The new partnership agreement between the British Association of Conference Destinations (BACD) and Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) is already delivering practical benefits for members of BACD.

Among the first of these new benefits will be a 1½ day course entitled ‘Destination Positioning and Branding’, which will be run by DMAI trainers exclusively for BACD.

The ‘Destination Positioning and Branding’ course will be held at Woodland Grange Training & Conference Centre near Leamington Spa on 1-2 October. The course will cover:

·         Branding

·         Destination imagery research

·         Positioning strategy

·         Brand promise development

·         Convention bureau, community and visitor industry roles in brand communications

The course tutors are Don Anderson, CDME and Professor Eddie Friel, OBE.

Don Anderson is Director of the CFS Office of Professional Development at Purdue University (Illinois) and Managing Co-Partner of the Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME) Program, and he has been involved in delivering DMAI educational programmes for over 15 years.

Eddie Friel is currently ‘Expert in Residence’ at Niagara University (New York) where he leads courses on Destination Marketing, Branding and Meetings & Conventions. He is a specialist in place marketing and branding and was the first Chief Executive of Tourism for the City of Glasgow. He researched, devised and launched the award-winning ‘Glasgow – Scotland with Style’ brand in 2004.

The course is part of DMAI’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme and gives attendees credits towards the ‘Certified Destination Management Executive’ designation, the highest award currently available globally for destination managers and marketers. More information on the CDME qualification can be accessed at www.destinationmarketing.org

“We have recognised the need to put in place a comprehensive, accredited education and CPD programme for BACD members,” commented Hamish Reid, BACD Chair. “While we can’t achieve this overnight, the partnership we have with DMAI provides a platform on which we can build further, as they already have a well-developed programme in place in North America. We shall also be working with appropriate UK educational institutions and trade bodies to meet our objectives in this area.”