“Challenging the Impossible”
Increase your success with SCB’s Bidding Support Clinic
The dedicated efforts of the Seoul Convention Bureau’s (SCB) Bidding Support Clinic have contributed to the Bureau’s ability to secure an excellent success rate in its convention attraction strategies.
Ms. Gina Kim, Associate of the SCB at the Seoul Tourism Organization (STO), recently said “The SCB is delighted to announce that it has won the bid to host the 26th Annual Conference of the International Exhibition Logistics Association (IELA) in 2011. Despite fierce competition from other possible locations, including Thailand and the UAE, Seoul was chosen to host the 2011 IELA Conference, with help from the SCB’s detailed support program and its effective bidding campaign strategies.”
Last year, the Bidding Support Team was sent to observe IELA’s 23rd annual conference held in Melbourne Australia in May 2008, to assess the IELA’s operations and their revenue-generating potential. Following this, the SCB’s support program was launched to prepare and formulate Seoul’s bid to host the IELA’s annual conference in 2011. Since then, the SCB has been conducting numerous PR campaigns, both at home and abroad. In particular, during the visit of the former IELA Chairman to Korea in July 2008, the SCB worked tirelessly to secure his support for Seoul’s bid to host the 2011 annual conference.
Based on the biding support program, designed specifically with the goal of securing the hosting of this particular conference, the SCB oversaw the entire bidding process provision of financial support, through to the formulation of a convincing and well-scripted PowerPoint presentation.
The IELA successfully executed their presentation outperforming other competing cities, thanks to the dedicated efforts and expertise of the Bidding Support Clinic. Building on the experience and excellence of the program, SCB experts provided training for the PowerPoint presentation, to help strengthen key factors. As a result, the SCB’s bid campaign yielded yet another success. Seoul was confirmed during the 24th annual conference held in London on June 28th this year, as the venue for the forthcoming 2nd IELA annual conference in 2011.
Ms. Kim of Seoul Tourism went on to mention, “It was encouraging that Seoul received the highest number of votes over its competitors, including the UAE and Thailand. We believe that the secret to our success was our decisive PR strategy based on the key point that the IELA had chosen European cities as venues for both the 24th and 25th annual conferences and had not held its conference in Asia for several years. Another contributing factor to our positive results, we believe, was our well-prepared presentation showcasing Seoul as a leading tourism destination and a world class convention hub.”
The 26th IELA annual conference is currently scheduled to be held over four days in June 2011, and is expected to attract more than 300 participants representing 150 member companies from 60 countries. The SCB believes that hosting this Conference will provide another effective PR opportunity to enhance Korea’s image as a strong convention nation. In addition it will present opportunities to generate increased revenue for the country’s retail and hospitality sectors.
The IELA, founded in 1985, holds its annual conferences to offer members the opportunity to meet and exchange the latest information and ideas on exhibition logistics and other related issues.