The Meetings Mean Business Coalition, which began as a U.S.–based, cross-industry communications and advocacy initiative to promote the economic value of the meetings industry, has signed a licensing agreement on a platform that industry professionals worldwide can use to promote the power of face-to-face meetings.
The agreement enables partners outside the U.S. to use MMB branding, messaging, and research to develop their own messages, which also can be customized to the cultural environment and community needs of each country or region.
“We are thrilled to welcome more international partners into the MMB family through this global expansion,” said Paul Van Deventer, president and chief executive officer of Meeting Professionals International and co-chair of Meetings Mean Business. “This will allow us to extend the MMB brand in an authentic, grassroots, and meaningful way, which truly emphasizes that meetings matter all over the world, and provide a platform to engage the global events community.”
First to sign the licensing agreement is the Business Events Industry Coalition of Canada, established eight years ago to advocate on behalf of the Canadian meetings and events industry.
“In-person meetings have a huge impact on the international economy and communities across six continents, but we are more powerful when we come together to share information and advocate for our industry,” says Grant Snider, BEICC chair and president and CEO, Meeting Escrow. “Building on what has been accomplished by the BEICC and aligning our efforts with the MMB will help us better communicate the importance of our $27 billion, 341,000 full-time–job industry in Canada and will help the MMB Coalition create a template for expansion of this new industry-wide platform.”
MMB is actively engaging with other potential global partners to extend its message beyond North America.
