Oohhaaaa!!! The ICCA and Local Host Committee ready to take up AIME2016 with Brooke.
Melbourne, 23rd February 2016: Representatives of Sarawak, Malaysia and ICCA are in Melbourne this month to promote the 55th International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Congress 2016 at the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) 2016 to over 4,500 industry experts from 37 countries.
“Meeting professionals view the annual ICCA Congress as a gold standard event, just as athletes view the Olympics. Malaysia is thrilled to host the congress in Kuching city in 2016, and excited to launch this year’s first promotional campaign in Australia, working with AIME 2016 to present some meaningful activities,” said Amelia Roziman, heading up the Public Relations and Marketing Committee for the local host under ICCA 2016.
One of the highlights of this two-day expo is the Borneo Orang-Utan Project (BOP) which is the official Corporate Social Responsibility programme for the 55th ICCA Congress 2016.
As part of the #RoadtoSarawak campaign to the 2016 ICCA Congress in the city of Kuching in Sarawak, Malaysia, all ICCA members are exclusively invited to engage in an opportunity of a lifetime to adopt the precious baby girl orang-utan named Anaku for a year.
BOP, the brainchild of both ICCA and the local host, shines the spotlight on the plight of these endangered creatures at a global stage. Delegates, exhibitors and buyers at AIME are encouraged to take a photo with the ICCA Congress 2016 mascot, “Brooke” and share it on social media with the hashtags “#RoadtoSarawak”, “#AIMEMelbourne”, and “#ICCAWorld”.
“One lucky winner will clinch the opportunity of a lifetime to ‘adopt’ or be a guardian for 1 year to a precious male baby orang-utan boy called Anaku, who lives at the Semenggoh Nature Reserve in Kuching, Borneo. This is an exclusive privilege for ICCA members only,” said Ms. Roziman, who is also the General Manager of Marketing and Sales for the Sarawak Convention Bureau.
The announcement of the winner will be made by ICCA in the week after AIME. ICCA will adopt Anaku on behalf a chosen member upon the announcement.
The series of ICCA #Roadto… campaigns initially started as a social media campaign for the 2014 ICCA Congress in Antalya, Turkey -#RoadtoAntalya- as a call to action for delegates to share images, tips and advice during their journey and preparations for the ICCA Congress. “It is great to see that these campaigns have evolved from a social media campaign to build momentum and connect delegates a couple of weeks before an ICCA Congress, to a year-long campaign in the run-up to our next event. You can see ICCA Congress destinations are smartly using this ICCA Congress angle to promote their destination to a global audience.” says Mathijs Vleeming, ICCA’s Communication Strategist.
“It was hard to follow Argentina’s “take a picture with a tango dancer” competition as part of the #RoadtoArgentina to ICCA Congress 2015 in Buenos Aires, but Brooke is very photogenic and it is great to be able to raise awareness and contribute to this good cause in a fun way.”
BOP was initially launched at the International Business and Tourism Management (IBTM) trade show in Barcelona in November 2015, at which Mr. Corbin Ball of Corbin Ball Associates became the first adoptive father of a female baby orang-utan named Endu for a year.
Brooke with Mr. Corbin Ball of Corbin Ball Associates, the first adoptive father of a female baby orang-utan named Endu at the International Business and Tourism Management (IBTM) trade show, Barcelona in November 2015.
Malaysia chose Melbourne as its first promotion platform in 2016 on AIME’s reputation as the Southern Hemisphere’s most outstanding meetings and incentives exhibition.
At AIME, Malaysia also intends to drive Sarawak as one of the region’s freshest destinations for international events, and to promote membership of ICCA, a leading source of expertise for the business events community.
“The ICCA experience always aimed at providing exceptional opportunities for both personal and professional growth. Delegates of the 55th ICCA Congress 2016 in Kuching can look forward to a truly unique experience of a modern conference set within the world’s oldest rainforest,” said Ms. Premala Danapakiam, Director of Sales and Marketing for Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) and a representative of the local host.
“We have enormously high expectations for the Sarawak Congress: our education programme is already taking shape with some exciting new topics and experimental formats, we’ve lined up external expert speakers on entrepreneurship, corporate anthropology and sales and pricing theory, and we’re exploring networking theory and practice in ways that we believe no other meeting has attempted before, inspired by Sarawak’s tribal heritage to find modern interpretations of concepts such as ritual, taboo, status, initiation, and even head-hunting! Feedback from our members around the world suggests that this is going to be one of the largest ever gatherings of the ICCA global tribe, and we look forward to working with our friends on the Local Host Committee to put on a truly memorable experience.” Martin Sirk, CEO, ICCA
For more information on the benefits of ICCA membership, or the 55th ICCA Congress 2016, please visit www.iccaworld.org or the Malaysia Booth 2714 at AIME 2016.
