University had been conducting for twenty years. Western scientists became suspicious of the Russian results and it was only when Russian and Western scientists conducted the measurements collaboratively that the trust was reestablished. Collins argues that laboratory visits enhance the possibility for the transfer of tacit knowledge. Another example is the Bessemer steel process – Bessemer sold a patent for his advanced steelmaking process and was sued by the purchasers who couldn’t get it to work. In the end Bessemer set up his own steel company because he knew how to do it, even though he could not convey it to his patent users. Bessemer’s company became one of the largest in the world and changed the face of steel making. When Matsushita started developing its automatic home bread-making machine in 1985, an early problem was how to mechanize the doughkneading process, a process that takes a master baker years of practice to perfect. To learn this tacit knowledge, a member of the software development team, Ikuko Tanaka, decided to volunteer herself as an apprentice to the head baker of the Osaka Inter-
national Hotel, who was reputed to produce the area’s best bread. After a period of imitation and practice, one day she observed that the baker was not only stretching, but also twisting the dough in a particular fashion (“twisting stretch”), which turned out to be his secret for making tasty bread. The Matsushita home bakery team drew together eleven members from completely different specializations and cultures: product planning, mechanical engineering, control systems, and software development. The “twisting stretch” motion was finally materialized in a prototype, after a year of iterative experimentation by the engineers and team members working closely together, combining their explicit knowledge. For example, the engineers added ribs to the inside of the dough case in order to hold the dough better as it is being churned. Another team member suggested a method (later patented) to add yeast at a later stage in the process, thereby preventing the yeast from over-fermenting in high temperatures.
2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
38 | AIR FORECASTING
“Air connectivity on this scale will help transform economic opportunities for millions of people”
MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
AIR FORECASTING | 39
“Growing Connectivity STIMULATES ECONOMIES”
© iStock.com/Deejpilot
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released its first 20-year passenger growth forecast, projecting that passenger numbers are expected to reach 7.3 billion by 2034. That represents a 4.1 percent average annual growth in demand for air connectivity that will result in more than a doubling of the 3.3 billion passengers expected to travel this year. Among the highlights of the report is the expectation that China will overtake the United States as the world’s largest passenger market (defined by traffic to, from and within) by 2030. Both markets, however, are expected to remain the largest by a wide margin. In 2034 flights to, from and within China will account for some 1.3 billion passengers, 856 million more than 2014 with an average annual growth rate of 5.5 percent. Traffic to, from and within the US is expected to grow at an average annual growth rate of 3.2 percent that will see 1.2 billion passengers by 2034 (559 million more than 2014). The report, the first from the new IATA Passenger Forecasting service, produced in association with Tourism Economics, analyzes passenger flows across 4,000 country pairs for the next 20 years, forecasting passenger numbers by way of three key demand drivers: living standards, population and demographics, and price and availability.
Future Growth Trend Highlights
By 2034 the five fastest-increasing markets in terms of additional passengers per year will be China (856 million new passengers per year), the US (559 million), India (266 million), Indonesia (183 million) and Brazil (170 million). Eight of the ten fastest-growing markets in percentage terms will be in Africa with Central African Republic, Madagascar, Tanzania, Burundi and Kuwait making up the five fastest-growing markets. In terms of country-pairs, Asian and South American destinations will see the fastest growth, reflecting economic and demographic growth in those markets. Intra–Pakistan, Kuwait–Thailand, United Arab Emirates (UAE)–Ethiopia, Colombia–Ecuador and Intra– Honduras travel will all grow by at least 9.5 percent on average for the next 20 years, while Indonesia–East Timor will be the fastest growing pair of all, at 14.9 percent. “It is an exciting prospect to think that in the next 20 years more than twice as many passengers as today will have the chance to fly. Air connectivity on this scale will help transform economic opportunities for millions of people. At present, aviation helps sustain 58 million jobs and $2.4 trillion in economic activity. In 20 years’ time we can expect aviation to be supporting around 105 million jobs and $6 trillion in GDP,” said Tony
Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO. While improving living standards, population and demographics, and price and availability create the conditions for improved demand, there is potential for policy-induced obstacles to hinder the development of connectivity. “Meeting the potential demand will require government policies that support the economic benefits that growing connectivity makes possible. Airlines can only fly where there is infrastructure to accommodate them. People can only fly as long as ticket taxes don’t price them out of their seats. And air connectivity can only thrive when nations open their skies and their markets. It’s a virtuous circle. Growing connectivity stimulates economies. And healthy economies demand greater connectivity. The message of this forecast is that there is great potential if all aviation stakeholders – including governments – play their role,” said Tyler. The aviation industry recognizes that air travel has an environmental impact, and is committed to reducing its carbon footprint. In 2009, the industry agreed three targets which will ensure that aviation plays its part in ensuring a sustainable future. 1.5 percent annual fuel efficiency improvement to 2020 Capping net emissions through carbon-neutral growth from 2020 A 50 percent cut in net emissions by 2050, compared to 2005.
2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
40 | AIR FORECASTING
Analysis of the 10 largest air passenger markets defined by traffic to, from and within for the period 2014–2034:
The United States will remain the largest air passenger market until around 2030, when it will drop to number 2, behind China. Cumulatively over the next 20 years the US will carry 18.3 billion more passengers and China 16.9 billion. Currently the ninth largest market, India will see a total of 367 million passengers by 2034, an extra 266 million annual passengers compared to today. It will overtake the United Kingdom (148 million extra passengers, total market 337 million) to become the 3rd largest market around 2031. Reflecting a declining and ageing population, Japanese air passenger numbers will grow just 1.3 percent per year and decline from the 4th largest market in 2014 to the 9th largest by 2033. Germany and Spain will decline from 5th and 6th position in 2014 to be the 8th and 7th largest markets respectively. France will fall from 7th to 10th while Italy will fall out of the top 10 altogether in around 2019. Brazil will increase passenger numbers by 170 million and rise from 10th to 5th. Its total market will be 272 million passengers. Indonesia will enter the top ten around 2020 and attain 6th place by 2029. By 2034 it will be a market of 270 million passengers. Regional growth highlights:
Routes to, from and within AsiaPacific will see an extra 1.8 billion annual passengers by 2034, for an overall market size of 2.9 billion. In relative terms it will increase its size compared to other regions to 42 percent of global passenger trafMEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
fic, and its annual average growth rate, 4.9 percent, will be the jointhighest with the Middle East. The North American region will grow by 3.3 percent annually and in 2034 will carry a total of 1.4 billion passengers, an additional 649 million passengers a year. Europe will have the slowest growth rate, 2.7 percent, but will still cater for an additional 591 million passengers a year. The total market will be 1.4 billion passengers. Latin American markets will grow by 4.7 percent, serving a total of 605 million passengers, an additional 363 million passengers annually compared to today. The Middle East will grow strongly (4.9 percent) and will see an extra 237 million passengers a year on routes to, from and within the region by 2034. The UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia will all enjoy strong growth of 5.6 percent, 4.8 percent, and 4.6 percent respectively. The total market size will be 383 million passengers. Africa will grow by 4.7 percent. By 2034 it will see an extra 177 million passengers a year for a total market of 294 million passengers.
Explanation of demand drivers
The Global Passenger Forecast Report explains future trends in passenger numbers by means of three key demand drivers: living standards, population and demographics, and price and availability. Living standards have a known effect on the propensity to fly. Countries on a growth curve up to approximately US$20,000 per capita see correspondingly faster increases in the number of flights taken per person per year. Population and demographics reflects not just population
trends over the next 20 years but also measures such as the oldage dependency ratio. On these measures, countries such as Japan, Russia, and Ukraine are expected to undergo significant population decline. African nations, on the other hand, are set for rapid population growth. Typically, the nations with growing populations also have younger populations, and working-age groups are more likely to fly than over-65s. Price and availability looks to predict future trends of the price of air travel and the extent of future air connectivity. The unit cost of air transport has fallen by a factor of four since 1950. However, the past decade has seen prices bottom out, largely due to the increased cost of oil. In the coming two decades, the downward trend in the real cost of air travel is expected to resume, at a rate of around 1–1.5 percent per year. Air connectivity is expected to increase with the addition of new longer-range midsize aircraft. Greater liberalization of air markets has the potential to increase global air traffic growth by over 1 percentage point per year. “In the year that marks the 100th anniversary of commercial air transport, it is fitting that the most comprehensive long-range forecast of future air passenger trends is released. After a century of growth that has taken us from 1 passenger to 3.3 billion passengers this year, air transport is set to generate even more economic growth, employment, and cultural and educational opportunities. The first century of air travel has seen about 65 billion passengers take to the sky. The next 65 billion will fly in just the next 20 years,” added Tyler.
VALUE FOR MONEY | 41
Identify
The 10 Most Important Questions IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS
Steen Jakobsen Director, Dubai Business Events The global meetings industry is finally back on a growth track and poised to move forward quickly following the austerity measures made necessary by the global recession. Yet while this comes as great news after a period characterized by much uncertainty, we can be sure that the experience of the past few years will change the way business in our industry is conducted. While face-to-face networking, learning and collaboration through conferences, exhibitions and meetings will continue to be a significant factor to achieving success across all major sectors, I believe there will be a need to adapt to accommodate certain trends that will shape the meetings industry more than others over the next decade.
1
The Pursuit of Value
As demand for meetings continue to increase thanks to continuing economic recovery, the need for cost efficiency and demonstrable return on invest-
ment (ROI) will remain key themes across the board. Destinations and suppliers will need to provide high value for money, or ‘more for less’, to those on both high as well as low budgets, as meeting planners continue to seek out better experiences while keeping a close eye on costs. To address this trend, industry players will need to develop more versatile offers. In Dubai for example, where the availability of luxury hotels and meeting venues is high, the government is undertaking a number of initiatives to contribute to the growth of the three and four star sector, as the emirate needs to increase the overall stock of hotel rooms and offer wider meeting options.
2
Evolving Technology
People have been talking about the diminishing importance of the meetings industry due to technological advancements such as video conferencing and other interactive mediums for a while now. I’m a firm believer, however, that there is no substitute for face-to-face meetings and networking opportunities to effectively communicate ideas, understand new ones and build valued relationships and connections that carry weight. That’s not to say that technology will not revolutionize the industry, far
from it. Technology will enrich delegate experiences by providing them with more information about the events they are attending while providing meetings organizers with data on attendees that can help them understand their needs. To achieve this, app technology through tablets, mobile phones and social media, will play an increasing role at business events as a platform to connect delegates, organizers and exhibitors, where applicable. Overall, technology will play a key role in helping planners to deliver compelling experiences to increasingly diverse audiences.
3
Smarter Meeting Design and Organization
In addition to increased focus on financial ROI, meetings and events will also be more focused on ensuring delegate ROI in terms of meeting defined objectives and ensuring a meaningful learning and networking experience. To achieve this, conferences need to be designed to become more interactive and delegate-centered, and less one-directional by promoting twoway communication through better schedule design as well as through technology. This way delegate knowledge can be leveraged to engage and bolster the ideas of a
2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
42 | VALUE FOR MONEY
“There will also be increased competition for talent due to industry growth”
speaker as well as the points that they are making during events. Furthermore, I believe we will see industry suppliers such as hotels and venues acting more as consultants to meeting planners. Since suppliers understand the specific potential of what they offer much better than planners, there is scope for training to better involve them in delivering key meeting objectives.
4
Connectivity
As the meetings industry continues to expand, connectivity will play an increasingly key role over the next decade. In terms of facilitating gatherings of global delegates, quick and easy connectivity will become more and more important as associations, corporations, events and exhibitions look to increase their global footprints. One of the key selling points for my destination, Dubai, for example, is that 125 airlines serve around 260 destination from Dubai International Airport (DXB). Emirates Airlines alone serves 145 destinations from Dubai, mostly direct, which makes a difference for organizers arranging conferences involving delegates from multiple nations. Furthermore, oil prices will also be an area to watch as they can have a major impact on the cost of transportation. This is one of the external MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
factors that can impact the industry on a global scale if prices spiral upwards (or downwards) in the coming years.
5
Pushing Sustainability
In terms of environmental consciousness, a future trend in the meetings industry will certainly be a stronger focus on minimizing carbon footprints and conserving resources. Moving forward more environmentally aware delegates will prefer carbon neutral airlines, hotels and venues to attend events. Cities around the world are making great efforts to reduce their C02 emissions across the board through innovative technologies, design and alternative energy sources. Dubai is also making great strides to ensure its meeting venues, hotels and transport systems such as the Dubai Metro and Dubai Tram conserve resources by being more energy efficient.
6
New Wave of Conferences
With many well established key international conferences and exhibitions having been held in international convention cities for the past 30 to 40 years, we see a growing trend for more specialized congresses and conferences being developed in the cross section
of various fields, for example between the medical and technology sectors and in subject areas that are regionally relevant, such as desertification in the Middle East and Africa. This trend is reflected in Dubai’s strategy by creating new business events in identified sectors, and will result in a new wave of conferences that are set up to meet evolving global issues and needs. Furthermore, regionalizing successful international events or those taking place in other parts of the world will also be a trend to watch, in the vein of the TEDx programs that started in the US and are now being held successfully held in cities worldwide.
7
Cultivating More Partnerships
On a macro level, destinations are strengthening their offer by forming partnerships with other destinations through groupings such as the Best Cities Global Alliance of convention bureaus. Also, more and more partnerships will be developed between destinations and various PCOs, and international trade organizations such as Dubai’s recent partnership with IAPCO and other key bodies which attract influencers from the industry. On a micro level, I believe destinations need to create ever closer
VALUE FOR MONEY | 43
“Destinations are strengthening their offer by forming partnerships with other destinations”
partnerships within their cities between key public and private players in the local meetings industry to increase coordination across stakeholders, and improve the business tourism offer.
