In the ongoing effort to attract large groups and citywide events, some destination marketing organizations have embraced a seemingly counterintuitive tactic: partnering with the competition. It might seem to flout conventional wisdom, but these alliances have given each bureau access to clients and leads they might not have secured on their own.
Following, M&C profiles five DMO groups -- the Three City Alliance; the Energy Cities Alliance; Austin (Texas)/Seattle; Long Beach (Calif.)/Tampa Bay (Fla.), and the BestCities Global Alliance -- that are reaping rewards of cooperative sales and marketing efforts.
Three City Alliance
A decade ago, the leadership of three DMOs -- Visit Milwaukee, Visit Pittsburgh and Travel Portland (Ore.) -- compared notes and found some shared synergies in similar-size convention centers, enough hotel rooms to accommodate roughly 1,100 to 1,500 attendees on a peak night, client service standards and ethics, and even location-based characteristics such as proximity to rivers or lakes.
Subsequently, the Three City Alliance was launched following the old maxim of there being strength in numbers. The group developed its own website, marketing approach and annual events, with each bureau contributing to the costs.
"Geographically, this arrangement is pretty much ideal, because the three cities are situated almost perfectly to fit into most groups' East/Midwest/West rotations," notes Karl Pietrzak, vice president of convention sales at Visit Pittsburgh, referring to the fact that many associations have bylaws that require annual conventions to rotate between several regions.
In addition, the alliance offers financial incentives of up to $3 per room to meeting clients who book events with more than one partner. The funds can be used to offset expenses such as receptions, speaker fees and transportation.
By all accounts, the partnership has been a success. "This alliance has introduced a new set of clients to Pittsburgh who might not have otherwise considered our destination," notes Pietrzak. "By receiving positive referrals from the partner cities where groups have already had good experiences, clients often decide to give us a look."
The two other member bureaus cite tangible rewards as well: Travel Portland attributes three to four pieces of business per year to the partnership, while Visit Milwaukee reaps roughly six alliance-generated meetings per year.
While a majority of planners who work with the alliance end up holding events in two of the three destinations, dozens are able to commit to all three. Among them, according to Jeff Baryenbruch, executive director of sales at Visit Milwaukee, is the Indianapolis-based Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior. Its annual meeting, which attracts 1,400 attendees, was held in Pittsburgh in 2013 and will take place this year in Milwaukee and next year in Portland.
"We do occasionally come into direct competition with one of our two partners," Visit Pittsburgh's Pietrzak admits, "and in those cases we each make our best offer and work to bring the business to our own city." Fortunately, he says, such instances are rare.
Despite the group's success, "I don't see the alliance expanding beyond the current three cities," says Pietrzak. "I'm not closing the door on the idea of adding another partner, but that destination would have to fit geographically with the three cities, and would have to be a good match for the spirit and culture of what we've put in place."
Austin/Seattle
These two cities are natural partners, thanks to their youthful vibe, cutting-edge music scenes, great food and reputation for locally produced libations (Seattle's wine and Austin's beer). But they also dovetail with similar-size convention centers, enough hotel rooms to host about 1,500 attendees on a peak night, a similar client base and mutual appeal to convention attendees. "Our cities share a lot in common but rarely compete, due to geography," notes Steve Genovesi, senior vice president of sales for the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The Austin CVB and Visit Seattle first teamed up for an event in 2012, when they co-sponsored a dinner for 30 clients during ASAE's annual meeting, held in Dallas that year. "The clients loved it; they told us they didn't have to choose between one DMO's event or the other's," says Marco Bloemendaal, senior vice president, convention sales and services, at Visit Seattle.
Since then, the two DMOs have joined forces several times a year. "We have little spin-offs -- small client dinners in Washington, D.C., or Chicago -- or we take clients to concerts or sporting events together," says Bloemendaal. One recent collaboration was a music-themed reception for 60 clients held at the Alexandria, Va., home of Brian Knapp, president of association and meeting management firm IMN Solutions and owner of one the largest collections of Led Zeppelin memorabilia. The event demonstrated a "Whole Lotta Love" between the two bureaus.
While neither organization will specify if it has booked business solely as the result of the partnership, both have broadened their potential client base. "We have definitely started generating leads, particularly when we're introducing ourselves to a client who is unfamiliar with Austin, yet has held a meeting in Seattle," says Genovesi. "Starting a conversation about the similarities of size of convention center, hotels package and city vibe usually gains immediate interest."
Long Beach/Tampa Bay
With their respective abilities to let citywide conventions virtually take over their convention districts, and with a mutual focus on the religious and association meeting markets, Visit Long Beach and Visit Tampa Bay started working together five years ago.
