PREDSEDOVANJE EU 2008 EU Presidency 2008 PREDSTAVITEV ...
PREDSEDOVANJE EU 2008 EU Presidency 2008 PREDSTAVITEV ...
PREDSEDOVANJE EU 2008 EU Presidency 2008 PREDSTAVITEV ...
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Marketing in the Meetings Industry<br />
MICE Marketing:<br />
How to go about it?<br />
'Would you like to be<br />
known as a host of<br />
international meetings,<br />
proudly welcoming<br />
participants from all over<br />
the world to one of the<br />
wonderful Slovenian<br />
meeting venues?' I am<br />
certain that the answer<br />
to this question is clear to<br />
the majority of potential<br />
organisers. Nevertheless,<br />
the question is whether<br />
providers of Slovenian<br />
meeting venues know<br />
how to contact the right<br />
people, at the right time<br />
and in the right way.<br />
Meetings or MICE activities<br />
(Meetings - meetings, Incentives –<br />
incentive travel, Corporates –<br />
business gatherings, Exhibitions –<br />
exhibitions, fairs) cover the<br />
organisation of communications.<br />
Rapid economic development,<br />
the expansion of international<br />
integration, the development of<br />
science and globalisation are key<br />
factors that have actively triggered<br />
a need for rapid information<br />
exchange and a reinforcement<br />
of international relations between<br />
nations and individual business<br />
bodies. The motives and reasons<br />
for meetings vary. They can be<br />
directed towards expansion<br />
of knowledge, the exchange of<br />
experience, the arrangement of<br />
rights and obligations, the shaping<br />
of legislation, the broadening of<br />
political programmes or even<br />
entertainment (Peterlič, 2003).<br />
MICE activities are thus an extraordinarily complex and varied line of<br />
tourism. Due to their rapid growth, profitability and wider economic<br />
effects, they are considered quite attractive. The results are reflected in a<br />
visible and ongoing increase in the scope of offers for meeting capacities<br />
and services in Slovenia, which steps up competition on the one hand and,<br />
on the other, increases the need for co-operation and a joint approach on<br />
the international market.<br />
As an interesting starting point for thought on the possibilities of<br />
marketing MICE activities we could use the results of a study carried<br />
out by CIM magazine in 2004 within the scope of the IMEX meetings<br />
exchange. Among other things, the results show that the majority<br />
(68.46% of 1000 surveyed) of organisers prefer to co-operate with their<br />
chosen partners – namely with validated and verified hotels and with<br />
several agencies, or PCOs. The discovery that 61.54% of the organisers<br />
surveyed will pay a higher price for services following the rule that<br />
“I'd rather choose a location (hotel, meeting venue) that I know and<br />
trust” is also quite interesting. It is not surprising that 78.48% of the<br />
organisers confirmed that, in addition to costs, it is trust and loyalty<br />
that prove to be of key importance (Zidanski, 2005, p. 38).<br />
Three target groups of meeting organisers<br />
Marketing communications with potential congress organisers must<br />
therefore be handled by segment, especially following the principles of<br />
direct marketing, which is based on relationships and personal sales.<br />
The basis of each marketing approach firstly consists of the careful<br />
planning of the target segments, which differ in numerous specific<br />
characteristics, making it necessary to treat them individually and<br />
utilise various approaches. In the MICE industry, we can aid our<br />
endeavours by thematically ranking meeting events, and so we can<br />
Domina Grand Media Hotel<br />
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