8
Developing Talent
Over the next ten years, there will also be increased competition for talent due to industry growth and there will be a need for the meetings industry to position itself as an attractive career path for young people with its own identity that is unique from general travel and tourism. This can be done through collaboration with universities to create degrees in event planning, conference organization and other aspects of the international conferences, meetings and exhibitions industry. It is odd that the multi-billion dollar global business events industry is still populated by hotel school graduates on the supplier side and business graduates on the organization side when there is such a huge scale for more wide ranging educational opportunities to develop much needed skill sets in the field.
9
Personalization
Over the next decade, the meetings industry will
become increasingly centered on the needs and wants of individual delegates, in order to meet increasing expectations associated with event attendance and demand for better learning environments and experiences. As part of the wider trend mentioned earlier of ensuring higher delegate ROI, organizers and suppliers will need to put in greater effort to customize the conference experience as per individual interests and needs, and create greater networking opportunities through consumerfacing technological advances such as social media and streaming video to highlight specific content.
10
few days that a specific event is held every year. Because they regularly host thought leaders from various global industries and specialties, convention cities are uniquely placed to leverage these conferences to create institutions that can act as bastions of thought leadership and ongoing education and training. While the creation of knowledge hubs requires strong political will and funding, governments can and will benefit greatly by establishing institutions that act as year-round platforms to engage specific research.
Thinking beyond Tourism
The international meetings industry has an immense impact on the tourism industries (airlines, hotels, venues, restaurants, etc.) of convention cities as well as their overall economies through job creation across various sectors. Moving forward, however, convention cities must differentiate themselves by going beyond tourism indicators, and exploiting the role of business events to establish themselves as knowledge hubs which foster knowledge creation and dissemination beyond the 2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
44 | AMC
The Benefits OF AN AMC An Association Management Company (AMC) provides professional services specialized for nonprofit, volunteer associations. An AMC provides associations with a range of services including professional staff, office space, administrative support, technology, equipment, and other services that are essential for an association to function. AMC staff, acting as the association’s staff, work directly with volunteer leaders. The AMC model allows all services to be customized to meet specific goals. Whether your nonprofit is in the market for full-service management or specific services – strategic planning, membership development, communications, and more – AMCs leverage shared resources across multiple association clients to increase means and capabilities, including membership, marketing, finance, etcetera. Many AMCs serve as an organization’s headquarters, providing an experienced executive to work with a customized blend of other AMC staff resources. This includes managing day-to-day operations supporting members and becoming the public face of the organization, all with staff members who are experts in the critical areas of association management and operations that are essential for success. With years of experience in a nonprofit environment, AMCs lend strategic focus and put proven practices to work; and, of special importance in this economy, retaining an AMC can lead to enhanced buying power, improved staff efficiency, and reduced overhead costs. MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
AMCs are the right solution for thousands of associations, professional societies, and nonprofits. Consider the benefits many organizations managed by AMC-member firms receive each year as compared to organizations with hired staff, leased or owned office space, and other capital expenses. Operational and Staffing Benefits
Staffing and services customized to meet each individual organization’s needs. A broad spectrum of expertise covering all the disciplines required to run an effective association. Day-to-day and ongoing staff management, alleviating administrative headaches often faced by association Boards of Directors. Improved staffing and resource allocation, giving each association access to specialized resources – just what you need when you need it. Proven best management practices and best-of-class resources and technologies. Financial/Business Benefits
Efficiency derived from leveraging shared resources, including office space, equipment, and technologies. Improved buying power since purchases can be leveraged across multiple clients. Reduced business risks because an AMC takes on many of the insurance liabilities associated with operating an association.
Long-Term Benefits
Greater member satisfaction resulting from the professionalism and responsiveness of staff who understand the importance of placing members first. Freedom from daily operations that allows Boards to maintain their focus on mission and strategy. Integration of innovative strategies and ideas, stemming from the input and experience AMCs gain from working with multiple industry and professional organizations. Scalability to accommodate organizational growth or contraction over time. Learn more about the AMC Model by visiting the Association Management Company Institute online.
RADAR | 45
Maritz Travel Company
ANNOUNCES GLOBAL MEETINGS NETWORK “Scalable, global solutions informed with deep, regional knowledge” Maritz Travel Company has announced the launch of the Maritz Global Meetings Network, a worldwide network of in-market, experienced partners that enhances the company’s ability to offer extensive regional knowledge, capabilities and cultural solutions to its clients. This vast partnership network uniquely positions the company in the meetings industry by moving away from the “brick-and-mortar” approach to global meetings. “We are a global economy and meetings are rapidly growing beyond geographic borders,” said David Peckinpaugh, president of Maritz Travel Company. “The Network is the right solution for our clients who are increasingly demanding enhanced, global insights with relevant regional knowledge.” Led by the company’s industryrecognized global general managers – Ben Goedegebuure, Eduardo Chaillo and Ping He, the Network is an effective and efficient, clientcentric approach to global meetings solutions.
“Our clients will benefit from scalable, global solutions informed with deep, regional knowledge provided by our reliable partners,” Goedegebuure said. “The partnership approach provides a cost-effective way to help clients achieve exceptional global experiences.” The network is comprised of a variety of partners including professional congress organizers (PCOs), meeting planning companies and destination management companies (DMCs). The partners within the Network were chosen based on their meeting capabilities and expertise, their ability to uniquely connect Maritz Travel Company’s client programs to their respective regions, and because they share similar philosophies, ethics and values with the company. “Using an extensive network of in-country experts translates to collaborative, workable client programs,” said Goedegebuure. “These hand-selected partners can help us create culturally responsive experiences by understanding clients’ needs and the way Maritz Travel Company operates.”
Currently, the company is identifying partners in key geographic regions where client demand is high including Asia Pacific; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and Latin America. “Through the end of 2014, we will be adding additional partners that can help us further expand our capabilities worldwide in regions where our clients want to be,” Peckinpaugh said. “Once complete, the network will allow us to provide exceptional global experiences to our clients anywhere in the world at any time.”
2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
46 | RADAR
The Internet OF THINGS “Humans could easily assign an IP address to every ‘thing’ on the planet” The Internet of Things (IoT) is a scenario in which objects, animals or people are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. IoT has evolved from the convergence of wireless technologies, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and the Internet. A thing, in the Internet of Things, can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire pressure is low – or any other natural or man-made object that can be assigned an IP address and provided with the ability to transfer data over a network. So far, the Internet of Things has been most closely associated with machine-to-machine (M2M) communication in manufacturing and power, oil and gas utilities. Products built with M2M communication capabilities are often referred to as being smart. (See: smart label, smart meter, smart grid sensor) Internet Protocol version 6’s (IPv6) huge increase in address space is an important factor in the development of the Internet of Things. According to Steve Leibson, who identifies himself as “occasional docent MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
at the Computer History Museum,” the address space expansion means that we could “assign an IPv6 address to every atom on the surface of the earth, and still have enough addresses left to do another 100+ earths.” In other words, humans could easily assign an IP address to every “thing” on the planet. An increase in the number of smart nodes, as well as the amount of upstream data the nodes generate, is expected to raise new concerns about data privacy, data sovereignty and security. Although the concept wasn’t named until 1999, the Internet of Things has been in development for decades. The first Internet appliance, for example, was a Coke machine at Carnegie Melon University in the early 1980s. The programmers could connect to the machine over the Internet, check the status of the machine and determine whether or not there would be a cold drink awaiting them, should they decide to make the trip down to the machine. Kevin Ashton, cofounder and executive director of the Auto-ID Center at MIT, first mentioned the Internet of Things in a presentation he made to Procter & Gamble. Here’s how Ashton explains the potential of the Internet of Things: “Today computers – and,
therefore, the Internet – are almost wholly dependent on human beings for information. Nearly all of the roughly 50 petabytes (a petabyte is 1,024 terabytes) of data available on the Internet were first captured and created by human beings by typing, pressing a record button, taking a digital picture or scanning a bar code. The problem is, people have limited time, attention and accuracy – all of which means they are not very good at capturing data about things in the real world. If we had computers that knew everything there was to know about things – using data they gathered without any help from us – we would be able to track and count everything and greatly reduce waste, loss and cost. We would know when things needed replacing, repairing or recalling and whether they were fresh or past their best.”
ECONOMIC VALUE | 47
Swedish Network of CB
MAPS THE SWEDISH CONGRESS MARKET “It is important that we can present real economic evidence and facts”
The SNCVB, the Swedish Network of Convention Bureaus, has for a couple of years conducted surveys on various destinations in order to more accurately see what the meetings industry generates in revenue. “The purpose of the study is to present accurate statistics on national meetings and the economic impact for Swedish destinations, but of course it will also enable us to compare the different destinations over time,” says Ante Jankovic, Jönköping Convention Bureau and president of the network. The measurements were made from Malmö in the south to Skellefteå in the north. The meetings that have been measured are national and have met the following criteria; rotating in at least four cities, at least 100 participants with at least one overnight stay, and have rented a venue with full market prices. The organizer is an association, an organization, an institution or a government agency. The key figure produced is what a meeting delegate spent on site and includes accommodation costs, the delegate fee, local transportation and overheads in the form of shopping, food and beverage, entertainment and activities. The measurements show a span from 1500–4100 SEK inclusive VAT per participant per paying overnight. The national average for 2013 was just over SEK 2800 inclusive VAT per participant per paying overnight.
“To create understanding and consensus concerning meetings and events is of vital the importance to the meeting industry in Sweden. It is important that we can present real economic evidence and facts about how much the Swedish meeting participant invest in their meetings and events,” says Jonas Jacobson at Karlstad CB ,who is responsible for the statistical investigation. SNCVB have used the same measuring system that ICCA uses in its database for international meetings. Even in the common national meeting database where all Swedish annually rotating meetings are documented there are interesting facts showing up. The figures for the Swedish rotating congresses for 2013 looks like this: Number of participants on average: 459 persons Average Length of Congress: 2.67 days Most popular congress month: May followed by October, December, March and September.
2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
48 | SHIFT
Identify
The 10 Most Important Questions IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS
5
Is this a good meeting?
Does it create understanding and respect between those from different cultures or holding different viewpoints.
Martin Sirk CEO, ICCA
“Move from the current default statement ‘(all) meetings are good’”
1 2
Is this a good meeting?
Does it deliver the company’s or association’s objectives, and those of the attending delegates. Is this a good meeting?
Does it pay vastly more attention to what’s going on inside delegates’ minds than what they put in their mouths at lunchtime.
3 4
Is this a good meeting?
Do the positive outcomes dramatically outweigh the environmental impact of holding it. Is this a good meeting?
Does it resonate with and influence audiences far beyond its open days and physical location.
MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
6 7 world.
Is this a good meeting?
Does it add to the sum of new knowledge and wisdom in the
Is this a good meeting?
Does it help to reduce the sum of superstition, prejudice, ignorance, and pseudo-scientific nonsense in the world.
8
Is this a good meeting?
Does it deliver improved healthcare outcomes around the world or create solutions to society’s most challenging problems.
9 10
Is this a good meeting?
Was it fun to attend!
Is this a good meeting?
If not, why on earth did you decide to organize it, host it, or attend it!
I believe the biggest change the meetings industry will have to make over the next decade is to move from the current default statement “(all) meetings are good”, which primarily talks in terms of the direct expenditure of an event and its delegates, and the jobs this supports, to the far more challenging question: “is this a good meeting?” This shift will influence our approach to advocacy campaigns, how we shape the industry’s strategic position and influence within national and city economies, our understanding of destination and company competitiveness, how meetings themselves evolve in terms of content, design, technology and delegate behaviour, and even how good we feel about our personal contributions to civilization and human progress.
COLLABORATION | 49
European National Convention Bureaux
FORM STRATEGIC ALLIANCE “Knowledge sharing and cooperating to further strengthen the position of each individual member” Europe’s position as the number one destination for business events is set to be strengthened with the launch of a new initiative by European national convention bureaux. This strategic alliance is the first of its kind and aims to strengthen the position of Europe across the globe as a meeting and event destination. From an initial idea conceived over a year ago by Eric Bakermans from the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions and Matthias Schultze from the German Convention Bureau, the initiative has rapidly expanded and welcomed 17 members. The aim of this informal group of European national convention bureaux is knowledge sharing and cooperating to further strengthen the position of each individual member as well as boosting Europe’s standing as the leading continent for business events in the world. Eric Bakermans, marketing manager for Holland meetings, conventions and events, and Matthias Schultze, Managing Director of the German Convention Bureau, speak-
ing on behalf of the group, comment: “We’re aiming to have a constructive and active collaboration on issues to make us stronger as Europe, without compromising each country’s unique identity. Our partnership approach unites the individual and unique offerings of each member, to simplify and strengthen the approach towards key markets.” Schultze explains: “Europe is the number one meeting destination worldwide for association meetings, hosting nearly 2.5 million business visitors a year. The number of meetings held is nearly three times as many as the second largest market. This is a compelling proposition, and we wanted to create an initiative which builds on this success and enables convention bureaux from across the continent to join together.” Bakermans adds: “Matthias and I started the initiative to address the need for knowledge sharing on specific issues which affect our daily work as national convention bureaux. We’re aware of the need to work towards combining our efforts to
utilise these strengths and expertise to market throughout the world.” National convention bureaux across the continent have responded well to the creation of the strategic alliance which, to date, boasts 17 members. These are: Austrian Convention Bureau, Czech Convention Bureau, Estonian Convention Bureau, Finland Convention Bureau, GCB German Convention Bureau e.V., Hungarian Convention Bureau, Meet in Reykjavik, Montenegro National Tourist Board/National Convention Bureau, NBTC Holland Marketing, Norway Convention Bureau, Poland Convention Bureau, Serbia Convention Bureau, Slovak Convention Bureau, Slovenian Convention Bureau, Switzerland Convention Bureau and Visit Denmark. The group has met three times over the past 18 months and has generated immense interest. The next step for the new initiative will be a meeting of members and other interested European national convention bureaux in Copenhagen in the new year to further progress the alliance.
