Clarity of purpose can sometimes happen at the oddest times. Here I was, a few weeks ago, searching for the phone number of a man I had used previously to rehome possums that had found a comfortable place to nest in my roof, and had done so again, when I came across a jotting on a piece of paper by my late husband and past owner of ICMS Australasia, Bryan Holliday.

The heading was Disruptive Innovation. It had no date although I can guess that he had written it over a decade before because he was referring to the arrival of Airbnb and the impact it was having on the hotel sector for business events, and he was writing about what other disruptive innovations we might expect in the business event sector in the future.

Although his notes didn’t predict the COVID pandemic, our arising conversations led to the conclusion that unforeseen events do occur and our response to them can in fact be opportunities. I believe it is this thinking which separates ICMSA from others - our ability to not only embrace disruption, but to master any change and create new benchmarks.

Now, as we near the end of 2021 and around 20 months since the global pandemic first shook our world, our belief that there are always opportunities within the seemingly dire, once more stands true.

The rise of virtual conferencing and supportive technology has been fine-tuned and, indeed, new methods of communication that have worked during this period of disruption can be adopted forever more.

The virtual meeting concept has opened up the world to people who previously could not imagine – nor afford – to travel to attend a meeting and who in the past year have done just that. At the hybrid 17th World Congress for Infant Mental Health we managed in Brisbane in June 2021, we at ICMSA along with the Host Committee, were so overjoyed to hear from hundreds of virtual attendees who said being able to plug in virtually was of great benefit to them, particularly as financially they would not have been able to attend in-person.

As WAIMH 2021 Co-Chair, Libby Morton, said: “We received a lot of positive feedback from the post-Conference surveys with attendees saying that access to all of the content, which was all made available on-line, should be something that is repeated in future WAIMH conferences even if they are held in-person. Instead of only being able to see 10 per cent of the content they were able to see 100 per cent of it.”

Many of our pipeline meetings in 2022 and beyond are being planned as hybrid, catering to those who can attend in-person and those who cannot. As a result, we anticipate stronger revenue for our clients as well as a broader number of attendees participating, many of who may have never attended a previous meeting before. The reach is extended way beyond original plans and is definitely an innovation brought about by disruption.

I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a wonderful, productive 2022.

Yours sincerely,

Emma Bowyer

P.S. My possums have now been safely removed to a new home just in time for Christmas.

ICMSA Owner and MD to help shape Sydney’s future

Owner and Managing Director of ICMS Australasia, Emma Bowyer, has been elected as a Member Director to the Board of BESydney, the NSW Government organisation that promotes Sydney as the pre-eminent Asia Pacific business visitor destination.

Ms Bowyer said she was looking forward to making a meaningful contribution to the BESydney vision and strategy over the next three years.

“I’m keen to represent a diverse group of members and to utilise this collective effort to ensure Sydney’s profile is enhanced for the benefit of all stakeholders,” she said.

https://www.besydney.com.au/besydney-newsroom/media-releases/business-events-worth-503m-to-deliver-economic-and-social-returns-for-new-south-wales/

World Urban Parks, Sydney Host Day

ICMSA secured and delivered a meeting for the World Urban Parks Summit on 8 December 2021. The Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust oversees hectares of parkland management across Sydney. The priority for Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust is to develop new ways to involve Sydneysiders in meeting local community needs, and to expand and improve public green space and parklands, to reinforce Sydney’s global reputation as a “City in a Park”.

New business secured by ICMSA

ICMS Australasia’s ongoing track record of delivering successful meetings for national and international clients is making the company the PCO of choice for a growing number of organisations.

Confirmed business secured in 2021 for future years includes:

ICMS Australasia team celebrate across all States

It’s been a busy year for ICMSA with meetings organised for a range of national and international clients in in-person, virtual and hybrid formats during 2021. Our staff have been working hard in and out of lock-downs and now it’s time to celebrate with ICMSA Xmas parties in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Our Sydney team enjoyed a sumptuous lunch in the lovely George Room at QT Sydney while the Queensland gang had a whale of a time at one of the hottest venues in Brisbane, City Winery at Eagle Street Pier, and our Melbourne group escaped the city for a day in the beautiful Bellarine Peninsula.

