A new smartphone app, GNR8, designed to help convention bureaus and
conference centres target the international association conference
market, has been launched by the Global Industry Development Network
(GIDN).
The app can be used to match an association’s ‘call for bids’ with potential local hosts from within the user’s city.
Having
been trialled in the US and Canada for 12 months, the app is now ready
for download free of charge through the iPhone App Store and on Android
at Google Play.
To receive qualified and exclusive leads there
is a subscription version, which can be accessed through the app or by
visiting globalidn.com.
One organisation involved in the testing
phase, Tourism Saskatoon in Canada’s Saskatchewan province, found that
over 12 months 22 new leads entered their sales pipeline. These leads
have resulted in four bid wins, representing almost 5,000 delegates and
US$4.7m in direct delegate expenditure, the bureau notes.
Another user involved in the trial, the World Trade and Convention Centre Halifax,
also from Canada, in just eight months was able to generate another 42
new conference leads into their sales pipeline with three wins so far.
These conferences will start to materialise as they open a new
convention centre in 2016.
“How GNR8 works is simple,” says
Scott Campbell, Executive Director of the Global Industry Development
Network. “A user subscribes to GNR8 and then receives up to five
qualified leads per month which are matched to potential local hosts
from within the user’s city and which have been aligned to their
industries or sectors of excellence, such as science or agriculture.
“While
you can just accept the lead and work it yourself, GNR8’s unique
feature is that it allows you to not just stop at receiving the lead but
rather use the app to develop it all the way through to bid win, it
gives you a complete roadmap from prospect to win.”
When a lead
has been selected a user can request more information such as
introductions to conference decision-makers, can seek interviews from
past conference organisers, and obtain lists of potential and past
sponsors.
Support is available through the complete sales
lifecycle from prospect to lead, to opportunity, bid stage and bid win.
At each stage the user can access support services from GIDN’s team
members in 16 countries.
GNR8 has been launched in partnership
with the not-for-profit society, the STEM States Incorporated, as part
of their announcement that the 2014 International Festival of Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEMfest) will be held in
Adelaide, Australia in partnership with the Royal Australian Chemical
Institute.
GNR8 was trialled at STEMfest 2013 and will again be
the official app used by STEMfest partner associations in identifying
grants and sponsors, and for exhibitors being matched to new business
leads.
Thirty-eight destination marketing organisations and venues have started to use the app for business development.
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