KONGRES SURVEY Most respondents are members of various national and/or regional associations and other specialist associations, such as Alagaev, DeGefest, the CEO Institute, FICP, MICE Germany, whilst numerous among them are also members of MICE Club, EVCOM, ADMEI, and CEFA. Almost 3% responded that they are not members of any international professional associations. The majority of respondents have been members of associations for more than five years (70%), 12.5% have been members for 3-5 years, whilst a smaller percentage have been members for a shorter length of time. Association brand names based on their reliability and power The most trustworthy brand names of associations are ICCA, MPI, AIPC and SITE We asked all respondents to rank associations based on the level of power of their brand. They were rated on a scale from 1 to 10. The list of the ten most trustworthy associations is as follows: ICCA - The International Congress and Convention Association
7.1
MPI - Meeting Professionals International
6.9
AIPC - The International Association of Convention Centres
6.8
SITE - The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence
5.5
PCMA - Professional Convention Management Association
5.4
ASAE - The American Society of Association Executives
5.3
IAPCO – The International Association of Professional Congress Organisers
5.2
ECM - European Cities Marketing
5.0
DMAI - Destinations International
4.9
AACVB - The Asian Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus
4.7
Key reasons for membership of assocations The main reason for enrolment is networking and education The following are among the most important motivations for enrolling in international associations:
activities that international associations carry out best
Some value for money
37.5%
Professionalism
score 3.6
Not enough value for money
22.5%
Representation
score 3.4
Good value for money
20.0%
Conferences
score 3.3
A little value for money
10.0%
Responsiveness
score 3.2
10.0%
Special Events
score 3.1
More value than I would expect for the money
Assistance
score 3.0
Newsletters
score 2.9
Benefit Programmes
score 2.7
This question is also related to the question about general satisfaction with the organisation(s) of which respondents are members: Totally Satisfied
27.5%
Neither satisfied not dissatisfied
27.5%
Somewhat Satisfied
22.5%
Very Dissatisfied
15%
Somewhat Dissatisfied
7.5%
Half of those surveyed responded that they are satisfied with the work of the association(s) of which they are a member, whilst there was an equal share who responded that they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. Twenty-two and a half percent of respondents are somewhat satisfied, which means that there is a lot of room for improvement. Added value of membership fees and participation in events Respondents rated the added value of associations quite critically, Some value for money
35.0%
Good value for money
22.5%
Not enough value for money
15.0%
A little value for money
15.0%
More value than I would expect for the money
12.5%
Exactly 70% of those surveyed rated the value of membership fees as justified and appropriate, whilst 30% were critical of the membership fees. Among them, there was a relatively high share who were critical of the value of membership fees. The data about the number of congress and events of various associations which respondents attended last year is also interesting:
Networking
47.62%
Education
30.16%
2-4 events
45.0%
Member Benefit Programme
14.29%
1 event
30.0% 12.5%
Annual Event Discounts
4.76%
8-10 events
Other
3.17.%
5-7 events
7.5%
More than 10 events
5.0%
How would you rate the quality of the activities of the associations? Professionalism and representation are among the
ents attended. The results are as follows:
In connection with this we also asked about the added value of various events which respond82
Among those surveyed, the majority responded that they have a positive opinion of the added value of association events. Sixty-seven and a half percent are of the opinion that events create added value. The share of those not satisfied, however, is a relatively high 32.5%. How can associations make events more valuable to you? We have gathered the responses into ten recommendations, since individual responses were repeated and relate to the same challenges: 1. Content - High level content, they should continue to provide diverse content for all audiences, including young leaders and senior planners, and they should continue to provide top themes related to the industry. 2. Networking - Members’ business introductions and exchanges and providing more networking opportunities are key. 3. Communication - Good speakers, innovation, emerging themes and networking 4. More business-driven - Have better members. Most attendees come for the free drinks and free food, not really for the true meaning of the event. 5. To serve the planners interests and be more inclusive – to have a better understanding of the needs of members. 6. Follow the trends - Educational topics clearly linked to business trends in the macro economy. Try new things, experiment and get input from participants. It is important that associations showcase new ideas, tools and concepts. 7. Be more local - Regional instead of global events. 8. Registration fees - Decrease the costs of registration fees. The aim of associations is to gather members and get new ones and not to make money on registration fees. 9. Joint Ventures - It would be good if associations unite and hold combined events. 10. Format of meetings - Smaller, interactive meetings that get to the bottom of a subject. What types of events would you like to see in the future? Inspiring collaborative events with a high quality of education combined with engagement and networking The responses to the question about what kind of events respondents would like were also interesting. Some of the most interesting responses are shown below:
