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Meetings for Success

Objectives, 2011 Meeting Focus , White Papers, Webinars , Related IMEX Initiatives, Industry Initiatives and Resources

23 May 2012, Maritim Hotel, Frankfurt

The Meetings for Success initiative launched in 2009 by IMEX and the Joint Meetings Industry Council, is a unique annual event for high level corporate executives. The meeting is hosted by the Maritim Hotel, Frankfurt.

The value of the meetings industry is being held to account in unprecedented ways. New economic and political pressures are forcing organisations to think carefully about whether or where to hold their meetings and events.

The IMEX task force of high level corporate executives have called for action. The 'Meetings for Success' group aims to influence key stakeholders on the importance and effectiveness of meetings and incentive travel to corporate business and prove the tangible worth of continuing to hold meetings and incentive travel programmes.

"Constant and accelerating changes define the environment in which our industry is operating. That’s why Meetings for Success, IMEX's exclusive gathering of senior corporate planners, provides a unique platform of discussions and concrete ideas for actions”

Eric Rozenberg, Meetings for Success Moderator, CMP, CMM, President, Swantegy

Meetings for Success Forum Objectives

To identify the challenges corporate meeting planners are facing under changing economic, political and PR pressures.
To share experiences and successes within the workplace and consider how to promote the power of meetings more effectively to corporate executives and corporate boards.
To identify what the meetings industry can do to assist corporate meeting planners?

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2011 Meeting Focus

The annual meeting at IMEX in Frankfurt provides the opportunity for discussion between a group of invited senior corporate buyers. The debate is tailored specifically to address the professional concerns of corporate executives.

The previous Meetings for Success Forums have highlighted the growing challenge of proving the value of face-to-face meetings to organisations who now recognise the importance of meaningful measurement of these meetings. The 2011 meeting focused on conveying the rationale for meetings and events and understanding how to articulate why a particular vehicle is being proposed by measuring and communicating the far reaching benefits of face-to-face meetings.

IMEX were pleased to welcome two new advisors to support the group's discussions:

Luca Favetta, Director Global Events EMEA & Asia Pacific, SAP AG. SAP is the largest business software company and the world’s third-largest independent software provider overall. Luca has successfully re-focused the use of events as a strategic marketing and communication tool for SAP while generating significant savings for the company.

Luca shared his case study on the ground breaking 'Sapphire Now' 2010 event which gave SAP customers, partners, and prospects the opportunity to attend more sessions, hear from more thought leaders, and interact and collaborate more effectively with other participants around the globe.

Peter Haigh, MPI member of 20 years and Philipps ROI Institute Certified Practitioner, also joined the group, bringing a wealth of experience on the benefits and pitfalls of existing ROI techniques with the aim of identifying simple procedures for corporate attendees to implement within their businesses

"Measuring the effectiveness of meetings and events is coming under greater scrutiny, hence finding a robust planning and evaluation tool is becoming increasingly urgent.”

Peter Haigh, ROI Institute Certified Practitioner

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White Papers

Our high level panel discussions have led to two White Papers which are available to share widely and freely with the industry in an effort to share what has been learned and to generate further momentum.

The 2011 White Paper will be available here soon.

Download the 2010 Meetings for Success White Paper

Download the 2009 Meetings for Success White Paper

Webinars

As a part of this initiative IMEX and JMIC conducted a series of Corporate Meetings: Head to Head webinars. View more information here .

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Related IMEX New Vision Initiatives

IMEX Politicians Forum - demonstrating the value of meetings to politicians from around the world. Focusing on the positive social, cultural and economic impact of meetings on a destination.

Meetings Mindset® - putting delegate performance at the heart of great meetings.

Industry Initiatives and Resources

The industry is working together to combat the negative PR stories and inform the press, politicians and corporate leaders of the value of meetings, events and incentive travel programmes.

Conferencing and Events

(Media Planet supplement for The Guardian Newspaper, March 2011)

Interview with IMEX Group CEO Carina Bauer on 'How conferences thrived amid green and technological challenges'.

“FACE TIME. It Matters” is a grassroots industry campaign theme designed to promote the benefits of meeting face-to-face. The campaign was developed in response to one of the most challenging years ever faced by the meeting, convention and exhibition industries. It was based on the findings of a recent national survey of corporate and association meeting planners, plus in-depth personal interviews with the industry’s leading executives as well as focus groups consisting of corporate and association executives, business travellers and professional meeting planners.

Maritz: Rather than rely on personal preferences or currently popular approaches, the decision regarding what type of meeting to run will have a direct impact on the effectiveness of your meeting. This paper examines those science-based decision criteria to help executives determine when face-to-face is the most effective approach to large-group meetings or events. The research presented in this paper authored by Christine Duffy, president and CEO of Maritz Travel, and Mary Beth McEuen, vice president and executive director, The Maritz Institute, provides direction for determining when an investment in large-group face-to-face meetings and events will have the greatest impact.

Study: The Future of Meetings: The Case for Face-to-Face

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