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50 | A CULINARY SYMPHONY
“These Faroese examples are my benchmarks”
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Worth a Trip From Anywhere:
Photo: Claes Bech Poulsen
KOKS RESTAURANT IN THE FAROE ISLANDS The Faroe Islands were formed 55 million years ago and are located 62 degrees North, 7 degrees West in the North Atlantic. The islands lie north of the Hebrides, west of the Shetland Islands, west of Norway and southeast of Iceland. The Faroe Islands consist of 18 islands and just under 50.000 people live there, 17.000 of them in the capital Tórshavn. There are daily flights to Copenhagen, and several times a week to Reykjavik, Aberdeen, London and Oslo. We had the opportunity to meet Johannes Jensen, the owner and the man behind the four-star Hotel Føroyar, where Koks is the evening restaurant. Since he took over ownership ten years ago the turnover in the business has tripled. Today he owns three hotels and twelve restaurants. The hotels are: Hotel Føroyar (4 star), Hotel Tórshavn (3 star) and Hotel Vágar (3 star). Hotel Føroyar has 5 stars as a conference center. The 12 restaurants are Koks, Áarstova, Barbara, etika, hvonn brasserie (3 in total), No12, Østrøm, Sunset Boulevard, Baresso, and Kafe Vágsbotn. World famous chef René Redzepi from one of the best restaurants in the world, Noma in Copenhagen, came to visit the Faroe Islands and the restaurant Koks and met the chef Leif Sørensen. Leif said: “You are on your way to eat the best langoustines that you will ever taste, my friend.”
And René wrote: “Curious yet skeptical, I remember thinking, whilst staring out the car window and watching the lush, verdant landscape pass by: ‘Sure, that’s what they all say.’” René continued: “After a brief drive, we reached a small fishing village. Marni Gunnar, a local fishmonger, ushered us into an old, rustic building and around a large, wobbly table. A few Faroese words were spoken and then it started. As if from nowhere, platter after platter of massive langoustines – some raw, some cooked, some literally the size of an arm – were brought out to us alongside lightly steamed deep sea crab. To me langoustine and crab are common, traditional food back in Copenhagen. I have tasted them around the world and thought that I already understood just how good they could be. What I experienced during my two hour visit to this tiny, nondescript village home was a lesson in flavour and deliciousness. Crab meat had the same texture as lobster and the sweetness of melon. Langoustines were so intense and so briny that they were simply mesmerising. Still to this day, each time that I eat either, the freshness and quality of these Faroese examples are my benchmarks.” The Manifesto for the new Nordic kitchen was ratified in November 2004 by 12 of the best chefs on the Nordic culinary scene, one of them:
Leif Sørensen from Koks. Since then lots of rich people have been travelling to eat from the best restaurants in the world – among them Koks in Tórshavn. And as if the food was not enough the restaurant had the composer Jens J. Thomsen, create the sound of Koks – a Culinary Symphony. While visiting Koks you will be presented with a soundscape, specifically tailored and composed to accompany the menu. Koks has commissioned the composer and sound designer to create a 7-hour piece, which will enhance and give you sonic insight into the gourmet experience. Jens, the son of a farmer, has studied Music Technology in London, and is one of the most sought after producers and composers from the Faroe Islands. He has worked with top artists from the islands as well as from Scandinavia and the UK and is known for his innovative and cutting edge productions. Jens is most known as the founder of the award-winning music project Orka, for which he, together with Orka band members, built all their instruments from agricultural tools collected at his father’s farm.
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“Cities Are Finding Out THAT THEY CAN DO MORE TOGETHER” International City Alliances: A Tale of Many Cities
There seems to be no end in sight for the growing number of international alliances between cities. And, of course, it’s little surprise that cities would want to partner with each other given the tremendous advantages on offer. Be it lobbying power, knowledge exchange, the ability to pool and share resources, brand building, the list goes on and on. Cities are finding out that they can do more together, more efficiently. Here we present a selection of remarkable and noteworthy City Alliances revolving around education, convention bureaux, health, sustainability, and the environment.
© iStock.com/thekoala
Alliance of Brain Cities
The Alliance of Brain Cities (ABC) consists of university cities from Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, representing approximately 110,000 students, and seeks to actively use the innovative and dynamic environment that the universities create to develop the region’s ability to attract an international audience. SAS Scandinavian Airlines is a full member of the Alliance. Comprising of Aarhus, Bergen, Espoo and Uppsala the cooperation among the member cities of the Alliance of Brain Cities
is intended to enhance their brand as strong university cities. “We want to earn more business by rotating Scandinavian congresses between our cities and thereby develop our service by exchanging knowledge between the cities,” ABC outlines in their Mission and Vision. “Our aim is to give a more complete image of the Scandinavian region by attracting international congresses to the members of the Alliance of Brain Cities. We want to improve the awareness and reputation of our universities by building up networks through partnerships, and to gain wider benefits by holding Nordic congresses in the Alliance … The vision is also to improve the individual member city’s own brand and to send out the message that we have outstanding PCOs (Professional Congress Organizers) and a world-class university environment.” ABC is aware of the commonalities between its members, and one of the goals of the Alliance is to create a strong and positive synergy based on their accumulative knowledge as university cities, thus using their resources more effectively. Energy Cities
Energy Cities is the European Association of local authorities in energy 2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
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“International cooperation is an effective and efficient tool to achieve the goal”
transition. Its main objectives are to strengthen members’ roles and skills in the field of sustainable energy, to represent members’ interests and influence the policies and proposals made by European Union institutions in the fields of energy, environmental protection and urban policy, and to develop and promote members’ initiatives through exchange of experiences, the transfer of know-how and the implementation of joint projects. From 2013 to 2015, Energy Cities is under the Presidency of the City of Heidelberg with a Board of Directors of 11 European cities. The association was created in 1990 and now represents more than 1,000 towns and cities in 30 countries. This impressive membership has a clear advantage: “Whereas a municipality alone has little influence, Energy Cities is able to voice the over 1,000 members towards the European institutions.” Energy Cities’ premises are located in Brussels and Besançon. Best Cities Global Alliance
Best Cities Global Alliance is a partnership among convention bureaux in ten leading convention cities – Berlin, Cape Town, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dubai, Edinburgh, Houston, Melbourne, Singapore and Vancouver. The Alliance was officially launched in Melbourne in 2000 and since then, it has attracted and shared hundreds of client referrals and developed its MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
own set of Client Service Standards that have been praised by international meeting clients. In 2008, the partners of Best Cities became the first and only Destination Marketing Organizations to have service standards certified by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA). This is the first world-wide certification programme for convention bureau organisations. Certification by LRQA guarantees to clients that the partners live up to these standards. “Today, Best Cities Global Alliance stands for a promise of quality, expertise and professionalism and is recognised for the cooperative spirit that enhances each Partner’s contribution and investment,” Best Cities states in its Profile. “Through resource pooling and leveraging on the exceptional reputation of its Partners, the Alliance continues to build sustainable advantage. The vibrant sharing of best practices, intelligence and knowledge among partners has sharpened each one’s competitive edge. The commitment to uphold the standards under its Quality Management System underscores the spirit of excellence in the delivery of services to all clients.” Eco Mobility Alliance
The Eco Mobility Alliance was created in 2011 in Changwon, Korea. EcoMobility is travel through integrated, socially inclusive, and environmen-
tally-friendly transport options, including and integrating walking, cycling, wheeling, and passenging. The Alliance is a transformation of the earlier Global Alliance for Eco Mobility, which is a non-governmental organization founded and launched in Bali in 2007, on the occasion of the 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC-COP13). The Eco Mobility Alliance has defined itself as a ‘global’ actor because of both the origin and nature of its members and its geographical scope. It aims at engaging public and private actors from different sectors and segments from all over the world, as well as promoting and advocating for Eco Mobility at a global level, both in industrialized and developing countries. The Alliance is planned for a span of six years with three phases of two years each. The Eco Mobility Alliance will be composed of 12 Alliance Cities and is serviced by a Secretariat along with various Alliance Partners. On a rotating basis, one of the Alliance cities acts as the Alliance Chair and hosts the Chair Office. World Alliance for Low Carbon Cities
The World Alliance for Low Carbon Cities is a non-profit, independently founded and organized alliance which seeks to further research and demonstrations between core actors from cities and the academic and corporate
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“Try to achieve the goal through an approach called ‘Healthy Cities’”
worlds, in the areas of urban planning, urban transportation, green building, and renewable resources. Its ambition is to develop the Alliance into a global, professional community uniting leading experts with a strong interest in furthering the development of low-carbon cities. The community is supported by an online platform for knowledge exchange and through bi-annual forums, which provide individuals and organizations with useful information, as well as an opportunity to address an international audience. Together, the services provided by the WALCC help to strengthen its network of likeminded individuals by providing a platform, which enables them to connect with other professionals all around the world and drive low-carbon development together. Global Cool Cities Alliance
Global Cool Cities Alliance (GCCA) launched in 2010 to accelerate a world-wide transition to cooler, healthier cities. Its mission is to advance urban heat island mitigation policies and programmes to promote more efficient and comfortable buildings, healthier and more resilient cities, and to cancel some of the warming effects of climate change through global cooling. Increasing the solar reflectance of urban surfaces such as roofs and roads is a cost-effective strategy to achieve these goals.
The GCCA approach is to cultivate partnerships with cities and other stakeholders to give them the tools and support they need to identify successful policies and programmes, adapt them for each city’s unique characteristics, and connect with experts and partners to help with implementation. It works with companies and governments to help grow new markets for technologies and materials. It also links the diverse world of experts and researchers who study urban heat islands and cool materials. GCCA has partnered with C40 Cities of Climate Leadership (C40) to build the Cool Cities Network (CCN). CCN cities work together with technical experts to design, implement, and measure solutions-oriented approaches to promote sustainability by lowering urban temperatures. The CCN’s most active city participants include: Athens, Austin, Chicago, Changwon, Dhaka South, Houston, Los Angeles, Lima, Melbourne Mexico City, New Orleans, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seattle, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo, Toronto, and Washington DC.
approach called “Healthy Cities.” It believes that international cooperation is an effective and efficient tool to achieve the goal. And it promotes the interaction of people who are in the front lines of health issues. The Healthy Cities approach was initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO). In order to cope with the adverse effects of an urban environment over health, the WHO has been promoting the approach worldwide. As an increasing population lives in cities amid global urbanization, the Alliance hopes that its international network will help make strides in the promotion of health of city dwellers. The Alliance for Healthy Cities members are municipal governments, national governments, NGOs, from the private sector, academic institutions, and international agencies – who all support the Healthy Cities approach.
Alliance for Healthy Cities
The Alliance for Healthy Cities is an international network aiming at protecting and enhancing the health of city dwellers. The Alliance is a group of cities and other organizations that try to achieve the goal through an 2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
Financial security for your international conference – only in Holland 56 | PAGE TITLE
The Pre-Financing & Guarantee Fund (VGF) reduces financial risks, offers reassurance and is unique in its kind. The VGF offers two separate schemes: a pre-financing scheme and a guarantee scheme. You can use either or both. Pre-financing scheme The pre-financing scheme provides seed funding via an interest-free loan that is free of charge. A loan to cover initial costs is available up to €90,000. Guarantee scheme The guarantee scheme helps limit the risk attached to the costs of hosting a conference by offering a financial guarantee. Capped at €90,000 the fund will finance any loss on your conference budget due to attendance falling short of expectations. Feel free to contact us and find out whether your international conference in Holland meets the criteria of the Pre-Financing & Guarantee Fund. More information More information on the possibilities and terms & conditions of the Pre-Financing & Guarantee Fund plus an online application form can be found at: www.vgfholland.nl. The VGF co-operates closely with the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions. Tel: +31 (0)70 370 57 05 or e-mail: info@vgfholland.nl.
UNIQUE: • Because there is nothing comparable in Europe; • Because we are lending money at no cost;
MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
• Because we can offer the insurance that no one else can.
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Will We Change FAST ENOUGH? Guy Bigwood Sustainability Director, MCI Group A 2020 vision of the future
Since 2006 we have been providing consulting to organisations that want to be more sustainable. We have had the joy to work with and help create leaders in sustainable event management be they destinations like Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Singapore; or corporates (Symantec) or large scale public events such as the Climate Change Conference. In this journey with our clients and with our 58 offices at MCI we have learnt a lot about what it takes to create a more sustainable organisation. Looking to the future here are trends which we think will develop in the sustainability and the meetings/ events industry, and that will benefit not only the planet but the bottom line, the delegate event experience and society at large.
