It’s unlikely that we’ll see an end to the orgy of maritime conferences. These two-day borefests provide a perfect excuse for executives to hie off on a junket and for the organisers to profit therefrom. What a waste of time and a drain on corporate resources. Thankfully, there’s an alternative: the “Meet the Buyer” (MTB) series of UK-based Copland Events Ltd. The MTB buyer-seller meetings promise to yield results that actually impact on business.
The way it works is quite simple. Each attending delegate selects a shortlist of companies he or she would like to meet with. The Copland Events computers then schedule these events to maximise the number of meetings per delegate. A delegate attending both days of the event is guaranteed a minimum of 15 meetings. “All of the buyers we work with are pre-qualified, and the meetings are based on requests, so focus everyone’s time,” says Thomas Cox, Copland Events’ business development manager. “There is no wandering around exhibitions aimlessly, or standing around hoping the right person comes past; just face-to-face sales meetings.”
Here’s a video clip of MTB Marine Asia (Bangkok, April 2012) which drew almost 100 buyers from 20 countries in Asia and Australasia :
[youtube uY-lg0GClJg]
Copland Events have lined up four more events for this year: MTB – Superyachts (Malta), 13th-16th June; MTB – Workboats (Dubai), 19th-22nd September; MTB – Marine Europe (Copenhagen), 17th-20th October; and MTB – Shipyards Europe (Monte Carlo), 14th-17 th November. Maritime executives, including those who can’t get off from the junketeering habit, would do well to reserve a seat. These MTB meetings can be quite fruitful, unlike the onanistic events that usually go by the name of “maritime conferences”. ~Barista Uno
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Dear Barista,
Thanks so much for the vote of confidence!
We started these 5 years ago and had one forum. This year we have 9. We have never just launched anything but have listened to what the market wants. The growth is only due to the benefits Both Buyers and Suppliers get from these meetings. Time and time again we hear people say they are fed up with exhibitions.
MTB – Marine – Europe in Copenhagen is full and has been for months but there is still space at the other forums if anyone is interested. Thanks Again!
Annette Cox
Director
Copland Events Ltd
We believe in the MTB concept, so it’s a pleasure to write about it. Some exhibitions do serve a useful purpose, but maritime conferences? They’ve become a bane.