The global meeting and event industry, nearly 11,000 strong, came together, albeit virtually, on Tuesday for Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID): Virtual. The daylong, worldwide event focused on education, inspiration and networking during the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
What would normally be the annual event of face-to-face meetings and events to celebrate and educate communities about the economic impact of the meetings business instead was relegated to a virtual event due to COVID-19, which has brought the world economy to a halt.
But that did not deter meeting professionals from engaging throughout the 12-hour event hosted by MPI, which featured speakers discussing a range of topics such as event design, wellness, legal issues, virtual meetings and more.
One session that resonated, for example, was the “State of the Industry Leadership Panel” hosted by Annette Gregg, CMM, senior vice president of experience at MPI. The panel included Roger Dow, president and CEO of the US Travel Association; Steve O’Malley, division president at Maritz Travel and chair of MPI’s International Board of Directors; Susan Robertson, president and CEO at ASAE; Amy Calvert, CEO of the Events Industry Council; Jason Dunn, group vice president for the Cincinnati USA CVB and chair of the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP); and Paul Van Deventer, president and CEO of MPI.
“The only way we’re going to get through this is to come across good ideas that we can pursue that will help us build out businesses back now and into the future.”
Acknowledging that the coronavirus crisis has impacted so many, the association leaders encouraged meeting professionals to rise up.
“I always say lead from what you are,” Robertson said. “This is a time when your leadership needs ideas. They need ways of economizing, they need ways to expand our audiences, who need ideas for programs. Do not be afraid to speak up in this scenario.
“The only way we’re going to get through this is to come across good ideas that we can pursue that will help us build our businesses back now and into the future, so no matter where you are in the organization, you’re a leader, you have an opportunity to step up and to share those ideas and to help your organization in ways you never have before. I implore you to think of yourselves as a leader and go to your leaders and share.”
Dunn added that it is important to “resist the temptation of going back to what you know. You have to evolve and walk into a room as if you’re supposed to be there with your back straight and lead with data. Take the time to sharpen your craft, put your chest out and be empowered. That’s the only way we’re going to move forward as an industry.”
The inspirational messages not only came from industry leaders, but from speakers who focused on wellness, sustainable development goals, pivoting to virtual events, legal issues, crisis communication, independent business owners and other topics.
Coronavirus Resources: FREE Education from the MPI Academy
This is the third year MPI has hosted a GMID broadcast, and nearly 13,000 people registered for event.
MPI Europe conducted its own virtual event for meeting professionals prior to MPI’s global broadcast. The four-hour event in Europe included speakers such as Pieter Allaerts, chair of MPI’s European Advisory Council, and MPI members Paula Blomster, Marjolein Blok-Dignum and Elina Jutelyte. Kjell Lutz was the webinar host and speaker.
In addition, several of MPI’s international chapters participated in programming, including the Netherlands, UK & Ireland, Poland, Turkey, Italia, France-Switzerland, Montreal/Quebec, Belgium, Japan and Caribe Mexicano.
“We are thrilled with how well received the virtual GMID: Live was, not only the numbers of an average of 6,200 logging it in any given time, but the positive interaction in the chat box and Q&A with our speakers is evidence that it was impactful and embraced by the audience,” Gregg said. “It's evidence that this is an industry full of people passionate about what they do, and they saw today as an opportunity to rally around each other and our industry as a whole.”
“It’s an industry that drives innovation, creativity, personal and professional development—and what will be critical as we recover from this crisis is economic development.”
Face-to-face meetings are a staple of the global economy. The 2017 report Global Economic Significance of Business Events showed that face-to-face meetings resulted in US$1.03 trillion in direct spend to the economy. The study also showed that in 2017, more than 1.4 billion participants from more than 180 countries attended meetings and events.
The $1.03 trillion reflects the direct spending from planning, producing, attending and/or hosting business events that include meetings, conferences, conventions, exhibitions and incentive travel.