1
Greater development of sustainability strategy. Every year
we survey our most important 70 clients and this year we saw that 78 percent of them have some form of sustainable event program (increase from 15 percent in 2011). However there is less than 10 percent who say that they have a real sustainable events strategy. We expect this to change as sustainability knowledge and skilled resources becomes more
available. With our clients we see that 93 percent of them say that sustainability is now critical for their organisation (up from 75 percent in 2011). We are already seeing that leaders in sustainable events are creating and implementing a multi-year holistic strategy that is publicly available, which was created with stakeholder input and includes environmental, economic, and social aspects. This strategy is then backed up with a sustainability policy which is widely distributed to clients, employees and the supply chain
2
Growth of certification.
Standards and certifications are great tools to accelerate the quality and validate the implementation of a sustainability strategy. Hotel chains have taken the lead in the past and we have seen significant growth in local and international certification brands such as GreenKey, Earthcheck and GreenGlobe. In many destinations such as Copenhagen, Gothenburg and Stockholm already 70 to 100 percent of the hotels are certified and we expect this to increase. However agencies, organisers and other suppliers have trailed behind historically. Fortunately this is changing. In the US the ASTM-APEX Sustainable Event Standards has now been used by hundreds of organisations with 25 destinations, venues and suppliers certified. The ISO20121 standard has been slow to start but now we see increased interest and track over 100 event organisers and suppliers who have implemented and are certified with the standards. In the future
we foresee that this will increase and any major public funded event will use ISO20121 as default. Increasingly we expect that large corporates will request and require compliance with ISO20121 or similar.
3
Procurement involvement.
Over a decade ago MCI were one of the first to embrace the involvement of procurement departments in the meetings and events industry. We once again celebrate their involvement but this time they will have an increasing role to engage, inspire and manage a more sustainable supply chain. In our recent study 51 percent of MCI’s clients are already evaluating the sustainability performance of their supply chain which is up from 25 percent in 2011. We have been working with sustainability leaders such as Symantec Corporation who now include sustainability clauses and expectations in their event supplier contracts. Expect to see this increase, and for sustainability to be a greater part of purchasing decisions.
4
Brand alignment. Corpo-
rates, governments, associations and destinations will increasingly develop bigger, bolder and more aggressive sustainability commitments and brand promises. Today many “sustainable brands” do a terrible task at managing their own events sustainably. To ensure and protect their brands this needs to and will change over the next few years. One of the drivers will be an ever clearer business case that sustainable events empower and accelerate an 2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
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organisation’s sustainability program. The big brands will increasingly understand that sustainable events allow them to tangibly demonstrate to their internal and external stakeholders their values, that sustainability matters and that it’s good business. However from our research we have seen that our key barrier remains the perception that sustaina-
6
Beyond the app. These are
exciting times. The rate of technology change is accelerating with thousands of ideas, apps and innovations bubbling up to help meeting planners, exhibitors, venues and other meeting participants to do their jobs better. We have already seen a rapid decrease in the amount of paper used at events. We have
“Hybrid meetings will just become normal meetings” bility is expensive. Greater education and supply of sustainable products and services will gradually reduce this opinion.
5
Greater transparency. Most
organisations do a very poor job of telling their sustainability story. Today only the major hotel chains, a few venues, organisers and suppliers publish an effective sustainability report. Over the next few years the event industry will get much better at communicating their organisations’ sustainability vision, strategy, and progress transparently and creatively. We will see many more and much better sustainability reports. Online multimedia reports such as MCI’s will become the norm. International frameworks such as GRI G4 and the new GSTC sustainable destination criteria will be increasingly used and organisations will have their reports externally verified. In many countries there is already legislation requiring public and private organisations to produce mandatory sustainability reports and this will increase change.
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organised multiple paperless events for the UN who used to print in 5 languages and massive quantities. But technology will not only serve to reduce paper. Through better technology we will see more crowdsourcing, crowdsharing, geolocation, participation and collaboration. Hybrid meetings will just become normal meetings. Through technology, communities around the world previously unable to attend events due to financial and political limitations will be able to participate and organisers will be able to be more inclusive, and to generate more collective content and communicate it more efficiently. But we don’t expect events to reduce in number which is not good for carbon emissions (remember travel is approx. 80–90 percent of an event’s Co2 emissions). In an increasingly digital world, meetings, events and tradeshows provide good value and the most efficient way to engage, educate and network.
7
Collaborative Consumption.
Collaborative consumption describes the shift in consumer values from ownership to access. Together, entire communities and cities around the world are using network technologies to do more with less by renting, lending, swapping, bartering, gifting and sharing products on a scale never before possible. Collaborative consumption has already transformed business, consumerism and the way we live. And now it will increasingly influence the event business. Expect to see events entirely organised using collaborative technology platforms. Delegates will be staying in AirBnB, traveling via Uber, sharing their work via TaskRabbit. Organisers will be managing their rooms via hotelwalla, and encouraging their participants to give back via moolta.
8
Sustainable food. Undeniably
there is already a huge trend in sustainable food. The US Chefs association rated sustainability as the number 3 top trend in the industry for 2014. People want more healthy, local, organic, Fairtrade and sustainable options. Our research shows that creating more sustainable menus can influence delegate satisfaction at events. The growth in demand will see prices reduce and supply increase. Sustainability will increasingly become an aspect of quality and key criteria when selecting caterers and restaurants.
9
Waste not want not. Our in-
dustry is incredibly wasteful and this remains one of our key environmental issues. In many parts of the world, we have seen that over 50 percent of the food we buy is thrown away. Still many tradeshows and stage sets are built from wood
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and plastics, and are disposed of after one use. But things are changing and will increasingly evolve. Sustainability is increasingly a challenge of design. By integrating sustainability principles into the initial moments of event design, organisers can develop brand experiences and booths that can be made from sustainable materials that can
occurs in hotels. Is it time that the events industry was more conscious of its actions? In the future expect to see more education and communication on this and other human rights issues.
11
Communities and social innovation. We have seen
a huge increase in com-
Looking to the future
“Social innovation will increasingly become a theme” easily and cheaply be reused, recycled and repurposed. We will see PVC branding being phased out with more eco-substrates and new modular display systems becoming much more versatile, attractive and cheaper. Last week we organised a big event for Symantec and we were left with just one bag of rubbish from the entire build up and breakdown of the expo. Sadly we don’t expect food waste at events to reduce significantly and this remains a major issue especially in Asia.
10
Ethics. With the growth
of transparency we will see an increasing public demand for greater ethics in business and the meetings industry. There will be increased legislation and client demand for anti-corruption and ethics programs from suppliers and organisers. Clients will also want to know that organisers are complying with local and international labour and human rights laws. The UN claims that over 70 percent of human trafficking
munity action within the meetings industry. Expect organisations to become more strategic on how and where they donate their time and money. Technology platforms will allow us to be able to donate and track the results of our action. Social innovation will increasingly become a theme, with organisations looking for ways they can help the disadvantaged start up businesses and become social entrepreneurs. At the same time many organisations will see a maturing of their approach and a consolidation or focus to support 1 or 2 core charities.
12
nation sustainability strategy but this will change. Leading CBs will bring together wide ranging stakeholders to develop a shared vision, will link together existing sustainability initiatives and aligning them to common goals. Increasingly sustainability will be a point of competitive differentiation for destinations.
At MCI we are consistently analysing, innovating and experimenting with sustainability. Sometime our actions don’t work but we learn, collaborate and improve. Unfortunately at times we are alone, and struggle to enrol our clients and suppliers. We believe that today there is still an important void in our industry and many of our stakeholders are not addressing social and environmental issues with the importance they deserve. They place their heads in the sand and expect/ hope that things will be alright. But the next ten years will see increasing social and environmental challenges, and sustainability will increasingly become a core element of brand and competitive differentiation. The good news from the trends we describe in this article is that our industry will become more sustainable and improve in the coming years. However one key question remains. Will we change fast enough?
Destination sustainability. 70 percent of
the world’s population will live in cities by 2050. Business, government and civil society will increasingly be working together to make our destinations more sustainable. CBs will increasingly play a critical role in managing destinations and facilitating the development of sustainable destination strategies. Currently there are just a handful of cities who have a multiyear desti2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
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Identify
The 10 Most Important Questions IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS the profit of the agency who gets a percentage commission from the supplier?
Dr Elling Hamso Managing Partner, Event ROI Institute
1
Virtual or live?
Will virtual meetings replace face-to-face as technology matures? Meetings are going hybrid, physical and virtual at the same time and we already see virtual participants moving about the meeting floor in the shape of robots. Is there something about the face-to-face meeting that online technology can never replace, or is this just something the organizers and venues of real meetings like to believe?
2
Will lunch still be free?
Today, agencies are offering services at no cost to the customer because the supplier, such as a venue, pays a commission. Customers are happy because they don’t have to pay for the service, but will they discover that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Will other payment models replace such classical winlose contracts where the higher the price paid by the customer the greater MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
3
Will travel managers take over meetings?
4
Will venues and destinations continue to sell empty boxes?
I have recently met a number of travel managers with a new business card that says Manager Travel and Meetings. Travel managers know how to develop corporate policies and procedures which provide great cost savings. Will corporate meeting managers learn to do the same or will experienced travel managers be charged with sorting out the mess, applying what is called Strategic Meetings Management?
Empty box marketing is a phrase coined by ICCA CEO Martin Sirk who talks about the ‘third wave’ of venue and destination marketing. Think of their offering today as a beautifully gift wrapped box. The beaches and historical attractions, marble foyers, beautiful rooms and gourmet food is the wrapping, but when you open the box, it is empty. There is nothing else. Nothing that adds business value to the customer. What will venues and destinations have to put inside the box to differentiate themselves from competition?
5
Will Meeting Architecture be the new profession?
6
Will meeting owners require proof of value?
Most meetings are boring and the value created for delegates and other stakeholders is far below what it needs to be for survival and growth. Death by bullet points are turning venues into crime scenes. Everybody knows this and the Meeting Design Institute is trying to do something about it by developing the profession of Meeting Architecture, professional designers of meeting content and format. The Danes have been first to catch on to the idea by pledging ‘No More Boring Meetings’ as part of their groundbreaking Meetovation project. Will Meeting Architecture be a recognized, large and respected profession ten years from now?
Meetings today are largely considered an expense rather than an investment, both on the part of meeting owners and delegates. Those responsible for planning the meeting and spending the budget are rarely held responsible for the results in terms of measured impact on the mission or bottom line profit of the meeting owner. Will meeting owners require measurement of ROI as a general rule in line with the principles of accountability applied to other types of investments?
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“Will venues and destinations continue to sell empty boxes?”
7
Will we see the end of the line?
We have seen for several years that meetings and in particular customer events are taking an increasing share of the marketing mix budget and regular surveys put events at the top when marketing managers are asked to rank alternative channels in terms of their effectiveness. Budget is mostly taken away from above the line channels such as advertising, but event management doesn’t enjoy the same status and recognition. Will today’s ‘poor cousin’ in the communications world become the head of the family in ten years time?
8
Is sustainability sustainable?
For most owners of meeting budgets, sustainability is fine as long as it doesn’t cost any money. Some ‘greenwash’ their meetings in an effort to create an image of sustainability and general CSR. We recycle waste and drink tap water to be sustainable but still travel around the globe to attend meetings which fall far short of delivering their potential value. Will sustainability make the case for radical changes in where and how we meet?
9
Will the big become bigger?
The meetings industry is in its infancy or young adolescence at best. As industries mature,
there is invariably a concentration of players, buying up the smaller companies or leaving them out in the cold to die. Will we see a rush of mergers and acquisitions leading to industry concentration in the agency world, or has the world with its technology and connectivity changed the rules?
10
Will Big Data be the next big thing?
Thirty years later, Big Brother is watching you. How will the nature and structure of meetings change because we know ‘everything’ about the lives, habits, preferences and needs of delegates?
11
How will the young generation change meetings?
We are probably facing the biggest generation gap in the history of mankind. Young people today are ‘digital natives’, they don’t know a life without the internet and broadband has become the new first level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. They want fun and excitement, not boring meetings, they don’t see the point in contaminating physical meeting places with what can be done quicker and better online. They will soon become the mainstream of meeting delegates, but they will not see the point of meetings as we know them today. So something has to change …
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Photo: Johan Hellström
Beautiful Nordic SUPERMODELS “At the front of the first class carriage on the way to the future, we find the Nordic countries with their capitals: Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Oslo and Reykjavik. Five supermodels. The Economist magazine – not exactly known for their enthusiastic articles – appointed in early 2013, the Nordic countries to “The Next Super Model.” In a study of the Nordic countries, they highlight how these small countries near the Arctic Circle manages to combine economic growth with a relatively even distribution of income over time. These five small countries with about 26 million inhabitants are together the world’s tenth largest economy. Five lightweights who together fight at heavyweight. The Economist highlights the generous and wellfunctioning welfare model we have built, while we managed to build strong companies that fights well in international competition. Sweden is, according to the Global Creativity Index, ranked as the world’s currently most creative country and the other Nordic countries are also in the top. We have leading positions in terms of competitiveness and innovation. We throw then into equality, life and the well-documented Danish happiness and the picture is complete. The Nordic countries are each separately and
together somewhat of a round square – we combine cohesion and safety and security with economic growth. It sometimes called a oxymoron. The Nordic countries combines what many sharp minds argued was not possible to combine: Long life. Great prosperity. Strong companies. A strong public sector. Equality and high birth rates. We are basically at the top in all international rankings of society and economy. Then there’s one more thing with the Nordic countries that guarantee success. We trust each other. As a history professor Lars Trädgårdh recurring pointed to as an important feature, including the acclaimed journal The nordic way distributed in conjunction with the World Economic Forum in Davos. We trust politicians. And we trust in institutions. Naively perhaps, but effective. Development is done by people entering into agreements with other new business, employment or love relationships. It is simply crucial to trust each other. It makes us efficient and promotes collaboration. It also provides policy power as it thus has an impact. Scandinavia differs from many other countries and regions by the high degree of trust we have with each other and our institutions.
