Posted: Wednesday 22 February 2012
MIPIM - the world's most intensive speed dating event ever?
By Chris Harte
To the more cynical eye MIPIM ( www.mipim.com ) may appear to be little more than an excuse for a springtime jolly on the Cote D'Azur. However, one visit to Europe's foremost real estate trade fair is enough to dispel any notions of fun and frolics on the beach. Of course, there's no doubt that many delegates were in a more "celebratory" mood when attending at the peak of the market years of 2006 and 2007 - but the world has changed much since then and not least in the real estate industry.
For the uninitiated, MIPIM feels like participating in a serious effort at breaking the world record for the largest and most intensive speed dating event. Real estate people love networking and rightly recognise the key role it plays in ensuring the dots can be joined up in a way that allows projects and deals to move forward. From the breakfast meeting over coffee and croissants to the late night beer at Café Roma, the focus is on filling your diary with an efficiency normally only exhibited by ambitious politicians on the campaign trail.
As well as sustaining and establishing key contacts, good networking also helps ensure your market intelligence is as up to date and accurate as possible - all of which is even more essential now than in the pre-2008 boom years.
Of course, the fact that one has the opportunity to achieve all of this whilst aboard a 100 foot yacht anchored in Cannes is just a lucky coincidence...
If you or a colleague are attending MIPIM 2012 we'd be delighted to hear from you - contact Chris Harte or Brian Hutcheson.
