Marketforce gets to work for PCB

The Perth Convention Bureau has engaged advertising agency Marketforce to develop a business events brand for Western Australia to promote better the state as an international meetings, incentive and convention destination.

The business events branding project is a result of the state government's five-year, $11.9 million funding package delivered to the PCB last year.

The funding boost, which took the government's total contribution to the business events tourism sector to almost $17 million, was aimed at improving WA's chances of hosting large-scale meetings and business events.

The first phase of the branding project is already under way, with a survey of key industry members and stakeholders being carried out, the results of which will influence the new brand identity.

PCB director of marketing, Anne Last, said the aim of the branding initiative was two-fold. She said it needed to promote and position WA's unique selling proposition as a national and international business events destination, as well as promoting the bureau itself.

"The branding also needs to promote the PCB as a service to local WA associations to bring conferences to WA," Ms Last told WA Business News.

The bureau's activities will dovetail into similar destination marketing efforts by Tourism WA and Tourism Australia, but with a much larger focus on business events.

"TWA are very leisure focused, and don't give a strong message about holding business events in WA," Ms Last said.

The campaign is expected to draw attention to the high level of activity in WA's mining, oil and gas sectors, as well as scientific and medical research.

Ms Last said the funding injection from the government enabled the bureau to have a greater presence in the highly competitive business events marketplace.

"The business events marketplace has changed in the past five years or so. Now our competitors are throwing money at this that we just don't have," she said.

"Our competitors in the Asia-Pacific region are recognising the importance of business travel. Their infrastructure is amazing, places like Singapore and Macau are spending huge amounts of money."

The PCB finished this financial year ahead of target, bringing in just more than $64 million of direct delegate expenditure, $2 million ahead of its sales target.

The government's $11.9 million funding injection, announced in March last year, led to a major overhaul of the PCB's structure and operations, including additional sales and research support.

At the time, Tourism Minister Sheila McHale said the new money was part of a strategy developed by Tourism WA to attract conferences of 900 delegates or more.

Conferences of that size are of particular benefit to Perth's high-capacity venues, such as the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre, Burswood Resort, and the Esplanade Hotel Fremantle.

Since then, PCB has been a lead partner in the formation of a global marketing alliance of energy-related conference destinations to leverage off the state's buoyant oil and gas industry.