Five countries that together are a few thousandths of the world’s population has comfortably sat in first class carriage. The mood is high. We are in good company. From the ayatollahs wagon is heard widespread protests and one or two occasional fatwas is flying through the air. But the train has left the station. All aboard. The Party can begin.” An excerpt from the book “Urban Express” by Kjell A. Nordström and Per Schlingmann, published by Forum 2014, with the tagline: “15 urban laws that will help you navigate the new world being taken over by women and cities.”
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© iStock.com/rabbit75_ist/Songquan Deng
Business Events DRIVE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMIES In 2010 the cities of Abu Dhabi, Durban, London, San Francisco, Seoul, Sydney and Toronto devised the concept of the Future Conventions Cities Initiative (FCCI) at IMEX in Frankfurt. With a focus on strategic research, collaboration and knowledge sharing, the seven cities set out to position themselves as leading destinations for key knowledge economy meetings and business events. Earlier this year the FCCI released the commissioned study “Beyond Tourism Benefits: Building an International Profile” which sought to quantify the benefits of business events at an international level. The study arose from a need by the FCCI to address the issues presented by an increasingly challenging business events environment. Written by Dr Carmel Foley, Dr Deborah Edwards, Dr Katie Schlenker, and Ms Anja Hergesell of the University of Technology, Sydney, the study is based on an online survey of business events held in Seoul, Sydney, Durban and Toronto. A total of 2,213 valid responses were completed by delegates, sponsors, exhibitors and organizing committee members, across twelve international congresses. The outcomes of the study clearly indicate that business events contribute to the economy in the short term; while in the long term, their legacies are broad-reaching and potentially
far more valuable. Business events stimulate creativity, inspire innovation, propel productivity and drive knowledge economies. Selected Extracts from the Study’s Findings
Sponsors and exhibitors were asked about their motives for exhibiting at the event, that is, the benefits they gained as well as their expenditure. Key Messages – Sponsors
Sponsorship is not about launching products or increasing export sales. Sponsors place greater importance on intangible outcomes than on monetary outcomes. Sponsorship motivation includes networking with clients and/or key industry figures, gaining product exposure/awareness, increasing recognition as a contributor to the broader community, and raising the organization’s profile amongst delegates and peers. Outcomes for sponsors include networking, product exposure, making a contribution to the community, obtaining leads, improving brand awareness, reaching target markets and launching products. Key Messages – Exhibitors
Exhibiting is not about launching products or increasing export or domestic sales.
Exhibitors place greater importance on intangible outcomes than monetary outcomes. Exhibitors are motivated by opportunities for networking, product exposure, raising organisation profile and obtaining future leads. Additional motivations for exhibiting include relationship building and the politics of ‘being seen.’ Outcomes for exhibitors include networking, product exposure, making a contribution to the community, obtaining leads, improving brand awareness, reaching target markets and launching products. Exhibitors consider benefits to occur more than a year after the business event has been held. Exhibitors and sponsors make a significant economic contribution to the host destination. International sponsors and exhibitors attending business events in Sydney, Seoul and Toronto spent a conservative estimate of A$1,385 and A$488 per person per day, respectively. They also realized significant investment opportunities, receiving investments that ranged from A$1,500 to A$2,000,000. Additionally, they reported realizing business-related opportunities, such as increased product exposure and awareness, new leads, improved organizational profile, access to target markets and improved brand awareness. 2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
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“Business events stimulate creativity, inspire innovation, propel productivity and drive knowledge economies”
Benefits and outcomes
The benefits and outcomes identified in the study were grouped under six broad areas: (1) general benefits and outcomes; (2) benefits and outcomes to the host destination; (3) personal benefits and outcomes; (4) how benefits and outcomes are used; (5) how knowledge and information is shared, and (6) other. 1. Key Messages: General benefits and outcomes
Delegates are exposed to new insights, knowledge and ideas. Business events focus on the latest research and its practical applications. Networking is fostered because people meet face-to-face. Business events result in the creation of business partnerships and research collaborations that lead to the development of new products. Organizing committee members and practitioners consider business events to contribute to improving the quality of education in the field. Academic delegates view business events as catalysts for research collaborations. Practitioner attendees to Seoul events consider business events to result in research collaborations that lead to the development of new products and technologies. MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
Early- and mid-career delegates are more invested in innovation and growing knowledge. 2. Key Messages: Personal benefits gained
Compared to advanced-career delegates, early- and mid-career delegates realize greater personal benefits from attending events. Academics enhance their research and opportunities for research collaboration. Practitioners enhance their professional practice. Delegates learn about differences in professional practice in different countries. Business events are an opportunity to gain an understanding of the cultural aspects of the host destination. 3. Key Messages: Benefits and outcomes to the host destination
Local delegates have greater opportunities for networking. Enhanced capacity of the conference destination’s academic sector. Advanced-career delegates consider local postgraduate research students to have greater opportunities for research and networking. The education sector is more attractive to academics and students from outside the conference destination.
Business events build research capacity in the destination, through local attendees’ adoption of knowledge, techniques or materials into professional practice. International delegates are conscious of government support and media coverage for the business event. 4. Key Messages: How benefits and outcomes are used
In general, attendees share information they have gained with colleagues, peers and, where applicable, with students. Practitioner delegates apply newly gained insights to their professional practice. Academic delegates … … undertake new research; … refine existing research (particularly early and mid-career delegates); … apply new insights to research programs; … form new collaborations with international researchers and/or practitioners, and … strengthen collaborations with researchers and/or practitioners from the conference destination. Early- and mid-career delegates are more likely to “refine existing research.”
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“The successful hosting of business events enhances the reputation of the event city”
5. Key Messages: How knowledge and information are shared
Meetings and presentations/seminars are the most common methods used for sharing information. Lectures are more popular among advanced career delegates. Host country practitioner delegates will debrief staff. International practitioner delegates are more likely to give presentations. Written materials from the conference and book publications are distributed by email. 6. Key Messages: Other
Benefits and outcomes occur within 12 months of the business event or are still being realized. There is a ‘long tail’ effect for sponsors and exhibitors because events are one part of a broader company strategy. People may relocate as a result of participating in a conference. Events can have a positive influence on delegate perceptions of the host destination. Broader aspects of destination management, such as cultural communication, things to do and see, safety, cleanliness, and the organization of the conference can impact the experience of attendees.
Overwhelmingly, respondents believe that business events have facilitated the dissemination of new knowledge, ideas, techniques, materials and technologies by providing educators, practitioners and researchers from the host destination with access to a network of international colleagues. This networking affords local delegates with new business and research collaborations, which generates innovation, ideas and research agendas for many years to come. The capacities of each of the event cities were showcased and this put the destinations ‘on the map’, as well as fostered the destinations’ reputations of having highly skilled, capable, world leading researchers. The results clearly demonstrate that the successful hosting of business events enhances the reputation of the event city as a global business events destination that is attractive, friendly, and home to excellent facilities and infrastructure. Business events provide a supporting platform from which the growth of intercultural understandings and international friendships can occur. These outcomes contribute to building the host destinations’ capacities for success in global markets, and in business and education. Business events, in the cities examined in the study, provide a shared social context that supports formal and informal exchanges between peo-
ple. It is through this social context that the sharing of knowledge and ideas occurs, and common meanings are developed through face-to-face interactions. The study has found a direct connection between the staging of business events and an extensive range of benefits and outcomes beyond that of tourism spend.
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Future CONVENTION CITIES INITIATIVE Maureen O’Crowley Chair, FCCI, Associate Director, Seoul Convention Bureau
“A stronger industry benefits all” How did Future Convention Cities Initiative (FCCI) start?
Seoul was a major sponsor of the research project Convention 2020 – as were a couple other of our members. This research was future focused, and Seoul, as a newly established CVB (2008), was looking for direction on how to follow up on the results. Informal conversations were struck up at IMEX Frankfurt with Sydney and London and soon the 3 cities came to the agreement to collaborate on a research focused alliance. What’s the strategy behind it? Sharing conventions? Meetings? Knowledge?
The three founding members set a goal to bring together future focused cities that were working to firmly establish their position as a leading destination for key knowledge economy meetings and business events. We sought members that were equally committed to both developing and MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
delivering strategies that would assist the growth of our local knowledge economy as well as maximize on the long term benefits of business events. Now seven members strong, we are a strategic research, collaboration and knowledge sharing forum. We officially meet twice a year when all members are gathered at IMEX Frankfurt and IMEX America. Why is it only seven members?
Our initial aim was to have at least one member from each continent. The other 4 cities were equally committed to FCCI’s research goals and within a short time of our founding, we had our 7 members. Satisfied with a solid base of major contenders, we decided to move forward placing our focus and efforts on our inaugural research project vs. recruiting additional members. Will the FCCI welcome new members?
Absolutely, additional cities may contact us about membership which is subject to review and approval of all members. We would very much like to welcome a new member from South America in the near future. What will happen with your organization in the next ten years?
FCCI is a unique alliance of convention cities. While our primary goal is to position our individual destinations as leaders in hosting business events, we also see ourselves as the “new generation” of convention lead-
ers and what we achieve as a group will be our legacy to our cities and our industry. Thus we opened our inaugural research project to the industry to give other destinations proof positive of the benefits of business events. “Beyond Tourism Benefits: Building An International Profile” is available for download from our website: www. fccinitiative.org Additionally, it is our firm desire to grow our membership and expand our cooperative efforts with all industry stakeholders as we believe a stronger industry benefits all. What are the big challenges?
Finding time to dedicate to our work to drive FCCI as an all volunteer organization. Still and all, four years in, we are going strong and have now begun work on commissioning our second research project. It is our hope that building on our earlier work, we will have even more of the much needed cooperation of all related industry professionals to continue to produce highly relevant results that will serve to show just how powerful the business events industry is to our cities and nations.
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Road TO WALK Sebastien Tondeur Chief Executive Officer, MCI Group We asked Sebastien Tondeur about the most important questions concerning the meetings and events industry in the next ten years. Assuming we know the volume of spend from companies, associations and governments globally, I would like to know: Market share from top 10 players. Volume insourced and outsourced. Today’s total volume vs. tomorrow’s total volume (up or down) and split/change by spent category (incentives vs product launch, internal meetings, AGMs, virtual events …) (similar to what they do in the ad industry with spend categories). Economic impact. More KPI/benchmarks on ROI/ ROO/ROE by spend category.
We also asked him which road we should walk, which organizations we should look towards for knowledge, and which people to follow. Road to walk: perhaps a global coalition of all press companies globally. I think a lot of BI would be generated. Organisation: WTO and all major industry associations. People: I prefer data although people can be very interesting for interpretation of data.
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Brain Cities DIGGING DEEPER “The alliance exchanges success stories face to face, about three times per year” Miikka Valo Conference Coordinator, Visit Espoo Convention, Finland How did Alliance of Brain Cities start as an idea?
It all started in 2007 at the ICCA Congress, where Jaana Tuomi from Espoo (Finland) and Rasmus Jerver from Århus (Denmark) had an idea of building an alliance for Scandinavia’s “2nd cities” which are all strong university cities as well. The aim being targeting the region’s association conference business, exchanging conference leads and sharing best practices. Bergen (Norway) and Uppsala (Sweden) were asked to join the alliance later and in 2009 Alliance of Brain Cities was formed. The name refers to the university and innovation background of all the cities. Whats the strategy behind it? Sharing conventions? Meetings? Knowledge?
The main focus is business and the common database is by far our most important tool. The database compliments other international databases (such as ICCA and UIA) including business leads of meetings of all sizes, regardless of subject, and the only rule is that they should rotate inbetween two of four countries. Secondly, (and in exactly this order) comes knowledge sharing. The alliance exchanges
success stories face to face, about three times per year. The strength is to have fellow Nordic colleagues just a phone call away. It enables us all to develop in a faster and more consistent way. Why is it only four members?
We have a good setup and are looking at this as, primarily, a Nordic alliance. As such we are looking closely at exchanging lead information on Nordic meetings, where we have a common proposition as destinations and where we do not compete for the same meetings in the same years but rather in successive years. Until now, we have simply not expanded beyond the initial four destinations. Will you welcome more members?
In principle we would welcome new members within the region, but are very aware that any new member would have to add value to the alliance in terms of lead generation. We are very focussed on the leads exchange and have set up a common lead database. Any new member would have to be adding value to that. A new member would preferably be from a new country as the strength of the alliance is that we do not compete for the same leads. In that regard, it is more important that we increase the amount of (converted) leads than any new member is “non-capital”.
What will happen with your organization in the next ten years?
The international meeting industry is the most profitable segment within the travel industry and Scandinavia is considered to be a popular and safe and stable destination. ABC’s idea to include the second university cities in each country should be strong in the following years. Trends now are that the second city in a country is more popular among Generation Y and young professionals, because they have all visited the capital of the country. In the years to come the ABC Alliance should have positive synergy based on the knowledge of university cities in Scandinavia. Strong professionals within many topics in Scandinavia. Add to that the region is highly competitive in the European market price wise as well. We should use the resources more effectively by keeping the leads in the database updated. Attracting more business to our own country/town, by reference to conferences held in other Scandinavian/Nordic countries. Also benefit from the fact that to host Nordic conferences can encourage the university representatives to host European ones.
