Web in Travel wins major business award
SINGAPORE – WIT-Web In Travel’s winning of the “Most Innovative Marketing Initiative†at the Singapore Business Events Awards on September 2 is a thumbs-up for entrepreneurship.
Producer Yeoh Siew Hoon, in her acceptance speech in which she thanked her team and her agency, Spoon Creative, said she was accepting the award on behalf of entrepreneurs and start-ups who, because they do not have access to big budgets, are forced to be creative.
“Necessity is the mother of creativity,†she said.
In an interview with TravelMole Asia, she said: “We don’t have huge marketing budgets so we are forced to be imaginative in getting the right word out to the right audience in the right context.
“That means creative use of technology and digital media and leveraging on the networks as well as expertise of our key industry partners and sponsors.â€
She added, “We try to be different in everything we do at WIT; perhaps that’s what brought us to the notice of the judges.
“From the way we market our event to the way we plan the conference programme to the way we script, stage and run it – we believe each part adds up to the whole. That is, the marketing should relate to the theme which should then be reflected in the way the event is staged and run.â€
This year’s Singapore Business Events Awards also gave special consideration to events which had a Corporate Social Responsibility element.
WIT 2007 featured a carbon offset programme that was sponsored by Abacus International, and it donated a percentage of delegate proceeds to the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Siew Hoon recounted WIT’s selling points as industry relevance – it addresses one of the fastest growing and most dynamic segments of the travel industry; fantastic partnerships; and imaginative programming – the content is serious but the attitude is fun.
“But I remember someone saying to me after we wrapped up our first event in 2005 to positive reviews, “You guys are a bunch of passionate, fanatical amateurs.â€
“I think nothing beats passion even when you may not have core expertise in event management, which we don’t. Our roots are in journalism – story-telling and content delivery.â€
Ian Jarrett
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