CLEARLY it’s not going to be an easy year of trading but as an industry it is my firm belief that we must remain positive and wherever possible, almost in spite of current trading conditions, continue working to our 3, 5 and 10 year plans. We all have them and we need to make them work to enable us to be fit and ready to eventually move on and out of this downturn.

Let’s not forget the importance of making sure the wider industry survives the current climate.  Here at the MIA Head Office we are hearing worrying stories of some suppliers having to wait 120 and 150 days for payment this is clearly not sustainable for most businesses.  In my view we should not be treating our suppliers as banks it simply perpetuates the impact of the downturn so let’s follow ‘good practice’ and pay suppliers on time.

From our perspective we feel very positive about the forthcoming year; our activity during 2008 brought us many new members.  In the closing 2 months of the year we added over 50 all of whom recognised the need to utilise every marketing advantage during the downturn and clearly they identified AIM as one of those advantages.

AIM is very much on our minds as we move forward with the support and endorsement of Visit Britain.  Our work has continued to ensure that our campaign to raise buyer awareness is effective. Following on from our successful Independent on Sunday coverage last year our press coverage reached public sector offices through the December issue of Government Business; a journal which reaches procurement departments throughout the sector. We achieved a superb 4 page article, you can see this here.  With all of this media activity I would urge you now more than ever to use the AIM brand on all of your publicity material and if you are considering ‘AIMing Higher’ and achieving either the Silver or Gold levels of the scheme don’t delay, it’s a low cost and could be a massive gain - contact Katie on 0845 230 5508 for more information.

AIM will also benefit from our new aimaccredited.com website which is due to launch on Monday 26th January.  As an AIM accredited venue or supplier you will be listed completely free of charge on this exciting new search facility which will direct buyers to seek out the AIM brand when booking venues and services for their next event.  The site will be fully optimised pushing it to the top of the search facilities and we will be bringing you regular updates of visitor traffic once it is up and running.  There are still some advertising banners available, if you are interested call Simon on 0845 230 5508.

Finally don’t forget to book for this year’s Annual General Meeting and Conference which will take place on Monday January 26th.  The AGM is your opportunity to elect your Council and review the strategy for your Association’s future.  The Conference, which this year is designed to assist you in making the most of your marketing and communications budget, is a cost effective valuable day out which will give you time to network with industry colleagues. Click here to view the conference programme.

The MIA team and I look forward to working with you throughout the forthcoming year.

I look forward to seeing you at the Annual General Meeting and Conference and to working with you throughout the coming year.

Kind regards

Jane Evans
Chief Executive, MIA.