Bolstering business events in Australia

To support Australia’s business events industry during what has been one of the most challenging years to date, through the work of the Business Events Australia team Tourism Australia re-entered the domestic market to help offset the fall in international business events taking place during the crisis and stimulate the return of domestic business events. 

The latest instalment of the Business Events Australia Event Here This Year campaign was in market from February to June 2021, helping to inspire and encourage domestic decision-makers to start planning and delivering business events in Australia again. The campaign generated positive results with 90 per cent of corporate decision makers who saw the advertising stating they were more likely to hold a domestic business event as a result of the campaign¹. At the same time traffic to the Business Events Australia website increased 270 per cent year-on-year throughout the campaign period. 

In addition, the new Business Events Boost Program debuted during the 2021 financial year and supported 86 industry-led partnership projects, which also worked to encourage a restart to domestic business events. 

Both marketing and partnership activity were delivered alongside a trade distribution program which included a series of educational visits where event planners could experience Australia’s world class event offering first hand. In addition, several waves of corporate sentiment research have been conducted to understand barriers and inform activity. 

While the Boost program has been extended through to 30 June 2022, with an additional $1 million funding, Business Events Australia is also working on the next iteration of the Event Here This year campaign to be in market throughout the 2022 financial year to help overcome evolving barriers and drive confidence in the business events sector. 

Keeping the Australian dream alive overseas

While borders remained closed to most international markets throughout the 2021 financial year, the Business Events Australia team worked to maintain engagement with target customers across the globe to keep Australia front of mind as a future business events destination. 

An increased focus on international content-marketing saw Australia’s incentive and association offering promoted via Business Events Australia’s paid partnerships with 15 trade media partners across five markets. The paid strategy was delivered alongside a strategic public relations program which garnered 184 media placements across 54 publications with a reach of 2.5 million.

Focus was also given to developing innovative content, including the new Australia Innovates video series. The series, which launched in April 2021, aims to position Australia as a leading association destination by showcasing six local pioneers behind some of the world’s most exciting breakthroughs across several knowledge sectors. 

In the incentive space, Business Events Australia’s self-published Australia Next magazine debuted in digital form across four markets and a new Instagram account was launched in July 2020, which has now reached more than 112 million people and accumulated more than 5,000 followers.

In China, WeChat was utilised as a primary channel to maintain customer engagement with a new Mini Program launched in February 2021, seeing Tourism Australia as one of only two national tourism organisations with a dedicated business events Mini Program worldwide.  

Distribution activity included virtual and hybrid engagement initiatives to provide industry with opportunities to develop business relationships and secure leads for future business. Highlights include the delivery of the Business Events Australia Showcase events for Greater China, South-South East Asia and the United States of America; along with a webinar series and Customer Advisory Panels across multiple markets.

Focus was also given to industry engagement to inform and align recovery activity and monitor sentiment through the delivery of a series of roundtables, webinars, workshops and Industry Advisory Panels.  

The delivery of partnership programs continued to work hard to maintain Australia’s competitiveness in securing future events. Business Events Australia’s Advance Program supported 22 partners across 33 projects during 2020-21, while the Bid Fund Program continued to garner results, with the program receiving 261 applications, since launching in July 2018, for 195 events in Australia up to December 2026; with 44 of these events being won, generating a combined value of over $365 million to Australia’s economy².  

Plans are progressing with activity in development for the year ahead as well as various scenarios for when international borders reopen to ensure Australia is optimally positioned to capitalise on what is anticipated to be a highly competitive post pandemic market for business events. 

Business Events Australia continues to progress a suite of recovery projects, launched in the past year, including a toolkit of assets for local industry and international planners in March 2021. The toolkit provides a ‘one-stop-shop’ of free marketing materials to help sell Australia’s business events offering and increase delegate attendance to confirmed events. 

While the Bid Fund Program has been extended with an additional $3 million to cover new pledges and confirmed bids in 2021-22, innovative content-marketing and distribution strategies will continue to maintain customer engagement in key markets while Australia’s border remains closed to key international markets. Additional projects underway include a new international creative strategy and the development of brand assets; a review and redevelopment of Business Events Australia websites; social media strategies nuanced for both eastern and western markets; and the development of new selling tools. 

Further details of Business Events Australia’s current strategies and plans for various reopening scenarios will be shared in the coming months. Industry are encouraged to contact the Business Events Australia team with questions or inquiries.  

¹Business Events Australia Domestic Corporate Sentiment Research, May 21
²Figures correct as at 30 June, 2021