"There are striking similarities between us," notes Adam DePiro, director of convention sales at Visit Tampa Bay. Among them are the ability to handle 2,000 delegates on peak night, the capacity of their respective convention centers, and additional venue opportunities afforded by nearby arts centers and sports stadiums. Another commonality is proximity to an airport (both downtowns are six miles away), and Southwest Airlines is a major carrier for both.
The two DMOs typically conduct up to five sales missions and partner events per year. Most recently, they jointly hosted a client table at the Destination Marketing Association International Foundation dinner.
"We work collaboratively but benefit individually," says DePiro. Among the recent pieces of business they shared: The United Church of Christ held its general synod in Tampa Bay in 2011 and in Long Beach last year.
While the two bureaus have offered financial incentives for booking both cities in the past, the DMOs plan to update and refresh the program with new enhancements for the coming year.
Energy Cities Alliance
Of the partnerships profiled in this article, the members of the Energy Cities Alliance -- VisitAberdeen in Scotland; the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau in the United Arab Emirates; the Calgary Telus Convention Center in Alberta, Canada; the Perth Convention Bureau in Australia, and Region Stavanger in Norway -- easily are the most eclectic of the bunch.
Formed in 2009, the alliance's members are in some way connected with the energy industry in areas that include fossil fuels, green energy and energy-related academic research.
The group, which has its own website and is jointly funded by the five members, offers planners benefits similar to those offered by individual DMOs, including lobbying and bidding support with local vendors, hosting receptions with local dignitaries, referrals to local speakers, marketing support, event promotion to build attendance and recommendations for CSR opportunities. In addition, the alliance gives planners preferred pricing for some elements of an event and can put planners in touch with potential sponsors.
The alliance hosts events during major meetings industry meetings including IMEX Frankfurt and IMEX America. Most recently, the members shared a booth at the Association Congress, which took place in Paris in April. Last month, they hosted their first educational session, featuring a panel speaking on the topic of "Advantageous Alliances: Can collaboration between venues, professional congress organizers and associations bring about better outcomes for association events?"
Among groups that have booked conferences at multiple alliance destinations are the Annual Deep Offshore Technology Conference, which met in Stavanger in 2007, Perth in 2012 and Aberdeen this year; and the WorldSkills International Competition, which met in Calgary in 2009 and will take place in Abu Dhabi in 2017.
"We have greatly benefited from the Energy Cities Alliance, particularly with business intelligence and lead sharing," says Gillian Taylor, manager of the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau. "The WorldSkills International Competition alone will bring 7,000 skilled, trained youngsters, teachers and trainers from 52 countries."
As for potential expansion of the consortium, "We consider approaches from cities with synergies in the same areas of industry and scientific research," says alliance administrator Deidre Keegan, who notes that potential newcomers must offer the same service levels and attention to groups as the current members to be considered.
BestCities Global Alliance
Established in 2000, the BestCities Global Alliance is composed of 10 far-flung, first-tier convention destinations: Berlin; Cape Town, South Africa; Chicago; Copenhagen, Denmark; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Edinburgh, Scotland; Houston; Melbourne, Australia; Singapore; and Vancouver, British Columbia. The group has a unique offering that differentiates it from other DMO partnerships: certified service standards for its meeting clients. The standards, established by Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance, cover six categories: destination expertise, bid assistance, convention planning, attendance building, on-site event servicing, and post-event support and evaluation.
In addition, all BestCities partners must have a convention venue that can handle a minimum of 3,000 attendees, 10,000 hotel rooms and a business focus on medical, environment, science, technology, economics, transportation and communications industries.
The group holds six events per year. By the end of this year, alliance representatives will have met in New York City, Paris and Geneva, as well as at industry trade shows including IMEX Frankfurt and IMEX America.
According to a consortium spokesperson, there are no formal figures on how many groups have booked events as a direct result of the alliance, but at least two members, Berlin and Houston, have recently won business via their BestCities membership.
While attending a BestCities client workshop in Singapore in June 2012, for example, representatives from VisitBerlin were introduced to members of the International Fiscal Association. And two other BestCities members, Vancouver and Copenhagen, have hosted the IFA in recent years.
For its part, the Human Genome Organization selected Houston as host for its 2016 meeting, following a special bid presentation by the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau and a joint lunch hosted with three fellow alliance partners -- Edinburgh, Singapore and Vancouver.
As for future expansion, BestCities is turning its attention to key regions where it has no partner as yet, namely South America and Northeast Asia. The alliance has introduced a regional affiliate slot, which allows destinations that meet certain criteria to go through the stringent membership process in stages. Last month, the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau became the first member in this category.