cim december 2014/january 2015 issue

APR

IL 2014

WA diversifies Sell TNQ dazzles Brisbane’s G20 legacy

High fiveNew MICE Noosa collaboration

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www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2014/January 2015 3

CONTENTS

On the coverAn innovative collaboration between five venues in Noosa is set to see the Sunshine Coast’s favourite destination become an even greater drawcard for business events.

APR

IL 2014

Delegates in the driving seat

Adelaide’s space race Thailand bounces back

Looking to the future

National Convention Centre Canberra

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NOV 2014

CIM1114.indd 1 4/11/2014 10:07 am

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Don’t miss

Look out for these topical news-based video stories on our website, www.cimmagazine.com, and in the CIM iPad app, to delve deeper into the issues behind the print stories.

REGULARS04 Publisher’s note

06 News

08 New Zealand news

10 International news

13 Q&A Cheryl Cecchetto, Sequoia Productions

34 Venue update

36 Talking Point Chris Buckley, Touchpoint

Meeting Services

37 Meeting people

38 PCO Association

FEATURES12 Cover story New MICE Noosa collaboration

14 Policy The quest for international events

16 Western Australia Building for a brighter future

20 G20 Brisbane steps up to the plate

24 SellTNQ All the action from TNQ’s annual famil

26 Seoul An emerging powerhouse

28 Australian Event Awards Celebrating diversity in the events sector

30 AIME What’s new in 2015

32 Event report Hurricane Event Group’s

MasterWine Challenge

26

24

20

4 Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2014/January 2015 www.cimmagazine.com

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and wonderful New Year celebrations. If you are anything like my family you ate too much,

drank too much and napped a lot!

It seems like the holiday period just flies past and before you know it you are back at work and into the routine again.

2014 was a big year with lots of changes, new developments and, sadly, some events that took us all by surprise, from natural disasters to plane crashes and political instability. All things that have an effect on our industry, either directly or indirectly.

Unexpected events aside, I am looking forward to what 2015 brings us. With increased government support for the industry, ground-

breaking new infrastructure being built, rapidly changing technology and new projects on the horizon, I think we are in for a busy and exciting year.

I also look forward to seeing you all in 2015. In the meantime, I want to leave you with the words of Albert Einstein:

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."

CIM experienced the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Brisbane firsthand, witnessing the ease which the city not only stepped up to the plate, but set the bar for future host cities of the world’s largest economic forum. To find out more, see page 20.

THIS MONTH’S TOP STORY

PUBLISHER’S WORD

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Looking forward to 2015

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Good as gold for Cairns Convention Centre Cairns Convention Centre has topped off a successful year by winning the Business Tourism Gold Award at

the 2014 Queensland Tourism Awards. The Centre also won the AIPC (International Association of Congress Centres) APEX Award for World’s Best Congress Centre earlier this year.

PCB encourages applicants to Aspire The Perth Convention Bureau’s (PCB) 2015 Aspire Awards are now open to academics and not for profit associations

with a deadline of March 31, 2015. To assist potential applicants, PCB and Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre will be hosting a complimentary workshop over lunch on February 6, 2015.

ACC festival joins ‘Hall of Fame’ The Cellar Door Wine Festival Adelaide has been inducted into the South Australian Tourism Awards Hall of Fame, after winning

the Festival and Events award for three consecutive years. Conceived by the Adelaide Convention Centre, the festival is the largest consumer wine event in the country.

Business Events Victoria joins AACBBusiness Events Victoria (BEV) has become a member of the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux (AACB), joining 14

convention bureaux from across the country. “Joining AACB highlights BEV's vision for quality and reassures clients that they are dealing with a professional bureau,” said Chris Porter, BEV's executive officer.

Voyages wins for Uluru Meeting Place Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia’s Uluru Meeting Place has won the Business Tourism Award in the Northern Territory’s

Brolga Awards, as well as the award for Indigenous Tourism. The Business Tourism Award recognises not only the superior facilities available at Uluru Meeting Place but also team building activities.

NEWS BRIEFS

The multi-million expansion of the Adelaide Convention Centre (ACC) is one step closer to completion, with the handover of the first phase of the new West Building in early December.

The handover included the Panorama Ballroom, which can cater for up to 600 for a gala dinner and 1000 for a meeting or conference, and the new Riverbank meeting rooms.

The first client event is set to be held in the new West Building on January 8, however ACC chief executive Alec Gilbert said the building is on track for an official launch in March 2015.

“The phased handover will see us take possession of the central and southern parts of the West Building in the first two months of next year,” he said.

“These sections include the new Western

entrance with its dedicated taxi and coach drop off points and Halls LMNO.

“The multi-functional Halls can be sub-divided into six different configurations and retractable lighting grids allow ceiling heights to be adjusted and shaped for each event.

“A movable plenary facility can seat up to 1000 and can be moved to various locations within the Halls, with total capacity of up to 5500 guests.”

Work on the East Building, the second stage of the redevelopment, which replaces the existing Plenary Building, is already underway. The multi-purpose facility will have plenary capacity of up to 3500 seats and is scheduled for completion in mid-2017.

To introduce event organisers to the new space, the Centre has released a behind the scenes video of the West Building as final construction work is undertaken.

ACC nears completion

Port Douglas Incentives rebrandsPort Douglas Incentives has been rebranded Business Events Port Douglas (BEPD), as part of the region’s effort to further drive growth and opportunities in the conference and incentive market.

Natalie Johnson, chair of BEPD, said it was the right time to relaunch the organisation, given strong interest in the region from the sector.

“When Port Douglas Incentives was formed in 1996 our target market was very different,” she said. “The majority of

business to the Port Douglas and Daintree region at that time was from North America and was pure incentive.

“Today, the mix of business events to the destination is very different. The majority of events are domestic corporate conferences, followed by international incentives.

“The new name of the organisation reflects the change in this mix and becomes more inclusive and attractive to both professional conference organisers and incentive houses.”

Watch the video in the CIM iPad app.


Tony Fung, chairman of the Aquis Group, has sent an open letter to the Cairns community after plans to build a $8.15 billion 6-star casino and resort with convention and exhibition facilities near Cairns were put on hold amid regulatory delays.

The plans were halted after news broke that Queensland’s Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation was unable to make a decision regarding granting regulatory approval for the takeover of the Reef Casino Trust (RCT), which owns the Reef Hotel Casino complex in Cairns, by the November 28 deadline.

Fung thanked the Cairns community, saying that the high level of support the proposed resort has gained locally had brought him “tremendous satisfaction and galvanised my commitment to one day deliver Aquis for Cairns”.

He went on to say that while the offer for the Reef Hotel Casino was “likely to be

unsuccessful” he had elected “to continue with the purchase of the Canberra Casino in the ACT as I have been assured that transaction will be able to be completed shortly”.

“Having ownership of a casino in Australia prior to 31 December, 2014, is a key part of our plan for the financing of Aquis at Yorkeys Knob and I am thankful for the cooperation of the owner Casinos Austria and the ACT regulatory authorities in facilitating this goal,” he said.

“While we have been able to develop an alternative to full ownership of the Reef Hotel and Casino the failure of the offer will nevertheless require a comprehensive review of our strategy for Aquis and may require some difficult decisions about the project.”

The company has recently signed an extension of its option over the core site at Yorkeys Knob, giving them an additional window of time to finalise plans for the Aquis project.

Sydney’s appeal doubles delegate numbersSydney’s global appeal combined with Australia’s world-class nature and wildlife were key factors that saw delegate numbers at the recent International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Parks Congress double to 6000, according to Business Events Australia.

Trevor Sandwith, director of the Congress, confirmed that there was a significant boost in delegate numbers from its last meeting in South Africa's Durban in 2003, with more than 3500 international delegates from 170 countries attending the event in Sydney.

Sandwith believes “the attractiveness of Sydney combined with the progressive program, Australia’s geographic location and the environmental challenges being faced by it and its many Asia Pacific neighbours, all contributed to the higher than expected delegate numbers”.

“We found a geographical purpose and a thematic purpose, and Sydney is an extremely attractive destination, and people thought this was their chance to combine a visit to Sydney with our congress,” he said.

The event, which is held every 10 years, was secured by Business Events Sydney and hosted by Parks Australia and the New South Wales (NSW) National Parks and Wildlife Service, with support from the NSW and Australian Governments.

Ambassador of the 2014 IUCN World Parks Congress and former head of Parks Australia, Peter Cochrane, who was instrumental in securing the meeting for Sydney, believes that Australia’s strong global role in environmental conservation was also a strong reason why the country secured the event, with many countries looking to Australia for ideas and action.

In keeping with the congress' themes and subject matter, the event was held at Sydney Olympic Park, which was once home to the city’s brickworks, an abattoir and waste area, and is now home to 430 hectares of parklands, extensive sporting and event facilities, hotels, apartments, and a growing list of corporate head offices.

ICC Sydney draws on global experienceWhile the International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) is still two years away from opening, the venue's pre-opening team is able to draw on parent company AEG Ogden’s experience in operating highly successful venues around the globe, according to ICC Sydney chief executive and group director of convention centres for AEG Ogden, Geoff Donaghy.

Donaghy currently oversees the strategy and management of nine of the world’s leading convention and exhibition centres, including the AEG managed Los Angeles and Hawaii facilities. Closer to home AEG Ogden operates Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Cairns Convention Centre, Darwin Convention Centre and Sydney Exhibition Centre @ Glebe Island.

“Although each venue is run independently, the ability to share experiences and intelligence allows AEG Ogden to develop better venues and more knowledgeable teams,” said Donaghy.

“The transfer of intelligence across the Group is ultimately about one thing; to better understand client needs.”

Many of the 19 major international events Business Events Sydney has secured for ICC Sydney, which opens in December 2016, have previously been hosted in AEG Ogden centres, which makes knowledge sharing across the Group invaluable to the ICC Sydney team.

“In reality, someone somewhere across the Group has faced a problem and found a creative or innovative solution that we can all draw on to prepare clients for success,” said Donaghy.

“Our ability to share knowledge across management teams allows us to solve problems faster and understand clients better.”

Another important component of being a member of the AEG Ogden Group is the trusted reputation that accompanies this status.

“Clients can be assured of a successful event in all of the Group’s world class venues; although bespoke to each destination, every event receives the same world class quality of service, venue presentation, availability of leading technology and exceptional hospitality across the network,” added Donaghy.

Aquis thanks Cairns for support


Christchurch is to host the 2015 Conventions and Incentives New Zealand (CINZ) Annual Conference and Annual General Meeting on September 29-30.

CINZ chief executive Sue Sullivan announced the news while visiting the city in November.

“With the help of the Bureau and Christchurch members we are putting together a fantastic programme for next year, showcasing some of the wonderful new venues and top services the city has to offer,” she said.

“We’ve had great feedback from our

NZ NEWS

Christchurch to host 2015 CINZ Conference

In a busy industry it’s easy to overlook opportunities for celebrating success. But taking time out to recognise successful event advocates can have a powerful ripple effect.

As anyone involved in bidding for international conventions knows, individuals who lead bids take on enormous professional and personal challenges. While winning a bid may seem to be its own reward, it’s worth remembering the wider benefits that flow from formal recognition of these successes.

