1. Investigating Ambassador Programs:Motives for Bidding for InternationalMeetings and Events Presented by Martin Robertson School of International Business Victoria University51st ICCA Congress 20-24 October 2012San Juan, Puerto Rico

2. Acknowledgements Research conducted with the support of ICCAWe wish to thank: Ksenija Polla, Noor Ahmad Hamid and Martin Sirk atICCA Suzana Bishop, Melbourne Convention ExhibitionCentre Mike Cannon and Dylan Redas Noel, SarawakConvention Bureau Abdulla Yousuf Abdulla, Dubai Convention Bureau 3. Presentation Overview Study Background Literature Review Research Aim Method Results Where to Next? 4. Study Background ICCA approached VU as a member universityto conduct a cooperative research project Given the lack of studies on ambassadorprograms and the role ambassadors play inbidding for international meetings and events,it was jointly determined to undertakeexploratory research in this area 5. Literature Review No academic studies exist on ambassador programs Limited studies on bidding for events by conventionand visitor bureaus (Getz, 2003) More work on bidding for major/mega sportingevents, though still limited ICCA has produced a guide titled CongressAmbassador Programmes as a how to booklet Limited other intelligence related to the topic 6. Research Aim To identify the motives ofambassadors in becoming activebidders for international association meetings and conventions 7. Method Online survey administered in October 2012 The questionnaire instrument was refined withfeedback from ICCA Three programs surveyed Club Melbourne, Melbourne Sarawak Convention Bureau Ambassadors ConferenceScholarship Program, Malaysia Al Safeer, Dubai Response rate: 19%, 54 respondents to date Preliminary (topline) results presented here 8. Results Demographic Profile of Respondents Gender 63% male; 37% female Education vast majority of respondents(89%) had a postgraduate qualification Work status vast majority (78%) employedfull-time 9. Results Age 10. ResultsMembership Profile of Respondents Even mix of respondents across all programs,although relative to total ambassadornumbers per program, Malaysian respondentsare over-represented in the returned sample The majority of respondents (51%) had beenmembers of their program for less than 2years; 37% members for 2-5 years 11. ResultsThe majority (67%) had attended one event/functionor more hosted by their program in 2011 12. ResultsAmbassadors actively attend international meetingsand events (32% attended 7 or more) 13. ResultsThe majority of ambassadors (61%) were activelybidding for international meetings and events 14. Results Respondents who had been involved in bidding foran international meeting/event in the past 2 years,were asked, in reference to their most recent bid,whether or not it was successful. 77% - Yes 23% - No These respondents were then asked using a 7-pointscale their reasons for participating in the bid (1 = Not at all important; 7 = Extremely important) 15. ResultsRankReason Mean Standard(Measured on 7-point scale) (n= 30) deviation1Professional body support 5.60 1.652Prestige or recognition for your professional body5.60 1.913Prestige or recognition for your country, region or city5.40 1.794Economic benefits for your country, region, city or 5.00 1.89 professional body5Increased personal or professional profile4.73 1.986A prior indication of a high probability of success by the4.47 1.68 award body7Government directive/support4.47 2.018Personal encouragement by key stakeholders4.40 2.119Prestige or recognition for your employer 4.37 2.0410 Corporate support 4.17 2.0011 Career benefits 4.03 2.0912 Potential media coverage3.90 2.2213 Social or other benefits3.67 1.99 16. Results Regardless of past bidding activity, allrespondents were asked on a 7-point scale(1 = Not at all important; 7 = Extremelyimportant), what factors they consideredimportant when bidding for an internationalmeeting/event They were also asked about their futurebidding intentions on a graphic rating scale(1 = Extremely unlikely; 100 = Extremely likely) 17. ResultsRankReason NMean Standard (Measured on 7-point scale) deviation1Your professional networks46 6.02 1.242Resources available to make a bid 45 5.78 1.403Support from the local meetings industry46 5.76 1.434Likely reputational benefits in your field from hosting the 46 5.74 1.45 event5Profile of the event45 5.67 1.386Likelihood of bid success 44 5.25 1.547Your personal networks45 5.22 1.688Likely economic impact of the event 46 5.20 1.499Available time44 5.20 1.6210 Cost of bidding 46 4.63 1.9511 Complexity of bid requirements45 4.51 1.8712 Your role in the event of a successful bid46 4.48 1.8513 Your level of influence over the event if the bid is46 4.48 1.96 successful14 Risk of not hosting the event successfully45 3.80 2.0715 Risk of not bidding 45 2.84 1.76 18. ResultsReasonNMeanStandard(Measured on scale 1 to 100) deviationI intend to bid for an international meeting/event in the next 12 51 63.71 28.94monthsBeyond the next 12 months, I intend to bid for an international 52 70.1221.97meeting/event in the next 2-3 years Finally, ambassadors were asked to rate their levelof agreement (on a graphic rating scale 1=Strongly disagree; 100 =Strongly agree) with aseries of summary statements regarding the valueof ambassador programs 19. Results Reason NMeanStandard (Measured on scale 1 to 100)deviationMy membership of an ambassador program has assisted me in 54 68.61 25.63bidding for international meetings/eventsMy membership of an ambassador program has assisted me in 53 62.0223.39winning bids for international meetings/eventsAmbassador programs have an important role to play in 54 78.1517.76ensuring destinations attract international meetings/eventsThe results indicate strong support for the value ofambassador programs in securing internationalmeetings and events 20. Where to next? Analysis of the data collected will continue (includingresponses to a number of open-ended questions) A research report will be drafted for comment by ICCA (end ofNovember) The research team will publish the findings of the study in ajournal article to address the lack of academic studies onambassador programs Now the online survey has been developed, potential toadminister the survey to other ambassador programs tofacilitate cross-program and cross-country comparisons 21. Questions??? Project team School of International Business, Victoria University Dr Leonie Lockstone-Binney Dr Paul Whitelaw Martin Robertson Dr Rodney Con Foo & Dr Ian Michael, Zayed University, Dubai For project queries contact:leonie.lockstone@vu.edu.au 22. Our Event Knowledge in Location