The power of co-creation

06.09.2024

Co-creating an event with local partners and the destination itself can provide greater access to buyers, build trust and improve engagement for exhibition visitors.

By Antony Reeve-Crook

The primary purpose for anyone attending international exhibitions is networking, whether connecting buyer with seller, or industry with industry. And the same is true of the destinations that host these events - if they are doing their job correctly, then industry networking must be their first priority. 

One of the key success factors in successfully launching an event overseas is the formation of meaningful partnerships within your target market; and there are few better ways to achieve this goal than public-private connection with a regional representative. 

It’s all too easy to overlook the role that the destination itself plays as matchmaker, but in this role it becomes integral to the success of the overseas clients whose events they seek to host. Business matchmaking in all its forms (profile-based introductions, one-to-ones, speed dating and the like) is best practice - and at TCEB, a key reason for the relationships we enjoy with international organisers. 

In Thailand, we take part in regular conferences between the regional provinces located in our economic corridors, and the countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion that connect with them. Co-hosted and supported by TCEB, these conferences bring entrepreneurs from Thailand into cross-border networks, where the value of business exchange exceeds 300 million baht (USD 8,360,000). 

These enrich the foundations for co-operation already taking place between public and private agencies; a key part of constructing ongoing global networks.

Putting collaboration on show

This year saw the first joint event in Thailand between the TCEB and Thai Exhibition Association (TEA), titled the Thailand MICE X-Change 2024. IT ran on 17-18 July at the Bhiraj Hall at the BITEC exhibition centre in Bangkok.

“This Public-Private Partnership between TCEB and the TEA demonstrates our MICE industry’s ability and willingness to sow the seeds for business success that our partners overseas are encouraged to capitalise on. It’s another example of mutually beneficial collaboration, co-creator of business opportunities and the reason Thailand has long-been successful as a popular destination for organising international MICE events,” said TCEB president Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya.

For the global audience, the Thailand MICE X-Change 2024 provided a platform for discovering innovative exhibition and meeting solutions, forging valuable connections with key industry players, reaching new markets and targeting new customer groups.

In short, it’s a fast route to establishing the industry connections that will bring you all the benefits of event co-creation. Attracting sponsors and attendees, selecting the ideal venue and exhibition management, registration systems and more.
“It’s not only our clients who must create these international partnerships: we are, after all, an industry built around the power of face-to-face.” 

Successfully laying the foundations for international business development is not all about geography. There are many benefits to clustering events that serve the same industry. By combining exhibitions with conferences and conventions, organisers are essentially generating festivals, benefiting organisers by sharing visitors, introducing economies of scale through larger audiences seeking attractions they may not get from standalone events.

And by helping our partners to bid for events that align with our Ignite Thailand national vision for growth (including aviation and logistics, digital, medical & wellness tourism and future automobile), we are increasing the return on investment for those who attend the events, as well as helping to cement the host city’s reputation as a place for events in that industry. 

Thailand MICE One Stop Service, for example, helps fast-track the experience for MICE travellers to Thailand, from VISA application to airport arrival, for you and the materials, equipment and tools required for organising successful events in Thailand. 

In the first six months of 2024 more than 160 events requested to use the ‘MICE Lane’ services to fast-track 9,701 MICE travellers, a facility that will now be extended to Phuket and Chiang Mai International Airports.
And none of this could happen without collaboration from parties including the Department of Consular Affairs, the Immigration Division and the Airport of Thailand Public Company.

Behind every successful campaign is the desire to engage government collaboration by easing regulations, facilitating growth and giving industries such as those developing in Thailand, the platform they deserve at trade shows both home and abroad.

Antony Reeve-Crook is director of WhereMarketsMeet (WMM), a destination marketing agency dedicated to promoting industries and attracting business events to cities and towns.

www.wheremarketsmeet.co.uk

Five ways a co-creation model with the destination can enrich the organiser experience:
● It expands your business network and presents new partners
● It reaches inaccessible new markets and targets new customer groups
● It boosts overall sales and and revenue
● It exposes new trends and innovations in your industry for the education component
● It helps you build brand awareness and establishes your company as a thought leader