Recently I attended the inaugural New Zealand Business Events Awards dinner, held by Tourism New Zealand Business Events in partnership with Auckland Convention Bureau and Air New Zealand. Thirty two individuals were honoured for their role in winning a combined 29 international events. The magic of the evening was the tangible emotion in the room; the surprise and delight of the award recipients, none of whom knew they were there to be honoured; their pleasure at being able to meet and swap war stories with others with similar experiences. The awards were presented by Minister for Economic Development, Steven Joyce,

adding to the sense of occasion.

But this kind of recognition isn’t just about the “feel good factor”. The confidence, connections and raised profile that come with an award – for an individual, their department and their organisation – deliver benefits for years to come. By making their success visible, sector leaders are encouraged to undertake future bids, and their colleagues may be inspired to put their own hands up.

The success of its inaugural awards has in turn inspired Tourism New Zealand Business Events, which says it will build on this event and further increase its work with academic institutions and associations in the future. Seeing first-hand the impact awards have is a clear reminder of the power of passing on praise.

Jan Tonkin is managing director of New Zealand PCO, The Conference Company, vice-president of the Council of International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) and vice-chair of the IAPCO Training Academy.

The power of recognitionNew Zealand exceeds expectations for PCOsResults of a survey at the recent Professional Conference Organisers (PCO) Association Conference show plenty of support for New Zealand.

Of the 37 Australian professional conference and event organisers who completed the survey at the conference, 66 per cent of respondents who had run an event in New Zealand said the destination exceeded their expectations.

They cited extremely positive feedback from conference attendees, the community, work-together attitude, diversity of product, service levels, and price as reasons for their high ratings.

New Zealand was high on the list for future events too, with 62 per cent of respondents saying they were involved in an event that would consider coming to New Zealand in the future.

Sue Sullivan, Conventions and Incentives New Zealand’s chief executive, was one of the conference’s keynote speakers, focusing on competing destinations in Asia.

“New Zealand can stand out from the crowd because we have everything delegates are looking for, plus a significant cultural and hospitality offering,” she said.

conference in Rotorua this year, and after what I have seen in Christchurch I am very excited about what’s coming up.”

Christchurch and Canterbury Convention Bureau manager Caroline Blanchfield says 2015 will be an excellent time for the New Zealand conference sector to take a new look at the city’s meeting opportunities.

“Christchurch is re-establishing itself as one of New Zealand’s leading conference destinations, and we value the support of CINZ in helping us achieve this,” Blanchfield said.

“Since the earthquakes our city’s conference sector has worked hard to reinvent itself with the support of 62 convention bureau partners who have shown their resilience and commitment to Christchurch.

“We have remained open for business, focusing on domestic conferences with particular success and taking our New Zealand conference market share from a low of 2 per cent to 10 per cent today.”


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The construction of a convention centre in New Zealand’s capital Wellington has been given the green light by Wellington City Council.

The proposed 4400sqm facility, set to open in 2017, will be built in a prime central waterfront location, and be able to host up to 1200 conference delegates, with a banqueting capacity of up to 1450 people. The development will also incorporate a 5-star hotel.

The news has been welcomed by Positively Wellington Tourism (PWT) chief executive David Perks, who congratulated Wellington City Council on securing a development which would see the capital jump ahead

of other convention centre developments around New Zealand.

“Wellington City Council is taking action at the right time,” he said. “Central government recognises the value of international business events and is directing resource into securing more. Having a bespoke facility in the country’s culture capital as early as 2017 perfectly positions Wellington to capitalise on this activity.”

While there have previously been limits on the nature of conferences which the city has been able to bid for, the new Centre opens up a whole new range of potential business.

“The Business Events Wellington team has already been speaking with potential users about the proposal, which has been met with significant interest,” he said. “Now the project is confirmed, we look forward to putting together bids and locking in new business for the region in the near future.”

It is estimated that the new Centre could bring millions of new expenditure into the region within its first year of operation.

“The Wellington Convention Centre is

forecast to bring up to $25 million in new spending to the city each year, contributing to significant GDP growth and creating in excess of 200 new jobs,” Perks added.

Conventions and Incentives New Zealand (CINZ) has also welcomed the news, with chief executive Sue Sullivan saying it is another boost for New Zealand’s reputation as a growing and exciting business events destination.

“Having a state of the art, purpose built and professionally run international facility in Wellington lifts the bar for the whole of New Zealand,” she said.

“Wellington is the geographic centre of New Zealand, the base of a high number of associations, with a good range of accommodation, easy access to government, and it’s a walkable city,” she said.

“But it’s been lacking good sized, purpose-built convention facilities configured to meet modern and future needs and expectations. The new convention centre will certainly meet and exceed those expectations and promises huge benefits for the city and the country.”

Wellington Convention Centre gets green light


BestCities Global Alliance (BestCities) and Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) have formed a partnership, to take effect from January 1, 2015.

“The signing of this strategic agreement with PCMA is significant for BestCities as it comes at a time when we are embarking on our next five year plan (2015-2019) with a clear consensus that our customers are at the forefront of everything we do,” said BestCities board chair, Karen Bolinger (pictured right).

“Our aim is to seek new markets, expand our portfolio of business development activities and form new partnerships that provide tangible benefits for both our partners and clients whilst continually growing our brand awareness.

“Becoming a PCMA partner means having a vested interest in strengthening, supporting and educating the industry and BestCities’ own mission to deliver the world’s best service experience for the meetings industry aligns perfectly with PCMA’s core values.

“The partnership between our two organisations embodies the synergy not only in our individual business development strategies but also our shared commitment to our customers, partners and industry.”

With representation across all five continents, BestCities’ global network will also provide support and resources for PCMA’s international development strategy as they too continue to grow their global community.

Sherrif Karamat (pictured left), PCMA’s chief operating officer, says the two organisations are “looking forward to a very productive future together”.

“PCMA’s partnership with BestCities brings together two iconic industry organisations, who will jointly deliver the best education to assist meeting executives with ease of doing business and showcase opportunities on the global stage,” he said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

BestCities and PCMA form strategic partnership

ICCA Congress hailed a successSpeaking at the Opening Ceremony of the Congress, outgoing ICCA president Arnaldo Nardone (pictured) said that while they were “confidently predicting that this would actually be our largest-ever Congress” a year ago, the turnout was “a big success story”.

“Who would have thought that 2014 would be a year where terror and fear filled the TV news and newspaper headlines for what seemed like months without end?” he said. “Turkey has suffered very unfairly

as a result of this mood of fear. Tourists, business travellers, and yes conference delegates also, all have been made more fearful to travel, more fearful of strangers, more fearful in their own cities even when they decide to stay at home.”

Nardone added that the ICCA Congress was an important event, not just for Turkey,

but for the global meetings industry.

“Every delegate who travelled here to the ICCA Congress made a conscious or unconscious decision that they would not be intimidated into staying at home,” he said. “That is very, very important. If we are to persuade the doctors, scientists, and business executives to come to the thousands of meetings that ICCA members host and organise, we have to stand up in Antalya and hold our own Congress with confidence and with a smile on our faces.”

The Congress saw the election of a new president for the association, Nina Freysen-Pretorius, founder and chief executive of South African-based The Conference Company.

Freysen-Pretorius joined the ICCA Board of Directors in 2008 and has been second vice-president of ICCA since 2010. She is the first ICCA president from Africa, and only the third female president in ICCA history.

Despite geopolitical unrest in the Middle East, members of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) turned out in force for the 53rd ICCA Congress, which took place in Antalya, Turkey, in November.

With more than 900 delegates from 72 countries in attendance, the Congress was one of the largest in the event’s history.

Hawaii launches new plannerHawaii Tourism Oceania (HTO) has launched a dedicated Meet Hawai‘i Guide available in print and online.

The 2015 Meet Hawai‘i Guide will offer a general overview of Hawai‘i’s six islands of Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, Maui, Moloka‘i, Lana‘i and Hawai‘i Island including maps and general information, providing business tourism experts with detailed information on conference, meetings and event facilities, pre- and post-conference touring activities, suitable accommodation, dining options and team-building opportunities. It will also incorporate a directory of business tourism related contacts, a section covering commonly asked questions and a concise hotel directory, as well as showcase the unique and memorable experiences that each island has to offer.

“Each island offers its own distinct character and delivers a very different meeting experience,” said Holly Ballard, account manager, meetings, conferences and incentives, Hawai‘i Tourism Oceania. “It’s this diversity and year-round warm climate that provides endless possibilities for groups when it comes to creating distinctive and successful programs.”


Dubai’s Corporation of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM) has launched a new office to service the Asia Pacific region. The Asia Pacific Regional Office will oversee the work of DCTCM’s existent offices in the Far East, Japan, Australia and New Zealand with the aim of increasing visitor numbers from Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand.

Based in Sydney, the Asia Pacific Regional Office will be led by Julie King, who is also currently the director of DCTCM’s Australia and New Zealand representative office.

To further strengthen the focus on the region, Shahab Al Shayan has been appointed as regional manager, Asia Pacific, and will be based in DCTCM’s head office in Dubai.

Issam Abdul Rahim Kazim, DCTCM’s chief

executive, says that the Asia Pacific region “is of high strategic importance to us, with significant potential for growth across the whole region”.

“The emerging economic power of the Asia Pacific countries is resulting in increased outward bound tourism and Dubai’s broad destination offering meets the varying demands of these tourists,” he said.

“With continual enhancements being made to our offering across hotels, events, attractions and services, the establishment of the regional office will result in a coordinated approach to communicating the fact that Dubai provides a compelling destination experience for both the individual and business travellers. With the connectivity afforded by Emirates, Qantas and other airlines that fly between the Asia Pacific countries and Dubai, our city is one that should be the next destination on the region’s tourist’s lists.”

Dubai Tourism opens Sydney-based regional office

Business events expos rebranded ibtm events

Reed Travel Exhibitions has announced that it has rebranded its IBTM portfolio of business events

exhibitions, with the portfolio becoming “ibtm events – connections mean everything”. Six of the current eight events will also have a new brand image and logo identifying them by region, with the exceptions being AIME and ICOMEX.

EIBTM (pictured) is to become “ibtm world” in line with its status as a global industry event.

“As our family of ibtm events evolves, we need to clearly establish each individual event proposition for the market that they serve,” said Sallie Coventry, portfolio director for ibtm events portfolio.

“At the same time, EIBTM is the flagship show for the portfolio and must be defined as representative of the world.”


COVER STORY

Noosa, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, has been a magnet for visitors for decades, but a new collaboration between five of its most well-known properties is set to see the destination secure a much greater share of the business events sector in 2015 and beyond.

On the back of Noosa’s two largest conferencing venues joining forces to secure one of Queensland’s largest government tourism industry events, DestinationQ, which was held from September 16 to 17, 2014,

three other venues in Noosa have joined to form an innovative collaboration under the new MICE Noosa banner.

The collaboration of Noosa’s five nationally branded 4 and 5 star resorts – Sheraton Noosa Resort and Spa; Outrigger Little Hastings Street Resort and Spa (pictured on front cover); RACV Noosa Resort; The Sebel Noosa and Mantra French Quarter Resort – offers a one-stop-shop for professional conference organisers and just one point of contact.

Combined, the five resorts feature 708 rooms (1500 beds) and meeting capacity for up to 830 delegates.

Event planners can simply visit a dedicated website developed by Tourism Noosa, complete their primary requirements and will then be directed to the host venue that best

meets their needs.

The primary venue will act as the single point of contact and prepare one proposal offering flexible and creative solutions by working with each venue operator to meet the brief.

