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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group

John Fisher, Director, FMI Group

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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group
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We cannot go on meeting like this…can we?

MICE
Start the event with a bang, urges John Fisher
Vacation time is a good opportunity to step back and think a bit about what we are all doing…before we rush back into the thick of things.
I realise that meetings come in many guises - from seminars to forums to conferences to symposia to briefings to pow-wows to good old talking shops. As organisers, it is very easy to close the door on the delegates and get on with more important things going on outside, such as delegate badging, coach logistics and the timings of the gala dinner.

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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group
Featured

When is hospitality illegal?

MICE
John Fisher says the limits are unclear
Inviting buyers to a social or sporting event to talk business and perhaps to say thanks after a few good deals seems innocent enough, doesn’t it? Why should anyone object to courtesy in developing a mutually beneficial relationship? Where’s the harm in a few drinks with a potential buyer?
There have been a number of pronouncements in recent months by hospitality ticket agencies that things are looking up. After a few lean years, it’s business as usual for many hospitality providers.

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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group
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To ROI, add ROE

MICE
John Fisher measures events emotionally
Event managers all over the world will be painfully familiar nowadays with the need for ROI (Return On Investment) on events. This has been supplanted by ROO (Return On Objectives) in recent years. No doubt there will be other acronyms to come as funders look for ever more sophisticated ways to prove that events work. I can imagine ROMS (Return On Marketing Spend) and even ROT (Return On Technology) where finance directors will link the cost of event tech spend to customer sales.

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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group
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Hosted buyers…who needs ‘em?

MICE
John Fisher questions their value
New Year? New fiscal? New opportunities? And what better opportunities could there be for new sales growth than attending an industry exhibition in 2018!
But there are rumblings amongst professional attendees that the ‘hosted-buyer model’ may be creaking a little. At a recent industry gathering, actual buyers - not exhibitors - were asked if they were happy with the exhibition format, where they have to commit to 8-10 ‘meetings’ per day in return for free travel and accommodation.

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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group
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Theresa May speech remembered for the wrong reasons

MICE
Four things John Fisher would have done differently
What a disaster! This month’s UK Tory Party conference was an excellent example of how NOT to manage the client’s brand effectively with an event. All clients whinge about the costs of an excellent conference producer and back-up team. Many do not even have one…’someone from marketing can do it’. But when it goes wrong, it can go spectacularly wrong.

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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group

Brexit casts its shadow over UK event planning

MICE
John Fisher sees many disadvantages with no benefits
Brexit, UK’s exit from the EU, will have significant impact on the budgets of the remaining 27. In broad terms, they will now have to find on average 4% more in contributions to make the books balance, because the UK is a net contributor.
Bureaucrats in Brussels are making light of the current discussions, saying they have much more pressing issues, such as the security of the Southern Mediterranean borders, sluggish economic growth and widespread youth unemployment.

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john Fisher benefits Brexit UK ’s exit EU books balance
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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group

Planners – be architects!!

MICE
Learning, networking and motivation are your materials, says John Fisher
Have you ever come across the term ‘meeting architecture’? Experienced conference producers will say they have been doing it for years - constructing the content of meetings in such a way as to get the best audience impact.

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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group

US judges’ decision will prolong the agony

MICE

Dire results for the US MICE sector

Trump"s latest bull-in-a-china shop approach to 'fixing things' demonstrates perfectly the law of unintended consequences. Restricting access into the USA of all non-visa’d nationals from specific countries is a bit daft to say the least. All Scotsmen do not eat porridge. All Italian men do not send their washing home to Mama. All Muslims are not terrorists.

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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group

New Year resolutions for event managers

MICE

John Fisher shows how to save money and keep your cool

It’s the time of year when hope springs eternal and everyone vows to do things better, quicker and more interestingly than in previous years. So here are my New Year’s event resolutions for 2017.

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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group

Where ignorance is not bliss

MICE

Poor planning makes perfect events unachievable

Professional organisers like to get all their ducks in a row before they commit themselves to any event. There is nothing worse in event-planning than organising as you go along and hoping for the best. Unfortunately, the perception by internal non-specialists that ‘events are easy’ does not promote clear thinking and good planning.