The current pandemic has been especially devastating to the meeting, event and hospitality industry, Dow said.
“Loss of revenue to our industry directly is probably well over $400 billion,” he said. “That’s about $900 billion in GDP. We’re getting a disproportionate hurt and harm like we’ve never seen before.”
The industry leaders, though, believe meetings and events can help lead the economy back.
“It’s an industry that drives innovation, creativity, personal and professional development—and what will be critical as we recover from this crisis is economic development,” Van Deventer said.
Gregg said the team at MPI demonstrated how to pull off a very robust and interactive high-quality virtual broadcast.
“We can use this as a case study for our attendees as well,” she said. “We are paying special attention to how engaged people were, the different speaker formats, any technical glitches, how useful the simultaneous translation was. All of these things are learnings we can turn over to our members and attendees.
“For us, adding a virtual element is a way to expand your reach, not a threat to the live audience. Going forward it’s a reminder that every live event can have a very robust virtual audience with the proper planning and strategy.”
Kevin Kirby, executive director of the MPI Foundation, said on the broadcast that the foundation has identified nearly $300,000 to be used to support distressed members to renew memberships. In addition, the foundation raised nearly $7,000 during the broadcast.
Some attendees also joined #GMIDGoesVirtual, another event in which organizers were attempting to break the Guinness World Record for largest audience for a virtual conference.
Other key sessions that took place during the 12-hour broadcast included the following.
· “Event Design at the Speed of Change”—How to use the #EventCanvas to pivot your event design with your team with Ruud Jansen, DES, CMM, co-founder and managing partner, Event Design Collective GmbH
· Lee Papa, mindfulness coach and speaker, on mindfulness in difficult times
· An industry update with Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group
· “Virtual Event Experience Design” with Anthony Vade, CED, experience architect, FMAV
· “Lean Tips for Small Businesses” with Tracy Judge, founder and chief connector, Soundings Connect, and Howard Cleveland, co-founder, PeopleCap
· “How to Transition your Events to Virtual and Engage Your Audience” with the MPI Caribe Mexicano Chapter
· “Events as Accelerators for the Sustainable Development Goals”with Mariela McIlwraith, CMP, CMM, MBA, director of industry advancement, Event Industry Council, and Courtney Lohmann, director, corporate social responsibility for PRA Inc.
· “Pivot to Virtual: A Case Study Panel Discussion” powered by PSAV with Ben Erwin, president, PSAV; Tara Higgins, president, Hargrove; Tricia Rawh, executive director, Center for Education at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation; and Jim Huss, director, events and experiences, Intel Corp.
· “COVID-19—The Legal Coupled with the Business Decisions That You Need to Consider” with Jonathan Howe president/CEO, law firm of Howe & Hutton Ltd., and Tyra Warner, department chair, Hospitality, Tourism, & Culinary Arts at College of Coastal Georgia
· “Marketing in the Virtual World” with Kelly Treadway, owner and lead strategist, EventCurious
· “Crisis Communications: Coronavirus Edition” with Alex Plaxen, VP experience strategy, Nifty Method Marketing & Events
· “Staying Sane During These Challenging Times” with Elizabeth Lombardo, speaker and psychologist, Elizabeth Lombardo International LLC
· “Independent Business Owners” with Eric Rozenberg, president and CEO, Event Business Formula USA
· “Leading Teams Virtually” with Nikole Fridenmaker, business event expert, Fridenmaker Consulting LLC
· “Podcasting Can Change Your Life” with Amani Roberts, chief musical curator, The Amani Experience
The daylong event was archived and will accessible for on-demand viewing by registered attendees next week at mpi.org/gmid20, said Jessie States, CMP, CMM, director of the MPI Academy.
To get more industry information and education on COVID-19, go to mpi.org/TrustedResource.
Global Meetings Industry Day: Virtual was sponsored by Delta Airlines, Destination Colorado, Discover Puerto Rico, Marriott International, VisitDallas and WorldWide Tech.
