Dear Industry Colleague,
Advocacy of the meetings & business events industry – a call for action
As if by serendipity, Greg Oates at Skift called for more cohesive advocacy of the meetings and business events industry in a recent article titled; The Manifesto for a New Generation of Meetings and Conventions. We would like to thank him, and the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC), for setting the scene to this invitation and enabling a proposition which aims to promote the value of meetings and business events to investors.
An invitation
Industry agency, Fred Productions, on the endorsement of JMIC are now inviting industry stakeholders to collaborate in the co-creation, distribution, and funding of a global industry campaign via a new digital platform, and news service, which will create a shared global economy whilst advocating the value of business events to government, business & professional users, and other stakeholders and investors.
The Iceberg and Business Events World create a global shared economy
The platform, The Iceberg, and fortnightly newsletter, Business Events World, will provide the means by which we can mutually deliver a gateway to the global market whilst also hosting and distributing content which illustrates why business events are essential channels for the development of trade, healthcare, and the wider knowledge economy.
JMIC is co-ordinating the creation of academically rigorous case studies demonstrating the contribution that events deliver to sustainable growth
The Fred Production Company offers a commercially agnostic and knowledgeable pair of hands.
Advancing the industry beyond tourism
Advancing the industry beyond tourism
At IMEX Frankfurt, James Latham reported that the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC) was to proceed with the `Value of Meetings Case Study Series`
JMIC have since agreed to endorse the launch and delivery of these campaign deliverables because it is going to be essential that a whole-of-industry effort is mobilised to provide stakeholders, especially at local or city level, with access to communications which support calls for policy and investment – in meetings infrastructure and marketing – upon which our industry depends.
Crowd Funded Collaboration: A shared global economy
By co-creating, distributing, and funding these campaign channels, every participating partner stands to gain global recognition and promotion of their products and services to the mutual audiences of all participating stakeholders and community owners – a truly worldwide network of mutually interested parties.
Each partner can also realise additional traffic, via hyperlinked headlines, direct to relevant pages on their own web sites. Every form of stakeholder therefore stands to benefit;
- Industry associations can extend membership, education, information, and event offers worldwide
- Local or regional industry publishers can extend reach to global inbound markets
- Industry event owners can boost attendance and profile
- Industry practitioners and consultants can promote their services to new public and private sector markets
- Destinations can promote their knowledge hubs and event capabilities to commercial and institutional markets
- Everyone promotes the value of the business events medium to investors
JMIC is collecting and establishing the industry`s value proposition
Commercially agnostic service provider and channels – where content is king
Fred Productions will deliver the collaborative industry campaign on a not-for-profit (NFP) basis.
During the 3-year campaign period, our focus will always remain on delivering content that is compelling to both the business users, and government investors, associated with our industry. Fred Productions will appoint a curating editor whose responsibility will be to filter or refuse editorial content driven by commercial interests – at his/her discretion.
In order to maintain campaign integrity, Fred Productions will require your financial contribution to the operating costs of its delivery.
By crowd-funding, not only can we release pressure from such commercial content/interests, we create a shared economy that delivers the most cost-effective and commercially unfettered route to market with industry advocacy at its core.
We have therefore created a series of Strategic Marketing Partnerships which will enable stakeholders to participate and I would invite you to consider these packages to enable your brand/organisation to join fellow partners inside The Iceberg.
Building broader connections beyond the industry
Fred Productions will oversee the campaign deliverables, the industry collaboration, and channel management on a NFP basis. The company will also work to expand strategic partnerships beyond the industry itself – to attract organisations and media from the broader business, professional, and supra-governmental spectra [such as with the OECD, the BBC, and The Economist].
Subvention from commercial partnerships
Fred Productions will work separately with industry event owners to agree funding terms for video reportage from major industry & partner events. It will also endeavour to secure funding support for the video embellishment of the JMIC Value of Meetings Case Study Series – most likely from the host destinations seeking to illustrate their capabilities and event credentials in key clusters.
Partner responsibilities
All participating partners will provide an annual partnership fee in advance of each year of operation (minimum 2 years). Each partner will also distribute the fortnightly newsletter to their respective communities either;
- Directly by email and social media distribution or
- Via embedded links and visual representation within their own e-newsletter distribution and social media or
- Provide Fred Productions with access to databases for distribution (additional charges apply).
All strategic partners will provide open rates and upload data and social media engagement resulting from their distribution of the fortnightly Business Events World digest.
Strategic Partners will also provide relevant html images and links to publications, events, and educational resources to a timetable which enables the campaign channels to direct readers/viewers to view such materials directly upon the partner web sites in advance of these events, education and information resources.
Commercially agnostic service provider and channels – where content is king
Fred Productions will deliver the collaborative industry campaign on a not-for-profit (NFP) basis.
During the 3-year campaign period, our focus will always remain on delivering content that is compelling to both the business users, and government investors, associated with our industry. Fred Productions will appoint a curating editor whose responsibility will be to filter or refuse editorial content driven by commercial interests – at his/her discretion.
In order to maintain campaign integrity, Fred Productions will require your financial contribution to the operating costs of its delivery.
By crowd-funding, not only can we release pressure from such commercial content/interests, we create a shared economy that delivers the most cost-effective and commercially unfettered route to market with industry advocacy at its core.
We have therefore created a series of Strategic Marketing Partnerships which will enable stakeholders to participate and I would invite you to consider these packages to enable your brand/organisation to join fellow partners inside The Iceberg.
