DALLAS, Texas, USA (April 10, 2023)—Meeting Professionals
International [1](MPI), the world’s largest meeting and event
industry association aired this year’s sixth annual Global Meetings
Industry Day (GMID): Virtual experience on March 30, 2023. Over 4,000
industry meeting professionals registered for the event, with
participation from around the world. Attendees were able to access a
live stream chat feature, a digital wall where they could post updates
all attendees could see and direct messaging capability between
attendees for connection and collaboration.
Over 40 unique educational segments covered topics including the history
of GMID, sustainability, emotional intelligence, event data strategy,
event and destination planning at resorts, incentive travel research,
anti-human trafficking education, workforce development, and more. MPI
presented the State of the Industry panel and shared exciting updates
including a new partnership with Marriott on sustainability. The 2023
RISE Award finalists were announced on the broadcast and the recipients
will be named at the World Education Congress (WEC) in June 2023.
“GMID began over 20 years ago through the initiative of MPI Canadian
chapters, and we are so very proud it has grown into a universally
supported and globally impactful event for our industry.” said Paul
Van Deventer, president, and CEO of MPI. “The event remains an
important time to build relationships, and equip ourselves with the knowledge to
innovate for the future and tell the story of our industry’s
impact.”
This year, MPI chapters played a large role in the programming. The MPI
Chicago, Mexico, Potomac, and Toronto chapters participated. Participants
were treated to a live panel session from the MPI Southern California
Chapter’s 45th Anniversary Party. And participants got a sneak peek
along with interviews from the MPI Carolinas Chapter as they celebrated
GMID from the Bank of America stadium. There was also an international
live stream from Africa with a special panel on planning meetings and
events on the continent.
Following are key stats from MPI’s 2023 Global Meeting Industry Day:
Virtual experience:
*
GMID continues to drive high satisfaction. A total of 4,118 meetings
and event professionals registered, of which 2,395 attended, giving it a
94% satisfaction rate and a Net Promoter Score of 45.
*
Engagement from attendees was strong. Cumulatively, attendees consumed
305,540 minutes of programming. Throughout the broadcast, 127,730
attendee interactions took place across the Webex platform (i.e.,
messages, profile views).
*
There were 1,725 chat entries between the attendees.
*
In total, MPI delivered just over 40 individual educational
segments.
*
The MPI Foundation, the philanthropic arm of MPI, held a campaign with
ALHI in which it aimed to match up to $10,000 for anti-human trafficking
efforts. By the end of the GMID broadcast, nearly $3,000 had been raised
and donations continued being accepted through April 7, 2023.
*
GMID was gamified for the first time this year. Attendees were given
questions throughout the day to test their knowledge of GMID history.
The top five participants who answered questions won prizes—from MPI,
Webex and Grit Studios swag to autographed books from Foster+ Fathom to
trips to Dallas and Detroit.
*
Three wellness breaks were again incorporated throughout the 12-hour
broadcast, encouraging participants to relax, breathe and stretch.
*
A link to the recording of the GMID broadcast will be available on the
MPI website later this month.
“GMID brings together thousands of members of our community to connect,
share insights and strengthen our events industry,” remarked Lisa
Vogel, Lead, Field, and Event Marketer for WebEx Events (formerly Socio),
the end-to-end event management platform which hosted MPI’s GMID.
“MPI members from around the world were able to connect in one
immersive virtual event experience, allowing them to network and
communicate in real-time, while also driving engagement between
attendees and sponsors.”
About GMID:
GMID began as Canadian National Meetings Industry Day, which was a 20+
year tradition in Canada created by the Canadian Chapters of MPI. It
expanded to North American Meetings Industry Day in 2015 through the
efforts of Meetings Mean Business. 2016 was the first global edition,
continued to be led by Meetings Mean Business (which is now an arm of
U.S. Travel). GMID is currently an initiative of Meetings Mean Business
under U.S Travel; however, many industry associations, chapters, and
organizations host events in its celebration. MPI has hosted our annual
12-hour broadcast since 2018.
About MPI:
Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is the largest meeting and
event industry association worldwide. The organization provides
innovative and relevant education, networking opportunities, and business
exchanges, and acts as a prominent voice for the promotion and growth of
the industry. MPI has a global community of more than 95,000 meeting and
event professionals including 12,000 engaged members. It has nearly 70
chapters and clubs with members in more than 75 countries. “When we
meet, we change the world.” mpi.org [2]
