Spirit of Collaboration Sweeps through Meetings and Events Industry

By Carrie Mantey

While the word “innovation” has become trite with overuse during the last decade or so, the meaning behind it will never be cliché.

One way to achieve innovation in an industry already marked by constant change and novelty is collaboration. In that spirit, allow me to share some industry collaborations that have come to light recently with the promise of helping to spur innovation in the meetings and events space.

First and foremost, Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) recently announced a partnership to collaborate on projects and education opportunities for their members. This collaboration will focus on developing and certifying expertise among association meetings professionals in tailoring events to the needs and motivations of attendees. You can read more details about it in “MPI and ASAE Partner to Collaborate and Educate” here.

And that’s just the beginning of industry heavyweights banding together. The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), a large platform for business events professionals, and the Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA), a global community of corporate event marketers, also recently announced a strategic alliance to help introduce each organization to new audiences, which naturally, could help catalyze even more development in the field.

“PCMA has a commitment to bringing its members access to leading-edge education and content that helps them deliver economic and social transformation through business events,” says Sherrif Karamat, CAE, PCMA’s president and CEO. “This strategic alliance with CEMA allows us to deliver more resources to our members, while expanding our audience, so we can continue to demonstrate how business events transform global economies and societies.”

The strategic agreement calls for CEMA to co-develop education at each of PCMA’s four signature events: Convening Leaders, EduCon, European Influencers Summit and Asia Pacific Annual Conference. PCMA will deliver education at the annual CEMA Summit and during CEMA Study Tours. In addition, both organizations will collaborate on webinars and other services to deliver greater value to each other’s membership.

“CEMA and PCMA share a vision for the advancement of event marketing as a vital element in the marketing stack, and each brand offers unique and complementary qualities and services to help event professionals learn and grow,” according to CEMA President and CEO Kimberley Gishler. “We look forward to collaborating on new and exciting research and educational programming, as well as expanding access to professional networking, knowledge sharing and rich event experiences to both PCMA and CEMA members.”

The more industry groups and associations partner to share information and educate members like the organizations mentioned here, the more likely it is that the meetings and event industry will be able to better meet the needs of its constituents.