Hilton Worldwide nailed it with its Global Meetings Industry Day contest launched this week. The campaign goes to the heart of the March 30 industry-advocacy day and also engages meeting customers in a meaningful way.
While GMID is about the big picture—the industry’s massive economic impact on cities and states—it also celebrates the power of meetings to educate and connect people, to spread ideas, and to motivate. For Hilton’s “The Meeting that Meant Everything Contest,” b-to-b customers are asked to share a story illustrating the power of face-to-face meetings. Specifically, planners enter by recording a 30-second video or submitting a short essay (250 words or less) describing one in-person meeting and how it impacted them personally or professionally.
The grand-prize winner gets a million Hilton Honors points “to use toward the cost of a face-to-face meeting, lodging expenses, or as a charitable contribution,” plus $500 to be used for an industry conference or continuing education. Second-place and runners-up prizes will also be award. The deadline is March 23, and the details are here.
In other GMID news, the U.S. Travel Association’s Meetings Mean Business Coalition, the organization behind GMID, this week released new resources in its GMID toolkit for organizations that want to get involved, and announced a webinar on March 15 looking at the history and benefits of GMID.
Among the resources included in the toolkit are templates for communicating with the community and the media about GMID and the value of meetings, such as:
• A sample media advisory to promote a GMID event
• A sample pitch letter for an appearance on a local media outlet
• A sample op-ed article
Virtual and in-person events are being organized to mark GMID. Some examples include:
• Meeting Professionals International will hold a 12-hour GMID broadcast, featuring education and activities from around the world.
• The Ohio Society of Association Professionals, the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association, PCMA Power Chapter, ILEA Ohio Chapters, and MPI Ohio Chapter will be holding meet-ups in Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati.
• MPI’s Carolinas Chapter is planning a GMID event on the evening of March 29 and 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. on March 30, highlighted by keynote speaker Michael Dominguez, president & CEO of Associated Luxury Hotels International, who will present on the future of meetings.
• The PCMA and MPI New England chapters are partnering on a GMID educational event that will focus on how event evaluations can gauge event satisfaction and also quantify ROI and ROE.
