We've reached the next step in the Business Value of Meetings research initiative, known as BVOM. Just last week, during EIBTM in Barcelona, we introduced the BVOM toolbox to the industry and we’re excited about the reception so far!

The toolbox is a collection of resources findings that are intended to help professionals overcome the five barriers to measurement and reporting implementation. The five initial whitepapers serve as the foundation for the toolbox, which is an ever-growing resource for planners and suppliers. Each piece is dynamic and delivers key takeaways that guide BVOM practices.

MPI will continue adding toolbox pieces, such as instructional videos, glossaries, case studies and more, beginning this month. Members will have unlimited access to each tool as part of their investment with MPI; non-members professionals are able to purchase.

As you familiarize yourself with the new BVOM toolbox resources, reading and learning from the whitepapers, which of the takeaways given are you looking forward to implementing? 

Our association is built upon great people who want to succeed, and we want to support them.  I think one of the best ways our team here at HQ does this is through our continued production of great research and reports that are timely and help savvy pros navigate some pretty tough water through this recession.

I'm a big fan of the Business Barometer and chose this post to highlight some of the findings from this bi-monthly report's latest edition (August).  As our economies merge on a global landscape there is relevant data in here for all members, regardless of their geographic location or side of the business.  But for my purposes here, I've pulled out some key points both by geography and sector.

Taking a hard look at the US and North America, Business Barometer found:

•    Continued global economic uncertainty. Professionals labeled the global economy, along with U.S. Congress and the domestic economy as the most influential trends on the industry.
•    Nearly 10% decrease in concern about U.S. fuel and airfare increases; concerns around long-distance travel remains.
•    The number of companies hiring full-time and contract workers continues a 14-month continued growth.

Within the European Market some key indicators included:
•    Global economic uncertainty continues to concern meeting and event professionals.
•    The EU is reporting increased part-time employment (in the industry).
•    The greatest increases in meeting and events are in the areas of domestic and international corporate.

Hoteliers and other suppliers within the hospitality sector should consider:
•    Attendance levels at meetings and events is consistently higher than 2010.
•    Spending per meeting continues a steady, albeit, slight growth.
•    In the US, the greatest event increase is in the domestic corporate and association segment; for Europe the domestic and international corporate segments continue to grow.

Download the current edition now.

Tell us how you use your Barometer below.

Note: Immediate access to this research is a valued benefit of MPI Membership, and MPIWeb Connect users have access to previous editions on a two-month delay.  All other industry professionals may purchase the research either in an annual subscription or per issue.

When I start to write anything for Engage of course I have something at MPI I want to tell our readers about, so I always have a topic in mind.  But I'm a very visual person, and to kick start my storytelling I like to have an image that represents the topic.  While searching for an image to represent the latest edition of FutureWatch I came across the image above - a dictionary entry.

It reminded me of my 7th grade student council campaign speech that - like every other candidate's speech that day - started with a quote from Merriam Webster's Dictionary that defined some aspirational word we had chosen to represent ourselves.  So, even at the risk of sounding like an aspiring young student council candidate, I think the definition of "future" I found today is worth quoting to kick off this post.

Future - an expectation of advancement or progressive development (thank you Merriam)

That really is what the newly redesigned and evolved FutureWatch study is all about - defining the expectations that meeting professionals have around the advancement and progressive development of our industry. 

In collaboration with Association Insights who conducts the research and compiles the data, our team here at MPI decided to take a new approach to FutureWatch this year.  While the study still provides hard data on the predictive direction of business in the year ahead, it now provides more insight into the "Why". 

By utilizing real answers from real research participants in interview excerpts, readers can now gain insight into the deeper details behind the numbers.  Additionally, the new format breaks out the critical data on major trends that indicate meetings are going to get smarter and be more strategic. The study also breaks out trends in enhancing supplier and planner relationships and a provides separate section on technology trends. 

I also think the team did a great job at connecting the dots from the trends back to applicable tools that are available through MPI that can actually help readers take this data and do something about it.  For example, one of the top trends identified is that SMM is now critical, not optional.  So in addition to outlining what respondents say, the report then provides additional links to webinars that provide guidance on how to get an SMM program started.

In this new edition of FutureWatch you'll not only find predictions on advancements- but also tools for how to progressively develop skills to adapt to them.  I'm really hoping that savvy speakers out there will dig into FutureWatch and develop new presentations around these progressive and trending topics.  And smart suppliers or destinations (both big and small) can really dive in and get inside the modern planner's head when it comes to decision making.  Anyone in the tech sector who wants to break into the meeting and event industry should also be turning a critical eye to the statistical data on technology integration into face-to-face meetings (i.e. 72% of planners anticipate digital event strategies).

So if all of this has piqued your interest and you'd like to learn more about the study (of course you do), I'm going to encourage you to spend some time with Bill Vogelei in a webinar on Jan. 19.  You can find out how to register here.

Our team here at MPI and Engage would love to hear how you've used data from FutureWatch or other MPI research to conduct business in a smarter or more strategic way.  What have you done?