Republic of the Philippines

EASTERN VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Spt ELECT 213

Lesson 02:

What is MICE?

Learning Objectives:

1. Define MICE;
2. Differentiate the types of events (represented by each
letter in MICE);
3. Explain the need for and application of each type; and
4. Assess a MICE venue.

Introduction

Lesson 2 introduces the learner to MICE/ Which stands for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and
Exhibitions. There are a number of other terms and acronyms used to describe essentially the same thing. These are
anagrammatic terms like CEMI (Conventions, Exhibitions, Meetings, and Incentives) of general terms like "events" to
name a few.
This lesson presents a working definition for each type of event represented by the acronym MICE, as well
as the need for and application of each type. The lesson also provides a set of criteria for assessing and finding a
suitable venue for each event type.

Definition and Characteristics of Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions (MICE)

Let us define and differentiate each of these subsectors which the acronym MICE represent. Definitions of
each subsector of MICE often vary from one author to another. Among all of them, the International Association of
Professional Congress Organizers (IAPCO) provided the most comprehensive definition. The working definitions for
this textbook are taken from IAPCO (1987), unless otherwise stated. Let us begin with meetings and the three
confusing Cs: Congress, Convention, and Conference.

Meeting

Meeting is a general term that refers to the gathering of people to discuss a set agenda or do a particular
activity. It can be called on an ad hoc basis (as needed) or following a set pattern such as an annual stockholders'
meeting. Meetings do not include exhibits.

Congress

A congress is the regular gathering of people who belong to religious, cultural, professional, or other
associative groups. A congress is often staged to shed light on a particular subject, question, or issue. Presentations,
contributions, and discussions pertaining to the subject matter come only from members of the association. This
focus on question-resolving means makes the term "congress" more popular for associations than corporations
(Ladkin & Spiller 2000). The length of time between congresses is usually established in advance and can be annual. A
congress often lasts several days.
Convention

The term convention, which is used interchangeably with congress, refers to a large national or international
meeting. However, unlike a congress, a convention is usually held to commemorate an event or milestone for the host
organization; thus, it is usually held with regular intervals and each staging is given a theme. Moreover, compared
with congress and conferences, conventions have more innovative programs planned to encourage participants to
network and interact (Aron 2011). Thus, conventions sometimes include an exhibition related to its theme.

Conference

A conference is a scholarly gathering to exchange views and consequently, to convey a message, open a
debate, or give publicity to some opinions on specific issues, such as climate change. Most conferences are for
“study" purposes. It involves research input and sharing of findings, and requires active contributions from the
attendees. Conferences are aimed at establishing position papers as a result of the exchange of views. Compared
with a congress, a conference is on a smaller scale, which facilitates easier exchange of information. It requires no
tradition, continuity or periodicity, and is generally held for a short duration of time. An example would be a
university's faculty conference where members of the faculty present the findings of their research.

Incentive

Incentive is a tool to encourage employees to increase safes or provide solutions, Incentive travel therefore
means using travel as a reward for accomplishments such as reaching a sales quota, winning a competition, and the
like. One of the high-ranking executives of the Travel Café Japan said that people usually wish and work for more
money; when people have the money, they wish they have more time; and when they have both time and money, they
wish to travel. The Executive concluded that many people dream to travel; hence, the birth of the Travel Café
concept. This supports the claim to the effectiveness of travel as a powerful incentive. Another support to this claim
is the popularity of trips as raffle prizes. Incentive travel is discussed further in the last part of this book.

Exhibition

An exhibition showcases new products, services, information, or promotional materials mounted for the
purpose of public relations, sales, and marketing. According to Ladkin and Spiller (2000), it is an activity designed for
targeted supplies of products, goods and/or services to demonstrate and promote to a certain market. There are two
types of exhibitions;

1. Consumer Show - a showcase of products that are offered to the public, mostly for the purpose of direct
sales or promotion to end users;
2. Trade Show - for commerce at a bigger scale. It brings together industry players, targeting similar markets.
It is intended to provide a venue for sales leads, contacts with influencers and suppliers, networking,
gathering competitor intelligence, and building an image to the customer.

