The Meetings Mean Business Coalition, a cross-industry communications and advocacy initiative, is introducing a platform for industry professionals in every corner of the globe to better advocate for the power of face-to-face meetings.

A newly created licensing agreement will allow partners in countries and regions outside of the United States to use MMB branding, messaging and research to form one strong, cohesive voice for the industry.

 “We are thrilled to welcome more international partners into the MMB family through this global expansion,” said Paul Van Deventer, CEO of Meeting Professionals International and co-chair of Meetings Mean Business.

He added, “This will allow us to extend the MMB brand in an authentic, grass roots and meaningful way, which truly emphasizes that meetings matter all over the world and provide a platform to engage the global events community.”

 MMB provides a framework for an industry-wide communications and advocacy coalition that can be customized in a way that is authentic to each country or region.

International partners will leverage existing MMB tools and resources, repurposing the materials and messaging to best fit their cultural environment and community needs. Collectively, these organizations will globalize a universal message about the value of in-person meetings and the industry behind them.

The Business Events Industry Coalition of Canada (BEICC), founded in 2009 to advocate on behalf of the Canadian meetings industry, is the first to execute the MMB licensing agreement and will soon be rebranding as Meetings Mean Business Canada (MMB Canada).

The BEICC board is actively reaching out to key industry stakeholders across all sectors of the Canadian meetings industry to transform the coalition into a proactive, well-funded advocacy movement with strong connections to federal, provincial and municipal governments.

“In-person meetings have a huge impact on the international economy and communities across six continents, but we are more powerful when we come together to share information and advocate for our industry,” said Grant Snider, BEICC chair and president and CEO, Meeting Escrow.

He added, “Building on what has been accomplished by the BEICC and aligning our efforts with the MMB coalition will help us better communicate the importance of our $27 billion dollar, 341,000 full-time job industry in Canada and will help MMB create a template for expansion of this new industry-wide platform.”

 Rose Timmerman-Gitzi, president, RTG Events and past chair of the BEICC, said, “Meeting face-to-face helps build stronger personal connections, yields new business opportunities and supports our local communities throughout Canada. We’re excited to embark on the transformation of the Business Events Industry Coalition of Canada using the MMB coalition model which reinforces those messages and ultimately promotes, protects and advocates for the meetings industry.”

MMB is in talks with additional partners and will look to keep growing its international presence in 2017 and beyond, according to MMB officials.