INCON EXPERT ARTICLES

UX analysis of websites - how well are congress websites positioned?

By Evi Steinhaus, UX Designer at CPO HANSER SERVICE

For a successful congress it is essential to have an attractive, user-friendly web presence and therefore our recommendation is to undertake a UX analysis…

Mitigating against Inflationary effects on International Meetings

By Angela Guillemet, INCON Executive Director

Today, global demand exceeds global supply, putting persistent upward pressure on prices in countries worldwide. This rising inflation is impacting international meetings in a variety of ways…

Why KPIs Are Key to Virtual and Hybrid Events

By Alexis Bauer-Kolak, Education Manager at Smithbucklin

During INCON's learning month, Alexis Bauer-Kolak, Education Manager at our partner Smithbucklin shared her expertise on the importance of determining Event KPIs for virtual and hybrid meetings…

The impacts of Social Media: Planning and Executing a Congress

By Iman Leanora Gähwiler, Marketing Manager at CPO HANSER SERVICE

Whether it is Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter – social media has become a significant part of our daily lives. Not only do these platforms update us about current affairs, but in some instances they act as personal blogs or simply enable companies to gain valuable insights into their customer behavior…

Carbon Neutral Events – Where do you start?

By Nicole Walker, CEO, Arinex

Nicole Walker, CEO of Arinex, identifies and discusses the 8 steps to consider when making your event carbon neutral…

Why DCOs are in high demand

By Nicole Walker, CEO, Arinex

As virtual and hybrid events continue to grow in size and frequency, Arinex CEO Nicole Walker sheds some insight on the expert teams who deliver these events, Digital Conference Organisers (DCOs), and answers some common questions…

The role of the Conference Organiser in Hybrid and Virtual Congresses

By Hermann Hanser, CEO, CPO Hanser Service

Congresses in the future will have to be planned differently due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It is foreseeable that regular physical congresses will not generate the same number of participants as before…

How to cancel or postpone a congress with grace?

By Annelie Schönfeld, Senior Project Manager, CPO Hanser Service

In recent weeks it has become a bit quiet around our congresses and events, because COVID-19 had a firm grip on not only us, but also on the entire event industry. We were faced with the challenge to decide whether to postpone or cancel events within a short period of time and without much prior notice…

How to create social distancing at conferences

By Anat Regev Business Development Manager at ORTRA & Galit Shimshoni VP Marketing and Sales at ORTRA

In-person conferences and events are known for creating immediate engagement, and offer incomparable opportunities for participants, companies, associations, and stakeholders to generate connections and create business opportunities…

What kind of health screening measures are keeping events safe in China

By Lisa Xu, Managing Director, East Star

The Hunan Autoshow took place from 30 April-5 May 2020 and attracted more than 62,000 attendees, with an exhibition area of 60,000sqm, over 100 exhibitors and 600 car displays. Specific health measures were put in place for all staff and participants…

How the event industry in China is embracing the new normal

By Lisa Xu, Managing Director, East Star

Pandemic restrictions have been lifted in China and events and economic activities are recovering. East Star, INCON’s partner in China, has been at the eye of the storm. In this article, Lisa Xu shares her perspectives about experiencing the first green shoots for her business and the return to organizing meetings and events in her country…

The key to creativity in times of crisis

By Maryjose Zorrilla, Creative Senior of BTC

I’m at my kitchen table, adapted into a surprisingly functional workspace. I'm at my New Normal COVID-19 outbreak has given rise to incredible worldwide challenges encompassing economy, business and even people’s daily lives…

How to Attract Sponsors to Virtual Events and Beyond?

By Angela Guillemet, Executive Director of INCON

As events pivot online and many, many have been postponed or cancelled, we need to convince sponsors to support new event formats and also to explore longer-term sponsorship opportunities…

How Can VR Help Us Create Engaging Virtual Meetings?

By Mariana Peñaloza, Project Event Manager - Conferences of BTC

Due to Covid-19, #pivottovirtual is becoming our new trend in the meetings industry. However, people feel that the amount of interest in this new virtual meeting platform is different compared with on-site ones. In short, we think it’s boring compared with face-to-face meetings. On the other hand, virtual has some positive points…

How Can VR Help Us Create Engaging Virtual Meetings?

By Shizuka Higashikawa, Meetings Industry Research Institute, Japan Convention Services, Inc.

