Three finalists heading to Houston to contest ICCA BMA award

Creative destination and venue marketing will take centre-stage at the 2019 ICCA Congress in Houston, USA, when three shortlisted ICCA Members compete live on 29 October for the 22nd ICCA Best Marketing Award. The three candidates shortlisted are: Estonian Convention Bureau for its ‘Go Wild, Choose Estonia!’, a storytelling destination marketing campaign carried out on a limited budget. The main challenge Estonia had to solve is that, as a country, they are still relatively unfamiliar to international audiences. To overcome this and raise awareness and visibility of the destination and generate business requests for the convention bureau and its members, Estonia Convention Bureau created its own brand image by communicating authentic and unique experiences that can be enjoyed in Estonia. International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) for ‘It’s Showtime!’ Designed to communicate their launch as a new venue, ICC Sydney’s integrated, multi-channel campaign announced to the world: ‘We are open for business!’. The launch introduced Australia’s new A$1.5 billion convention, exhibition and live entertainment venue, with a solid pipeline of over 500 events secured. The campaign supercharged brand awareness, building the venue’s reputation and attracting critical event bookings across a variety of market segments and geographical areas. Underpinning the campaign’s success was the creation of a powerful network of local and global advocates – from ministers and heads of business to senior community members – which enabled ICC Sydney to quickly build trust and demonstrate its positive impact on both the industry and its stakeholders. Convention Bureau Italia: ‘Italy at Hand’ Spearheaded by Convention Bureau Italia, the Italy at Hand project aimed to involve the entire Italian meetings industry. The campaign concept was simple: ‘Hand-in-hand, we win together!’ and was the first Italian campaign entirely dedicated to the meetings industry. Italy at Hand started with a communication campaign and video and extended to a live B2B event, bringing together the major players in the Italian meetings industry. Chairman of the judging panel and BMA plenary moderator, Patrick Delaney of SoolNua, said: “The BMA continues to be recognised as one of the most sought-after awards in our sector and this year we have seen the largest number of entries ever. The standard was extremely high and I believe we have three outstanding winners coming from different parts of the world, and each one addressing a real marketing challenge in a very innovative, creative and cost-effective manner. “I have no doubt that the Best Marketing Award session at the Houston congress will be a must attend event and will provide real and tangible benefit to any one lucky enough to attend!” As well as a detailed evaluation by an expert panel, including past winners, BMA finalists will be judged by a live audience made up of industry colleagues and competitors during a dedicated plenary session at the ICCA Congress in Houston. The International Congress and Convention Association’s 58th annual gathering is on schedule to be the biggest edition ever held in North America, with 800 participants already registered to attend. visit: www.congress2019.iccaworld.org