Event planners will enjoy all that Noosa has to offer without being restricted to just one venue or accommodation provider and will save time by having one contact without the need for multiple phone calls and time consuming venue research.

Speaking on behalf of MICE Noosa, Tourism Noosa chief executive Damien Massingham says he expects the entire region to benefit as a result of businesses working together to secure larger conferences to the Sunshine Coast, as evidenced in drawing DestinationQ to Noosa.

“When the Queensland Government approached the major event venues on the Sunshine Coast to tender for DestinationQ, no individual property in Noosa had the capacity to host a forum of this size,” he says.

“The business development teams at Outrigger Little Hastings Street and Sheraton Noosa saw the significant benefits of putting Noosa in the spotlight and worked collaboratively to present one single tender proposal that not only met the government’s criteria, but also exceeded its expectations.

“This a major coup for the area which outbid some of Queensland’s most iconic tourism destinations and is a prime example of venue operators working together, for the benefit of the entire region rather than competing for the business.”

Five become one

For more information on MICE Noosa visit www.visitnoosa.com.au/business-events

An innovative collaboration between five venues in Noosa is set to see the Sunshine Coast’s

favourite destination become an even greater drawcard for

business events.

Watch the video and slideshow in the CIM iPad app.


let go how can they showcase their own talent?

Q: You describe getting a bad case of stage fright in your book – do you ever get that feeling again as the producer of a live event?

A: Sometimes I get so excited I speak too fast. I am blessed and cursed with an immense amount of energy. But I realised it is not about me it’s about sharing what I have with everyone in the audience. It’s about giving to them, not about me. It comes right back to being of service.

Q: How has the event landscape changed over your career?

A: I grew up with the event business. It has moved to a much more sophisticated level. The learning process for me

has exactly matched what was happening in the business. It started off as table cloths and floral arrangements and was really very simple, and now it’s full on productions with engineered drawing, massive structures, sophisticated lighting and perfect sound.

Q: You see a lot of celebrities with the events you produce – do you ever get star struck?

A: I am really not there to have a conversation with the Oprah’s of the world. It’s not my job. My job is to make sure my client has everything they could possibly want, that the setting is perfect for them to host. Production of a successful event is at the forefront of my though process every inch of the way. That’s not to say I was not thrilled when Ellen DeGeneres walked in with Portia Di Rossi at the Governors Ball, [but] what I am thinking when she walked in is “does she know where her reserved area is and should I escort her there, or she’s a vegan, is her food ready, or let make sure she has some privacy”. I am thinking production the entire time. I am not thinking “wow there is Ellen”.

Q: You work closely with the entertainment industry – do you ever want to be on the other side of the curtain?

A: I am still very passionate about what I do, but when the time comes I would love to produce a film, using all my productions skills. I have a few ideas and perhaps that will happen. But I am on a roll now.

Q&A

Q: Given your acting background do you think of events in terms of narrative?

A: My acting background has been truly influential on the way I approach my work and the way I look at my work. I look at the stories my clients want to tell and how I am going to support that. I don’t deal with any breakdown of the event, whether it be design, décor the menu or any of that, until I am clear on the story. Then I start with a clear mission statement that we can all jump on.

Q: Talking to other event producers, they often say that lead times have shrunk dramatically – has this been true for you?

A: I’m not one to rush anything and I really like to take the time to plan everything. There are so many transactions and logistics in our events that have to be taken into consideration, so I do take the time. I have turned down clients who have called me a few weeks out because it is impossible to do a good job if you rush it.

Q: The global financial crisis took the wind out of many an event’s sails – have things bounced back budget-wise?

A: Budgets have shrunk or they are asking for more with the same budget. It’s much more challenging because if the economy is not going well the first thing they are going to do is stop throwing parties. But on the other hand there could be no budget and everyone should remember that.

Q: Sequoia Productions started with just yourself and a part time assistant. Did you find delegating difficult when the company started to grow?

A: I’m still working on that. It’s hard because you have a vision but I really do have some really great producers as well as a business assistant and personal assistant, all helping me. I try to delegate as much as I can. The problem is I love to work and I really do care, and I create an umbilical cord with my clients that means I have to be there for them. I am getting a bit better at it. I have to continue to trust that they might not do it exactly the way I want to do it but you have to let go. It’s sort of like raising a child in a way, if you don’t

Cheryl Cecchetto left small town Canada for the bright lights of Hollywood in search of fame and fortune as an actor. Instead she became one of the city’s leading event producers, with her company Sequoia Productions behind the Academy Awards Governors Ball and the annual G’Day USA gala event among many others. CIM spoke with her on the eve of the launch of her book Passion to Create: Your Invitation to Celebrate.

Show stopper


POLICY

A new report by Deloitte Access Economics and a new initiative by the Federal Government share the same goal – to bring more international conferences to Australia, writes Sheridan Randall.

The Australian business events sector is worth more than $13 billion a year to the economy, and is being increasingly viewed as a key platform to reach the Federal Government’s Tourism 2020 goal of increasing overnight visitor expenditure to between $115 billion and $140 billion by the year 2020.

In November, Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb launched a new initiative to attract more international business events to Australian shores.

The Attracting Business Events to Australia initiative is built on the success of the recent China-Australia Free Trade Agreement in securing greater opportunities, both domestically and overseas, for the local tourism sector.

“Business events in Australia have a global reputation for being first-class, stellar events; they’re extremely important in terms of promoting Australia to the world,” Robb said

at the official announcement.

“They showcase Australia’s business capabilities, foster trade and investment outcomes, facilitate stronger people-to-people links and make a significant contribution to our economy.”

Attracting Business Events to Australia sets out a framework for the Federal Government, through Austrade and Tourism Australia, to work with industry during the bidding and event-delivery process.

Under the new framework, Austrade will coordinate ministerial support for an event and will organise onshore and offshore promotion, while Tourism Australia will partner with industry to provide marketing and promotional materials.

“This new framework demonstrates the common sense approach this Government has taken to the tourism portfolio, by moving it under the trade umbrella; allowing

closer alignment between the work done by Austrade and Tourism Australia,” he added.

“The high-yield economic benefits of hosting business events, not just for the tourism sector but for the wider community, are key contributors to the Government’s economic diplomacy agenda, and are highly effective vehicles for driving industry growth, which is in keeping with the Government’s trade and investment priority areas.”

Underpinning the Federal Government’s new initiative was a recent report by Deloitte Access Economics, Australia’s International Business Events Sector – 2014, which highlights the synergies between the international business events industry and the strategic imperatives of the Government including building a stronger, more productive and more diverse economy; delivering more growth from Asia; building a diverse, five-pillar economy; and delivering

Building for the futureWatch the video in the CIM iPad app.


stronger and better communities.

Commissioned by the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux (AACB), the Deloitte Access Economics report was presented to the Productivity Commission, as part of a research project examining Australia’s international tourism industry.

“There are sound economic arguments to justify government support of international business events and Australia is well placed to capitalise on this opportunity in the business events sector,” says Lachlan Smirl, director and national leader of tourism, hospitality and leisure for Deloitte Access Economics.

“The report outlines the direct economic value, policy alignment, opportunities and challenges of the sector.”

AACB president Lyn Lewis-Smith says that “international business events are being recognised as an opportunity to promote Australia’s industry strengths, increase trade and investment, attract global talent and drive the knowledge economy”.

“The high yielding nature of the sector is a significant economic driver for both the visitor and knowledge economies and is an integral contributor to Australia’s tourism 2020 target,” she adds.

With the report focusing on international marketing, the bidding process, event delivery and realising the return on investment, it is a valuable tool when it comes to opening doors within the Federal Government and increasing consultation with its various agencies, such as Austrade.

AACB executive director Andrew Hiebl says that the initial discussion began with Tourism Australia under its former chief executive Andrew McEvoy “on how we can get more support from government”.

“The report argues the case for more support

at the Federal level through a strategic partnership with industry,” he says.

“We needed to have some sort of impartial data that added credibility and put it through a process of a third party reviewing to make it more digestible by government. It’s such a diverse sector and there are so many different measurements, from the way Tourism Australia measures the sector against how the industry measures the sector and everything in between.

“We tried to keep it as simple as possible and really focus on using the government data so at least we can say at this is what you put forward for the Tourism 2020 goals which are accepted and used as a bipartisan target.”

Having Deloitte Access Economics work on the report also tied in with the research

they had done on the emerging and growth industries Australia should be focusing on, according to Hiebl.

“That allowed them to focus on how we align our business with government priorities and the next wave of industries

within Australia,” he says.

“By using Deloitte at that time allowed them to pitch some policy alignment that really highlighted that if we were able to win some international business events of significance that aligned with the nation’s priorities it was a win win for the country.”

With the Deloitte Economics Access report adding confidence to any government decisions, more “robust”

conversations have been occurring between the representative business events bodies and government related departments “across all levels” over the last six months.

“The framework in place really focuses on the bidding side and winning of events, the marketing of events once we have secured them and marketing Australia to have that overall global branding presence,” he says.

“But also allowing government to maximise the events once they are here. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a convention or exhibition that has the opportunity to link in with the government agenda and the opportunity for export markets, it fits right across the whole business events platform. What the convention bureaux are now in the process of doing is having a more detailed conversation with Austrade about some of the existing opportunities on the books at the moment.”

Opposite page: Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb and AACB president Lyn Lewis-Smith. This page: AACB executive director Andrew Hiebl (right) with Deloitte Access Economics’ Lachlan Smirl.

“Business events in Australia have a global reputation for being first-class, stellar events; they’re extremely important in terms of

promoting Australia to the world.”


WA

The Perth Convention Bureau is looking at a bright 2015 as it comes off the back of a record year, with both Perth and the smaller regional cities in the north and south of Western Australia set to benefit from ongoing investment in new venues and accommodation, writes Sheridan Randall.

Heavy hitterWestern Australia is an economic powerhouse that been dominated by its surging resources industry for the last decade or more. As the resource industry moves from infrastructure development to production, so the State is expanding its reach in the many other sectors it excels in. The Perth Convention Bureau (PCB) posted a record result in the 2013-2014 financial year, with conferences secured during those 12 months set to bring in almost $108 million to the Western Australian economy in direct delegate expenditure, some $4 million above target.

“These results indicate that PCB continues to ‘punch above its weight’ in the business events industry despite new infrastructure and increasing competition across Australia and around the South Eastern Asian region,” said Paul Beeson, PCB’s chief executive.

“This was achieved through the collaboration of all PCB departments, focusing on our high-yield strategy of identifying sectors

and events that have significant material (financial) impact to the State and through the application of programs such as the Aspire Award, which uncovers potential conference leads through identifying local convenors with strong political links to international associations.”

The Perth Convention Bureau with its major stakeholders, the City of Perth and Tourism WA, annually convene the Aspire Scholarships and Professional Developments Awards, which offer financial support for the professional development of non-profit association members and university staff through attendance at an international conference within their discipline.

Applications for this year’s Aspire Program were at record levels, and with only 10 awards available there was strong competition amongst all 55 applicants wanting to secure the opportunity to receive professional development funding to attend

and attract conferences to Western Australia.

“The program has been responsible for contributing more than $100 million to the WA economy as well as playing a key role in securing conferences that have and will continue to contribute to advancing the State’s broad expertise and knowledge in a wide range of industries,” says Beeson.