Due to Covid-19, #pivottovirtual is becoming our new trend in the meetings industry. However, people feel that the amount of interest in this new virtual meeting platform is different compared with on-site ones. In short, we think it’s boring compared with face-to-face meetings. On the other hand, virtual has some positive points…

41 Benefits of Live Streaming Your Event

By Nicole Walker, Arinex

Virtual live streaming of events has become commonplace due to the global COVID-19 crisis. However virtual and hybrid events have many benefits both now and in the long term. This extensive list from our partner Arinex, explores the advantages of going virtual…

How To Make Your Event Attractive For Millennials

Here they are… the young professionals scrolling through their social media feeds while waiting to check in for an event. “Lazy,” “entitled,” “avocado toast lovers” - this is how the media often portrays millennials. What an anomaly! This generation is super well educated, curious, tech savvy and demanding.

Festivalisation: The Future of Association Events is Bright!

By Antonio Novaes

Associations were once the exclusive provider of content, offering unique services and networking opportunities to their communities. But times have changed! Associations are now adapting and rethinking their value proposition to differentiate themselves from an extremely competitive environment…

Mastering the Algorithm of Meaningful Exhibitions

By Kristofer Herlitz

A successful exhibition starts with flawless design and seamless management. But the logistics themselves aren’t enough. Empowering exhibitors, sponsors and attendees to engage in relevant interactions is paramount to driving value and quality results…

How to Choose the Best Speaker for an Event

By Nick Gold

Successful events deliver unique, memorable experiences for event attendees, often with key, practical lessons which can be applied either at work or at home. INCON worked with Speakers Corner to deliver a new Executive Education session for the INCON leadership in May this year…

5 Point Plan for Destination Resilience

By Ilanit Melchior

International tourism and conferences are significant contributors to economic growth and development. In fact the growth in the number of people attending events and meetings internationally has even outpaced national income growth in recent years…

Destinations and International Congresses: The Importance of an Effective Partnership

By INCON Group

From November 16-18, INCON, the partnership of leading event organizers were welcomed to St Petersburg by ExpoForum, Belmond Grand Hotel Europe and local DMC Russian Rhapsody. During the meeting the partners had an opportunity to explore the excellent facilities that the city has to offer and and debate relevant topics of importance to the industry…

10 Insights for Engaging Millennials in Education Programs

By Holly Amatangelo

International tourism and conferences are significant contributors to economic growth and development. In fact the growth in the number of people attending events and meetings internationally has even outpaced national income growth in recent years…

5 Ways to Gain the Most Traction from an Event Hashtag

By Anat Landa

Any conference that wants to truly distinguish itself should learn how to leverage the power of an event hashtag. Especially on Twitter, but Instagram as well, people share content before, during and after the conference. Any of the content that includes the hashtag can then be used for future market research, audience engagement, or content articles. Here are five ways to get the most out of the event hashtag.

Digital Marketing Strategies to Boost Institutional Growth & Congress Attendance

By Robin Lokerman

Digital technology has a significant impact on the way we behave and interact on a personal level, but also on the ways we do business nowadays. In the event industry, while traditional methods of promoting congresses, meetings and incentives are still widely used, emerging digital technologies and practices have proven themselves as powerful tools to boost attendance and increase organisational growth

Shift in Emphasis on Digital Infrastructure

By Daniel Branik

Greater international competition, higher client demands and continual strong technology growth is seeing many convention centres significantly investing in their digital infrastructure to provide delegates with a better meetings experience.

Social Media Opportunities for Events and Conferences

By Emma Aru

Social media has changed the approach to conference management for all involved: the PCO, the delegates, the sponsors and the speakers.

Since social media is fast and immediate, it is also having an impact on the content of meetings...

Celebrity Chefs Cooking up Great Events

By Patrizia Buongiorno

The gastronomic culture of a country has always been an expression of its cultural identity. In recent years, the spread of a renewed interest in food has changed our approach to dining: we want to know the origin of the ingredients, how they are prepared as well as who has prepared them.

Rethink, Redesign, Re-energize!

