The following is a dispatch from Rob Cotter, a frequent One+ contributor, who is attending EIBTM in Barcelona, Spain.
Here are some quick news updates from EIBTM.
GIBTM to Act(e) on Business Travel
Next year’s Gulf Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM)—to be held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center from 26-28 March— is energized because it will be collaborating with the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) in its drive to deliver the quality services and meetings solutions that business travelers demand. To make sure the event is an intense affair, the show format has been altered for 2012, becoming a two-and-a-half day affair rather than the three days of previous years.
Cyprus Raises its Meetings Profile
Not to be overshadowed by Malta’s emergence on the meetings industry scene with their new CVB announced at this year’s EIBTM, Cyprus has also launched its own Cyprus Convention Bureau as part of the Cyprus Tourist Organization. With a lot to offer on this westerly Mediterranean isle and a lot of benefits to be had for private business, the venture is to be managed by a CTO-chaired steering committee that will involve private sector stakeholders in its decision making. Looks like a Homeric Odyssey of meeting industry competition on the Mediterranean horizon.
Vancouver’s Digital Excellence
When you brand yourself as an "Inspiration Center," there has to be the walk behind the talk. So it is with the Vancouver Convention Center (VCC), which in an inspired move has developed two ads of their digital advertising campaign that transform user comments into a promotional drive. Benefitting from the wealth of material available in cyberspace, the VCC tapped into the stream of tweets on the venue to build their first ad, called "Tweetamonials." The second ad gives you a range of interactive online doors, behind which you’ll find images of the center’s meeting rooms and the great views they offer. This one works under the banner "There’s an inspiring space behind every door."
The reward for all this inspiration? Gold Prize at this year’s Meeting Industry Marketing Awards. Definitely inspired.
—Rob Cotter