"Be formal, be sexy, be 2.0 – depending on the industry"

1. Hi Gianluca, could you tell us what is your role in AIM Group International and how long you’ve been part of it?

I arrived in AIM Group 10 years ago, starting as Managing Director of AIM Events, in order to consolidate AIM Group’s experience in the MICE market. I am a member of the Board of Directors and Group CEO since 2010, with the aim to coordinate the management and the strategy of the group.

2. The company has over 50 years of experience in managing meetings, conferences and events. From your perspective, what are the biggest changes it has encountered? How have bookers’ demands developed over recent years?

Internet, globalization and terrorism have changed our business in the last few years. Business and presence in the market is a marathon that we have been running for more than 50 years, and whose speed increased in a dramatic way. Clients go faster, hotels must answer and change faster.

3. Can you give us a little background to the partnership you’ve had with NH Hotel Group including some idea of the value the group brings to AIM Group customers? On a more general note, what do you look for in a partner?

AIM Group and NH Hotel Group started cooperating from the foundation of NH Hotels. We have a strong presence in MICE and DMC market. Our clients love the
trend and development of NH Hotel Group. It is natural and AIMazing to grow together. We started with a strong cooperation in Italy and Spain, where the networks of AIM Group and NH Hotel Group are important, and we are growing together internationally in many more countries. NH is a reliable partner, offers quality and shares with us the vision of working together for a common development.

4. You work with many clients across varied industries, is there a particular industry that generally provides AIM Group with the most challenges?

The pharmaceutical industry requires specific competences, since codes of conduct and rules for events change on a continuous basis. Moreover, despite general rules, each client has specifics regulations and needs… Sometimes it is a challenge to find a suitable hotel!

5. How do clients from the governmental sector differ to those in corporate?

The governmental sector has very structured decision-making processes that are very different from private market rules. As a result, dealing with governmental clients requires a lot of energy and great formal precision.

6. In one sentence, please give us something specific about planning an event or looking for a venue when working with clients from the following sectors:

Pharmaceutical take care of compliance – be formal
Automotive take care of venue’s selection – be sexy
Entertainment take care of communication – be 2.0

7. How do the specific requirements of smaller events planning differ from those of the organization of conferences?

It is completely different management. For big events the team is the key to success and professional organization, while for small events the efficiency of the organizer is a value. That means that every single person has to be skilled both for small and big events. When you have 4,000 small events per year like AIM Group you need to have a legion of skilled people to guarantee the same quality for all kinds of events!

8. As an international company, what would you say are the main differences across the world in terms of event demands? Have these been more harmonized in recent years?

Corporations are more and more globalized and aware of the suitable venues. As a result, the need for an intermediary like AIM Group to support venue selection is less important than years ago. Vice-versa, we are becoming more and more important in supporting clients to negotiate contracts when the venue is pre-selected. VAT policy, contracting and management can’t be granted by any in-house procurement department. As a result, working together with the client as a consultant is a growing trend. Hotels as well are trying to increase internal professionality to manage events as conference offices. But hotels can’t be agents just as agents are not hotels.

9. What type of locations proves to be the most popular when bespoke solutions are looked for through AIM Group’s Destination Management Team? How does NH Hotel Group assist with international bookings?

There are different kind of events and each client is a different universe. Every single event must be deeply analyzed since it will have different features from the others. We appreciate the ability of NH Hotel Group to grant quality and to meet many of the different requirements of the clients. Sometimes during hotel research, a central position is the key, sometimes we need a location near the airport… The quality of NH is being a network of different solutions. And the quality of NH people in assisting us is to match our briefing with the right hotel.

10. NH Hotel Group was the 1st international hotel group to offer carbon neutral events. In what ways has the changing focus on climate change over the past few decades had an impact on international event management and how important are eco-friendly meetings to the event booker these days?

There is a growing attention on eco-friendly events. AIM Group was the first one to organize paper-free events years ago and year after year we perceive that this attention is becoming a focus point for many clients.

11. Last question! What is the most extreme or unusual event customization you’ve had to provide for a client?

A symbol for changing time: on a Friday night we were asked to organize a meeting for 300 people, sales team of a very important client, whose arrival was planned in the coming 48 hours. Actually it was planned for Monday morning. We did everything during the weekend sending @messages to each participant. Just AIMazing!