By Carol McGury

Due to heightened competition in the event marketplace, it is critical for organizations to annually rethink their congress strategies and redesign their educational programs and exhibitions to drive attendee experience. This re-invention helps organizations re-energize attendees, exhibitors and sponsors every year…

CSR & Building Meetings that Leave a Positive Legacy

By Patrizia Buongiorno

Leaving a legacy is great. It is something that lasts, that brings emotion and improves lives. With increased globalization, our society faces a dramatic increase in population, demographic changes and a growing social divide…

The Impact of Public Relations on Conference Organisation Case study: SEOUL ICM 2014

By Dohyun Kim

MECI managed the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in Seoul in 2014. From the outset MECI advised the organizing committee to retain a dedicated PR firm. However this was not to be and thus MECI put in place a fully-fledged PR campaign alongside their PCO mandate…

The European Pharma Code and its impact on Global Medical Meetings

By Simon Dufaur

The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries (EFPIA) has agreed a new Disclosure Code which is now impacting the way the pharmaceutical industry interacts with healthcare organisations (HCOs) and individual healthcare professionals (HCPs)…

Mitigating Risk at Events and Conferences

By Michael Kern

When we talk about Risk Management for Events and Conferences, we need to explore a broad range of potential risks that threaten venues, attendees, suppliers and the organizer. Risks threaten life, health or security, but also property and finance. Depending on the size of the event planned, you might even consider retaining a specialist in Risk and Disaster Management to address possible risks…

The changing nature of sponsorship

By INCON University 2014 Participants

Faced with experiences managing the sponsorship of conferences on 4 continents, an international working group of INCON Partners have concluded that the nature of sponsorship and exhibition is radically changing…

Do you have the right strategy for your international meeting?

By Robin Lokerman

As associations continue to expand and grow globally, meetings become a key strategy for organisations to open and penetrate international markets, especially the emerging ones which show a huge thirst for latest content offered through multiple products and services…

VAT and the PCO

By Oumar Counta
Director of BC&A Tax advisers

Value Added Tax (VAT) is a tax that is implemented in many countries around the world. In principle VAT should always be refundable to companies; most of the VAT incurred on business expenses linked to organizing an event is refundable. In countries outside the EU this tax is also known as Goods and Services Tax (GST)…

Hotel Procurement Practices

By Shaun Casey
Regional Director EMEA
Pacific World

There has been much discussion around the best practices in hotel procurement for international congresses. Clearly there is significant value for the delegate to be able to book accommodation whilst completing the online registration. For the association, the inclusion of the housing component in the overall offering assures better control. So why is it so hard to get it right?…

Promoting & leveraging meeting content

By Robin Lockerman
President Asia Pacific and Chief Executive Officer
MCI Group

Tight budgets and growing competition are prompting associations to squeeze extra value out of their conferences. Web-based libraries of digitised abstracts and recorded sessions are dramatic value enhancers for members. But they yield many other benefits too…

Drivers of Change in the Meetings Industry

By Patrizia Semprebene Buongiorno
Vice-President
AIM Group International

Key drivers of change in the business environment are fluctuating economies, political pressures and environmental and social aspects. Each business segment has its own specific levers and industry trends that drive change. There are those organisations that stagnate when faced with the challenge of change while others prosper…

How to stay competitive when bidding

By Bannie Kim
President & CEO
MECI

Conference bidding today pitches destinations against one other in competition that might be described as an economic battle, a contest of competitive strategy to outsmart one other with the aim of winning the conference prize…

Why Associations are being challenged to find new revenue streams

By Gary Schirmacher, CMP
Senior Vice-President, Strategic Account Services
Experient

The fluctuating world economy is putting more pressure than ever on associations to find new and creative ways of generating revenue. Declining membership and flat attendance at meetings are real issues that associations have to address…

Building Successful Associations

By Guy Bigwood
Sustainability Director
MCI Group

In a recent survey* conducted by Accenture for the United Nations, 93% of corporate CEOs interviewed said that sustainability is ‘critical to their future success’. Sustainability is a broad concept that includes governance, ethics and anticorruption, human rights, diversity, financial viability and many more issues that go far beyond the traditional concept of ‘green’…

Riding the Digital Content Wave: Web 2.0 Technology as a revenue stream for associations

By Inge Hanser
Managing Director
CPO HANSER Service GmbH

In times of high economic volatility, associations strive for new ways to strengthen their field of specialty, offer state-of-the-art services to their members and seek out new long-term and future proof income opportunities. But while the traditional congress-centric revenue models of delegate participation fees, sponsorship and exhibition income can be incrementally optimised and increased through smart strategic operation in collaboration with a PCO, they also represent a fundamental barrier of growth…

Social Media - Joining the conversation

By Basak Gurbuz
Project Leader
Serenas Group

Our ways of communication have changed. Today there are powerful communication tools at our disposal which make it possible to reach an audience greater than we can ever imagine. Thanks to social media the world is getting smaller and it is easier than ever to spread a message, share thoughts and make meaningful connections…

Successful Conference Marketing

By Robin Lockerman
President Asia Pacific and Chief Executive Officer
MCI Group

Planning and delivering a conference involves many thousands of person hours but even the most impeccably organised event can fail to achieve the anticipated numbers of fee paying delegates. Inevitably this reflects a weakness in the area of event promotion.

