ICCA Best Marketing Award competition
Friday, 29 October 2021
The KRAKÓW NETWORK protocol – a post-pandemic strategy developed by the representatives of Kraków’s MICE industry has won two awards in the prestigious 2021 ICCA Best Marketing Award competition!
The result of the vote by the jury and the members of the ICCA Association from around the world were announced on 27 October, during the last day of the 60th ICCA Congress held in Cartagena, Colombia.
“The KRAKÓW NETWORK protocol, announced back in March 2021, has undoubtedly revolutionised our industry. Nearly 50 representatives of the local MICE industry were involved in the development of the document, with more than 180 companies and institutions signing on the provisions and regulations worked out during the three-month negotiations. The fact that the KRAKÓW NETWORK Protocol won such a prestigious marketing competition confirms the validity of our efforts aimed at promoting Krakow as a flexible destination, which is aware of the changes initiated at the turn of 2020/2021,” says Izabela Błaszczyk, director of KBF – operator of the ICE Kraków Congress Centre.
The Best Marketing Award is a prize that has been presented since 1997 by members of the MICE industry association for special achievements in city, region or product marketing. This year, competition entries were evaluated according to five criteria, defined by the organisers – innovation and creativity, research and rationale, success in meeting the objectives, communication, return on investment. The KRAKÓW NETWORK protocol, which won the competition, was developed by the KRAKÓW NETWOK group, which was established at the initiative of KBF, the operator of the ICE Kraków Congress Centre.
“The fact that the members of the ICCA – representatives of the meeting industry form all over the world – praised the KRAKÓW NETWORK Protocol that we have developed at the beginning of 2021, and given us the most votes in two competition criteria: success in meeting the objectives and return on investment – is a great token of appreciation for our efforts. As you can see, thinking outside the box and looking for solutions in spite of the pandemic, which shook our entire industry, has been noticed and appreciated by its representatives around the world,” added Paula Fanderowska, deputy director of the KBF for the ICE Kraków Congress Centre.
Małgorzata Przygórska-Skowron – head of the Kraków Convention Bureau, added that just like all other popular tourist destinations, Kraków has been greatly affected by the pandemic. Nevertheless, the city did not slow down and used the time it had to analyse the changes taking place around the world, and adapting them to the local environment and circumstances.
ICCA, or the International Congress and Convention Association, was founded in 1963 as the only association that brings together the biggest players in the market of service, specialised transport and organisation of international congress events. The ICCA network comprises more than 1195 entities – service providers, companies and organisations from 92 countries. ICCA members meet annually at the ICCA Congress, which is held by member countries. To date, the event has been hosted in Cartagena, Kaohsiung, Houston, Dubai and Prague, and next year, the members of ICCA will meet in Kraków at the ICE Krakow Congress Centre for the 61st Congress.
The KRAKÓW NETWORK Protocol was developed under the honorary patronage of the Polish Tourist Organisation and the Poland Convention Bureau.