IMEX Association Day 2011 set up a strong start to a business-focused week with a record number of association meeting planners from across Europe and the rest of the world taking part.
The day’s education programme had been planned to address the key issues currently facing association meetings and events buyers, both in their professional development and in every day operational responsibilities.
This year, as economic pressures have played out in different parts of the world and changes such as the growth of social media have fundamentally shifted the way in which associations communicate with their members, the day’s programme had been tailored to find fresh answers to these issues.
Delegates participated in a series of cutting-edge sessions and round table debates led by experts.
Dan Rivlin, managing director of Kenes Group led a session ‘Gathering thinkers and doers from the world of scientific meetings’.
The extraordinary impact of social media and developments such as phone apps, which one delegate commented ‘sounded like a completely alien language just a few years ago’, were covered in a debate led by Michael Priem, CEO, USDM.net. Priem made the point that there is a strong desire to know and understand more about social media and the world of smartphones but many associations, like many other businesses, are still struggling to find the right resources and to understand the true benefit of social media and how it applies to their vision and values.
As he explained: “There’s a revolution happening in event marketing and management, a shift that is accelerating technological development at an incredible rate and truly shaking up the traditional way in which we promote and organise meetings. We need to look beyond what we are all doing today and try to anticipate what lies ahead so that we can adopt the best tools and techniques. This is easier said than done.”
The day’s programme was rounded off by Rohit Talwar, CEO of Fast Future Research, who talked about the findings from the next stages of his company’s Imex co-sponsored Convention 2020 study. Talwar’s presentation looked closely at the new dynamics of the global marketplace for conventions and also gave case study examples of how associations and event owners are constantly innovating and pushing the boundaries of meeting and event design in order to satisfy rapidly changing economic, demographic, professional and technological demands.