Glasgow has beaten off strong competition from China and Poland
to win one of the world's most prestigious marketing awards at a
global gathering of meetings industry professionals in Germany.
More than 1,000 delegates from 70 countries attended the
50th annual Congress of the International Congress and
Convention Association (ICCA) in Leipzig between October 22-26
2011.
The five-day programme included the presentation of ICCA's
coveted 'Best Marketing Award', as voted for by delegates and a
panel of industry experts, which recognises 'the outstanding
creativity and excellence of organisations in their effort to
market their destination or product.'
This year's three finalists were Poland Convention Bureau; China
Star, China's largest professional conference organiser, and
Glasgow City Marketing Bureau (GCMB) and the Scottish Exhibition +
Conference Centre (SECC) who submitted a joint bid.
Glasgow's presentation focused on the city's hosting of the
second World Parkinson Congress (WPC) in September last year - the
first time the conference had been held outside of the US - which
attracted more than 3,000 Parkinson's disease researchers,
clinicians, people living with Parkinson's and carers and provided
a £4.6 million boost to the local economy.
Aileen Crawford, GCMB's Head of Conventions, and Ben
Goedegebuure, Director of Sales at the SECC, delivered Glasgow's
bid with support, via video-link, from WPC organiser Eli Pollard
based in New York.
Together, they outlined how strong-partnership working overcame
the challenges of the economic climate and positioning Glasgow as a
trusted destination for conference organisers with little
experience of working outside of the States, which subsequently
brought about a targeted US-campaign led by GCMB highlighting the
city's capacity, capability and financial support model.