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Members of the Institute of Travel Management UK & Ireland (ITM) voted in favour of a name change for the association to the Institute of Travel & Meetings with immediate effect. The change, approved by over 85% of members, will allow the association to retain its “ITM” moniker to take advantage of the brand investment over the last few years, whilst demonstrating a new direction for the association.
The name change was proposed by the ITM board to recognise the convergence of the business travel and meetings sectors across both purchasing and supply and to illustrate the intention of the association to take a broader look at all things travel and meetings related across educational content and services. The approval by members was given at the Annual General Meeting at the ITM Conference in Liverpool last week, alongside approval to update association practices offered through the adoption of key elements of the Companies Act 2006.
Speaking at the ITM Conference, Ms Strachan said, “I am delighted to announce the approval by members to change the association’s name in recognition of where we stand today and where we are headed. It is important for us to focus on the reasons why we travel and “the meeting” is just such an important part of our forward thinking. To have reference to this in our name demonstrates just how seriously we are taking this. I don’t believe it was contentious for many, more a few, but I would like to thank the members for understanding and supporting the move, it is an historical moment in the association’s life to date.”
The new name has been coupled with a new looking ITM brand, being introduced across the association in the coming weeks. Diane Steed, ITM’s head of Sales & Marketing explained why the brand has changed too.”The old brand was created at a time when ITM was a single focused association. Now that we have different activity streams such as research and training, and even different regions, such as South Africa, we thought it was important to ensure the look and feel of our different arms was made clearer. The use of a more traditional font and caps also demonstrates that whilst we like to challenge the status quo and have fun doing it, we are a serious association with historical roots.”
The new brand will also be supported by a new tag line, “Thinking Differently. Acting Positively” to demonstrate that whilst the association sees its role as challenging the way the industry has always done things, it also has a responsibility to work to find new solutions.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