We’re all taking a well-earned break over Christmas with the office closed from Friday 17 December until Monday 10 January 2022. We wish you all the joy of the season, a very merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

What our clients say

ICMSA is continually surprised and delighted by the feedback we receive from our clients, and 2021 was no exception. After what has been an eventful year, many of the comments have focused on the challenges we have faced and overcome. A few of our favourites are here:

Association of School Business Administrators

“I thought it appropriate to write to offer our thanks and appreciation for all the great work the team is doing for both ASBA Vic and ASBA nationally on our 2020 and 2021 Conference planning. Often people are quick to offer criticism when things are not going so well but forget about the praise part when all is in order. ICMSA did a superb job in managing our state event and we are steaming ahead for our next two big events. My thanks to you and the team for your continued support of ASBA.”

Mark Glover
Association of School Business Administrators Vic President & National Director Chair of ASBA 2021 and ASBA 2023 National Conference Committee

Melbourne Medical School Student Conference 2021

“It is my great pleasure to write this letter to both thank, and congratulate ICMSA, for their role in ensuring the success of MDSCx. When the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Melbourne Medical School had little choice but to recommend to the Student Organising Team that the face-to-face event planned for MCEC in June be converted to a full online event…

Your role as not just professional conference organisers, but also mentors to our student leaders, is testament to the professionalism of the entire ICMSA organisation.”

Dr Justin Bilsza
Senior Lecturer, MD Student Conference Subject Coordinator, Melbourne Medical School

Congress of the World Association for Infant Mental Health (WAIMH)

“I want to congratulate you on the success of the WAIMH Congress. You overcame so many obstacles and challenges - it is incredible what you managed to create. Thank you for the careful management of each detail, which resulted in the smooth running of every aspect of this complex venture. This has been a milestone achievement.

“The decision to keep the Congress presentations available for 6 months is such a good idea on many levels. Thank you for doing this. With kind regards and good wishes.”

Astrid Berg
President-Elect, World Association for Infant Mental Health

“This was an absolutely FABULOUS event. I was online in July for an international nursing research conference and I must say it was not of the calibre of ASCIA. Ease of navigation, sessions, timings, etcetera, were excellent. Although it would have been nice to see all the interstate colleagues, we were not disadvantaged with content. A great job by all of you.”

Deryn Thompson
Lecturer in Nursing, UniSA Clinical & Health Sciences

Australasian Melanoma Conference

I’d like to extend a big congratulations to you all on a successful AMC last week! It was a truly fantastic program, with a lot of important and interesting insights from a terrific range of speakers.

The virtual platform also functioned really well and made for a great user experience, which I’m sure was not a small feat, having to pivot to a virtual conference.

Thank you to the ICMS and MIA team for all your support and open discussions. The transparency and flexibility you showed working with us was truly appreciated, particularly in having to adapt the conference to COVID challenges. I particularly want to thank @Emma Mogus who has been so responsive and has worked tirelessly and patiently with both myself and Andi in preparation for the conference and during!

Daniel Barnaby
Marketing Associate – Oncology (Melanoma and Genitourinary cancers), MSD

The 58th Annual Meeting of the International Association of Forensic Toxicologists

I always knew that ICMSA would be great for TIAFT and hopefully my colleagues will now also see this - now that the Meeting is starting to take shape. I just wanted to say thanks to both of you and your wonderful team for all the help, advice and support - in an incredibly compressed timeframe!!!

Dimitri Gerostamoulos
Meeting Co-Chair and TIAFT President-Elect

When Experience Matters

ICMS Australasia manages projects from concept through to final audit, providing expertise in attracting delegates, sponsors and exhibitors; budget and cash flow control, business and scientific program development; information, presentation, communication and staging technology, creation and delivery of social and recreational activities and accommodation. From idea generation to post-event evaluation we provide expertise, creativity and a healthy respect for the financial bottom line.

If you are interested in bidding for an event or need help with an event already confirmed, pick up the phone or send us an email.

Our experience will matter.

Talk to Emma Bowyer now for your event planning ambitions.