Exciting Updates from IMEX Frankfurt 2023

IMEX Frankfurt is where the global meetings, events and incentive travel industry comes together annually for the largest trade show of its kind in Europe. From May 23 - 25, thousands of meeting planners, supplies, and others converge on the Messe Frankfurt to network, meet, get educated, and potentially buy/sell meeting planning services, destinations or software.

In order to help broaden and increase awareness of the AMC Model on an international level, AMCI has been active with IMEX for years. Part of this effort includes bringing a group of AMCI members as hosted buyers to participate. In 2023, AMCI expanded its participation at IMEX in several exciting ways.

Collaboration

One of the most exciting things to come out of IMEX Frankfurt was AMCI's collaboration with International Association of Professional Congress Organizers (IAPCO). Tina Wehmeir, President/CEO of AMCI, and Martin Boyle, CEO of IAPCO have come to an understanding of the mutual benefits of having AMCs and PCOs engage with one another, through our respective organizations. AMCI and IAPCO members we able to engage one another through educational sessions and networking events as they learned about many of the similarities that PCOs and AMCs shared.  

In order to jump start this collaborative partnership, AMCI and IAPCO hosted an interactive educational session around associations, and agreed to connect their respective booths, in order to encourage interaction between members. 

While there is more work to be done to engage the AMCI and IAPCO communities, this was a great start that built many connections between our respective memberships. AMCI believes that this partnership will give much more visibility to the AMC model, including bringing on additional members that are finding out that they truly belong in the AMC industry. 

Education

AMCI is a firm believer of providing educational sessions and resources for its members. It was fitting, therefore, that a main focus for AMCI at IMEX Frankfurt was to provide quality educational material.

Beginning on Monday, May 22 at Association Focus Day, AMCI, in collaboration with IAPCO, hosted an interactive workshop on creating successful business models for associations. Facilitated by Oscar Cerezales, Chief Strategy Offices at MCI, this session saw over 50 AMCI and IAPCO members filled a room for nearly two hours, sharing ideas, concerns, and solutions in providing optimum results for their association clients.

Building upon the success of the Association Day session, AMCI hosted two additional sessions at its booth. Mark Engle, DM, FASAE, principal of Association Management Center (AMC), and chair of the AMCI Board of Directors led IMEX attendees in a session around the health of associations and the impact on AMCs. Meanwhile, Jeanne Sheehy, Chief Marketing Officer at Bostrom, helped PCOs understand when their firms become AMCs.  Both sessions were well received by those in attendance.

Connection

At the center of IMEX Frankfurt is connection. People from various countries, languages, backgrounds, and beliefs all come together in one central location for the purpose of connecting with one another. AMCI brought 15 wonderful hosted buyers from the US, Europe, and India to come together, sharing an common experience with one another. In addition to group sessions and educational offerings, and individual appointments, hosted buyers were the given the opportunity to network with colleagues in the AMC community, and engaged with AMCI partners. 

One of the highlights of the week was the hosted buyer dinner, sponsored and hosted by AMCI Strategic Partners, Business Events Montreal. Montreal, which is hosting the 2024 AMCs Engaged, gave hosted buyers a whimsical evening of food, laughter, and connection.  In addition to the dinner with Montreal, our hosted buyers also enjoyed face-to-face engagement with Encore, Los Cabos Tourism Board, and Hosts Global. AMCI is grateful to these partners for going above and beyond to connect with our members in order build relationships as they seek to serve their clients in the best possible ways.

So much went into IMEX Frankfurt - more than can be shared in a blog post. However, hosted buyers agree that being able to join AMCI in attending this event is critical as they look to plan international conferences for their clients.

Being an IMEX Frankfurt hosted buyer with AMCI is a high-value member benefit. The show provides a great opportunity for us to connect with vendors and discover new ways that we can better support our association client's meetings or events, nationally & internationally. Beyond the expo, AMCI excels at organizing learning & network opportunities to help expand our business and the AMC model. You will fly home with a better understanding of meeting & events global trends, as well as a ton of new friends. We had so much fun at IMEX, and we are already looking forward to 2024!  - Emma Bennett, NonProfit Resources

Want to join us for the next IMEX? RSVP your spot with the AMCI Hosted Buyers group for IMEX America (October 17 - 19, 2023) by emailing Thomas Pigg, [email protected]