For the second consecutive year, Wonderful Copenhagen Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) in Denmark is a finalist for International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Best PR Award.
Finalists were handpicked among ICCA’s 1,000-plus members in 94 countries worldwide by leading media representatives from the international meetings industry. The winner will be announced Nov. 5 at the 53nd ICCA Congress in Antalya, Turkey, where Wonderful Copenhagen CVB will also compete among the finalists for the ICCA Best Marketing Award.
The 2014 ICCA Best PR Award finalists are:
- Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company (ADNEC)
- German Convention Bureau (GCB)
- Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau
- Wonderful Copenhagen Convention Bureau
Copenhagen is a popular meetings destination, featured for decades in the top-20 on ICCA’s list of World’s Most Popular Convention Cities. The city has reached its current position thanks to targeted efforts within marketing, sales and PR that highlight its excellence.
“To us, PR is an essential and cost-effective way of supporting and boosting sales and marketing activities, and we have used PR as a strategic tool for almost 15 years. Copenhagen is a relatively small destination with a limited budget, but that has only served to make us more creative and focused. We don’t work with external agencies, but we work closely together with the city’s meetings industry, public partners and VisitDenmark. We are thrilled that the judges recognize our PR activities as being relevant and outstanding,” commented Ulrika Mårtensson, head of communications – Meetings & Conventions, Wonderful Copenhagen Convention Bureau.
On Oct. 22, it was announced that Wonderful Copenhagen CVB’s PR efforts are in the absolute top amongst ICCA’s 1,051 members.
Editorial representatives of The International Meetings Review’s publishers and ICCA’s PR staff have evaluated the PR activities and coverage of ICCA members over the course of the year and selected four finalists for 2014 ICCA Best PR Award.
The editorial looked for strong story-telling, high-visibility coverage, brand consistency, PR reaction to a crisis, and PR that showcases success, covering both traditional print and Web/social media channels.
“Copenhagen has an excellent meetings infrastructure. The city is easy to access, simple to navigate, and the selection of hotels, venues, entertainment and opportunities outside the meetings room is extensive. But this infrastructure can also be found in other meetings destinations around the world. To stand out, we have built our PR activities around three core narratives: innovation, sustainability and high quality of life, embracing the stories we want to communicate about Copenhagen. We have done so with great success: Close to 100 percent of the media coverage we generate echoes these core narratives. The significant impact of this validates our promotional strategy,” stated Ulrika Mårtensson.
Copenhagen’s core narratives
Apart from the city’s meetings infrastructure Copenhagen’s superiorities as a meetings destination all tie in to the fields of innovation, sustainability/CSR and high quality of life. The three narratives can be told separately, but are closely intertwined. In short, they can be explained as follows:
Innovation: Copenhagen is ranked one of the world’s most innovative cities and is a knowledge hub with an abundance of universities, students and scientists. Clean tech, IT and life science are just some of the key competences. The meetings design concept Meetovation, founded by VisitDenmark and unfolded with Wonderful Copenhagen CVB and the city’s meetings industry, aims to create a better learning outcome and ROI by using innovative elements and techniques.
Sustainability/CSR: Copenhagen has a strong, green and environmentally friendly profile. With a long track record of sustainable meetings management, the Danish capital has earned the nickname Capital of Sustainable Meetings. Copenhagen is also a frontrunner within social sustainability – Denmark is ranked as the least corrupt country in the world on the 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index.
High Quality of Life: The Danes are known as the happiest people in the world – In part due to a favorable work life balance, sustainable green growth, high levels of tolerance and a peaceful democracy all underlined by international rankings. The Copenhageners hold a world record in consumption of organic food, and the city is home to the New Nordic cuisine and 15 Michelin-starred restaurants.
An example of a PR activity where all three key narratives are present is the #BeeSustain-initiative launched by Wonderful Copenhagen with support from VisitDenmark and the Danish meetings industry for IMEX Frankfurt 2014.
In the #BeeSustain initiative, Copenhagen, as the Capital of Sustainable Meetings, shares the legacy of the city- and meetings industry’s sustainable actions and invites meeting professionals around the globe to do likewise in order to make the world a better place.
The #BeeSustain intiative is one of three finalists for the 2014 ICCA Best Marketing Award. Last year, Denmark was also in the ICCA Best Marketing Award final with the innovative MINDblowing Meetings campaign.
The winner of both ICCA awards 2014 will be announced at the closing session of the 53nd ICCA Congress Nov. 5 in Antalya.