How can this be addressed and what are the key elements in successful conference marketing?…

Leveraging the PCO – Supplier Relationship

By Emma Aru
President and Founder
ega professional conference organisers

How can a Professional Conference Organiser (PCO) develop long term relationships with conference and event suppliers? How do suppliers react to changes in the economic climate? What are the key challenges a PCO faces with supplier contracts? How can PCOs and suppliers successfully align themselves to achieve meaningful benefits for the client?…

Leveraging IT in the Meeting and Convention Industry

By Bannie Kim
President & CEO
MECI

Across the world today, ubiquitous and digital information based technologies are becoming an increasing part of our lives. As their application becomes more widespread across society in general, so too does their impact on the meeting industry. Harnessing the latest in cutting edge technology has improved efficiency in conference administration including registration processes and session room operation, often with cost effective and environmentally friendly implications.…

Working with clients and managing their expectations

By Edwina Stevens and Joanne Tovey
Project Managers
Arinex

Establishing strong relationships with clients is key for a Professional Conference Organiser (PCO) to achieve success and the Project Manager is the face of the PCO.

It is crucial in the initial stage for the Project Manager to receive a thorough briefing on the background of the client event in the handover from the sales team. The first meeting agenda should allow for discussion of the financial and non-financial objectives, marketing and sponsorship targets and the delegate profile…

How to develop successful web marketing campaigns

By Anastasia Vatsika
Managing Director
AC&C International S.A

In-depth knowledge and understanding of a congress market is key to developing a successful marketing strategy. Defining the key target audience, monitoring competition and setting clear objectives will always be the first step. As competition in the marketplace intensifies, communicating your message to this target audience can no longer be taken for granted. The “Information Boom” has seen a dramatic growth in the use of web campaigns and social networks as a low-cost, far-reaching alternative to the traditional marketing campaign…

Creating a high quality Scientific Programme

By Roslyn McLeod
Managing Director
Arinex

The key to developing a high quality scientific programme comes with forward planning and in-depth knowledge/expertise of the industry. This can be done in different ways but the most common would be via a scientific program committee who are a compilation of international experts or a local appointed from the host country or nearby region or in some cases a retained expert paid to research and capture the most up to date science…

Delivering your bottom line – optimising budget and expense control by partnering with a PCO

By Robin Lockerman
President Asia Pacific and Chief Executive Officer
MCI Group

As the world moves into a cycle of economic uncertainty, issues around budget and expense control will increasingly concern Associations and Conference Organising Committees. And rightly so – most Associations are “not-for-profit” entities and do not necessarily possess the “war chest” of financial resources that many commercial entities typically retain to sustain them in times of economic downturn. However, help is at hand – this is the specific area where a Professional Conference Organiser (PCO) can perhaps contribute most value, despite the perception that engaging such services actually adds to the bottom line!...

Creating high quality Social Programmes

By Bob Guy
Regional Managing Director
Pacific World

A high quality social programme is the result of much planning and input from the DMC / Events department of the PCO and the Organising Committee (OC). An understanding of both the conference destination and local culture combined with an insight into likely delegate preferences will play a seminal role in guaranteeing the success of this vital aspect of the overall conference. The OC

provides a vital insight into the demographics and likes and dislikes of the delegates and often the history of the social program at previous conferences. The DMC / Special Events Manager brings the expertise and logistical management that provide the seamless organisation with particular attention to the hundreds of details that make it seem like an easy task...

Driving-Up Conference Revenues

By Roslyn McLeod
Managing Director
Arinex

Driving-up conference revenues is ’must do for a PCO’ in today’s environment where the bottom line is continually scrutinised and conference budgets examined.

A conference can maximise its potential receipts / earnings capacity, by aligning itself with other organisations / products / associations keen to ‘buy-into’ the themes and opportunities that a specific conference offers. A key priority for a Professional Conference Organiser (PCO) is to accrue maximum conference revenues through sponsorship, exhibitions sales and delegate promotions…

How to select a winning destination for your International event

By Inge Hanser
Managing Director
CPO HANSER Service GmbH

Choosing the right destination is the basis of a successful event as it provides the platform upon which congress and meeting goals and objectives can be built. Selecting the right destination means identifying a geographic region that is appealing, accessible and affordable as this “trio” will, ultimately, drive delegate numbers...