Six more education sessions have been added to the learning lineup at the 2012 Americas Meetings & Events Exhibition (AIBTM), taking place June 19-21 in Baltimore, organizer Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) announced last week. The sessions — being offered by Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and the Association for Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) — will focus on measuring and communicating the value of meetings.
"Following on from the launch of the first ever international study on the Business Value of Meetings at AIBTM last year, the industry continues to grapple with the greatest challenge of effectively communicating the value of meetings and events," said Erica Keogan, education content manager for RTE's IBTM portfolio of events. "This year we have secured some top line evidence and speakers to deliver their views and findings."
Specifically, MPI and ACTE will each deliver three education sessions on the topics of ROI and RFPs. MPI's program, dubbed "The Practitioner Series: Determine the Business Value of Meetings and Events," will feature Bill Voegeli of Significant Research LLC and John Nawn of the Meetings Support Institute. Its sessions will include "The Case for Measurement," which will discuss the ways in which industry leaders can make a business case for measurement; "Measuring What Matters," which will highlight the objectives and corresponding metrics that can be utilized for a meeting or event; and "Communicating the Value of Your Meeting or Event," which will help meeting professionals interpret meeting data and effectively communicate results to stakeholders.
ACTE's sessions, meanwhile, will include "Leveraging Emotional Engagement to Improve the ROI of Your Meetings," which will examine the role emotions play in meetings and events; "Cost-Savings: Tips & Insider Information from Road Warriors," featuring a panel of road warriors who will share their best travel tips, such as how to get lounge passes and other travel perks; and "Is It Time to Eliminate the Hotel RFP Process," which will teach meeting professionals out-of-the-box alternatives to traditional RFPs.
"ACTE is thrilled to present these sessions at AIBTM 2012," said ACTE Executive Director Ron DiLeo. "We've created topics on leveraging emotional engagement to improve the ROI of meetings, cost-saving tips and insider information from road warriors, and an examination of the hotel RFP process, allowing us to maximize understanding across the business travel and incentives, meetings and events industries."
AIBTM's Education Day takes place on June 19, although education sessions also will be offered on June 20. All told, more than 30 individual sessions will be facilitated over the course of the event. For more information, visit www.aibtm.com.