IBTM, part of Reed Travel Exhibitions, has announced that it has partnered with the renowned Asia-Pacific MICE industry business conference Singapore MICE Forum for its newest hybrid business event IBTM Wired, June 28-July 1.
Running in partnership with Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers, the national trade association for meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions and events in Singapore, SMF x IBTM Wired will take place both in-person for industry professionals at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, and online on day one of IBTM Wired, June 28.
SMF is SACEOS’ flagship industry business event. Over the years, SMF has grown to be the choice platform for the regional MICE industry to gain new insights from luminaries in both core and adjacent industries and exchange views and experiences on how to enhance their business.
SMF x IBTM Wired will bring together a group of up to 250 event professionals in Singapore as well as up to 1,000 joining online, for a day of focused discussions on how event design as well as digital and community engagement are cornerstones of business success. Expert speakers from Professional Convention Management Association, UFI, Singapore Tourism Board, SACEOS, ADDO AI and other leading organizations will share and exchange views on proven transformative ideas and how the industry can apply them. The program will bring together solutions that organizations can adopt and promises to be a dynamic and inspiring experience like none other.
IBTM announced the first details of its signed exhibitors and Hosted Buyers for IBTM Wired. Exhibitors attending in order to reconnect with buyers and share their roadmap for recovery include Japan National Tourism Organization, Rotterdam Partners Convention Bureau, Cape Town & Western Cape Convention Bureau, Austria Convention Bureau, MeetEngland, Meetings & Exhibitions Hong Kong, Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau, Business Events Sydney and Convention Bureaux New Zealand, Business Events Australia, Visit Bruges Convention Bureau, Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau, Latvia Convention Bureau, Le Meridien Dubai Hotel & Conference Centre, Hoteles Santos, Marriott Hotels, Barcelona Convention Bureau, Belmond, Visit Algarve and Atout France.
A wide range of leading corporate, agency and association Hosted Buyers are also attending, with 27 percent of Hosted Buyers approved so far being completely new to IBTM.
Association buyers wanting to explore how they can bring members safely together in-person at their next meetings include representatives from the SANS Institute, Institute for Life Sciences Collaboration, International Association of Facilitators, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, International China Investment Forum (ICIF), International Atlantic Economic Society and World Confederation for Physical Therapy.
Corporate buyers looking to spark new connections include Orange S.A., Ingenico, Barents Re, Leroy Merlin, Netflix, BBVA France, Prudential Seguros, Gemini Management NV, EFG Hermes Holding, Samsung Group and Provident Capital Group.
Agency buyers keen to gain inspiration for creating exceptional experiences in the new era include representatives from organizations including Global Cynergies, Eventesse, emotivents, HPN Global, Gemini Management NV, Serasa Experian, Turkcell, BCD Meetings & events and Kraft Travel Thailand.
Hosted Buyer Derrick Woods (pictured left), principal, Boss Productions says, “I am super excited to participate in the upcoming IBTM Wired. It’s the next best thing to keep connected until the world reopens for face-to-face interactions and Reed Exhibitions keeps the window of opportunity open with this event.”
Kerrin MacPhie (pictured right), head of business events at VisitBritain/ VisitEngland says, “MeetEngland is very much looking forward to taking part in IBTM Wired. Being able to connect and do business with the global meetings community without time-zone barriers is a valuable opportunity to promote the high-quality destinations, venues and suppliers across England to top international buyers, driving future events and bookings.”
Michael Jones (pictured left), event manager, IBTM Wired says, “It’s clear there is strong demand in the industry right now for an event such as ours. We’ve had an enormous amount of support and positive feedback since launching IBTM Wired, and we’re delighted to be welcoming some of the most prestigious suppliers and buyers in the industry for four days of exciting education, networking and quality one-to-one meetings.”
The event will include a keynote session by Dr. Ayesha Khanna (pictured right), founder and CEO of ADDO AI, focusing on how events will evolve in the future. STB, together with PCMA and UFI, will also be launching a white paper titled “Reimagining Business Events – Through COVID-19 and Beyond.” The paper will capture how industry practitioners have transformed in response to the pandemic, and offer a global perspective of lessons learned and potential pathways to recovery.
The wider program combines dynamic talks, campfire sessions and case studies from thought leaders within and outside the industry, to bring discussions to life and provide tangible outtakes and learnings for participants.
Jones says, “We know that there’s a real appetite for education in the Asia Pacific region and we’re delighted that we’re going to be delivering on that through our partnership with SACEOS. SMF x IBTM Wired will provide an inspiring and educational kick-off to our inaugural IBTM Wired event.”
Dylan Sharma (pictured left), SACEOS vice president, Advocacy and Communications says, “As we ready ourselves for the brave new world of MICE and events, there is a need for the industry to not only reimagine experiences and engagement with our audiences, but also to deliver confidence and assurance that their safety is safeguarded as physical events gradually return. It’s also a time for the community to come together and reconnect through innovation, insights and experiences, so that we can emerge stronger together.”
IBTM Wired will unite professionals from across the world for four days of one-to-one business meetings, networking sessions and a program of live and on-demand education sessions curated by sector, skillset, and geographic location. The event is a permanent addition to IBTM’s global portfolio of B2B events and intelligence for the meetings, incentives, conferences and events industry.