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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group

Venue search is more than the venue

MICE

‘Experts’ may not be so expert, after all, says John Fisher

The rapid rise of venue search suppliers comes as no surprise to observers of the Internet. The voracious need for timely information delivered instantly is the basis for all digital businesses around the world - from comparison websites to GPS app users.
Venue search agencies have not been slow to exploit the needs of public and private organisations who require a suitable venue for their next event at the right price…as quickly as possible. It all takes time to do that for yourself and, as we all know, if you have no venue, you have no event.

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MICE venues venue search suppliers comparison websites Venue search
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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group

The gender issue in meetings management

MICE

Why is the event sector different?

Women in positions of power seem to be making the news these days. UK Prime Minister May, Bundeskanzlerin Merkel, Scottish First Minister Sturgeon, US presidential candidate Clinton, MD of the IMF Lagarde…and so it goes on.
But in the events industry, even though there are many more women running events than men, there are not many females running event companies. Why should this be so?

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MICE Events Gender Female Meetings Manager
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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group

EU Referendum – what’s best for MICE?

MICE

Exit would bring us more, not less, bureaucracy

UK event managers, in or out of Europe?
If you have been in the UK for the past few months or work there permanently you will be aware that the UK is about to vote in a national referendum. The question being asked is a simple one: Should the United Kingdom remain a member or leave the European Union?

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MICE Events Destinations Event management Brexit
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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group

Hotels should be honest about re-bookings . .

MICE

. . . otherwise they have to host cardboard boxes!

I’m a great admirer of the way hotels run their businesses. On the surface everyone you meet is as nice as pie and always enthusiastic to show you their latest improvement or upgrade. When it comes to the size of rooms and their current availability, they can be charmingly vague and relaxed. But don’t let this fool you.

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MICE Hotels Hotel Bookings re-bookings
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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group

How does terrorism affect destination decisions?

MICE
John Fisher reviews the factors to take into account
Terrorist attacks in Paris, Brussels, Istanbul and elsewhere have prompted lots of media comment about ‘safe places’ to take corporate meetings and conference delegates. It makes interesting editorial copy, but it’s closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

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MICE Meetings Destinations Travel Terrorist attacks
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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group

How to make events less stressful

MICE

John Fisher provides a checklist of 7 essentials

A recent survey by Q Hotels in the UK highlighted the fact that more than 70% of event organisers lose at least two hours sleep the night before organising an important event.
More than a quarter reported that they feel anxious before an event. 98% say that they need time for their body to recover after an event due to all the pressures exerted by the constant do-it-now demands of professional event management.
Being concerned that all the planning goes right on the big day is not exclusive to event organisers, of course.

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MICE delegate Event management Event organisers
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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group

Allow enough time to prepare . .

MICE

. . to ensure a happy audience

It’s easy to criticise an event for spelling mistakes on the screen or for an inaccurate delegate badge, but when your event is under way no-one stops to think about all the trials and tribulations endured to avoid those errors.
Sometimes the professional organiser gets a bigger kick out of rescuing an event from disaster than from the perfect execution of a well-trodden, regular event with no surprises. But how long should you spend putting an event together and is there such a thing as having too much or too little event preparation time?

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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group

Give your event a theme

MICE

John Fisher shows how to attract more delegates

Imagine a world where people have no names. It would be very confusing for everyone. It also suggests that individuals are not very important. But as we know, individuals do have their own personality with a unique contribution to make. Being different can change groups of people and even nations by the sheer force of that difference. Personal charisma can even change history.

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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group

Event management is a team game

MICE

Low-cost procurement might be dangerous

When we ask for advice we are usually looking for an accomplice. In other words, if we are putting together a complex event we often have a number of go-to suppliers who we know can do the job and also deliver it the way we want it. They may not be the cheapest or the most fashionable or have beautiful offices but we have been working together for a long time and we understand each other…mostly.

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John Fisher, Director, FMI Group

Don’t spend incentive funds on the wrong people

MICE

Apply these basic rules

By definition, incentive travel means going somewhere as a result of an incentive campaign. Otherwise it’s just group travel.
But how many organisers are aware of what participants have had to do to qualify for such events and does it make any difference to the delivery of the travel experience on the ground, even if some have not actually qualified?

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