We spoke with Alessia Di Raimondo of MPI's Italia Chapter, about this year's biggest accomplishments, lessons learned and what's in store for 2020. Here's what she had to say.
What do you feel was your chapter's biggest accomplishment this year?
The growing engagement. People following our chapter over our Facebook or LinkedIn networks, as well as people attending our events, are showing such a great enthusiasm towards all our initiatives. We are honored and excited to receive many more membership requests than in the last years. This is, of course, thanks to the great job done by Giuseppina Cardinale, VP of Membership for MPI Italia, and all the colleagues in her team, but also thanks to the inclusive and rich social and education program we are trying to offer to all our colleagues, not only members of the chapter. Our VP of Education, Luca Vernengo, is doing a great job in order to offer a variety of activities and education opportunities to all our members. Also our student observers will benefit from an upcoming boot camp organized by the VP Student, Ylenia Moscuzza, and her team, that will break the rules and involve them as future leaders in the industry.
The Annual Convention 2019—My Story, held in Rome last July—was an amazing experience. The fulfillment of the participants was tangible. "An event not to be missed" was the most common comment at the end of the event, and this was the best accomplishment for our President Enrico Jesu together with President Elect Maddalena Milone, the Immediate Past President Elisabetta Caminiti and all the board members.
Last but not least, we are a great team, cohesive and supportive of each other. In my opinion, this is a big result when you work in and for a community.
What meetings trends emerged in your neck of the woods this year and what do you think next year's biggest trends will be?
I can say experience is the keyword and it is going to replace the word event. Sustainability is going to be a standard and not only a value added. A human-centric approach is the new fundamental value, as well as perspective to design and plan events: not B2B but H2H.
Furthermore, MICE influencer marketing and content creation is definitely an emerging trend in the global meeting industry.
#MeetInNaples was the first MICE influencer project in Italy, run at the beginning of 2019 by the local Convention Bureau with MPI colleague Giovanna Lucherini, in collaboration with Naples International Airport. I was involved in the project together with my MPI colleague Mariska Kesteloo and it was just the beginning of an amazing adventure. Now, MICE influencer marketing is going to be a hot topic in the knowledge program at the upcoming IBTM Barcelona and lots of panel sessions will be focused on it. Mariska and I will be speaking there, together with a team of professionals, in order to start working on a framework for MICE influencer marketing and help suppliers to understand to what extent this marketing channel can benefit their companies.
Among next year’s biggest trends, B2B influencer marketing will keep on receiving attention from the meetings industry, notwithstanding the tricky question of trust and the open debate about the right naming and definition. The thing is: the industry does not need influencers; the industry needs trusted meeting advisors and ambassadors. Especially suppliers in the meetings industry need experienced content creators able to strategically express the strengths of their companies fitting to what planners need and look for.
What did you learn or perhaps unlearn this year in terms of professional development that you think would be beneficial to those who are just entering the events industry?
I have learned that problem-solving, the ability to work under pressure, team building and leadership are not the only soft skills needed to work in this industry. Work-life balance is one of the most important skills we should develop and one of the most relevant accomplishments we should aim to make for our personal and professional life. This would benefit our company in terms of increasing productivity, creativity and positive thinking too. In the events industry it is quite common to jump into a black hole: no time anymore for yourself. Actually, the more you work does not mean the best you do. The new paradigm should be: the less you work the greatest you do. It is only a matter of time management. However, it is not so easy to learn. I am still working on it!
”I have learned that problem-solving, the ability to work under pressure, team building and leadership are not the only soft skills needed to work in this industry. Work-life balance is one of the most important skills we should develop and one of the most relevant accomplishments we should aim to make for our personal and professional life.”
What New Year's resolution should the events industry make for 2020?
An ideal 2020 wishlist for those working in the events industry should contain: A) Events should always being able to create FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). If not, this means your event does not charm and impress enough. Innovative technologies and new communication strategies could be useful for the purpose; B) Work-life balance for planners in order to increase in terms of productivity and personal well-being; C) The event canvas methodology should be practiced extensively in organizing any kind of event in order to generate more successful ideas and satisfy the clients’ needs.
In MPI Italia Chapter, we are using the Event Canvas to organize the next Convention 2020. We already started designing the event coordinated by our VP Education, Luca Vernengo. The teamwork is going to produce amazing results.
D) Is R&D in order to find new tools for planners to make their work easier and more efficient. I think about mobile and web apps, software which could reduce time waste, optimize service search and evaluation, connect and let easily interact buyers and suppliers to create opportunities and design new events thanks to a never stopping ideas generation process; E) Last but not least, invest in the B2B influencer marketing with professionals who are truly able to create value for the companies.