IBTM Wired will unite professionals from across the world for four days of one-to-one business meetings, networking sessions and a program of live and on-demand education sessions curated by sector, skillset, and geographic location. The event is a permanent addition to IBTM’s global portfolio of B2B events and intelligence for the meetings, incentives, conferences and events industry.
Visitors to IBTM Wired can access a 20 percent discount using code CBTG7K, bringing the price to $159 for a limited time only. The code can be applied at checkout via the visitor registration form. For more info or to register to attend, visit ibtmwired.com.
The future of the events industry: what’s next?
From sustainability to hybrid to personalization, four events industry leaders taking part in IBTM Wired explain what they think the next few years has in store for our industry.
Anna Abdelnoor (pictured left), co-founder, isla, says, “The future of the events industry has to be a sustainable one. This means prioritizing the planet and realizing the environmental and social impacts of our events. At isla we believe that to accelerate the transition to a sustainable future, we need to improve knowledge and education across the entire industry to encourage consistent implementation of sustainable practices.”
She continues, “Standardization and measurement will also be critical in improving our current processes. We need to track, measure and report event carbon emissions and waste while assessing performance against sustainability targets and frameworks. Planning for the future provides immense opportunities to innovate and reimagine our supply chain. We recently launched an isla print working group dedicated to solving the challenges around sustainable print and event graphics. It is through collaboration and driving action-orientated solutions like this that we can affect change.”
Tim Sutter (pictured right), regional business development director at Cvent says, “While the headlines of last year would have noted that the industry took a beating last year—people lost work, many events had to cancel, etc.—the silver lining has been the innovation born out of crisis. It has led to more agile thinking from the marketing and events teams, more collaboration between internal teams and external suppliers, expedited event technology developments and an exponential growth in event engagement scoring and data capture. So many planners were quick to adapt to the times, and their suppliers helped make their events successful, when recreating the in-person experience seemed impossible.”
He continues, “With over a year under our belts, we feel that the industry is in a stronger position than ever. We have been talking about personalizing event experiences for years, and how much more personalized can your event experience be when you can choose to attend an event from you home or in-person at the venue. The hybrid event phenomenon that is flourishing across businesses and organisations of all shapes and sizes is providing a whole new experience for meeting and event attendees, giving them more choice and making events more accessible than ever before. The benefit to the organisers; extending the reach of their events, growing their audiences, and being able to operate outside the confines of a Monday-through-Wednesday, 3-day flash in the pan, but rather make their event a continuum. Elongating the effects of what is possibly their number one driver of business.”
James Morgan (pictured left), founder, Event Tech Lab, says, “What we are going to see in the next few years is a recalibration of the supply structure for the events industry at the local, national and international level. With the economic recovery from the pandemic limiting some event planners’ budgets, the fast forwarding—through necessity—of common usage of online platforms, as well as corporate sustainability goals, means the supply side is already changing. There have already been supply-side business failures. Traditional supply-side capacities at destinations, for example, hotel capacity, rentals of technical and decorative elements as well as other physical elements of event production and investment in those elements will be realigned. This is something the market will take care of in terms of demand of these elements, so look out for changes in what is in short supply as well over what is over supplied.”
Cathy Breden (pictured right), EVP/COO at International Association of Exhibitions and Events and CEO of the Center for Exhibition Industry Research Foundation says, “The exhibitions and events industry is in recovery mode, with many countries relaxing the protocols that have been in place since last year. What we are seeing portends a positive future. Our research shows a lot of pent-up demand for getting back to face-to-face. And, while we know that digital was great in the short-term, both exhibitors and attendees/visitors have indicated they prefer face-to-face. Digital will always have a place in events; however, the extent of use will depend on industry sector and audience.”
IBTM Wired is the newest addition to IBTM’s global portfolio of events and intelligence for the meetings, incentives, conferences and events industry. The event takes place annually online and unites thousands of industry professionals from around the world for four days of one-to-one business meetings, sparking new connections and renewing existing ones and a programme of live and on-demand education sessions. For more info, visit www.ibtmwired.com.
IBTM is a world-leading showcase for the meetings and events industry with a portfolio of events and products offering business solutions across five continents. The portfolio includes IBTM World, IBTM Africa, IBTM Americas, IBTM Asia Pacific, IBTM Wired and IBTM Connect. For more info, visit www.ibtmevents.com
IBTM Wired is the newest addition to IBTM’s global portfolio of events and intelligence for the meetings, incentives, conferences and events industry. The event takes place annually online and unites thousands of industry professionals from around the world for four days of one-to-one business meetings, sparking new connections and renewing existing ones and a program of live and on-demand education sessions. For more info, visit www.ibtmwired.com/en-gb.html.
RX (Reed Exhibitions) is in the business of building businesses for individuals, communities and organizations. They elevate the power of face-to-face events by combining data and digital products to help customers learn about markets, source products and complete transactions at more than 400 events in 22 countries across 43 industry sectors. RX is passionate about making a positive impact on society and is fully committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all our people. RX is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. For more info, visit www.rxglobal.com.
RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. The Group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs over 33,000 people, of whom almost half are in North America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX. The market capitalization is approximately £36.6bn, €42.4bn, $51.5bn. Note: Current market capitalization can be found at www.relx.com/investors.
