Yesterday we convened an urgent conference call of all of our global chapter leaders to update them on action plans for the current economic and political crisis gripping our community and our industry, and implore their help activating you, our members. While much of the political crisis is currently contained to the United States, ours is a global industry and as history has shown, issues affecting one part of our community can spread quickly, necessitating a powerful and synchronized response.
Uninformed rhetoric continues to attack our industry, creating the specter of further regulation and fuelling a media frenzy that finds businesses and meeting professionals being stalked by a new form of paparazzi – paralyzing our businesses, inhibiting economic recovery and hurting every community in which we have members.
We have aligned our US crisis response and actions with a coalition lead by the United States Travel Association that includes our industry association peers as well as all the major lodging and meeting/travel service companies. While the coalition efforts are getting increasing media coverage as well as legislative recognition, the carnage continues with ongoing cancellation of meetings and events. An excellent overview of the issues can be viewed here... http://meetingsreview.com/news/view/10150.
In conjunction with the USTA-led coalition, we are activating our most powerful channel -- our 70 chapters and clubs -- to send a message to legislators, the media and to the public in communities everywhere that the mischaracterization of meetings and events hurts communities and businesses on main streets everywhere at a time when they can afford it the least.
We have asked your chapter leaders to mobilize our members at the community level to write and tell local, state and federal representatives that their rhetoric is costing jobs, resulting in a loss of tax revenues that support government programs on main street, in schools, in community centers and in homeless shelters.
We have also asked chapter leaders to reach out to local media, to local arts councils and sports organizations to tell the story of how lost community revenues from meeting and event cancellations will hurt them...and that we need them to send similar messages.
MPI, working with the USTA-led coalition, will provide updated letter templates, relevant key message points and presentation materials to share with members and communities everywhere. You can access these resources at www.meetingindustrycrisiscenter.org. They will be refreshed regularly. Our chapter business managers will also work directly with our chapter leaders to support the outreach. We will also work with our partners to send a powerful business message through a number of platforms that in the current economic crisis, meetings and events are a powerful business weapon to build results and performance, not a frivolous expense.
We are also not alone. Later this week, the USTA-led coalition will launch a national campaign called “Meetings Mean Business” (www.meetingsmeanbusiness.com) which will give a further voice to the businesses and people who are suffering as a result of the demonization of meetings and events. It will include a powerful public relations initiative, paid advertising, additional web resources and will require support from local organizations like convention and visitors bureaus and also MPI chapters to tell the story that the faces of this crisis that matter the most are the ones found in local communities like yours.
We have also asked our chapter leaders in Canada and Europe to become familiar with the US crisis elements and activate similar meeting and event industry messaging in their communities as a pre-emptive measure to guard against similar reputation assault.
Bottom-line, you are the key. We need you to listen to your chapter leaders and write your legislators, become familiar with the key talking points and share them with your employees, clients, neighbors, and any others who will help.
Our businesses and profession are under attack and its time for MPI to ignite the energy of our 24,000 members to send a message that meetings and events are not the problem, they are part of the solution. Together with our partners and industry-peer organizations we will make a difference.