The terms "exhibition, fair, and trade show" are sometimes used interchangeably, as well as the terms
"exhibition and exposition." Ladkin and Spiller (2000), however, differentiated exposition as being larger in scale
than exhibition and one that generally consists a monumental public display of the goods and services of a particular
industry, The abbreviation "expo" is often used for this.

Here are other terminologies related to exhibitions:

1. Exhibition Manager — the head organizer or promoter of an exhibition. The exhibition manager leads the
exhibition organizers team and is responsible for managing the exhibit finance' sales of exhibit space, and
operations, (IAPCO uses the term exhibition contractor to refer to the same entity but this textbook will
use exhibition manager instead of exhibition contractor to avoid confusion with similar terminologies, such as
the booth contractor.)
2. Exhibitor – the company or business person who rents the booth space from the exhibition manager to
showcase the exhibitor’s products and for other purposes.
3. Booth Contractor - subdivides a huge empty exhibit space into smaller spaces which the exhibitors are going
to rent; the contractor also provides temporary facilities to exhibitors, such as the shell or walling for the
 booth, carpet, table, chairs, signage, lighting, and power source—for a fee. The exhibition manager appoints
an official booth contractor for every event and grants the contractor exclusive rights to construct booths
at a particular event. The official booth contractor may ask for certain fees from unofficial booth
contractors, like a corkage fee, should the exhibitor prefer to hire another company to build their booth for
them. Exhibit spaces, whether raw or shell scheme, are rented on a per-square-meter or per-square-foot
basis. The usual minimum size is 2x2 m for local exhibitions and 3x3 m for international exhibitions. Standard
height is 8 meters.
4. Raw Exhibition Space - a "raw space" or floor with rough markings just to indicate the boundaries and size
of your rented space in the exhibition hall. An exhibitor may design the raw space in any way as long as no
venue house rule is violated.
5. Shell Exhibition Space - an exhibition space with a white enclosure called "shell." The shell gives booths a
uniform look and somehow, makes the ambiance common in all trade shows. The signboard on top of the most
visible side/s of the booth is called the fascia board. The fascia board indicates the name of the exhibitor or
the purpose of a service desk. (See Figure 2.1)
6. Exhibitor Manual - a book of instructions and information for exhibitors regarding the exhibit venue and
services offered by the official booth contractor. Examples of information found in the exhibitor manual are
limits in electrical load, schedules of the move in or "ingress" and move out forwarding, venue house rules, and
the like. This is discussed in detail under "Operations" found in Unit Ill.

Fascia Board

Entrance

Shell Shell Shell

Aisle
Raw Space

Figure 2.1 Shell and Raw Spaces in an Exhibition

Criteria for Evaluating a MICE Venue

Three words that start With C can be used to encapsulate the general criteria for selecting a venue for an
event: Cost, Convenience, and Charm.

1. Cost - a common factor in decision-making, not only for event venues. The Venue to be selected must be
within the budget of the organizer. Its payment terms must also match the schedule and Cash flow of the
event.
2. Convenience - encompasses the availability on the target date, accessibility, proximity to other support
services, suitability of space to the type of event, and its safety features. It is an important factor to
consider when selecting the event venue.
3. Charm - the appeal of a venue or is commonly known as the "X" factor. It is the thing that attendees will
keep talking about after the event is over. It can be manifested in the cultural value of the venue, such as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site, like the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila. It can also include the
brand of the venue, such as international resort or hotel chains. It can likewise be the charm that appeals
aesthetically to the attendees,
ACTIVITY 02:

Answer the following:

1. Give reasons for considering incentive travel as an event.

TASK SHEET 02:

Attend a special event and share your share your experience by answering the following questions:

1. What is the title of the event?