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Corbin Ball, CMP, CSP, DES is a professional speaker and consultant focusing on meetings technology. With 20 years of experience running international citywide technology meetings, he now helps clients worldwide use technology to save time and improve productivity. He can be contacted at his extensive web site www.corbinball.com and followed on Twitter @corbinball.
10 Transformative
MEETINGS TECHNOLOGY TRENDS FOR 2015 These are exciting times. The rate of technology change is accelerating with thousands of ideas, apps and innovations bubbling up to help meeting planners, exhibitors, venues and other meeting participants to do their jobs better. This annual review covers many of the major events technology trends to watch for this coming year:
Image © iStock.com/mstroz
Text © 2015 Corbin Ball, CMP, CSP, DES
1
Mobile event apps have become mainstream and will continue to grow in 2015.
As predicted in my 2000 article The Revolution – Looking into the Digital Future of Events, in my 2004 Tech Trends Review, in my 2010 Tech Trends Review and covered in several other articles, mobile devices have made a huge impact on events! Now, nearly everyone, including technology laggards, is carrying around a smart phone. Mobile use at events has exploded and mobile event app providers are expanding and refining the options. Much of the development has focused on replacing existing processes: Replacing paper event programs, agendas, attendee lists exhibition guides, and/or course notes Replacing the need for keypad polling and paper surveys
Replacing directional signage and program maps. Additionally, event apps have offered improved means of: Onsite social media networking Group or targeted alerts and announcements Improved peer-peer messaging, appointment making and business contact exchange Improved matchmaking and networking opportunities Integrated gamification applications CEU (continuing education unit) tracking Social media engagement However, mobile event apps are not just about improving existing processes. They can be about providing entirely new services as the next two trends indicate.
2
BLE (Bluetooth low energy) and iBeacon will provide a wealth of new options for planners and participants.
In my 2014 Tech Trends Review (published in September 2013), I predicted that geofencing will become a significant factor for events. Later that month, Apple released iOS7 which incorporated iBeacon technol-
ogy. iBeacons are very low-power, low cost, Bluetooth (BLE – Bluetooth Low Energy) transmitters with up to a 150 foot (50 meter) range. iBeacons can interact and share information with Apple and later model Android mobile device apps. This year, iBeacons have been installed in sports arenas, museums, airports and a variety of retail establishments. This technology holds great promise for events with nearly all of the major event app developers working on ways to incorporate. Here are some of the possibilities: Gamification and scavenger hunts (as used at CES 2014). Location information and navigation assistance: A geofence can notify attendees where they are on a map and give guidance on where they wish to go. Personalized welcome and other location-based alert notifications upon arrival: For example, a badge is printed upon when the attendee enters the geo-fence with notification sent via the app to the badge printing location. Social media networking and information exchange: iBeacon communication can be two-way. So, with user permission, the phone app can transmit contact informa2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
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tion, social media profiles, specific meeting room access information, meal tracking, food preferences, and much more. Communication between attendees can be enhanced with notification/pictures/ information about who is nearby. Exhibit booth dwell time measurement: the longer a person is at a
vide significant value to event participants. If attendees feel that this technology is an invasion of privacy with no payback for them or a “pop up spam” device, they will simply turn off the Bluetooth reception or uninstall the app. This, combined with NFC (see my 12 Technology Trends for 2014
“Geofencing will become a significant factor for events”
booth, the more likely they are interested in the product. Automated demonstrations (videos, etc.) for exhibit booth products or any other interest point in a conference venue. Targeted exhibitor or event management messages to different categories of participants. Automated continuing education unit (CEU) tracking. Local area information and deals: Local area merchants could send discount coupons to convention attendees (if the attendee opts in to receive). Loss prevention: AV companies or venues could be notified of unauthorized equipment removal using an RFID tag linked to a geofence. Attendee action metrics: Organizers will be able to track where attendees are spending their time with alert notifications to problems (i.e. an inordinately long registration line or crowd flow through an exhibit hall).
However, planners and event app developers must take care to use iBeacons very judiciously – to proMEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
post on this), which Apple will likely finally adopt later this month for the iPhone), will provide huge opportunities for mobile devices at events.
3
Analytics will emerge as one of the most important benefits of mobile event apps.
The onsite meeting used to be the “black hole” of event data management. Planners used computers before and after events, but during an event they were “flying blind.” For example, paper surveys were handed out, but tallying wasn’t completed until after the event – not in time to make mid-course corrections. Today, mobile event apps offer an unprecedented amount of analytic data – a goldmine of useful, real-time information to improve the event experience! Every touch is trackable! App analytics can answer instantly the following questions at any time during the event: What are trending hot topics? Who are the top speakers? What exhibit booths have the most attendance? What is the crowd flow through an exhibit hall?
What speakers/exhibitors are “liked” the most? Who are the key connectors/influencers? What app features are the most popular? Who, when, where, why and how are apps being used? What are the attendees’ ratings on specific survey and/or polling questions? As mobile event apps become fully adopted in the business process, these analytic capabilities will likely be considered one of the most useful elements of the many benefits they provide. These analytic capabilities will also extend to and interoperate with online registration and membership management systems to provide greater personalization to participants and greater insight into their behavior (see next trend).
4
Big data will become a key component of event marketing and design.
In these hyper-connected times, nearly every activity can be tracked: your website visits, every touch on your mobile device, every Facebook like, any online posting, your profiles, your purchases using reward points, surveillance cameras, and much, much more. Big data seeks to combine these data from widely disparate sources in an aggregate form to spot trends and make business decisions and to improve customer interaction experiences (sell more)! Big Data is “the next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity” according to McKinsey Global Institute. The challenge is that big data takes lots of computer processing and storage resources – previously only available to large, very well funded enti-
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ties. Big Data-as-a-Service (BDaaS) is emerging as cloud providers offer smaller organizations or associations more affordable access to these huge streams of relevant data. An example is the collaboration between ICCA – The International Congress and Convention Association and Human Equation providing
The recent data breaches of Home Depot, Target, eBay, the Heartbleed bug and the August 2014 hacker theft of 1.2 billion email address/passwords are examples of increased and more sophisticated hacking activity. Hackers will almost inevitably target some events via an online registration system and/or a mobile event-related
“Mobile event apps offer an unprecedented amount of analytic data” BDaaS for its members. Members can search 436 million articles by 7.4 million academic authors to find local “champions” to help develop events, to track trends, and a variety of other deep database search capabilities. As these large data integration services work on a broad, enterprise scale, this same concept will also be used on an event level. Through integrated registration and mobile technologies, it is becoming possible to combine many streams of data generated during event registration, web clicks, exhibitor interactions, mobile app activity, gamification, social media activity, surveys and more to gain insight to improve events and to facilitate personalization for event participants. Examples of event big data management can be seen at GenieConnect and BusyEvent among a number of other technology companies working on this.
5
Data breaches and app hacking will likely target events in 2015.
app (likely an Android version) in the near future. A few suggestions to limit exposure: As a planner, make sure your registra-
tion company is PCI compliant and take other steps to guard attendee information captured.
As an individual, the standard precau-
tions: Use strong passwords. Become aware of phishing scams. Keep your virus protection up-todate. Consider the use of identity theft protection services. Use double-authentication services when available.
6
Real-time, automated language translation capabilities will be used for events.
The days of the UN-style interpretation booths in the back of the room for international events may be numbered.
In 2007, Google Translate, a free text translation tool, became available. It currently translates text to and from more than 80 languages. Since then, a range of mobile apps has added more functionality: WordLens, is a mobile app that enables real-time augmented reality translations of signs/menus/slides (not full pages of text) in multiple languages (at US$4,99/language) without an internet connection needed. WordLens also works as a Google Glass app for heads-up translations. Voice to voice translations apps, such as Translate Voice Free and Jibbigo are now available. Microsoft’s Skype will soon offer Skype Translator (it is currently in beta testing) to provide two-way video conference voice translation capability. As these tools advance to provide easy, inexpensive and reliable realtime voice translation, it will be used by event hosts and/or individually by attendees. The world is becoming a smaller place daily!
7
Event and hotel Wi-Fi is becoming expected and ubiquitous.
Free Wi-Fi is the most desired hotel in-room amenity (Hotels.com, April 2014). With hundreds of mobile event apps now available, Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity have become the lifeblood of event communications. This has not been without challenges, with hotels and other event venues scrambling to keep up with the exploding demand. This is a complex subject with education needed by planners and suppliers. The good news is that the technology exists to provide very high-density, high-speed Wi-Fi connectivity to large groups – and many 2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
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facilities are starting to catch up! Planners are increasingly examining venues’ abilities to provide good quality, easy-to-use, and reasonably priced Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity as key factors in making venue purchase decisions. In the meantime, the larger the event (especially large tradeshows), the more likely that attendees will
Social media hubs and moderated live event social walls such as TweetWall, Postano, Hashcaster, and SocialWall are seeing greater use. Gamification is being tightly integrated into many mobile event apps to increase participant engagement and appealing to peoples’ “fundamental needs and
“Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity have become the lifeblood of event communications”
experience less than ideal Wi-Fi connectivity. In two to three years, as venues digest the “bulge in the snake” of Wi-Fi demand, this will be less of an issue.
8
The transition from “attendee” to “participant” will continue.
The combination of social media and mobile technology has provided a wide range of attendee engagement options. The entire dynamic of meetings is changing; instead of “top-down” it is “bottom-up.” Instead of attendees passively sitting at event watching a talking head, meeting participants are demanding a greater say and expect active engagement. This is playing out in several ways: Social media apps are used to recruit and engage participants before the events, during and after events. The highly mobilized social media tools (Twitter, Instagram, Vine, YouTube and others) are seeing strong use during many events. MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
desires for reward, status, achievement, self-expression, competition, and altruism.” (bunchball) Matchmaking and networking options are being built into many mobile event apps. Meeting designers are moving to shorter sessions and placing a high priority on audience engagement skills when choosing speakers. Meeting designers are moving away from passive theater-style seating to alternate room sets to facilitate discussion and participation. Event participants are expecting personalized communication and choices tailored to their desires. There are many specialized participant engagement apps and web tools which can be used by speakers including: Conferences i/o, Crowd Mics, Evenium ConnexMe, MeetingPulse, PollEverwhere, Social Q&A, Klowd and UberMeetings. Many “Swiss army knife” mobile event guide apps are building in
polling, survey and other engagements tools as well.
9
Aerial (drone) video will provide new perspective for event photography (if regulatory hurdles are passed).
Convention video has been around for decades, but it has typically been limited to tripod-mounted and handheld cameras providing static shots. This is about to change. Remote controlled, multi-rotor helicopters (sometimes referred to as drones), fitted with professional HD video cameras with stabilizing mounts are providing an entirely new prospective for event and meetingsrelated video. One caution: things are a bit up in the air (forgive the pun) regarding drone usage. The FAA has yet to weigh in on the topic and significant restrictions may be coming.
10
Attention spans will continue to decrease.
Human knowledge is doubling every year and the rate is accelerating rapidly (IndustryTab, 2014). We are awash in information. The world’s body of information is at our fingertips and available 24/7 wherever we go. We are barraged with hundreds of marketing messages daily and receive hundreds of email/ text messages as well. 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute! As we desperately try to multi-task to keep up, many of us feel overwhelmed. One of the results is decreasing attention spans that are changing how events are marketed, managed and experienced. Here are examples: Shorter presentation times are being scheduled (the 15-minute TED talk style is becoming more prominent)
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“The entire dynamic of meetings is changing; instead of ‘top-down’ it is ‘bottom-up’”
More interactivity during sessions is required. More audience engagement tools are used. Images need to play a prominent role in articles, blogs, website postings, event promotional materials and computer presentations (a picture is worth a thousand words). Short video is the new language of the internet – more powerful than pictures and far more powerful than text. A good video can be worth a thousand pictures! Two video tips: A: Record in HD. B: Keep it SHORT! In many cases, promotional videos should be no longer than a minute!
11
Bonus trend (a repeat from previous years’ predictions): Despite the increased use of virtual meetings technology, face-to-face meetings and tradeshows will remain viable.
Webinars and other virtual meetings are great for short information exchange. However, in today’s multitasking and often distracting work environment, attention spans are short. Thirty to forty-five minutes is usually the maximum you can expect someone to pay attention to a webinar while sitting in front of a monitor. Meetings, on the other hand, take people to a more focused environment with fewer distractions. As long as attendees are informed,
entertained and fed, event hosts can keep them engaged for days. At the minimum, we share a social contract to at least look like we are paying attention at an event. The opportunities for networking, brainstorming, and relationship building are usually far greater at face-to-face events than online. For an exhibitor, it is often the best way to meet so many qualified buyers in such a short time. For buyers, it is a great chance to meet vendors of interest – all together in one location, categorized and mapped for your choosing. Meetings provide a vastly richer, more targeted, and more focused learning experience than nearly any virtual meeting. To put it succinctly, there is no such thing as a “virtual beer!” These are just a few of whirlwind of changes coming. Do you agree with them? Do you have others? Please let me know your thoughts.
