Clear positioning, future focused boards, strategic innovation, leveraging data, business model experimentation and top talent now critical to shaping the industry’s future.
At IMEX 10 in Frankfurt yeterday, Fast Future Research launched a ‘Pathfinder Report’ on the key strategic challenges and choices facing the industry over the next decade. The Pathfinder Report provides a glimpse of the content of the full phase 1 report to be released in July 2010 as part of the groundbreaking Convention 2020 study on the future of meetings, venues and destinations.
The founding sponsors for the study are ICCA – The International Congress and Convention Association, IMEX the leading industry trade show and Fast Future Research. The platinum sponsors for the study are The Queen Elizabeth II (QEIICC) Conference Centre London, Visit London, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Qatar National Convention Centre, Seoul Tourism Organisation, Athens Convention Bureau, Congrex and BestCities Global Alliance (Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dubai, Edinburgh, Melbourne, San Juan, Singapore and Vancouver). Kenes are the first gold sponsor. The Technology partners are Meetings:Review and TrendWiki.
The report draws on a wide range of expert interviews and workshops, desk research, an online survey and a project wiki to identify drivers of change and emerging strategic challenges. The research identifies case studies highlighting both the incremental and transformational changes already being undertaken by different players across the industry, and highlights the need for greater clarity and consistency of strategic thought and action. A number of strategic imperatives are identified including the need to:
• Choose a clear strategic position whether it be strategic innovator, fast follower or low cost no frills provider and then ensure every action and decision is consistent with that strategy e.g. being brave enough to say ‘no’ to business that doesn’t fit your capabilities
• Develop the board into an outward looking and future focused entity that is helping to shape and challenge longer term strategy
• Acknowledge that to compete effectively with the expensively marketed alternatives on offer to our customers ranging from video conferencing to advertising, we have to outthink the competition rather than trying to outspend them
• Develop a clear set of strategies to manage our technology, exploit the data generated through our events and create ‘reusable knowledge’ that is of lasting value long after the event
• Demonstrate a willingness to experiment with business models and create new revenue streams to anticipate and address future client demands for greater financial innovation and risk sharing from their event partners
• Develop and recruit top level talent that can truly understand how client’s business strategies are evolving and develop equally strategic and innovative responses.
Carina Bauer CEO of IMEX said “The report lays out a clear roadmap of critical decisions and choices that will help ‘future proof’ businesses across the sector. The strategic issues highlighted identify key factors industry players must address to ensure they can compete effectively in the decade ahead. We need to become as good at strategic thinking as we are at operational delivery.”
Martin Sirk CEO of ICCA said “Laid out like this, the research makes very clear the sheer scale of the challenges and opportunities that confront us. The message is simple, we can continue to tackle all these issues individually or make life easier for ourselves by learning how to think and act strategically. We have to develop the capacity to anticipate the ‘inevitable surprises’ coming our way.”
Rohit Talwar the project director and CEO of Fast Future said “Many in the industry have tended to focus more on operational delivery, short term results and responding to issues as they arise rather than thinking about the shape of future challenges. This makes it very susceptible to external events. The learning from other sectors and businesses that performed better in the downturn and recovered faster is that they devote time and effort to understanding the drivers of change and develop strategies which anticipate those changes.”
The full report is to be published in July 2010. It will examine critical factors that have shaped the industry over the last decade, examine current issues on the agenda, describe key global drivers of change shaping the external world and customer behaviours, and highlight emerging industry and external trends that could impact the sector. It concludes with a roadmap of key strategic challenges and choices facing business leaders and decision makers in the sector.
The Pathfinder Report will be available for download from 10.00 (GMT) on Tuesday May 25th 2010 from www.convention-2020.com where delegates can and also share their views on the future of the industry via the project TrendWiki and sign up to receive regular project updates.
