Warm Climate Appeals to RCMA

EVENT: Religious Conference Managers Association (RCMA) 36th World Conference and Exposition

2008 MEETING (Feb. 5-8): The Orlando meeting attracted the largest attendance in the association's history, with 1,411 participants from around the globe. Organizers said the warm climate might have contributed to the increase, compared to the previous year's Midwest conference location.

CHALLENGE: RCMA wanted to give attendees the chance to understand - in a personal way - the daily workings of other professionals connected with meeting planning.

INITIATIVE: The conference has been featuring an innovative behind-the-scenes experience in which attendees have the opportunity to actually work beside professional staff in performing hands-on tasks, such as cooking in the hotel kitchen and setting up banquet rooms, or preparing a promotional video and creating an advertising campaign for a citywide religious convention. The program has grown and evolved; 253 planners participated in the interactive event this year.

RCMA Conference 
2007 Louisville - 1,357  Attendees, 870 Exhibitors/446 Planners
2008 Orlando - 1,411 Attendees, 871 Exhibitors/503 Planners

NRF Focuses on Global Market

EVENT: National Retail Federation (NRF) Annual Convention

2008 MEETING (Jan. 13-16): Attendance increased overall at the 2008 meeting, with a spike in international attendees, due in part to more international conference content, said Susan Newman, NRF vice president of conferences, but more likely due to "the value of the dollar and international attendees taking advantage of discounted rates to travel and attend."

TREND: The show has great support from international group coordinators who have increased their group attendance over several years. The convention now has representation from 64 countries, with Canada and Brazil taking the lead.

INITIATIVES: With increasing numbers, organizers have worked to make the show user-friendly. A membership lounge and international lounge helped attendees navigate the show. Appointments were offered to help people understand NRF member benefits and the conference schedule. NRF also tried to increase niche marketing with more pavilions for specialty groups. Target audiences for the pavilions included design professionals, people interested in green solutions, a Store of the Future, and a pavilion specifically highlighting the customer experience with interactive kiosks and digital signage.

NRF Annual Convention
2007 New York  - 17, 000 Attendees, 525 Exhibitors
2008 New York  - 18,500 Attendees, 586 Exhibitors

SPECIAL REPORT: Minneapolis - tending to market toward the medical, Educational, agricultural, and corporate industries, as well as a host of national associations, Meet Minneapolis in 2008 has booked nearly 30 citywide conventions, ranging from the Lutheran Education Association to the Society of American Military Engineers to the Emergency Nurses Association. And, of course, there's the Republican National Convention (co-hosted with St. Paul) in September. Q Minneapolis' downtown, filled with entertainment, is compact and walkable, so attendees can reach almost anywhere in the city within 10 minutes. In winter, they can access eight miles of interconnected skyways. The city also has an impressive park and recreational system offering plenty of green space with an urban backdrop.