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The Fund Was a Secret FOR TOO MANY
The Pre-financing and Guarantee Fund (VGF ) is an incentive fund that was set up over 25 years ago. It was first proposed by The Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC). In concert with other parties, NBTC wanted to set up a fund to encourage scientists who were considering organizing an international conference in Holland for several days. NBTC sought cooperation with the Dutch Conference Industry Association, now CLC Vecta, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and some twenty organizations in the Dutch meetings industry. In 1986 this resulted in the foundation of the Pre-financing and Guarantee Fund International Conferences Holland, abbreviated to VGF. The Pre-financing and Guarantee Fund is intended to give organizers of international, multiple-day conferences in Holland increased financial security. The fund helps conference organizers to cover pre-conference expenses, and other financial risks. It encourages organizers to realize conferences. The VGF combines two separate schemes; a pre-financing scheme and a guarantee scheme. The clients are offered the possibility to use these MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
two schemes separately, or to combine the two. In the preparatory stages of the conference, the organizer has to deal with various aspects that must be paid for. Examples are the costs for establishing a foundation, a down payment for the accommodation, and expenses incurred for developing marketing tools, such as a brochure, first announcement, or website. As the registration fees will not be received until later, the organizers may not always be able to fund these initial expenses. The pre-financing scheme of the VGF can help to pay these costs. Conference organizers may apply to the VGF for an interest-free loan, free of charge; a kind of subsidy scheme for conferences. The loan is capped at € 90,000, with the actual amount depending on the size of the conference and the liquidity forecast. All conference budgets have expenses and income. A limited risk only is attached to the costs, because conference organizers can benefit from the knowledge, experience and the stable infrastructure of the conference industry. The income, however, is less solid. Most of the income, apart from possible sponsoring, comes from the registration fees of the attendees. This is exactly where the main risk lies for organizers. If the attendance level falls short of expectations, this
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“Subvention is a thing we have to live with, it depends how you deal with it”
yields less income, which will impact the overall conference budget. In order to minimize this risk, the VGF offers the possibility of a guarantee. This guarantee allows the conference organization to guarantee that the event will take place, in spite of possible disappointing numbers of attendees. The guarantee is capped at €90,000, and the actual amount depends on various aspects, such as the size of the conference, the history of the conference, possible sponsoring, and the overall budget. Moreover, the budget must have been drawn up competently. “Subvention is a thing we have to live with, it depends how you deal with it. I’d rather win a congress based on quality rather then what I can put on the table moneywise. But it is a fact of life in our industry,” says Eric Bakermans, Meetings & Conventions Marketing Manager, Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions. “Our strategy will be positioning our country as a congress destination based on things which we are really good at. We call them ‘top sectors’ which are Life Science & Health, Water, AgroFood, Energy, Logistics, Horticulture and propagation materials, High Tech materials, the Chemical Industry, and the Creative Industry. Rather than communicating how accessible we are and how well our infrastructure is organized (so called
hygiene factors) we’ll be emphasizing our fields of expertise in relation to the topics of congresses. We’ll also be adapting the strategy towards our branding and marketing strategy called ‘Holland 2020’ which is geared towards the spread in space and time of international arrivals to Holland.” The funding system had been providing Holland with 15–20 business events projects per year for a long time, but when almost nothing happened and a little decline was seen something had to be done. It was time for a new way to make this unique instrument known worldwide, according to Eric Bakermans. “It was a secret for too many. We need to market the instrument much more than before. The board decided that it was time for a change. They asked me to come up with a marketing plan on how we could expand this opportunity.” “This was two years ago. The plan would include actions, how we work, who should be employed, and what our goals should be. The goal was that we would get more people to want to use the funding system. The money would be used in a more intelligent way. I had a person in mind who maybe wanted this part-time job. He has his own network, and the opportunity to implement this on a deadline, and so we did. “He meets professors, PCOs, venues working with international
business events, everyone who should know about this instrument, and he knocks on doors all over the place. It’s a lot of meetings with professors, and he hits those who are willing to take home meetings to Holland. He must of course do his research properly and come up with the fund’s possibilities in the right moment,” says Eric Bakermans. One of the biggest changes is that the application form has also been made easier in order to attract more meetings. Previously you needed to guarantee 25 percent yourself, but now it’s removed. The requirement that there must be a PCO which guaranteed the budget has also been removed. The goal is to double within four years, and fortunately, the organization can already see that it will go in that direction as the number of requests coming in is increasing. “Everything looks good right now for upcoming conferences and other business events in Holland. We reached all the targets in 2013 and will also reach over our goals for 2014,” says Eric Bakermans.
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80 | ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
German CB RECEIVES EMAS CERTIFICATION “For the GCB, sustainability is an opportunity for the entire industry” The GCB German Convention Bureau has received European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) certification. The scheme has been developed by the European Commission for companies and other organizations within the EU and the European Economic Area to evaluate, report, and improve their environmental performance. The GCB received the certification after passing challenging tests, demonstrating its commitment to sustainability and the continuous improvement on its environmental performance. “The GCB has engaged in improving sustainability for many years and being awarded EMAS certification is another milestone. For the GCB, sustainability is an opportunity for the entire industry, especially for making Germany a sustainable meetings and conventions destination,” said Matthias Schultze, Managing Director of the GCB. To achieve certification, organizations must create, among other MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
things, an environmental statement that records the dates and details of all environmentally relevant activities covering energy consumption, emissions and waste, as well as the indirect environmental aspects, for example in procurement and event management. After an initial comprehensive inventory, the environmental assessment is subsequently performed as a recurring audit within the framework of the EMAS process and is judged by independent, nationally accredited environmental auditors. “Compared to the widespread environmental management standard ISO 14001, the requirements are fully covered by EMAS. It is characterized by a higher level of legal security, consistent environmental performance, high transparency and active employee participation,” said Dr Stefan Müssig, CEO of Würzburg Environmental and Quality Management Consulting, who oversaw the EMAS certification of the GCB. Christine Koch, Sustainability Officer of GCB, said: “An important area for participation is the involvement of all employees in an organization thereby ensuring environmental management is achieved at all levels of activity.” In Germany around 1,250 companies from various industries partici-
pate in the EMAS from manufacturing companies through to trade and services of all kinds including public administration. In the German meeting industry, the GCB promotes sustainable event management. Education seminars on sustainability in the meeting industry are ongoing and in 2012 and 2013 the GCB received funding from the German Federal Environmental Foundation and will continue the seminars from 2014. In addition, the GCB is organizing the greenmeetings and events conference, taking place on 9 and 10 February 2015 in Kap Europa in Frankfurt. This is organized jointly with the European Association of Event Centres (EVVC) every two years. Since 2011 the two organizations have initiated a sustainability code for the event industry and now supports more than 400 companies.
MEETINGS MEAN BUSINESS | 81
Identify
The 10 Most Important Questions IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS
3 Padraic Gilligan Managing Partner, SoolNua
1
What will we call ourselves?
Most anglophones hate MICE. Meetings and Events doesn’t include incentives. Business Tourism or Business Events is repugnant to some associations whose focus is non-profit and/or education. The Meetings Industry is unacceptable to purveyors of the “pure incentive.” So what do we call ourselves? Remember without a name we risk being anonymous.
2
How will we describe our value?
There are two bits to this – the intangible but deeper, more lasting and potentially transformational value of convening people together to meet, connect and bond and the tangible, demonstrable, objective value of our economic impact. Meetings Mean Business in the US has done a good job at the second thing. Over the next ten years we’ll need a more impactful narrative for the first one and better global data for the second.
Will MICE and FDI converge?
Destinations are connecting Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), having finally realised these big fish swim in the same pool. The companies your city targets for a corporate meeting or incentive are the same companies who can bring you employment. Equally associations will consider staging their city wide events in your destination if you’ve created a global reputation in a particular field of knowledge and endeavour due to strong FDI in that given sector.
4
Will there still be PCOs?
Professional Conference Organisers are evolving faster than the wall lizard, their business model altered beyond recognition when compared with ten years ago. This will continue and PCOs in the future will either act locally in a DMC capacity, globally as consultative, trusted advisors to associations or as association management companies with all non-governance matters outsourced to them. Hotel commissions and decent registration fees will be as extinct as the dodo.
5
Will there be DMCs?
Destination Management Companies (DMCs) will
continue to go global and to offer full service solutions direct to corporate and association customers alongside Travel Management Companies (TMCs) who will provide air and accommodation services. Or they will be specialised local organisations offering highly creative destination specific services including event management.
6
What will incentive travel look like?
7
What will the popular destinations be?
We’ll see interesting changes in Incentive Travel Programmes with the rebirth of individual incentive travel products to reflect the changing workplace demographics. Today’s millennial interns will be tomorrow’s management executives but will retain their taste for personalisation and customisation and will want a rewards programme that’s utterly flexible, available to them with the same immediacy as an online search or purchase.
For today’s college students the world is their oyster. Before they join the workforce many of them will have visited Peru, Thailand and Nicaruaga besides France, Australia and the US. The backpack destinations in Asia and Latin America will certainly 2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
82 | MEETINGS MEAN BUSINESS
“How will destinations balance sustainability and commerce?”
feature in the future but as incentive destinations – having done the hostels as 19 year olds, they’ll be ready to try the more “upscale” accommodations as corporate executives in their 30s. Equally, Africa will rise up and we’ll see focus on countries such as Ethiopia.
8
Will incentives still be all about 5 star hotels, customised tours, welcome cocktails and gala dinners?
In the 80s, 90s and 00s incentive travel pivoted around luxury and opulence as key factors in a recognition and reward programme. Tomorrow’s qualifiers will eschew luxury and opulence in favour of authenticity and hands-on experiences. This was expressed beautifully in a recent Italian movie called Viaggio Sola about a hotel inspector working for Leading Hotels of the World: “Luxury is a form of deceit … there’s no real life here. All this display of opulence is just a stage set. I get claustrophobic. I need noise, discomfort to feel alive. Real luxury is the pleasure of real life lived to the full and full of imperfections.”
9
What will be the role of technology?
Over the next ten years technology will pervade everything we do as meetings and events professionals MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
to the point that meetings and events will enter the realm of relativity and be freed from the bonds of space and time. Yes, face to face events will happen in real destinations, in real time but events will be elastic as technology will extend the life of the meeting horizontally in time and vertically in space. We’ll engage with content prior to the actual face to face meeting and we’ll participate at meetings from afar. Of course we’re doing this already but over the next ten years it will normalise and become the way we conduct the business of meetings.
10
Will we have to ration access to destinations as tourism numbers increase dramatically over the next ten years?
Recently we visited Venice, one of the world’s most unique and beautiful destinations. It was late in the season so the number of cruise ships was limited and the crowds less voluminous than June or September. Still it was a challenge to move about and the city seemed to groan under the intensity of the footfall. As you stood at Piazza San Marco, there was nothing “extraordinary” about the experience other than the flocks and herds that vied with each other for grazing ground around the magnificent piazza.
The rising middle classes in Asia and Latin America, we’re told, will increase tourist activity dramatically over the next ten years. But how will we cope? How will destinations balance sustainability and commerce? Will we have to ration access to key destinations?
STRATEGY | 83
Benchmarking Over 100 GLOBAL CITIES BY 2018 “This project has helped regional leaders to develop a shared vision” Earlier this year ICCA and MCI won UNWTO’s ‘Most Innovative Project Award’ for ICCA Scandinavian Destinations Sustainability Index which was commissioned by the ICCA Scandinavian Chapter and developed and conducted by MCI Sustainability Services and sponsored by Visit Aarhus Convention and MCI. The Index, an effective tool developed by ICCA and MCI to measure and drive progress on the Sustainable Scandinavian Meetings Region collaboration, received the award at the 2nd UNWTO Knowledge Network Global Forum. Since 2010, visionary leaders from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, the five countries in ICCA’s Scandinavian Chapter, have been working with MCI to transform Scandinavia into the world’s first sustainable meetings region. Starting with 16 cities in 2012, 20 cities participated in 2013, and over 23 in 2014. There was a 7 percent overall increase in destination performance compared to 2012. “Hardware” or infrastructure performance increased a modest 4 percent whereas “software” performance increased a significant 11 percent.
There has been a significant shift in the number of destinations developing and implementing sustainability strategies, communication campaigns and certification initiatives: In 2012 25 percent of CBs had been inspired to develop a sustainability strategy. By 2013 this had risen drastically to 45 percent 74 percent now have sustainability information on their destination websites compared to 25 percent in 2012. Eco certification has increased to 60 percent of the total hotel room inventory and 59 percent of the congress and exhibition centres. The Index measures and compares the social and environmental sustainability commitment and performance of capital and regional cities in the five participating countries. Recognized by UNWTO as a pioneering project, the Index was declared one of the three best submitted entries in the category ‘Innovation in Tourism: Bridging theory and practice.’ “The paper was outstanding for its contribution as an innovative tool to measure and share project progress in the Sustainable Scandinavian Meetings Region collaboration,” said Dr. Hazael Cerón M., Professor at the Facultad De Turismo Y Gastronomía in Universidad Anáhuac México Norte and part of the judging committee. “The paper was evaluated on several areas, including the significance of the discussion on innovation
in tourism, validity of research methods used and overall structure.” The purpose of the Index is to benchmark and share 23 cities’ sustainability performances, driving a significant shift in the development and implementation of each destination’s sustainability strategies, communication campaigns and certification initiatives. Improvements have been recorded year-on-year, including a 7 percent overall increase in destination performance in 2013 compared to 2012. Representing one of the 23 participating cities, Jonas Wilstrup, Convention Director of Wonderful Copenhagen Convention Bureau said, “This project has helped regional leaders from Scandinavia to develop a shared vision of a better, smarter and more sustainable future. Ultimately we believe this will create a more competitive and healthy meetings industry.” “By regularly sharing best practices and benchmarking data, each city and country is able to understand their current performance and set targets for improvement,” said Guy Bigwood, MCI Group Sustainability Director. “The project is now expanding into phase two, and has a vision and business plan to benchmark over 100 global cities by 2018.”
