GainingEdge’s new buyer-side advisory practice reflects a simple but increasingly important proposition: destinations that want to win association congresses need to understand how associations think and make decisions.
SWITZERLAND – Business events consultancy GainingEdge has launched an Association Buyer-Side Advisory Practice, aimed at helping convention bureaux and venues better understand the organisations whose meetings they are trying to attract. It addresses an interesting disconnect in the association meetings market. Destinations invest considerable resources in identifying congresses, preparing bids and marketing venues. Yet the final destination decision may involve an association board, secretariat, local members, scientific leadership, and a PCO—each with different priorities.
GainingEdge’s new practice approaches that process from the association side. Its services include association decision-making and buyer insight training, bid coaching, competitive positioning, association client advisory boards, ambassador programmes, meeting-readiness assessments and legacy and impact planning. The latter is particularly significant.
Associations are increasingly asking what remains after delegates go home. Knowledge transfer, professional development, community engagement and longer-term economic or societal impact can now form part of the destination proposition. GainingEdge argues that destinations need to understand what association boards and staff actually evaluate rather than approaching every bid primarily as a competition over facilities and price. This represents a wider evolution in destination marketing.
Infrastructure remains essential. Associations still need appropriate convention facilities, hotels, air access and competitive costs. But these increasingly represent the starting point rather than the complete proposition. The stronger question may be whether a destination understands an association’s purpose and can connect its congress to local universities, industries, professionals, government agencies and communities. For destinations pursuing association business, understanding the buyer may ultimately matter as much as understanding their own product.
