Entries are now being accepted for the EIBTM Awards 2006.

Rewarding excellence and creativity within the meetings and incentives industry, the awards offer talented event creators and marketeers the chance to be recognised for their highly imaginative skills and professional execution of ideas.

The seven categories for entry into the EIBTM Meetings and Incentives Industry Awards 2006 are as follows:

Best Conference

This applies to conventions, congresses, meetings, seminars and forums across any sector and for any number of delegates. Also eligible are corporate or association meetings organised by an agency, PCO or end user.

Best Product Launch

All industry sectors are eligible to enter with any type of product launch. The launch will be judged on a number of factors, including not only the impact the launch has on the success of your brand, but it's measurability into sales.

Best Incentive Travel Programme

Specifics for an incentive travel programme must be outlined for this entry, including what participants had to do to be included in the event. The description should outline business objectives and the impact the programme had on business performance.

Best Event in Spain

Any event held in Spain within any category may be entered.

Best Destination Marketing Campaign

This category is for worldwide destinations conducting a marketing campaign to attract incentive planners to their region. National tourist boards, convention and visitor bureaus or any company representing a country, region or city are eligible.

Best Venue Marketing Campaign

This category is open to any conference or meeting venue worldwide, including unusual venues and hotels with meeting facilities.

Best Hotel Marketing Campaign

Any hotel, hotel group or resort providing accommodation for meetings, events or incentives worldwide is eligible for this category.

Judging will take place in October in London by an international panel of consultants and suppliers from the meetings and incentives industry, together with editors of the supporting media partners including:

·                Convegni

·                Conference and Incentive Travel

·                Meetings International

·                Events Russia

·                Events Germany

·                MICE International

·                Spain Travel & Business

·                Business Travel Benelux

·                Voyages et Strategie

Judges will be looking for truly outstanding events/campaigns that are highly imaginative in concept and execution. Creativity, innovation, effectiveness and over delivery on the brief will all be key factors in the judges’ final decisions. The winners will be announced and publicized prior to EIBTM, with a formal presentation during the event.

Last year’s Best Event in Spain and Grand Prix Awards winner was Dia D Marketing, for their campaign, “ABC Crossing” which was a hugely successful event designed to promote reading amongst Madrid citizens.

Barbara Gomez from Dia D Marketing commented: “Receiving the EIBTM Award has helped towards the success of our company. It has offered an opportunity for increased visibility in the professional press to show our work and has positioned our company as the best for doing business with thanks to the award received at EIBTM. It is also a recognition of our daily work”.

Who is eligible to enter?

Any type of event that falls under incentive travel, conference and meetings or corporate events is eligible for entry as well as anyone who uses events to communicate with and motivate a target group of business people or staff.

Entries can be submitted by either an in-house department or external agency. The event or marketing campaign must have run, taken place or finished between the dates of 1^st July 2005 to 30^th June 2006 to be viable for entry.

How to enter?

Visit www.eibtm.com/awards for more information on the categories, entry guidelines and entry form.

The deadline for entries is 15^th August 2006.

EIBTM will take place from 28-30^th November 2006, in Barcelona (venue: Fira Gran Via).