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84 | TRIPLE HELIX
MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
TRIPLE HELIX | 85
Everyone is ON BOARD
© Ralph Richter
The ambition of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area is to be among the top five economic regions in Europe by 2020. Within the area you find an urban network with seven strong and internationally oriented clusters. The region is of vital importance to the Dutch economy. It has a very high level of knowledge production and economic activity which attracts national and international business. In order to make full use of all the potential in the Metropolitan Area better collaboration was needed between businesses, knowledge institutes and government authorities. Four years ago they joined forces in the Amsterdam Economic Board. The ambition is to develop the Metropolitan Area into one of the leading global business hubs in Europe and to position itself as an intercontinental hub of commerce, people and information. The board stimulates collaboration and innovation between businesses, knowledge institutes and government organizations. Goal: Sustainable economic growth in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. The Board consists of 18 prominent CEOs, scientists and representatives of regional governments. The Chairman is Eberhard van der Laan, Mayor, City of Amsterdam. Marjan Schrama, Cluster Manager, Toerisme and Congressen, at Amster-
dam Economic Board says that the strategy of joining forces of the three worlds is to increase innovation and competitive strength. Traditionally businesses creates prosperity, universities and schools produce knowledge and the government coordinates and facilitates different interests. “The triple helix model allows us to develop a joint strategy, combine implementation and resources, facilitate promising crossovers and deal with bottlenecks together.” Marjan Schrama explains that the Board brings parties together for economic growth, and helps these parties by identifying opportunities, finding and bringing together collaboration partners, providing access to the regional and international networks of the Board and clusters. They are also creating physical and virtual meeting points, indicating financing and accommodation possibilities, initiating projects and staying engaged until execution and facilitating participating in trade missions. “Drivers for economic growth are human capital, knowledge and innovation and international connectivity, taking peripheral conditions such as sustainability and liveability into account,” says Marjan Schrama. The identified sectors for innovation are: iCT/eScience, financial and business services, logistics, tourism
and conferences, high tech materials, horticulture and agrifood, creative industries and life sciences and health. Marjan Scharma says that creating a strong business climate is of crucial importance. It is all about identifying, and if possible, eliminating procedural barriers and obstacles for the improvement of the business climate in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area.
2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
86 | INTERFACE
Identify
The 10 Most Important Questions IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS
Jan Sturesson Global Leader, Government and Public Services and Partner PwC
“Knowledge . of the meetings industry is a new kind of functionbased cluster”
1
To understand what a meeting actually is, or can be, here there is much to say. Knowledge incubator, innovation accelerator and culture implementer are three key elements.
2 3 4 5 6
Understanding that the interface between the physical and virtual dissolves. That a meeting/event must have a value-based costing model, not a cost-based. Being able to distinguish between direct and indirect revenues.
Seeing value creation in the social, intellectual and human capital dimensions, and to translate and evaluate them. Understanding ubiquitous society and the interactive daily meeting logic. The online meeting is always going on.
MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
7
The colonnade between man and machine, that is currently coalescing through biorobotic technology. What is it that meets in the future … human beings or what?
8
Environments with particular focus on the importance of light in the meetings. Nanotech creates light operators, by designing environments of luminous material, a Telenor/Telia for lighting design.
9 10
Knowledge of the meetings industry is a new kind of function-based cluster – in the space between all branches.
yourself.
That life consists of meetings. Sometimes you even have to face
SECURITY | 87
Safehotels is Expanding SECURITY AROUND THE WORLD “Global sports organizations want to see the hotel, meeting and event industry invest in their guests’ safety” We read it more often; Security is among the three most important criteria when travel managers choose a hotel for their employees. Increasing numbers of incidents happening in hotels are getting attention because what happened is not an accident, it’s usually carelessness that could have been avoided or incidents that did not need to happen if the hotel had been careful. Safehotels Alliance recently signed an agreement with the Asian Rugby and Football Union (ARFU). “ARFU has through this agreement demonstrated that we take our traveler concerns very seriously. Security issues are increasingly at the center for our athletes and officials. Now we continue through this partnership to as much as possible use hotels that have been certified by them,” says Trevor Gregory, president of the association. “The agreement says that we should help ARFU and ensure the safety of the hotels they use all around Asia. They play 30 tournaments a year, in roughly around 29 member states. This means huge exposure
to the market, both hotels and large companies,” says Hans Kanold, CEO and one of the owners of Safehotels Alliance. The Alliance’s mission is to evaluate and enhance safety in hotels and conference centers around the world and to also certify the hotels that live up to Safehotels safety standard. The agreement with ARFU is simultaneously an international breakthrough for Safehotels which aims to become a global company and which is already today represented in several parts of the world, like the Middle East and Africa. Safehotels has created an objective third party evaluation of business hotels and conference hotels’ safety standards worldwide. The evaluation covers all aspects of hotel and conference security. Safehotels has created its ‘Global Hotel Security Standard’ to cater to the need to measure hotel and conference security, and to match the demand from the growing number of business travelers who want to see a global safety standard for hotels. The standard includes independent evaluations from travelers and
partner organizations in their analysis of hotels and conference centers worldwide. “Through the cooperation we can simultaneously say that not only the Asian rugby family but also several global sports organizations want to see the hotel, meeting and event industry invest in their guests’ safety. The hotels that are members of our alliance will benefit and become a preferred partner of major associations like ARFU around the world,” says Hans Kanold.
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88 | ECONOMIC VALUE
“We Need to Learn to Quantify THE KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER” Gregg Talley President and CEO, Talley Management Group Gregg Talley is very bullish on the future of face to face meetings. He thinks the evidence is pretty conclusive that there is no better way to connect humans, communicate effectively, educate or convey the same message or motivate a large group then face to face meetings. It simply can’t be done as effectively through another medium. The results of the recent global contraction proved it. Businesses lost revenue by not being physically in touch with their customers and prospects. The mega online corporate meetings did not have the same impact or punch. You are involved with leading organizations like the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), Convention Industry Council (CIC) and so on. How important are coalitions?
I think a federation or coalition remains hugely important to do together what no single organization can do on it’s own. Whether this is research, standards, best practices,
MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
advocacy, etc., we are more effective if we can speak with one voice and coordinate our efforts than to compete in the areas outlined above. This “massed effort” allows us to have a larger impact on stakeholders and other audiences we may be trying to influence – policy makers, etc. The importance of some of the component member organizations may wax and wane with time but the value of the group dialogue and action around key industry issues will not. As the effectiveness is demonstrated additional related groups will want to be a part of the federation. Will convention bureaus be getting closer to real cooperation with universities in the US?
I think the connection is getting better. Many cities now have ambassador programs for bidding purposes. The opportunity still exists for a broader/deeper connection for those groups coming into the destination that want/need access to local thought leaders in specific vertical industries that might not be able to reach them on their own. The smarter destinations will make that connection for us and demonstrate how that creates better value for my events. How important has economy impact studies been for developing the global meetings and event industry?
It has been a vital first step. Policy makers need to see and understand
the economic value of our industry. We are still a hidden industry in many economies. Unless you can demonstrate your contribution to GDP, jobs represented and taxes contributed, then you will not be taken seriously. Armed with that data you can put the industry in comparison with other, better known and in some cases better understood industries. In the US the conversation changed when we could show greater economic impact than the computer/IT and broadcast/ telecommunications industries. But that is still just the first step. We need to be able to better articulate the value of face to face events beyond the economics. We need to learn to quantify the knowledge transfer, the value of connections created and opportunities realized as a result of face to face events to truly round out the value equation. Some thinkers in the meetings industry argue that it’s definitely time for the industry to get away from the tourism banner.
I completely agree. Tourism is fundamentally different from business events and the group market. We spend money on different things and, I would argue, generate more potential intrinsic value to a destination. What our events leave behind in terms of education, knowledge and connections to the broader scientific, medical and business communities
ECONOMIC VALUE | 89
“Policy makers need to see and understand the economic value of our industry”
regionally, nationally and internationally is huge and almost incalculable. Though as stated above, we have to find a way to measure exactly that to further demonstrate our value! When we met at IMEX we spoke about information filtering as being one of the most important issues of today. How do you deal with this at Talley Management Group?
Yes, all of us are drowning in information. Trying to distill the right information and relate it to the issues our businesses and our clients need is a fundamental challenge of today. You have to create the funnel for that information and then some process to share, analyze and refine what is meaningful and why. Resources have to be put into this process and time has to be committed to it. That time to actually talk and think about it is key. You have to schedule it as part of your management or board practice. It is out of that dialogue that the key insights will come. We organize our management meetings around this concept and urge our boards to do the same. How will digitalization affect the development of face to face meetings?
I am not overly concerned about digitalization’s potential threat to face to face. I liken it to the claim that computers would enable us to work less. I think “more” just means more of everything. More digitalization will
mean more meetings to interpret it and share it and discuss it. More data, telling us more things means more meetings, not less. What about the influence of the Internet on face to face meetings?
means increasing competition and rate pressure. New destinations also continue to come online which add more competition to traditional “first tier” destinations.
It will continue to allow us to reach more audiences and do better at hybrid meetings. For some events it may replace a meeting, but in the long run, not the meetings where the gathering is way more than an information push. Those meetings will always require face to face to satisfy the human need to connect and converse both formally and informally. A lot of people and organizations are saying that face to face meetings are getting shorter and shorter. Is this reflected in your figures?
Absolutely. We can see it in our sleeping room usage patterns and event attendance. Our shoulder nights are dwindling and there is pressure to condense events, to pack more in so that people can get back to the office, practice, university or lab. So as planners and organizers we need to ensure that our events are highly relevant and designed to maximize engagement.
At the same time are we seeing more conventions and meetings?
We will continue to see new events created and bad events ceasing to exist. That said, I also think we have an over capacity in facilities which 2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
90 | KELLERMAN
Roger Kellerman is a publisher, business intelligence analyst, trend creator, educator and networker. He has more than 25 years’ experience of the global meeting industry. twitter.com/thekellerman
Ladies and Gentlemen, I GIVE YOU EDDIE OBENG Mike van der Vijver and Eric de Groot set my brain on fire as they are truthfully two of the leading meeting designers in the world. They even got me to paint and now I’m starting to paint for real. They also really gave ICCA a face of building knowledge and creating new synapses in the heads of the people they met during the ICCA Congress in Antalya the other week. When we listened to Professor Günter R Koch speaking about Intellectual Capital, it took us back more than 15 years. When we met Professor Leif Edvinsson for the first interview it was a sensation that it smelled of freshly baked cinnamon buns in his office, Skandia Future Center, which was in the Stockholm archipelago. The article was almost more about the smell of the cinnamon buns than his innovation intellectual capital. For his part, the two are intimately connected, fragrances and peoples’ intellect belong together. As an author and speaker, he has participated in many conferences worldwide. He has also served as an advisor to the Swedish government and the UN. He was the world’s first corporate director of Intellectual Capital at the insurance company Skandia in Stockholm, Sweden. He has been a key contributor to the theory of IC and oversaw the creation of the world´s first corporate Intellectual Capital Annual Report. MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014
Professor Edvinsson is a key pioneering contributor to both the theory and practice of Intellectual Capital. As the world’s first director of IC in 1991, he initiated the creation of the world’s first public corporate Intellectual Capital Annual Report 1994, and inspired the development ever since on IC metrics. He was parallel to that prototyping the Skandia Future Center as a Lab for Organizational Design, one of the very first in the world in 1996, and inspired many to follow. During 1996 he was recognized with awards from the American Productivity and Quality Centre, USA and Business Intelligence. In January 1998, Leif Edvinsson received the prestigious Brain Trust ”Brain of the Year” award, UK for his pioneering work on IC. Chairman and Co-Founder at New Club of Paris, Founder at Universal Networking Intellectual Capital and Professorship emeritus on Intellectual Capital at the School of Economics, Lund University. Today he is still working at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In 2009 he was also appointed Guest Professor at Jiaotong University, Xian, China. As late as January this year he was also a speaker at our own Meeting Industry Week in Stockholm and was supposed to be a speaker at the ICCA Congress in Antalya as well.
But what about professor Eddie Obeng? I have to admit that I hadn’t even heard about him before. In Antalya I was really stuck, already after five seconds, by his method of entertaining and generating knowledge simultaneously. He is the fastest speaker I have ever heard and his pedagogy just blow me away the same way that Copenhagen Lector speaker Magnus Lindkvist did two days later. So what do these guys really have to do with us? Of course they show us that we are often left in our old school waiting to see the reactions in the world before we decide what to do ourselves. Everything is changing they told us and we have to adapt, that this is the future and that it is here already. But they also fill us with good energy and a happy heart. And I must say, and maybe I’ve got a bad memory after all, but this was the best ever ICCA Congress contentwise. And to Martin Sirk and his wonderful team: Thank you for creating a knowledge hub at this congress and please bring along professor Eddie Obeng to Buenos Aires next year. Because I’m going to be there. Will you?
PAGE TITLE | 91
Making business a pleasure
Conventions don´t have to be conventional A business trip to Madrid seems less like hard work than most. Sunny weather, conveniently located conference venues and gourmet lunches are just some of the bonuses for when you visit on business. way to recharge before sampling the vibrant nightlife. Relax over tapas in an outdoor café or dance until dawn. Whatever you do, Madrid is the business. info.mcb@esmadrid.com (+34) 91 758 55 28 www.esmadrid.com/mcb
2014 No. 01 BIR | MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL
92 | PAGE TITLE
At this very moment some people are talking about Vienna. Meanwhile thousands are talking in Vienna. When will you join in? AUSTRIA-CENTER.COM MESSECONGRESS.AT VIENNA.CONVENTION.AT
MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL | BIR No. 01 2014