“International conferences secured by this program [now in its 11th year] have generated export income in excess of $100 million for the Western Australian economy since its inception. In addition to the economic boost this provides, the program delivers substantial knowledge sharing, international profiling and advancement of the State’s many sectors of expertise.”

Those sectors of expertise include medical and health, which accounted for the largest share of conferences secured last financial year (33 per cent); the resources sector (25 per cent); science (9 per cent); and


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The Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre offers a range of meeting options from private boardrooms to a 2,500 seat theatre. Through an innovative fusion of space, catering, technology and design, PCEC presents a range of meeting possibilities to promote positive interactions between business, industry and community.

information technology (7 per cent).

Another initiative aimed at securing more conferences from a range of sectors is PCB’s Partner program. Launched in 2013, the partner model was created to “increase communications and return on investment to our industry partners, provide more flexibility to focus on the benefits that are important and provide a greater understanding of our membership tools and how to utilise them, therefore moving towards a partnership rather than membership model”, says Beeson.

“New initiatives were introduced such as Quarterly Tools Workshops and an annual Orientation Day, to increase awareness and communication with those who make a financial contribution through membership fees and allow them to be active partners in the organisation,” he adds.

“Educational activities with our partners helps keep them informed on these forthcoming opportunities. An active member is an engaged partner who understands the value of their investment in the Bureau and sees a healthy return on that investment.”

Some of the biggest conference wins recently include the 18th International Conference & Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas in 2016, (5000 delegates); World Wide Web Conference 2017 (1000 delegates); and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Annual Scientific Congress 2015 (4500 delegates).

All three conferences are being held at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre (PCEC), with the Centre’s general manager, Nigel Keen, saying the bid wins stemmed from PCEC’s strong relationship with the PCB.

“A combination of cooperative relationships and collaborative partnerships have given us an understanding of where the market is and where the position of the economy is in Western Australia to understand our strengths and play off those to bring international events to Western Australia and Perth,” he says.

The health sector is “really strong”, while the agricultural sector is also seeing growth, with many individuals and companies involved in the resources sector investing heavily in this industry, according to Keen.

Keen acknowledges that the conference space is highly competitive both domestically and internationally, with PCEC’s geographic time zone meaning it competes with South

Clockwise from opposite page: Camels at Cable Beach, Broome; an aerial view of Perth; swimming with the dolphins at Bunbury; Ferguson Valley.

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East Asia, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, as well as other Australian capital cities, to secure new business.

“[PCEC parent group] Spotless are actually in the process of extending our lease and so in the not too distant future we will be announcing further investment and renovations for the venue both front and back of house,” he adds.

A slew of infrastructure investment is well under way across Perth including the $2 billion Forrestfield Airport Link, which will significantly improve traffic to and from Western Australia’s chief air traffic hub; the $1 billion Gateway WA project, which will link Perth’s eastern suburbs and other key parts of the city; the Perth City Link, which will reconnect Northbridge with the CBD; the Kings Square precinct; and the much anticipated Elizabeth Quay precinct, which will be home to a new The Ritz-Carlton hotel.

“The State Government has really invested wisely in infrastructure,” says Keen. “Perth is very well placed and is one of the most modern cities in Australia, and the economy

is going from strength to strength.”

The State’s North West is also seeing a push to attract more corporate meetings and conferences, with the recent European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) Workshop on Wnt Signalling (200 delegates), held in Broome in October, a sign of the growing appeal of the region. The first ever Australian organised EMBO workshop was held at the Cable Beach Club Resort and Spa, with co-convener Professor Elizabeth Vincan, from the University of Melbourne, saying Broome ticked all the boxes for the international delegates who wanted to see Australia’s rugged outback and beautiful beaches.

“Importantly, North West Australia is the region closest to Europe and Asia, and a successful EMBO workshop will open this region and the rest of the west coast as viable conference destinations,” she says.

Cable Beach Club Resort marketing manager Kristi Ullrich says that although the resource sector remains “a valued client in the mix”, it attracts new business from a range of

industry sectors. Ongoing investment in the Resort’s facilities are also aimed at attracting more events with the Sam Male room currently undergoing a full audio-visual upgrade and the installation of new operable walls for enhanced room silencing, due for completion in March 2015. The Pandanus Room opened earlier this year to support the Sam Male room, creating an additional meeting space for 48 delegates theatre-style.

Glen Chidlow, Australia's North West Tourism chief executive, says that Broome “is very well catered for in the conference and incentive market”.

“The larger resorts have been successful in attracting a number of larger conferences to Broome over the last several years,” he says. “Broome is a major gateway and has abundant accommodation and dining facilities, and great local touring options as well, not to mention the beach itself and the weather.

“There are also good conferencing facilities so it caters well to that market particularly for those small to midsize group up to a couple of hundred delegates.”

From left to opposite page: Osprey Rock near Eco Beach; The Kimberley's

unspoilt landscape; The BREC expansion has boosted Bunbury’s profile; culinary

delights of the South West.

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With Perth the largest source market for Broome, direct flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane also make the East Coast “a very strong market for Broome”.

“With corporate travellers what we see is people coming early in the season around about May and the again around October,” he says. “Both times the weather in Broome is still fantastic and being on the cusp of the seasons it gives the opportunity for some of those groups who need more accommodation options as it is not quite so competitive with the leisure market at that time.”

Chidlow also says the Kimberley region is also a magnet for small incentive groups and “remote board meetings”.

“There is remote resort-style accommodation, such as Faraway Bay, Eco Beach Resort and Berkeley River Lodge, which cater for small incentive groups,” he adds.

Eco Beach Resort offers accommodation up to 120 people and meetings space up to 80 with activities such as experiencing Horizontal Falls aboard its fast boat Jet Stream or swimming in a “Croc/Shark free” cage popular drawcards.

“Expedition cruises along the Kimberley coast also cater very well for those small incentive numbers,” he says. “We have seen that type of product extremely well patronised by both domestic and international visitors in recent years. There is nowhere else in the world you can have an experience like that of the Kimberley coast, exploring the rivers, gorges and waterfalls, as well as the rock art and

the fishing. And in most cases there might only be one other boat in the vicinity if that, so a lot of the time you are on your own. It’s a great way to get that sense of remoteness that the Kimberley is renowned for.

“Take the board away for a couple of days to somewhere really unique and out of the way and you have a captured audience in a different environment.”

The South West is also seeing a boost in the conference and incentive markets, with some recent infrastructure investment already paying dividends.

The $12.5 million expansion of the Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre (BREC) was completed earlier this year, with a new 242-seat theatre space (the Cube), a flexible conference and event facility (the Wellington Suite) for up to 240 people, and a variety of spaces from a 15-person Board Room to a small function room for 60, all the way to the stage one theatre which can cater for 810 people, as well as breakout space for 500.

“We have had a huge first six months which has been pretty exciting,” says Joel McGuinness, BREC’s general manager.

“We have got some enquiries next year for conferences of 600 people, where we would be able to do plenary sessions in the auditorium and have the breakout space for them as well.”

With the new highway from Perth cutting the drive to just 1.45 hours, Bunbury is seeing an increase in day conferences from the city.

“We have been surprised by how many people come down from Perth [for a day’s conferencing],” he says. “The point of difference for us in Western Australia is that we are so close to Perth and yet we still have the incentive offering as well.”

BREC works closely with The Lighthouse Beach Resort, which offers 71 accommodation rooms and varied meetings spaces, with its Grand Ballroom catering up to 320 banquet style, with the two venues partnering with other local operators such as the Ferguson Valley wineries and the Dolphin Discovery Centre for pre and post conference activities.

“You can come down in under two hours and get to have some great South West food and wine experiences and natural experiences, yet you’re in a city environment as well,” says McGuinness.

BREC’s target market are the 200-300 pax conferences, with around 300 4-star and above accommodation rooms within a five minute walk of the Centre.

“But we are also open to doing numbers over 500 because we are one of the few venues to have an auditorium space and the breakout space that can cater for that many people,” he adds.

Christina Mitchell, The Lighthouse Beach Resort’s general manager, says $5 million has been spent on the property in the last 18 months, with the function centre “going gangbusters”.

“With BREC being online it has put new product in Bunbury so people are now looking at Bunbury for their conference and meeting facilities,” she says.

“We can really work well together to try and target some of those bigger conferences into Bunbury.”

Perth has long dominated the conference sector, but with the meetings market evolving and more venues and properties coming online, it looks as though Western Australia is set to capitalise on the diversity on offer.

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US President Barack Obama declaring that “Brissy” is “beautiful one day, perfect the next,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel posing for selfies as she hit the bars on the South Bank, the images of koalas that were beamed around the world to billions of people, were all priceless in marketing terms for Queensland’s capital. However, Brisbane is set to reap much more than good publicity from the two-day G20 Leaders’ Summit held on November 15-16, with the legacy of hosting one of the world’s most important and high profile economic forums set to change Brisbane’s standing as a global city both domestically

and internationally.

Brisbane was chosen as the host city by then Prime Minister Julia Gillard in 2012, causing some eastern seaboard cities to throw their hands up and declare foul. Despite some less than subtle sledging from interstate political rivals hinting at vote buying, Brisbane was picked for some very simple logistical reasons – namely its world-class convention centre, its inner city infrastructure, a second airport capable of parking up to 40 planes for four days and the ability to motorcade all the international dignitaries safely into the city centre.

For Bob O’Keeffe, general manager of the AEG Ogden

operated Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC), Brisbane was more than ready to step up to the challenge, saying that “logistically the city works really well”.

“We had 20,000sqm of column-free flexible exhibition space that you could do anything you like with so it was just a perfect template for them to do whatever they [the G20 Taskforce] wanted to do,” he says.

The annual G20 Leaders’ Summit has grown since it was launched in 2008 adding bilateral and trilateral meetings to the program, with BCEC able to cope with “the vast volume that the infrastructure required”,

including the International Media Centre, the accreditation zone and the bilateral and trilateral meetings spaces.

Although Brisbane had over two years to prepare, the BCEC team had to not only accommodate 186 site inspections from delegations across the globe, but also a surge in conferences that were keen to get in before the G20 start date. August and September saw the Centre host 223 events including 35 conventions with a combined 15,000 delegates coming to Brisbane prior to the G20. That equated to a 22 per cent increase in the number of conventions held compared to the same period last year.

G20

CIM experienced the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Brisbane firsthand, witnessing the ease with which the city not only stepped up to the plate, but set the bar for future host cities of the world’s largest economic forum, writes Sheridan Randall.

Getting down to businessWatch the video in the CIM iPad app.


“There was a constant stream of things happening in the background and people seeing the building,” O’Keeffe adds. “Everybody wanted more space. The plans started to get laid out as to what would happen in each area, which was changed and refined as time went on. They grew the international media centre substantially and it was fortunate we have the expansion in Grey Street or they would have compromised on something.”

The Centre officially closed three weeks prior the Summit for the build.

“It was a very clean build by [stand builder] ExpoNet,” he says. “They did a fabulous job, It was interesting walking around the bilateral meeting rooms with everything laid out like Ikea type stuff ready to be put together.”

Security was always front and centre in everyone’s mind, with potential threats coming from a diverse range of sources. A rise in terrorism and violent demonstrations were a clear and present danger, with the police force swelling in numbers to 6000 in the lead up to the Summit. A security lockdown was also placed around the BCEC and surrounding area prior to the Summit, adding to the logistical challenges for the Centre and its staff.

“There have been pressures all the way through,” O’Keeffe says. “Security is one, but also just getting around and getting in.

“We have a huge number of casual staff and a lot of them rely on public transport to come in.”

With everything locked into place, having the Summit begin took some of the pressure away. This was also helped by Prime Minster Tony Abbott declaring that he wanted the Brisbane G20 to have a laid back Australian personality.

“It’s as relaxed as it could be in a formal meeting with 30 leaders, interpreters and a statement to get agreed to in a certain period of time,” says O’Keeffe.

The global coverage began in earnest the moment the international leaders started to touch down, with many Brisbane locals who decided not to go to the beach braving the heat to get a peek at the cavalcades as they barrelled through the empty streets to the BCEC.

“I didn’t realise there would be as much interest and footage as there has been,” he says.

Although the global media frenzy went as quickly as it came, the real legacy from hosting the G20 for Brisbane is set to last well into the future.

From opposite page: A moment of unity for the G20 leaders before they got down to business; the talks in action; Abbott and Obama meet the locals; global media coverage from the International Media Centre.

E [email protected] www.bcec.com.au

BrisBanE ConvEntion & ExhiBition CEntrEG20 host venue 2014

WHERE WORLD LEADERS MEET

“We do the bidding at the Centre so we’ll get the benefits [of the G20] in the same way,” he says. “We are in the middle of a stack of really big international

bids now and the fact is when that bid is being considered that is the time when we have been on all of the television stations around the world and print and

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everything else.”

For O’Keeffe, the G20 is a catalyst to build on Brisbane’s already strong track record of hosting international scientific, technology and business events, with the increased awareness of Brisbane following the G20 helping attract these key sector conferences.

“Two of our advocates were in the press conference room in the media centre and there was a lot of discussion about Brisbane’s research in the science sector and the whole world is watching that,” he says. “The link of that to our research and our bids is a huge opportunity and that’s what Brisbane has been waiting for.

“I think the benefits will last well into the future, not just for Brisbane, but for Queensland

and Australia which is now leading the [economic] policy for these 30 countries.

“If we can host the G20, the world’s biggest business event, successfully we can host any event in the world. The awareness and profile raising for Brisbane and the Centre will be huge. Now we have to capitalise on that and keep that momentum going.”

With this latest G20 only the ninth Summit held, Brisbane now belongs to a very exclusive club of global cities that understands the complexities and challenges of hosting an event with such a high security profile. Brisbane had one advantage over other host cities in that it had a full two years notice, which allowed for some very strategic planning

across the many stakeholders involved. However, the challenge for Brisbane was that the Summit is a business event that happens behind closed doors. Opening the doors of the BCEC to the public was never an option. In fact the security lockdown that happened in the lead up to the G20, combined with the Friday before the Summit being made a public holiday, meant that many businesses located near the Centre, hotels aside, were actually going to feel some pain.

To counter this, a number of initiatives were planned to leverage off the G20 both in terms of community engagement and the wider business community.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk got behind the opportunity

to market both Brisbane both domestically and internationally.

Around $10 million was spent on a free program of cultural events which ran from October 24 to November 16. The G20 Cultural celebrations included Colour Me Brisbane, which used light to transform many landmark buildings in the CBD, as well as music and art themed activities.

Another key program that looked to widen the scope of the G20 was the Brisbane Global Cafe. Organised by Brisbane Marketing, the Brisbane Global Cafe focused on five key themes: Cities of the Future; Improving Human Life; Powering Future Economies – Energy; The Digital Age – Innovation and Entrepreneurship; and Tourism’s New Frontiers; with the addition

20 facts about the G201 Hotels in Brisbane achieved

occupancy levels of 93.5 per cent over the G20 Summit.

2 The BCEC’s specialist audio visual team worked full time for six months on the event, which at its peak saw 75 AV operators around the clock each day, work

most for any event in the Centre’s lifetime.

3 The BCEC laid down 100km of cable.

4 Almost 1km of truss was used.

5 An 18m x 5m LED screen, weighing four tonnes was used in the International

Media Centre.

6 There were 300 monitors for vision and audio throughout the building.

7 Brisbane’s two airports received aircraft from 30 nations.

8 Sixty four hotels were booked with 10,000 room nights.

9 116,000sqm of the BCEC was

in use during the G20 Summit.

10 The BCEC used 649 staff and 248 volunteers.

11 The BCEC kitchen went through 33,000kg of fresh produce, 10,000 croissants and 30,000 pieces of fruit.

12 Over 100,000 cups of coffee were served.

13 There were 186 site

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of a Youth forum and Asian Century forum.

A series of supporting events organised by Brisbane Marketing culminated in a two-day forum at Brisbane City Hall linking local and visiting experts in their fields with an international media audience on November 12-13, which were broadcast globally through partnerships with the BBC and Bloomberg. Social media also played its part with the forum placing number one on Twitter in Australia over the two-days.

John Aitken, Brisbane Marketing’s chief executive, says that the city saw early on where it should best direct its efforts if it was to maximise the once in a lifetime opportunity the G20 Summit offered.

Brisbane successfully hosted the world’s most significant business event in 2014.

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felt welcome and were enjoying themselves, and the fact that there is an opportunity now for collaborations leading to something that wouldn’t have occurred without the Global Cafe happening is an amazing outcome,” he adds.

“And whilst there is short term impact and inconvenience in some of those decisions, when you hear the leader of the free world talk about your city in glowing terms, money can’t buy that.”

The economic benefits of having 7000 delegates, many of which are international, arrive in the city certainly helped offset the cost of hosting the G20 Summit, but ultimately it will be the impact on Brisbane’s reputation for staging world scale business events that is likely to have the most reach.

“This is one of the biggest events in the world, and we are running it seamlessly, efficiently, effectively and in a very friendly way, with the city as a beautiful backdrop and the community embracing it

as well,” he says.

“All of those things bode well for our reputation as being a city with world class infrastructure, operators and people, that can build in conjunction with our partners who are going for international conferences in the future. These things are part of being a global city. Brisbane seeks to attract more and more of those conferences, but just as importantly work with the organisers on their business plans, and their associations and organisations, on how Brisbane can be part of that going forward.”

The international media spotlight has since moved on, the barricades have come down and life has returned to normal for Brisbane. However, Brisbane’s standing both domestically and internationally has shifted altogether. It is both “Brissy” and G20 host city Brisbane – a 21st century city that can handle the most challenging of major business events without losing its easy going charm. That’s a winning combination.

“The G20 is very exclusive event, and we wanted to influence and shape that conversation and also bring in world experts because world economic growth is not just around politicians,” he says.

“When it was first announced we wanted to put this across that this would be a very friendly experience. The Queensland Government, the Police Force and the whole of Taskforce have really taken that to heart. There have been very close relationships and working with all levels of government, community and industry to make it happen.”

These included creating a Brisbane Greeters Program, with over 200 Greeters registered, trained and fully qualified to lead tours throughout the city.

“The second thing we did was launch a program called ‘Brisbane Welcomes the World’ and we trained all of the people who are working here, including the volunteers, to turn them into advocates for the city,” he says. “The good news is that ‘Brisbane Welcomes the World’ is now an ongoing training program for our service industry, and we have trained up to 3000 people in the lead up to the G20 and that’s a great step towards having a very friendly city.”

Attracting expertise, international conventions and investment from the Asia Pacific region in particular was also a priority, with many of the speakers at the Brisbane Global Cafe forums set to continue their collaborations into the future.

“It was important for us that people were having a good time,

inspections prior to the event.

14 There was a 22 day bump in.

15 Around 4000 delegates and 3000 international media attended.

16 Brisbane saw around $100 million in long term economic benefit from the G20 Summit.

17 There was a five day bump out period.

18 The Centre had to clean 25,000sqm of its roof.

19 Some 3000 light bulbs were changed.

20 The koalas cuddled by the world leaders came from Brisbane's Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, and were trained up to 30 minutes a day to prepare for the event.

Opposite page from left: Global media coverage from the International Media Centre; Volunteers at BCEC; Protestors also capitalised on the global coverage.


SELL TNQ

Cairns has been in the spotlight this year, hosting the Australian Tourism Exchange and the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, and more recently Sell TNQ 2014, writes Ylla Watkins.

Northern star

It’s been a big year for Cairns, with the Tropical North Queensland city hosting two of its largest ever events, Tourism Australia’s Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) 2014, held in May, and the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, held in September. With both events attracting the eyes of the world, Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef (BEC & GBR) pulled out all the stops to ensure that the city’s business events capabilities were shown off to their best effect.

The strategy is already paying off, with the bureau’s director, Rosie Douglas, reporting a 63 per cent increase in business event leads off the back of Cairns hosting the G20 meeting and ATE.

The BEC & GBR team has received leads worth $18.4 million and confirmed $4 million worth of corporate and associate meetings for the region since July 1, a 50 per cent increase from the same period last year.

“While we were confident that the profile of the G20 and ATE14 would result in an increase in business long term, we are


Clockwise from opposite page: Fire dancers formed part of the entertainment at a Welcome Cocktail Function in the stunning Cairns Botanic Gardens; an Instagram competition saw Sell TNQ delegates each given a toy turtle with the brief to post photos of their turtle’s adventure throughout the famil, with the best images winning prizes; Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef director Rosie Douglas congratulated delegates on completing a successful day of meetings; delegates and suppliers let their hair down at Sell TNQ’s gala dinner, held at the Hilton Cairns; day three of the famil saw the group travel to either the Great Barrier Reef or Kuranda for a day in the rainforest (pictured).

really pleased to see these immediate results,” Douglas says.

“Hosting these events has enabled Cairns to demonstrate its outstanding conference capabilities and very strong, professional and collaborative business events industry.”

Another major event for the bureau is Sell TNQ, Tropical North Queensland’s annual familiarisation event, which was held in Cairns in November.

The four-day event, which alternates between Cairns, Port Douglas and Palm Cove, saw 30 business events organisers and media meet with suppliers from across the region during an intensive full-day of meetings, as well as experience first-hand some of Cairn's best meetings facilities, off-site venues, hotels and attractions.

Highlights of the famil included a progressive lunch at the Shangri-La Hotel, located at the Cairns Marina; an exclusive teambuilding activity at Louis Vuitton Cairns; a Welcome Cocktail Function in the rainforest at the Cairns Botanic Gardens;

trips on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway and Kuranda Scenic Railway; and a gala dinner at the luxurious Hilton Cairns. A record number of participants stayed on for post-touring in nearby Port Douglas and Palm Cove.

“It’s probably been one of the best Sell TNQ’s we’ve have since I’ve been here, both from feedback from buyers and from our members,” says Douglas. “I know there have been a couple of pieces of confirmed business to come out of it, and lots of quotes.

“Sell TNQ is the single biggest activity we undertake. Our focus is getting people to the region to have a look at it. There are a lot of people who may be a bit wary because of the flight times, or whatever, but once we get people to the region we can show them how easy it is to do

business in the Cairns & Great Barrier Reef region.”

Douglas cites the region’s “collaborative industry” as one of its biggest advantages.

“All of our members work very collaboratively together,” she says. “They recognise that you have to sell the destination first.

“If one hotel is busy with a conference then it means that there is going to be flow-on accommodation to other properties, whether its business

events or leisure. People being busy is only going to benefit the whole region.”

