Northstar

Event Feature IAPCO 27 JAN-FEB 2019 MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS MCMAG-ASIA.COM Above: Attendees at the IAPCO in Macau B randing, event planning trends and event design came under the spotlight at the IAPCO Bespoke Seminar held at the Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel, Cotai Central, in December 2018. The event is jointly organised by Macau Meetings Incentives and Special Events Association (MISE) and supported by IPIM (Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute). The three-day interactive workshop event was headlined by presenters Oscar Cerezales, COO at MCI Asia-Pacic, Patrick Delaney, managing partner at SoolNua, and Kim Myhre, managing director at MCI Experience, who presented to an audience of Macau- based DMCs, DOCs as well as MICE stakeholders. Event planning has been going through an evolution, said Cerezales. "When corporations create an event, it's a brand story about who they are as a company. Your brand company and success is also locked into the destination brand. When you align to that destination, you must make sure it resonates with your customer." DMCs need to sell the ways in which Macau, the brand, can enhance client brands, align customers and motivate sta. While hotels and logistics are still important, organisers are increasingly looking to expertise and green credentials. Furthermore, considering the dearth of knowledge of Macau in Europe, the city needs to market its MICE strengths more aggressively than ever before. Moving into position Delaney conrmed that not only are events getting smaller, events held in established capital cities are also increasingly challenged when it comes to security and value for money, leaving The power of destination branding and rise of smaller destinations spells a bright future for Macau's MICE industry. WORDS CATHARINE NICOL IAPCO seminar in Macau brings global expertise to the city's MICE professionals room for smaller destinations like Macau. To that end, Macau is already working to attract association events, Cerezales conrming, "When you have the best experts in the world sharing their knowledge with locals, linked with the direct foreign investment the event creates, it is clear MICE is not just in the tourism business but also the economic development business." He also mentioned RISE 2019, the largest tech conference in Asia coming to Hong Kong, Slush in Shanghai and TED events as names that can help put the city on the map. Bringing the community together Once the right events are attracted, community is key. "All industries are obsessed about creating, growing, engaging, replicating and monetising communities," said Cerezales. "And the most powerful tool today is tracking, to know what that community is thinking, feeling and doing." Myhre took delegates through event design, emphasising that alongside branding and community, it is immersive, engaging and sharable events that are currently on trend. Overall he commented, "I was very impressed with the knowledge and enthusiasm of the MICE community in Macau. They seemed to believe in the destination passionately, but also are aware of some of the challenges. I hope that we inspired them to think of themselves as experience designers rather than event planners."

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