plenary The Knowledge Alliance + ‘A Warm and Inviting Set’ Unveiled at IMEX in Frankfurt, Germany, this

past May, GSCA is made up of the Adelaide Con- vention Bureau, in Australia; the Daejeon Interna- tional Marketing Enterprise, in South Korea; the Hyderabad Convention Visitors Bureau, in India; and the Toulouse Convention Bureau, in France. The partner cities all have “strengths in scientific innovation and research,” according to GSCA’s mission statement, and are committed to “collabo- rating to promote their respective destinations to conventions relating to these industries.” Daejeon and Toulouse first broached the idea

of an alliance “two years ago during IMEX,” said Francois Lafont, Toulouse’s vice president of busi- ness development. “We tried to find similar cities for university, for science, for IT,” and eventually linked up with Adelaide and Hyderabad. In a twist on the typical

DMO alliance, whose members usually share certain charac- teristics related to geography or conference logistics, GSCA places its partners’ intellec- tual assets front and center. Each city is home to world-class universities as well as specialized areas of science and research. Thus, part of GSCA’s mission, as detailed in its marketing collateral, is classic destination sales:

ROOM SET

Pillow Talk

Each city is home to world-class universities as well as specialized areas of science and research.

“To exchange and share leads and information pertaining to relevant convention opportunities between alliance members to secure future events and enhance destination experience.” But the alliance’s efforts go beyond leads and room nights:

“Promote the alliance and its members to our tar- get audience of convention organizers, scientific organizations and potential alliance members.” For GSCA, the partnership is good business

— and also an opportunity to change the world. “Innovation is about science,” Lafont said. “Sci- ence is in each city, and we have to improve the knowledge of students of [the] industries around the cities.” That could happen, Lafont said, if the GSCA cities were to attract scientific confer- ences that area students then would be invited to attend — and that would draw on local educational resources. “We could involve our industries, our laboratories, our researchers, so we improve the universities,” Lafont said. “This is a virtual circle.”

. — Christopher Durso 14 PCMA CONVENE JULY 2013 PCMA.ORG

Looking to shake up the look and feel of the keynotes and other sessions at its 2013 Commercial Lines Seminar at the Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel this past February, the National Asso- ciation of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) opted for “a warm and inviting set that looked and felt different than prior years, and was more conducive to interac- tion among attendees,” said Crista Hassett, CMP, NAMIC’s director of meetings and special projects. “Seating included a mix of crescent rounds, tall bar tables with leather bar stools, pod-style seating, and soft-seating conversation nooks that utilized sofas, chairs, and funky ottomans…. Soft, color- ful lighting was set against a spandex backdrop on the stage with our associa- tion’s GOBO to add a visual element. Our audiovisual technician provided a variety of background music that varied in energy level based on what was happening in the room at the time. By creating an environment that offered different types of seating and incorporated different textures, colors, and sounds, we hoped to tap into the different senses, and create a fun and inviting first impression.”

ART CREDIT