7 Ways NOT to use the �ֲ��ý rankings in your promotional activities

Updated April 2019

The annual �ֲ��ý country and city rankings are one of the most eagerly anticipated reports in the global meetings industry, which can offer some very valuable Marketing and PR opportunities, if used wisely...

Here are 7 ways NOT to use the �ֲ��ý rankings in your promotional activities:

1. Don’t just communicate your improved 2018 ranking as a press release

Press loves statistics and rankings. However, the fact alone that you have jumped the �ֲ��ý charts is not news-worthy on its own. To successfully generate a PR profile for your organisation and your destination in the media, you have to realize that the fact of your �ֲ��ý ranking on its own is not interesting enough for press to publish.

Instead, you could use the rankings as an angle to communicate your destination’s core brand values, key messages, new marketing campaigns or ambassador programme to tell a story. The releases that get the most coverage are the ones that create a newsworthy story around a news fact. Consider the following in telling this story:

This story should answer WHY you got the current position in the rankings: Have you launched a new ambassador programme or a new direct marketing campaign?
Find a human angle – even if it’s just the fact that an ambassador has secured the conference for their hometown. A quote from them, and a little bit of personal background, would be enough to make a standard story stand out from countless others in a similar vein. People are interested in people.
Use a high-res colorful picture. Human beings are visual creatures; We like looking at stuff. Yes indeed, a single picture can tell a thousand words.

See also AMI’s James Lancaster blog post which is still very valid: “”.

However, we suggest you do repeatedly plug in your good �ֲ��ý ranking in your PR messages as they do indicate a trend and represent trust as for your destination as a reliable and experienced association meetings host: Repetition works!

2. Don’t ignore your latest �ֲ��ý ranking if you have dropped in the tables

Prepare your story, even if you have dropped in the rankings. The rankings draw a lot of media attention and you better be prepared when a journalist ask you why your destination has dropped in the rankings!

3. Don’t ignore your ranking if you are a smaller destination

If you are a smaller destination, you have to get creative: Maybe you have hosted fewer but bigger meetings and you have hosted more participants? Did you organise more meetings in a specific subject area for which your city is a knowledge hub? Where do you rank in your national country ranking? Maybe you are amongst the top 10 biggest risers in a certain segment? What is your ranking based on estimated total number of participants instead of number of meetings?

As an �ֲ��ý member, you can use the to find out all of the above.

4. Don’t focus on the latest �ֲ��ý rankings alone, but provide the full picture

Educate journalists about what the �ֲ��ý rankings represent and what not (see more detailed axplanation below)
Association meetings are long term business, so also look at what is currently in the order books to create a positive story.
Look at the long-term picture, using our recent 55-year report "A modern history of international association meetings - Update: 1963-2017" and the 56 years worth of �ֲ��ý Statistics available in the .
Collect your own statistics: Maybe your performance has increased in the national, governmental or corporate market segment?
�ֲ��ý statistics are just one option for using city rankings for PR; (links to rankings will be updated soon).

5. Don’t just look at the obvious “tourism” numbers

Look beyond the obvious bed nights and travel expenditure, but use the fact that the number of association meetings are growing exponentially for advocacy purposes to your key stakeholders, like your local community or government for which you rely on for funding. Team up with the association in their advocacy efforts and highlight the value of the meeting beyond the touristic impact only: communicate the economic and societal benefit of the meeting for your destination.

6. Don’t ignore the promotional opportunity to associations

The �ֲ��ý rankings help meeting planners to decide where to hold their events, as they are scrutinising the �ֲ��ý rankings to work out which destinations are increasing in popularity and where their peers are meeting. Use the rankings to promote your destination to association meeting planners.

Consider placing a sponsored hyperlink in the public version of the 2018 statistics report which �ֲ��ý is sending to over 5,500 associations in mid-June.

�ֲ��ý offers members to include your side of the story in a full-page advertorial in the Public Abstract of the �ֲ��ý Statistics Report 2018! You can use this advertorial to share your destination’s perspective on the �ֲ��ý rankings and give a full picture of the meetings market in terms of eg. types of meetings hosted, the economic impact and the legacy of these meetings.

For more information on these opportunities please .

7. Don’t miss out on free distribution channels

Let �ֲ��ý help you to distribute and amplify your news. The provides all members with some simple, free and effective tools to increase your PR profile (all available in My �ֲ��ý):

Press Database: Download an up-to-date press list of 400 international meetings industry journalists
Post your press release on the �ֲ��ý website & social media channels
Use hashtag #�ֲ��ýWorld when publishing your news, so our global community can easily find it and we can amplify your message with �ֲ��ý's social media accounts.

What are the �ֲ��ý statistics, and what are they not?

When planning your promotional opportunities, it is good to realize what the �ֲ��ý rankings represent, and what not, since there are some misconceptions in our industry.

�ֲ��ý statistics are only representing a segment of the meetings market
�ֲ��ý has collected data on international association meetings since 1963. For almost as long as there has been an international association meetings sector, �ֲ��ý has been there alongside, in all regions of the world, to observe and carefully record its growth. In the world of international meetings, international comparison reports of other meetings market segments on a global scale are lacking. Most countries are still struggling to obtain even a partial picture of the current size and impact of this complex and fragmented industry. Due to lack of global figures on other meeting segments, the �ֲ��ý rankings are often mistakenly perceived as the destination rankings for the meetings industry as a whole, even though they just represent a segment of the market.

“In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king”

To be clear: Our statistics only include meetings organized by associations, as included in the �ֲ��ý Association Database, which live up to three strict criteria. They must:

be attended by at least 50 participants
be organised on a regular basis (one-time events are not included)
move between at least 3 different countries

�ֲ��ý rankings are not set in stone; They are a constantly evolving snapshot, which will be different each year �ֲ��ý statistics are published
�ֲ��ý rankings are only a snapshot of the �ֲ��ý Association Database at a specific time, in this case 30 April 2019. Many meetings are added to destinations after the immediate year they have taken place. The numbers and rankings, especially of recent year, will be different next year as �ֲ��ý identifies more meetings living up to its criteria.

�ֲ��ý rankings indicate trends, not 100% statistically accurate numbers
It is estimated that there are approximately 24,000 different association meetings organised on a regular basis. The �ֲ��ý Association Database has collected information on approximately 80% of them. A difference in rankings by just a small number of meetings should always be considered with this in mind, and incorporate the fact that a future snapshot will represent different numbers. Nevertheless, the �ֲ��ý statistics provide a very good indication of trends; a continuously rising position in the destinations ranking for a couple of years in a row does indicate a reliable trend.

Statistics Planning

The public release date of the new 2018 country and city rankings by number of meetings is Monday 13 May 2019 at noon (CET). To allow members to prepare the release of their new position in the �ֲ��ý 2018 rankings, we release the new figures a couple of days earlier under embargo to members only in the Destination Comparison Tool in My �ֲ��ý, on Wednesday 8 May.

On this day, we will send all official �ֲ��ý contacts a notification email when the new figures are available. When accessing the new figures a couple of days before the public release date, we kindly ask you to not publicize any news on the 2018 figures before next Monday 13 May at noon (CET), when �ֲ��ý will send out an �ֲ��ý press release to announce the new country and city top 20 rankings by number of international association meetings. .

This way we all publish the rankings simultaneously, which avoids creating confusion and gives all members a couple of days to prepare and plan their news releases.

The public abstract with the full 2018 country and city rankings will e published in mid-June.

We are looking forward to seeing - and amplifying - your media coverage!

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