Abstract
The 21st century is marked by a new global business world in which companies face new challenges, and are presented with new opportunities.
In a highly competitive and interconnected world, social media is becoming a pivotal, and unavoidable tool in all marketing strategies. Consumers’ expectations and needs are now related to a brands' social media presence. The event market is growing in France, and it’s driven by innovations in digital technology. Although companies can be overwhelmed by all the options available, they must design strategies that are adapted to meet the needs of their consumers and prospects.
The Meeting, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions, called “MICE” market will be the main market studied in this dissertation.
The dissertation starts with the objective of offering an understanding of the social media evolution.
The second aim here is to understand the vender’s side and explore the current practices about social media in the MICE market. Then, the consumer’s side is studied by understanding their social media needs regarding an event in the MICE market. The next objective of this study is to compare the different ways social media is used, and make recommendations about social media strategies.
The research explores the social media strategies used in the Meeting, Incentive, Conference, Exhibition (MICE).
Qualitative and quantitative data collection methods are used to collect the primary data for this research. The qualitative study, which brings elements about the providers’ perspectives, was realized through primary data collected from interviews with five managers in event management. The quantitative study was carried out following a survey sample of eighty individuals, actors, in the French MICE market.