Building broader connections beyond the industry
Fred Productions will oversee the campaign deliverables, the industry collaboration, and channel management on a NFP basis. The company will also work to expand strategic partnerships beyond the industry itself – to attract organisations and media from the broader business, professional, and supra-governmental spectra [such as with the OECD, the BBC, and The Economist].
Subvention from commercial partnerships
Fred Productions will work separately with industry event owners to agree funding terms for video reportage from major industry & partner events. It will also endeavour to secure funding support for the video embellishment of the JMIC Value of Meetings Case Study Series – most likely from the host destinations seeking to illustrate their capabilities and event credentials in key clusters.
Partner responsibilities
All participating partners will provide an annual partnership fee in advance of each year of operation (minimum 2 years). Each partner will also distribute the fortnightly newsletter to their respective communities either;
- Directly by email and social media distribution or
- Via embedded links and visual representation within their own e-newsletter distribution and social media or
- Provide Fred Productions with access to databases for distribution (additional charges apply).
All strategic partners will provide open rates and upload data and social media engagement resulting from their distribution of the fortnightly Business Events World digest.
Strategic Partners will also provide relevant html images and links to publications, events, and educational resources to a timetable which enables the campaign channels to direct readers/viewers to view such materials directly upon the partner web sites in advance of these events, education and information resources.
Start date
This initiative will coincide with JMIC`s `Value of Meetings Case Study Program` and will require a minimum 2-year commitment (including annual payments in advance) by industry and non-industry partners with the option to renew for Year 3.
Therefore the campaign will run from January 8th 2017 – January 7th 2019. Thereafter any continuation of the channels will be subject to an additional call for partnerships.
(*we will go live earlier if industry demands and sufficient funds are secured).
Strategic Marketing Partnerships – JMIC Members and Classes A,B,C
JMIC Members:
All JMIC members will receive identical packages including pre-promotion (3 months) of their respective events and education plus distribution links to their e-newsletters within the fortnightly edition of the Business Events World e-distribution by all strategic partners. Each JMIC member will also receive a dedicated micro-site detailing information/education/event/membership offers to members, non-members and sponsors with links to the relevant pages/sections of their own web sites and contact pages. Each association offer will also be integrated into all Iceberg and Business Events World social media.
– Organisations of less than 500 members: SOLD OUT
– Organisations of 500 – 1000 members: SOLD OUT
– Organisations of more than 1000 members: SOLD OUT
Class A:
As a Strategic Industry Partner (industry publisher and/or event only) of which there are 2 forms;
- Single Channel Partner (1 product/service) @ £3,500 per annum
- Multi-Channel Partner (2+ products/services) @ £4,500 per annum
Includes identical package, per product/service as JMIC members
Class B:
As a ‘Go-To’ Industry Partner;
Recognised Industry Consultancies, Alliances, or Suppliers who deliver value to governments seeking support in developing their growth strategies through business events, or users requiring third party expertise, may feature in a go-to directory of industry partners (includes microsite provision on The Iceberg + annual `spotlight` promotion via Business Events World, links to partner website and resources, access to paid-for C-suite video interviews).
£1750 per annum.
Class C:
As a Strategic Non-Industry Partner which offers valued content or distribution of the JMIC Case Study and Partner offers will be extended to supra-governmental organisations (such as the OECD) and global business media brands such as The Economist and the BBC.
Opportunities for Destinations
The Iceberg will encourage its Founding Partners to narrate the great community and business legacies of events – for participating businesses and institutions, as well as the destinations which host them. Storytelling is a wonderful form of illustration and The Iceberg wants to share stories which illustrate the following event outcomes;
– In knowledge sharing, professional development, healthcare provision, trading exports, collaborative research, inward investment, destination brand development, and talent acquisition
– for corporations and SME`s using face to face communications within their growth strategies
– demonstrating the internationalisation of associations and other institutions using professional events to connect new markets and communities
– illustrating the collaboration (or clustering) of inter-disciplinary communities and professional events across fields of science, technology, medicine, and innovation.
If destinations want to engage in such storytelling, please contact a Founding Publisher or Industry Association, and if destinations want storytelling in video form, then please send a video brief to the Fred Productions team for a subsequent quotation.
A collaborative industry resource centre – are you in or out?
We hope that your organisation/brand will participate as a valued member of the industry community with a shared and mutual interest in the welfare and perceived value of the meetings and business events industry – by governments, corporations, institutions, and professional communities.
If the industry collaborates to demonstrate the value of the outcomes that can be derived from business meetings and events, especially beyond the immediate supply chain impacts, then we can collectively, and locally, encourage investment in the infrastructure and marketing required to sustain our industry.
The industry`s destiny lies in its ability to collect and distribute compelling data (including but beyond tourism) and case studies which encourage government to invest in the required infrastructure and destination marketing.
The cycle of city, state and national leadership is never ending. We must therefore continue to illustrate to government and business and professional users that face to face communications deliver exceptional business and professional results as well as longitudinal legacies which contribute to the growth plan of the corporation or the destination which host them.
Join The Iceberg and Business Events World
I urge you to join this industry movement and to confirm your interest to me before 31st December 2016.
I look forward to working with you on this project, and thank you.
Sincerely,
James Latham
Here are some recent reports this year by James Latham of Fred Productions which illustrate the significance of business and professional events to local economies and their reputation management in key sectors;
- Medical Melbourne (part 1) – why intellectual capital matters
- Medical Melbourne (part 2) – the importance of collaboration
- Why the Convention Bureau & the Economic Development Agency must be friends
- How P3 business event investments are driving Sydney`s access to the Asian economy
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