When organizing a convention in a new destination in the United States, planners find the local expertise of a Destination Management Company (DMC) can be invaluable. The stakes are even higher when planning a meeting abroad, where there are language and cultural barriers. A Professional Congress Organiser (PCO) can go beyond the role of DMC and serve as a meeting professional's international representative on many levels.

According to Patrick Delaney, managing director of Ovation Group, a leading PCO located in Ireland, PCOs are similar to DMCs in that they possess extensive local knowledge, expertise, and resources, and design and implement events, activities, tours, transportation, and educational program logistics. But many are surprised to learn that PCOs also specialize in managing international association meetings, especially for volunteer-run associations, in their entirety.

PCOs can take care of the meeting's logistics, session structure, budget and revenue goals, registration, and the VAT (Value Added Tax) refund. Delaney said PCOs can also manage the hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of abstracts received for academic conventions. Some PCOs will send out bids for the meeting, structure goals for the association, run the exhibition, sell sponsorships, and build attendance.

Delaney points to an unusual and successful attendance-building campaign Ovation engineered for the 39th Apimondia World Apiculture (Beekeepers) Congress in Ireland in 2005: a "Beard of Bees" contest in which the conference chairman made an attempt to break a world record by the number of bees covering his body. The daring campaign helped raise attendance to 5,500 day visitors and delegates to the six-day scientific program, which featured technical tours to all parts of Ireland. Ovation also staged the Beekeepers Congress' biggest trade exhibition ever. In another unusual marketing effort, the PCO lobbied the Irish government to issue a postage stamp to commemorate the congress, which attracted extensive national media coverage.

Some events can attract overwhelming media attention, and here again, a PCO can be especially beneficial. When Stephen Hawking issued a press release stating that he intended to make an important announcement at the first General Relativity Conference to be held in Dublin, Ovation handled more than 50 press attendees and six television crews. Delaney said they managed the media frenzy through a dedicated press contact and center with appropriate security and admissions systems.

° Peggy Swisher is Convene's managing editor. Meeting in Europe is sponsored by the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions. Visit its Web site at www.goholland.com.