Overall, Douglas says the bureau’s key message is that “we can hold our own against the capital cities in terms of being able to deliver major events”.

“Hosting these events has enabled Cairns to demonstrate

its outstanding conference capabilities and very strong,

professional and collaborative business events industry.”


KOREA

The capital of the Republic of Korea (South Korea), Seoul is a city on the move. A city of more than 10 million proud people with great expectations, Seoul has led the rapid rise of Korea as an economic power in its region, and if current progress continues, chances are it will be the number one convention city in Asia in no time at all. In just four decades South Korea has transformed itself from an impoverished state into a highly developed one, capable of hosting such events as the 1988 Summer Olympics, 2002 FIFA World Cup, and 2010 G20 Leaders Summit.

These days it’s the carefully balanced combination of natural beauty, ancient heritage and technology that gives Seoul its unique character, and appeal for business events.

The city has two major airports, Gimpo and Incheon International airport, where flights from Australia and New Zealand land. From Incheon International airport it is a one hour trip to the heart of Seoul and the journey is serviced by fast trains, bus, limos and taxis.

As a conference organiser you will find that all the hotel brands found in Australasia can also be found in Seoul and in other ports in Korea, which may be of assistance in the planning process if you have a good relationship with a particular hotel group.

The Seoul Convention Bureau is also able to offer a wide range of services to smooth

the process, so it’s worth establishing a relationship with them from the start.

In 2010 the South Korean Government selected eight areas of business as “growth engines” for Seoul’s economy and the Seoul Tourism Organisation focuses on these. They include biomedical, digital contents, business services, tourism and conventions, IT convergence, fashion and design, finance and green growth. This ensures a wide range of opportunities for the exchange of ideas and research presentations at congresses and conferences.

To experience first-hand what Seoul has to offer, a group of international media recently participated in a familiarisation of the city, coinciding with the 2nd [Union of International Associations] UIA Associations Round Table, which focused on educating the Korean industry on their role in facilitating and promoting the work of (mainly non-profit) international associations.

A highlight of the event was a meeting with the MICE Alliance group. Maureen O’Crowley, associate director of the Seoul Convention Bureau, introduced four members of the group representing most facets of the industry.

Jane Han, from Jane Tour and DMC, a former designated professional TTC guide in the Eighth Army US Force Korea, left no one in any doubt that there is nothing in Korea that can’t be catered for.

‘’Seoul has modernised, it has good quality restaurants, the city is clean, and everyone has a good attitude,’’ she said.

Australian Matthew Cooper, general manager of JW Marriott Seoul, pointed to the amount of hotel investment currently being undertaken in Seoul.

‘’Marriott has opened two hotels in the last six months with more to follow,” he said.

The JW Marriott Seoul, one the oldest in Seoul, has major renovations planned for next year.

The MICE Alliance group prides itself on helping each other and working with the bureau to get the requirements, needs and costs right for business events groups considering Seoul.

The famil group were also able to experience first-hand some of the first-rate venues Seoul has to offer, including COEX, Korea’s largest convention and exhibition centre. Last seen by CIM 10 years ago, COEX has changed quite dramatically – it’s now a “city within a city”, with everything you would need on hand, including three 5-star hotels, Hyundai Department Store along with 1400 other stores, a casino, 150 food and beverage outlets, movie theatre complex and World Trade Centre. COEX itself has 47,500sqm of space and 111 meeting rooms. It currently hosts around 1700 conferences and 200 exhibitions a year.

Unique venues include Some Sevit, Seoul’s Hangang Renaissance Project. Built as three

Great expectationsOne of Asia’s emerging powerhouses, South Korean capital Seoul is a dynamic destination which offers an intriguing mix of tradition and technology, discovers Robert Yeomans.

View slideshow in the CIM iPad app.


huge units, it is linked together with wire rope and stabilised by computer with the rise and fall of the river. Gavit has an area of 5490sqm and features a convention hall lounge, restaurant and café. Multi-purpose facility Chavit covers 3426sqm, also features a restaurant and café, while Solvit is a water sports facility, and has an area of 1078sqm.

A smaller venue is Korea House, designed to showcase traditional local culture to international visitors. This venue offers delegates a chance to enjoy traditional Korean royal cuisine, arts, and performances. Delegates can also compete in cooking local food in a school cooking kitchen or be taught the basics.

Dongdaemun Design Plaza is an ultra-modern building with the art and design world in mind. As their brochure says, “As the stage for creative industry, the Art Hall is devoid of pillars that hinder the excitement. The ringing echoes to fill the 20 metre-high, lofty, spacious, pure white space herald new thoughts, products and new culture.” The other rooms, the Museum and Design Lab are self-explanatory. As an organiser you would have to see this centre for yourself!

Seoul is also a great destination for out-of-conference-hours activities, with great shopping ranging from Seoul Yangnyeong Markets, an oriental herb market famous for its ginseng, to great department stores. Namdaermun Markets, Korea’s longest

running market, has 10,000 stalls! Traditional restaurants also abound, including the Nolboo Sulfur Duck Restaurant, where duck is stuffed with 23 ingredients including oriental herbal medicines and rice and then slow-cooked in earthenware ovens for three hours, and Cham Sut Gol, which specialises in sirloin steak and marinated ribs barbequed at the table.

For corporate groups and associations looking for an Asian destination with excellent transport links, modern facilities, and an intriguing mix of tradition and technology, Seoul is well worth a look. You may well be surprised at what you find.

Robert Yeomans was a guest of the Seoul Convention Bureau.

Clockwise from opposite page: Dongdaemun Design Plaza; Some Sevit at night; The Cooking School at Korea House; A bustling street scene in Seoul; Jane Han, Jane Han Tours, and Matthew Cooper, JW Marriott Seoul.

Lotte Hotel Seoul Part of Korea’s largest luxury hotel group, Lotte Hotel Seoul is located in the city’s central business district with 1120 guest rooms and 14 banquet halls. Two ballrooms will hold 1200 and 600 respectively. Facilities include 10 different restaurants and bars, a business centre, fitness and spa with indoor swimming pool, indoor golf driving range with professional golf instructor, gym and lounge.

JW Marriott SeoulLocated within Central City, JW Marriott Seoul is close to St Mary’s Hospital, Banpo Hangang River Park and expressway to Gyeonggi Province, the heart of Korea’s semiconductor industry. The property has 497 rooms, flexible banquet space with a capacity of 1000 people, and seven other meeting rooms.

Millennium Seoul HiltonLocated at the foot of Mt Namsan, Millennium Seoul Hilton is close to transport, making it easy to access the city’s business districts, ancient places, museums and markets. The hotel has 5224sqm of meeting space overall, consisting of a ballroom with capacity for 850 people and seven smaller meeting rooms.

The Plaza HotelConveniently located in the heart of Seoul, opposite City Hall and Lotte Department store, the Plaza Hotel is affiliated with Preferred Hotels and Resorts. It was completely redesigned in 2010 as a luxury boutique 5-star hotel. It has 410 rooms, six dining outlets, a ballroom seating 700 people theatre-style and six other meeting rooms that have capacities of 40 to 200.

Aloft Seoul GangnamThe first Aloft Hotel in Korea, this 4-star Starwood hotel offers easy access to COEX. The hotel has a small 64sqm meeting room, equipped with state-of-the-art technology. It offers vibrant public space and dining options including a one-stop 24-hour grab-and-go restaurant offering light meals and an all-day dining restaurant Nook.

Hotels with meetings facilities


EVENT AWARDS

The annual Australian Event Awards showcases the diversity and professionalism of the many events that are produced across the country, with 2014 no exception, writes Sheridan Randall.

Home run

Lifetime Achievement Award recipient John Trevillian and Special Olympics athlete Mel Eustace (left).

Last month saw the events industry gather at Doltone House, Darling Island Wharf, in Sydney’s Pyrmont, for the 2014 Australian Event Awards. The night was a celebration of the achievements of Australian events over the past 12 months, as well as an opportunity to recognise two of the industry’s most respected members.

With plenty of winners on the night, it was the Major League Baseball Opening Series, Sydney, 2014, that took out the 2014 Australian Event of the Year trophy, one of only six in existence.

Other winners included Sydney-based event company Rizer, named Event Organiser of the Year; Sydney Showground, which took home the Best Venue award; the Asia-Pacific

Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME), which was named Best Exhibition; and the 15th World Conference on Lung Cancer, Sydney 2013, which scooped the CIM Magazine Best Conference or Meeting award.

Jointly accepting the Best Conference or Meeting award was bid leader and conference co-president Clinical Professor Michael Boyer and Business Events Sydney chief executive Lyn Lewis-Smith, who recognised the team effort that contributed to the conference’s overall success.

“Working with ICS and Business Events Sydney to deliver the World Conference on Lung Cancer was a great experience,” said Boyer. “It truly highlighted to me the importance of having an experienced and


cohesive team to make events such as this one a success.”

The Awards also showcased the diversity of events and festivals held in Australia with Vivid Sydney named Best Tourism Event; Byron Bay Bluesfest 2014 taking out the Best Cultural, Arts or Music Event; and M~M2014: Mountain to Mouth taking home the Coates Hire Best Community Event of 2014.

The people’s choice award went to Ballarat Begonia Festival which was named Australia’s Favourite Event of 2014, while the Deni Ute Muster was awarded the Best Regional Event.

The Royal Australian Navy, represented

by Rear Admiral Stuart Mayer, Fleet

Commander, was awarded a Judges’ Special

Award for their 100th Anniversary event, the

Royal Australian Navy’s International Fleet

Review Spectacular. The eight-day event saw

37 warships and 16 tall ships participate in

reviews, parades, air shows, regattas and a fireworks and lightshow spectacular.

With all the winners keeping their speeches mostly within the allotted time, it was the eloquence of John Trevillian, the assistant director general, Office of Protocol and Special Events at NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet, and leading event producer David Grant – who were both honoured with Lifetime Achievement Awards – that

stole the show. Combining equal measures of compassion and laugh-out-loud crudity, both men showed just what a colourful and inspirational industry we all work in.

Clockwise from opposite page, top: The Royal Australian Navy’s International Fleet Review Spectacular; M~M2014: Mountain to Mouth; Deni Ute Muster.

“It truly highlighted to me the importance of having an experienced

and cohesive team to make events such as this one a success.”

Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, event

producer David Grant.

AIME event director Jacqui Timmins.

Jason Moore collects the Australian Event of the Year Award.


In less than two months the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) will roll out the red carpet for what promises to be a memorable start to 2015.

Now in its 23rd year, this year’s event, to be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) on February 24 and 25, 2015, will see more than 700 Exhibitors from more than 50 countries gather under one roof.

The 2015 event will see the introduction of a new community strategy designed to give attendees access to key business development tools. According to organisers, the new strategy seeks to create an

interactive online and offline community, where those in the industry can stay connected and inspired all year round as well as access the latest, most relevant information regarding the business events industry in the lead up to the annual expo. .

Jacqui Timmins, exhibition director at AIME and CIBTM, says the new strategy is reflective of demand and the need for constant innovation and access to information in the meetings and incentives industry.

“In a rapidly evolving business environment such as the MICE industry, with growing pressures and demands, the need for constant support in terms

Right: The show floor at AIME. Below: Networking on

day one of last year’s show.

