Month: September 2015

Six months to go!

MaximisingMIPIMLeave a comment

Cannes by night reflected in the water

Yes – the 15th September is an important day. With six months to go before MIPIM 2016, the countdown has begun. Contacts are being refreshed, LinkedIn profiles brushed up and restaurants booked, all set for a productive time in March next year.

Here at Holistic we have been going to MIPIM for more than a decade, in great times and leaner years alike. It’s one of the highlights of our calendar and, despite being miles from home, it’s a great barometer of the market and a chance to catch up with many of our longstanding contacts as well as meeting new people who share our love of property.

So, as excitement begins to brew, back by popular demand is our blog. Over the next few months, and more frequently as we get closer to the main event, we’ll be posting some tips and advice for delegates on making the most of their time in Cannes. From a strategic overview to the all-important detail of French phrases and packing checklists we want to make sure that the investment you’ll be putting in pays off.

Take a look – when you get a moment – and let us know what you think.

Arriving with a full schedule of meetings

MaximisingMIPIMLeave a comment

Starting Blocks at Vacant Starting Line Before Event

Over 21,000 participants, with 4,800 investors on 350+ stands representing 89 countries – all in four days. You not only need to find the right people, but get time in their diaries to talk.

So how can you identify those who will make a difference to your business over the coming year, and how can you get in front of them?

We normally love spontaneity. But for something this important (and expensive) – it’s not the best approach. Planning ahead – and starting earlier than you think – is key.

These are the essentials:

  1. Make the most of time available by planning well in advance. In MIPIM terms, this means before December, not the end of February.
  2. Reconnect early with existing contacts – LinkedIn and twitter are both great for this. If you’ve started in good time, the Christmas season will help too.
  3. Go back to your business plan – who do you need to engage with and why should they speak to you?
  4. Consider how you’re going to approach MIPIM as a business. Are you flying the flag or making more personal connections? What will best help support this? (Note: the answer is rarely as simple as as a quick edit of last year’s brochure.)
  5. Make contact. Diaries fill up quickly, but many people who are usually super busy can squeeze in a quick chat near the London Stand if you time it right.

At Holistic, we work with clients to take the hassle out of this final step. Reconnecting with existing contacts and friends is quick to fit in and something that everyone can do easily. Identifying and then calling new people, however, is more of a challenge – it’s not for everyone. But we love it. And the companies we work for love that we can take care of it for them while they concentrate on everything else, including their day jobs.

We secure meetings, produce schedules and make the most of our own network for event invitations. We’re out there ourselves, too, so meetings are confirmed on the day to minimise no-shows and there’s always a point of contact nearby.

We offer an early bird rate before 6 November and strongly recommend getting started by December at the latest.

If this sounds like something that would help a colleague – or even yourself – let us know and we can send on some more detail.