The Future of Professional Congress Organization Roger Tondeur MCI AIPC July 2006

The Future of Professional Congress Organization

• • • • • • • • The MCI Group – An Introduction Trends in Associations and their Impact on PCOs / DMCs Local PCO/DMC – The Future?

Opportunities for Local PCOs From Local PCO to Core PCO Emergence of Association Management Companies Conclusions Questions and Answers

The MCI Group – An Introduction

•

MCI Group

MCI is the foremost Pan-European

association, communications, and event management

company •

18 years of experience (founded 1987)

– –

4.000 projects+ 400.000 hotel room nights booked/year

•

One Company, a World of Experiences

–

(360 staff, € 120 M turnover)

•

13 European offices, plus Singapore, Strategic Alliance in the USA

MCI Group – International Presence

Serving Corporations and Associations

MCI is the Preferred Vendor for global companies Lilly, HP, AstraZeneca, BMS, Roche, Amgen, France Telecom, Abbott, Orange, DaimlerChrysler MCI manages 23 associations on a strategic level EULAR, ECTS, ESPEN, FIDI, WLPGA as core PCO ISN, WFSBP, PMI, ISPE, as AMC

Trends in Associations and their Impact on PCOs / DMCs

Trends in Associations

(national, regional, international)

• • • • • • Meetings increasingly “only” part of the overall strategy of an organization Change from volunteer to professional management Importance of greater central involvement/control Need for “ progressive development ” of any organizational activity Long term accountability to stakeholders (including pharmaceutical industry) Technological advancements

Trends in Associations

• • • • • • Meetings decreasingly the single most important activity of an organization - diversification of activities Limited or even decreasing funding resources (= success of meetings is even more critical) Return on investment for association, sponsors, partners Varying objectives depending on destination Emergence of international “ Core PCOs ” and “ Association Management Companies ” Importance of a greater international presence (particular in South & Latin America) (“go there”)

Trends in Destination Selection

• • • • • • Selection increasingly based on overall strategic goals of associations / mission cycles Association/meetings professionals have more (pre-)decision making influence Pre-selection of regions and possibly countries Open and formal RFP for candidate destinations and local vendors Need for transparency when making selections Increasing preference to work with professional convention bureaus

Market Environment

• • • • • • Companies and associations are using global strategies , creating a need for a global approach to strategy, with local execution .

“Relationships” are no longer sufficient in the world of procurement departments, PCOs have to move towards long-term contracts and added value. Commoditisation and consolidation Increased return on investment and stakeholder value Experience and purchasing power are needed to be credible.

Transparency , competence, flexibility and price are important elements as businesses and associations focus on core competencies.

Local PCO / DMC – The Future?

Perceptions of Local PCOs by Associations

+

Local knowledge

+

Professionalism

+

On the ground (time, culture, language)

+

Time saving

+

Cost efficiency

-

Need for “investment”

-

Lack of transparency

-

Lack of trust

-

Objectives may not be the same

-

Costly

Local PCO/DMC - The Future?

• • • • • All the trends indicated before Less control over events (including selection of destination) Less opportunities to make money (budget constraints) Works with PCOs or AMCs rather than volunteers (greater control) Core PCOs have increasing purchasing power

But …..

• • Local knowledge and contacts, purchasing power remain important Ideally complement the strengths of associations and add value

Example: Transportation of your delegates

Opportunities for Local PCOs

How can Local PCOs be successful?

• • • • • • • Understand your partners (associations, AMCs, Core PCOs) Offer seamless integration with association or Core PCO Be transparent Offer local competence and added-value Have a pro-active approach Show your flexibility Find the price – quality balance

Areas of Collaboration

• • • • • • Accommodations Social events On site services Transfers / welcome services Local / regional marketing Local / regional sponsorship and exhibition sales

How to Find the Best Collaboration

• • • • • • Clear expectation management Distribution of tasks Acceptance of limited scope for local PCO/DMC Understanding of all parties’ needs – The Association, The LOC, The Local PCO/DMC & The Core PCO Work as a team and not against each other Provide a clear value-added

Your reputation will travel far!

From Local PCO to Core PCO

• • • • • • • • •

Scope of Work of Core PCOs

Work with associations (or corporations) over several events Travel with them to various locations (national, regional, international) Align their goals with the associations Align their working styles Become “one team” Build long-term relationships with key stakeholders (e.g. sponsors) Securing the association’s interests Knowledge maintenance & development i.

Marketing ii. Congress Culture iii. Content iv. Cost Control Guarantee unified high service and product level

• • • •

How are Core PCOs Structured

Taking full responsibility as much as requested Dedicated team members (year after year) Leaving appropriate roles to the local entities: DMC / PCO Work with specialized departments i.

Sponsorship / fundraising ii. Events marketing iii. Technical iv. Accommodations v. Purchasing vi. Finances vii. Program development

• • • • • •

Benefits for Core PCOs

Long-term relationship (= secure business) Closeness to decision makers Ability to influence and/or be part of the decision making process (including site selection) Become part of the overall strategy of an organization Can be pro-active about their own business future Can grow with the associations they service (= create own business)

The Emergence of Association Management Companies

From DMC to Association Management Company Association Management C.

Core PCO Local PCO DMC

Trends towards Association Management

• • • • • • More Associations seek stronger central control - use Core PCOs, AMC ’s or Integrated AMC’s Decision on location is made more strategically – based on an association ’s need Return on investment for associations and partners critical Core relationships must be served more constantly (e.g. sponsors) Meetings are increasingly seen as “only one aspect” of an association IPCAA Recommendations: • “Use experienced, financially solvent, and loyal PCO ”

Integrated Association Management

Past

Admin Sec. Gen Finance Treasurer Web

Present

Community Advocacy President

Conference

Members

LOC/POC Conference

Education Journal Publisher Education Locals Publishing Web IT Partner Institutional relationships

More centralised control

Industry relationships

Association Management

• • • • • • • • • • • Central office and association management Membership administration and development Strategic planning, management and development Financial planning, management and controlling Communications and marketing (hardcopy and electronic) Branding Corporate relations and fund development Strategic relations and partnerships Educational programs and knowledge management Leadership development Government affairs

Conclusions

Conclusions

• • • • • • • Associations are becoming more sophisticated (must become) Local expertise remains very important PCOs who understand professional trends (national, regional, international) will ultimately be successful PCOs can and must become strategic partners of associations or corporations There is increasing need for more strategic services to associations PCOs must be pro-active as the business environment changes quickly National, regional and international collaborations become more important

The Continuum of Partnership

Local PCO

Dependent on the decision of the Assoc.

Core PCO

Influences the decisions of the Association

AMC

Makes the decisions of the Association One-time collaboration Long-term collaboration Overall collaboration Short-term relationship as a vendor Must follow given goals No control / No business stability Long term relationship as a partner Long-term project based alignment of goals Limited control / Limited business stability Becomes the Association Defines the goals with the Association Close to full control / Great business stability

Questions & Answers

MCI HQ

75 rue de Lyon 1211 Geneva 13 Switzerland Phone: + 41 22 33 99 500 Fax: + 41 22 33 99 501 Email: [email protected]