AIME

What’s new at AIME in 2015Australia’s largest business events tradeshow, the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo 2015 is set to offer a new sense of community, according to the show’s organisers.


of education, additional networking opportunities and business continues to grow,” she says. “Our ever-growing community of professionals want access to our knowledge, advice and our tools 365 days a year – not just during an exhibition.”

New initiatives include pop-up networking and education events throughout the year, a mentoring program, regular focus groups and a new loyalty program. New onsite experiences include a central community hub area and a wide range of business development coaching workshops.

Business events organisers are also invited to be part of AIME’s popular Hosted Buyer program. The program is designed to offer a streamlined experience, featuring a personalised diary of pre-scheduled appointments with their preferred exhibitors to maximise their time at the

exhibition, as well as access to a program of innovative networking events and the new business development coaching workshops.

Successful applicants will also receive complimentary return flights, 4 to 5 star accommodation in Melbourne, airport transfers, complimentary tickets to all social functions, a complimentary pass to one AIME Hosted Buyer Education Session, and pre and post touring around regional Victoria.

“With 98 per cent of Hosted Buyers in attendance at AIME this year [2014] agreeing that the event was vital to their business and decision-making needs, this is without doubt the consummate event to attend to gain knowledge and keep abreast of the latest innovations in the industry,” says Timmins.

For more information about AIME, visit aime.com.au.

Left: Visitors enjoy an Education Session at last year's show. Above: The Business Events Sydney stand at AIME 2014.

What’s new at AIME in 2015

AIME in the winners’ circle AIME 2014 was named Best Exhibition at the Australian Event Awards (AEA) 2014, announced in Sydney recently.

The business events expo beat fellow finalists Australian Tourism Exchange 2014 (Tourism Australia), Taste of Sydney 2013 (Taste Festivals) and PAX Australia to take out the award.

The Best Exhibition category is judged on a company’s innovation in relation to techniques, knowledge and practices, its long term benefits to the industry and the degree to which the event delivers outcomes for its attendees, exhibitors and other key stakeholders.

Jacqui Timmins, exhibition director at AIME and CIBTM, said the win was testament to AIME’s determination to constantly innovate to remain a relevant and compelling event for the industry.

“At AIME we’re committed to constant innovation to ensure we provide for the industry’s evolving business needs, and this award is further testament to our dedication to stay at the forefront for the last 23 years,” she said. “Our team is passionate about ensuring we stay on top of worldwide trends to provide attendees with the latest insights, information and opportunities out there.

Karen Bolinger, chief executive of the Melbourne Convention Bureau, which owns AIME, said winning these awards strengthens AIME’s position as a globally renowned, world-class event, attracting high volumes of business and interest from overseas.

“AIME is a cornerstone of Australia’s highly successful business events industry and contributes substantial economic benefit to the local industry and economy each year,” she said. “This award highlights how we continue to be the most relevant, must-attend event in this space, showcasing industry best practice.”


A wine night out

EVENT REPORT

Fine wines, trivia and interactive technology came together when around 120 guests gathered at Sydney’s Australian Maritime Museum recently for the annual MasterWine Challenge.

A corporate event with a difference, the MasterWine Challenge, which is also held in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth each year, is organised by Hurricane Event Group, a bespoke event company working in partnership with businesses and corporations to deliver specific events based on the

client’s needs and expectations.

The brainchild of managing director and wine enthusiast James Nosworthy, the MasterWine Challenge offers attendees the chance to entertain corporate guests, reward staff and network with other attendees. All while enjoying an evening of exceptional food, fine wines and interactive wine trivia games.

Following pre-dinner drinks held on the HMAS Vampire, Australia's largest museum

vessel, one of Australia's most respected wine commentators, Nick Stock, stepped up to the microphone to welcome guests to what promised to be a memorable evening.

While guests enjoyed a delicious five-course degustation menu, created by the venue’s in-house caterer Laissez-Faire, served with matched wines, Stock quizzed them on their wine knowledge through a series of trivia questions and games including a blind tasting.

It was buzzers at 20 paces when Hurricane Event Group held its annual MasterWine Challenge in Sydney recently, writes Nerrilee Weir.

Right and below: Guests at the MasterWine

Challenge enjoyed stunning views of the

Sydney skyline over a glass of bubbles.

Opposite page, top: each table formed

a team for the wine trivia competition.


Keep delegates freshno matter how long

your event.

For sales enquires contact Ferrero Foodservice on 1800 199 183 or visit www.ferrero.com.au/foodservice/tictac

With peppermint fl avoured TIC TAC Pillow Packs on the table, attendees will be able to freshen up and stay focused with a simple tear of the packet.

ARM0582 Tic Tac CIM_60x210.indd 1 19/03/14 11:16 AM

The menu for the evening included seared tuna with grapefruit, black pepper caramel and puffed pork, paired with chardonnays from Murdoch Hill and Shaw & Smith, and lamb rack, braised neck, salt baked celeriac, parsley puree and beets, paired with shiraz from Peter Lehmann and Tim Smith Wines. Other courses included wines from Ocean Eight, Kooyong Estate, The Lane Vineyard and

Leconfield Wines Coonawarra.

A highlight for the evening was Hurricane Event’s use of technology and social media to provide interactivity between the tables. Live tweets were projected onto the screen allowing people to connect with what other guests were saying, while the digital keypads given to each table to enter their answers to the quiz questions allowed for on-the-

spot scoring.

“The interactive quiz is an icebreaker right from the start,” says Nosworthy. “The technology allows for it to be instantaneous. The leader board comes up after five questions and people can see where they stand against other tables. It gets a bit of rivalry going in the room; it’s a great vibe.”

Feedback for the evening was overwhelmingly positive, with

novices and connoisseurs alike enjoying the chance to improve or show off their existing wine knowledge in a fun, user-friendly format.

“We can gauge the success of the event from the comments we get on the night and later,” confirms Nosworthy. “From our perspective it connects us with potential clients; we’ve formed lots of different relationships. It’s a great event.”

Wine expert

Nick Stock

was emcee

for the

evening.

Guests do a blind tasting.

Xxxxxx

Guests were greeted with glasses of Jansz Tasmanian Premium Cuvée as they boarded the HMAS Vampire.

The Australian Maritime Museum was the

venue for the Sydney MasterWine Challenge.


News in brief

VENUE UPDATE

New DoubleTree by Hilton DoubleTree by Hilton has announced the opening of a

new hotel located on Flinders Street in Melbourne. The DoubleTree by Hilton Melbourne has undergone a multi-million dollar refurbishment to create a modern 180-room boutique-style hotel. The property features two meeting rooms, which can accommodate up to 140 people, for a range of business events.

Marriott opens in China’s Hainan ProvinceMarriott International

has opened their first hotel under its Marriott Hotels brand in Haikou, Hainan Province. Haikou Marriott offers more than 4000sqm of meeting space. The hotel features a pillarless grand ballroom and a seaside lawn that can accommodate up to 800 guests, making it an ideal venue for meetings, conferences and events.

Queensland makes wavesThe Watermark Hotel & Spa Gold Coast, in Queensland, has undergone a

transformation, with a fresh new street level look, room refurbishments, plus a new lobby, restaurant and bar. The property offers eight spaces to host events from smaller meeting groups to larger business conferences. The hotel's conference facilities are also set to receive a multimillion-dollar upgrade in 2015.

Ballroom bliss for OutriggerOutrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort in Thailand has announced the opening of its Similan Ballroom, which measures 716sqm and features natural light. The ballroom can host conferences of up to 350 delegates theatre-style and 290 guests banquet-style. The venue also includes three breakout rooms, and offers innovative team building options, which connect with the local Thai culture. The four meeting spaces feature free wi-fi, dedicated technical support, and state-of-the-art audio-visual and conference amenities.


New super centre for ShanghaiThe new National Exhibition and Convention Center, in Shanghai, China,

has opened after a three-year construction period. The world's largest single-block exhibition complex offers 500,000sqm of flexible exhibition space, with a wide range of meetings facilities available. Located 1.5 kilometres from the Hongqiao transport hub, the Centre is within easy reach of Hongqiao Airport and Hongqiao Railway Station.

Heritage Hotels expands in NZHeritage Hotels has added The Devon Hotel, New Plymouth,

in New Zealand, to their group. The hotel has recently opened a state-of-the-art conference centre, which is suitable for events of up to 750 people theatre-style and 450 for a formal banquet. The grand auditorium is dividable into three separate conference rooms, in addition to the hotel’s eight smaller conference rooms.

Something fishy going onKyoto Aquarium, in Umekoji Park, Japan, has grown its offering to the conference, events

and incentives market with the launch of a new venue. The Aquarium boasts a 1500 seat dolphin stadium, as well as smaller spaces which can accommodate up to 350 people. The venue is ideal for events such as product launches, receptions and gala dinners.

Major investment for BrisbaneHotel Grand Chancellor Brisbane has started work on what will be the largest hotel-based conference centre in Brisbane. Due for completion in April 2015, the new conference centre will offer more than 1000sqm of floor space and 11 function rooms over two levels. The ballroom will have the capacity to host a sit down gala dinner of up to 500 guests, as well as a dinner of up to 350 people in the ground floor conference rooms.

Brady, Brady, BradyBrady Hotels has opened its new 16-floor property on Little Latrobe Street, in central Melbourne. The hotel includes two fully equipped conference rooms, which can be combined into a larger venue, accommodating up to 80 people. The conference rooms offer large 60-inch LED displays, teleconferencing, video conferencing and wireless broadband internet access. Business events and meetings can be catered by their new restaurant, Little Charley. Brady Hotels offers 146-rooms, with four executive, two-bedroom apartments, and two, two-bedroom penthouse apartments, and features climate control air-conditioning, flexible bedding configurations, wireless broadband internet, Foxtel and in-room Smart TV.


TALKING POINT

The logistics behind an event on the scale of the recent Brisbane G20 Leaders’ Summit are immense, with the registration and accreditation process one of the first tasks to rollout. Sheridan Randall spoke with Touchpoint Meeting Services managing director Chris Buckley about the challenges of working on such a complex event.

For the tens of thousands of delegates and support workers involved in the Brisbane G20 Leaders’ Summit picking up their security pass marked the beginning of their involvement. But for the small team at Touchpoint Meeting Services tasked with the registration and accreditation process it was the culmination of 12 months hard work.

Managing director Chris Buckley founded Touchpoint Meeting Services in 2010 after forging a successful career working on the accreditation and registration of a suite of high profile international and local events. Working closely with Australian event management software provider Centium Software, Touchpoint Meeting Services was an integral part of the registration and accreditation process of the Brisbane G20.

“There is a misconception that accreditation is somehow just an enhanced or beefed up version of registration,” he says. “This couldn’t be further from the truth. Registration is just the gateway to accreditation – it is step number one on a complex pathway of checks, data exchanges and clearances, which are based on a series of business rules, which are themselves based on various criteria such as attendance category and citizenship.”

With an event as large and involving so many stakeholders as the G20 accreditation is no simple task. In short to get a single accreditation over the line involves multiple, time sensitive, dependent processes across multiple stakeholders.

“This is the biggest challenge for any of these world events from an accreditation point of view – the data management,” he says. “The G20 was no different, but it was particularly hard due to the fact that security was paramount, so the checks were rigorous, and the size of the workforce, which was quite large due to the number of secure venues and the number of accredited police.”

