Northstar

VIEWPOINT | AROUND THE WORLD Jul-Aug 2016 51 meetings & conventions • mcmag-asia.com W anderlust and a knack for thinking out of the box have been the twin boosters that have led Benjamin Tan, director of Applied MICE, down the trail of the tourism industry. Benjamin honed his skills on the ground when he started as a tour consultant more than 10 years ago. Benjamin has applied his experience in incentive tours, destination tour product planning, meeting and conference requirements and supplier negotiations to value add to his clients' requirements. His love for travelling and a zest for learning led him to set up the company in 2009, which was re-branded in 2013 with a strong MICE focus. He shares with Meetings & Conventions Asia his ideas and experiences on what makes an incentive event successful. What was your most unique experience? Most people may say a unique experience is to swim with sharks, sky dive or to go hot air ballooning, but for me, I define uniqueness by the fact that a group of individuals is able to achieve a common objective while having fun. A great example would be an amazing race that we planned in Bali as a team bonding activity. The result: the delegates enjoyed themselves tremendously and were able to soak up Bali's sights and sounds in a most authentic way. How do you define a successful incentive event? When delegates tell me they look forward to the next incentive trip with Applied MICE and have good reviews of their experience – that is the ultimate compliment. We like to value add to our clients' expectations, so we aim to gain meaningful insights into their preferences and to tailor our activities accordingly. To me, that is a success in itself – to be able to truly understand your clients. I also define success by our ability to meet a client's objectives. What are the trends that you have observed in clients' demands for creating memorable events and meetings? How does Applied MICE meet those demands? It can range from the most basic logistical detail to something that is intangible and subjective. My experience with clients have been the most positive when these criteria are met: ease of registration; personalisation of giveaways; unique experiences that delegates will remember; ability to highlight the client's branding. When it comes to unique experiences, our creative team-building activities always leave delegates talking about it – whether they are Vespa rides in Rome, a stretched Hummer ride in Las Vegas or a Segway city tour in Vienna. We also came up with the "Ultimate Iron Chef " challenge in our Amazing Race event in Bali, which generated immense positive vibes. What are your tips for creating memorable incentive programmes? We have five rules that we follow closely: create an alignment for the meeting of minds; generate ideas that excite; introduce new ways of experiencing familiar destinations; create a sense of camaraderie for delegates to enjoy; and orchestrate events that are memorable. THE AMAZING INCENTIVE RACE The bar continually raises for inventive activities and programmes, and Applied MICE strives to make its mark with creative programmes that meet ROI, shares director Benjamin Tan Words Esther Faith Lew We like to value add to our clients' expectations, so we aim to gain meaningful insights into their preferences and tailor our activities accordingly.

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