Beginning the process around 12 months out from the Summit, the Touchpoint team, using Centium Software’s EventsPro, went through a series of stages including the initial delegate registration, working closely with the many designated accreditation officers and media organisation accreditation officers to ensure that the 28,000-plus registrations were pushed through successfully on time.

The team then reviewed all of the submitted data, including the accreditation photos, before beginning the accreditation process.

“One of our key roles at these events is to work with our client to shepherd the thousands of applications through the accreditation process and keep everything moving over time, ensuring that there are no bottle-necks, which would cause major issues close to event time,” he says.

“Simultaneously we liaise with the various agencies involved in background checking accreditations, such as policing agencies and border control. Our team develop close relationships with these agencies and are in daily contact, particularly in the weeks leading up to the event, when the majority of the data is trying to get pushed through.

“It is such a finely balanced activity as there are so many dependencies. You need to make a judgement call on when to start the ball rolling based on how good or complete your data is versus the need to complete the job in time for distribution. Get it wrong and you will either waste a lot of time and money doing re-prints or, at the other end of the scale, face an ugly scene onsite with delegations and media standing around waiting for passes.”

Following a formal sign-off process that happens with every delegation and organisation represented at the G20, credential production begins, which in this

case consisted of a photographic radio frequency identification pass with a holographic overlay.

“All governments want to be seen using the latest technology, particularly if it fades the security into the background, but they also want to mitigate risk, which means using proven technology,” he says.

“We are working with Centium and their latest generation EventsAir software to create new innovations for large events. It won’t be too long before we see biometrics as the primary means of security for large events.”

Brisbane can safely measure the success of the G20 by the glowing global media coverage but for those working in the background, such as Buckley and his team, not getting any attention is probably a sign of a job well done, as is having Prime Minster Tony Abbott pop his head in to the accreditation zone to personally say thanks.

“I would say though that the number one measure of success for us is the satisfaction of our clients,” says Buckley. “On that score I believe we have been very successful.”

A credit to the team


MEETING PEOPLE

Pier One Sydney Harbour is pleased to announce several new appointments to their team. Chris James has been appointed business development sales manager – MICE, Feroza Saleem-Martin as conference and catering manager, and Tanmay Joshi as conference and events operations manager.

Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, in Muscat, has appointed John Burke to the role of director of operations. Burke brings extensive operational experience to the venue, having most recently worked at the Qatar National Convention Centre in Doha, and prior to that spent more than 15 years with the NEC Group in the UK.

Novotel Wollongong Northbeach has promoted Sharon Pannewitz to the role of business development manager. Emma White will fill the role of conference and events sales executive, having started at Novotel almost three years ago.

Myriad Marketing, Melbourne Convention Bureau’s (MCB) representation agency for North America, has appointed Maria Rivera to the position of MCB director of business development, North America. Rivera will be based in Washington DC.

Katy Hartnett has joined Convention and Incentives New Zealand as its new Meetings exhibition manager. Hartnett has

more than 20 years experience both in the UK and New Zealand, and comes from her most recent role as conference and event management for Conference Innovators and Auckland Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Tourism Portfolio has appointed Silky Bedi to the newly-created role of sales coordinator. Bedi has more than 10 years

experience in the travel industry, and most recently worked as contract manager for Rising Stars Travel, a specialist in sport travel management.

Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre has welcomed Samantha Shears to the role of business development

manager. Shears has 16 years experience in meetings and special event sales roles, and has previously worked for Jupiters Hotel & Casino, Village Roadshow and British American Tobacco.

AEG Ogden has appointed Mathew Paine to the role of human resources director for the International Convention

Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney). Paine has more than 14 years experience in human resource management. He joins ICC Sydney’s team after four years as the director of human resources with Sofitel Luxury Hotels and Resorts.

Lyn Lewis-Smith, chief executive of Business Events Sydney, will continue as president of the Association of Australian Convention

Bureaux board. Stuart Nettlefold, chief executive of Business Events Tasmania, was also re-elected as vice president, while Simon Ambrose, chief executive of Sunshine Coast Destination, was elected to the role of treasurer.

Tourism Australia has appointed Lisa Ronson as its new chief marketing officer, replacing Nick Baker. Ronson

is currently the head of marketing services at Westpac. She brings broad marketing experience in non-tourism sectors such as retail and financial services to the role. She will commence her new position in February 2015.

Lieke Scherbeijn has been appointed event manager at ICMS Australasia. She joins the company from

her position as events executive at the Consulate-General of the Netherlands, where she organised multiple business events with key speakers from government and industry.

Crowne Plaza Canberra has appointed Tina Fisher as its new general manager. She brings with her a strong marketing and

sales background, with more than 25 years experience in hotels, travel and membership organisations.

Wyndham Hotel Group has appointed Kate Costello hotel manager of their new flagship property, Wyndham on William

Melbourne. Costello has a strong hospitality background having previously worked in a variety of roles for Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.


PCO ASSOCIATION

The professional development of the conference industry sector remains the number one priority for the PCO Association and this objective has been met by providing a monthly webinar focusing on a particular industry issue or “key driver”.

Some participants of the webinars are in-house association and corporate practitioners, to whom the PCO Association has reached out and engaged with, meeting another of our objectives of including all sectors of our industry.

An analysis of participants also revealed that many PCO companies’ managers, co-ordinators and business development professionals have gained valuable knowledge from the highly-credentialed webinar speakers.

To ensure that the association provided value to members, member networking functions were also held several times throughout the year in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra.

The functions, hosted by our business partners and chaired by the councillor from that state, saw solid participation and great feedback, with members very much

supportive of the opportunity to interact with their peers and discuss matters of mutual benefit.

Organisational objectives have been delivered with the appointment of Maxine Tod as director of business partnerships, working out of the association’s Gold Coast office. Tod has been a key player in delivering services for members and interfacing our business partners with members and our industry sector.

The Canberra office, with Jillian Masters at the helm, is also fully established and functional, providing the overall administration and accreditation capability for the association.

Membership of the association continues to grow as a direct result of providing leadership for the industry, listening to members’ issues and concerns, and engaging with members.

In 2014 we have increased the number of certified event companies by more than 15 per cent and certified event managers by 25 per cent, which can only be positive for our industry and for buyers of our services.

The association is about to launch a major

marketing campaign explaining the benefits of contracting a certified event company to project manage events and conferences. We see this as an integral part of projecting the professionalism of our industry, along with the professional credentials of companies and individuals.

The association’s communication platform has been driven by activities across the PCO blog, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and email newsletters. This year we have undertaken a co-ordinated campaign across a number of platforms and have enjoyed considerable success in developing our community, both nationally and internationally.

A new interactive association website is under development and will be launched early in the New Year.

Of course, the culminating event of the year was the 2014 annual conference, which was held from November 30 - December 2 in Canberra. We were delighted this year that both the Association of Australian Conference Bureaux and International Congress and Convention Association Australia have moved their meetings to Canberra to coincide with the conference. Watch this space for more on the conference in the February 2015 issue.

2014 was a very big year for the PCO Association, writes president Barry Neame.

The year that was

Content Marketing Essentials for PCOsMastering content marketing is the key to keeping the momentum of an event going, writes Sarah Mitchell.

Content marketing is the practice of attracting and retaining customers using original content. Original content becomes an asset to your business you can reuse, repurpose and recycle. This is particularly important to professional conference organisers (PCOs) who run the same conference every year and benefit from building a portfolio of content assets.

As content marketing matures in Australia, clear trends are starting to emerge. New research from the Content Marketing

Institute provides a roadmap showing where Australian marketers need to focus. Professional conference organisers should pay close attention to two key findings.

According to Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute, having a documented strategy and following that strategy are essential to success.

“There are two critical factors that differentiate effective content marketers over the rest of the pack – having a documented content marketing strategy and following it

Percentage of Australian marketers who have a Content Marketing Strategy

37% Yes, and it is documented

12%No

5% Unsure

46% Yes, but it is not

documented

Content Marketing in Australia 2015: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Content Marketing Institute/ADMA


Frustrated by problems with flight bookings for groups, professional conference organiser Jodie Parker, the owner of Iceberg Events, came up with an answer – set up her own travel arm, Iceberg Travel.

Over a three-year period Parker basically went back to school, delving deeply into the way travel agencies and travel management staff operate, trying to learn why things went wrong and clients became upset.

Brisbane-based Parker gained a travel agency licence and set up the systems needed to enable her to book airfares for her own clients and delegates. She is now

Lessons from the travel industryThe group travel industry is a lot more complicated than it looks, as Jodie Parker from Iceberg Events discovered when she set up her own travel arm.

offering the same service to other conference organisers.

“The travel industry is a lot more complicated

than it looks,” she says. “I now understand

why a lot of those things that I complained about happened, especially in a group flight scenario.

“The systems and software are not simple and not

user-friendly. Every airline has different rules and policies. It’s very

confusing for customers.

“Those mistakes I had a tantrum about aren’t necessarily the agent’s fault, but the agent needs to know to look for them.”

Parker adds that while travel agencies spend their day booking holidays, staff at travel management companies spend most of their time booking corporate clients to fly to Sydney and return.

“Sourcing and booking group flights for conferences is different,” she says. “Travel agents are taught to offer the ‘best fare of

day’, even if the flight does not arrive in time for the start of an event.

“The agent’s day-to-day experience does not prepare them for the job of booking a large conference group to arrive in time for the opening ceremony or welcome cocktail function for a conference or incentive outing.

“How many conference organisers have thought to themselves, ‘they didn’t give me relevant arrival options. I know what the program for this event is; I even sent it to them. They still don’t seem to understand that I need everyone on the Gold Coast by 1pm, so telling me about the cheap flights at 6pm is hardly relevant’?”

Travel agents and travel management staff are taught to offer a firm quote for travel, and get it signed off the same day, whereas an events manager might say, “They got hung up on exact fare quotes when I was just in the budgeting stage, and I wasn’t ready to book anything yet. Then they kept ringing to try to get me to pay deposits!”

“They don’t take the time they should to double check their work when doing a group,” adds Parker. “They expect you to check and let them know if everything is OK."

Australian Content Marketing tactic usage

Content Marketing in Australia 2015: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Content Marketing Institute/ADMA

very closely.” says Pulizzi. “Those two things make all the difference.”

The good news for PCOs is they’re likely to have an on-going stream of original content in a variety of formats. Even better, much of the most effective forms of content can be provided by the speakers at your events.

If you’re not publishing new information on a consistent basis, Google sends your conference site down in search engine rankings. It’s easy to have this happen in the lull directly following an event and before you start ramping up for the next. If your content is not completely original, you run the risk of being shut down by Google altogether. If you’re not implementing high-quality writing standards, Google is going to sanction you for that, too. These mandates are the result of a complete

rewrite of the Google algorithm, released in September 2013. Conference organisers must think like publishers, another reason to focus your marketing strategy on content first.

There’s nothing new about content marketing. You probably already have plenty of content like newsletters, speaker videos or PowerPoint presentations. The challenge now is to figure out what information you can publish to attract the delegates you want to attend your conferences. There’s no quick and easy way around it, Google has made sure of that.

Sarah Mitchell is the head of content strategy at Lush Digital Media, founder of Global Copywriting and the Australian editor of Chief Content Officer magazine.

Social media content – other than blogs

Articles on your website

eNewsletters

In-person events

Case studies

Videos

Blogs

Illustrations/photos

Infographics

Miccrosites

Online presentations

Research reports

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