American Express Meetings & Events, a global full service meetings and events management provider, announced during the IMEX Americas global conference, two new exclusive agreements in Europe. The collaborations with Le Public Système, a leading France-based integrated communication agency skilled in public relations, events, marketing and digital communications and WRG Creative Communication, a leading United Kingdom-based integrated marketing and event production agency, will provide companies in these respective markets streamlined access to all areas of meeting and event management, creative communication and production along with budgeting, compliance and expense management expertise from American Express.

"The meetings and events industry is at an inflection point," said Issa Jouaneh, Vice President and General Manager, American Express Meetings & Events. "External regulations, compliance, and budget considerations are intersecting with the recognized value of producing creatively appealing and effective meetings. The exclusive agreements in France and the United Kingdom allow us to enhance the creative and production capabilities available to corporations through an integrated approach with our planning and sourcing optimization, expense management and industry compliance knowledge and expertise."

Through these exclusive agreements, businesses will have access to a comprehensive range of meetings and events services that are typically handled as separate and at many times fragmented components. This approach will simplify supplier management for clients and ensure that communication strategy, creative content development, and production is all part of the strategic management of their meetings and events. All delivered with a clear objective of transparency into budgeting and spending, return on investment and attendee experience.

In France, clients planning meetings domestically or abroad can expect new capabilities with the Le Public Système agreement to include an additional element of communication strategy, brand image consulting along with creative event execution. Le Public Système has a rich history of innovation, ranging from the creation of Deauville's American film festival to supporting the repositioning of major brands throughout France.

Clients in the United Kingdom planning meetings domestically or internationally, can expect new capabilities offered with the WRG Creative Communication agreement in the form of integrated marketing and content development as well as creative services in the design and production of the meeting or event. Examples of WRG Creative Communication's events include the planning and implementing the Papal Visit to the United Kingdom and the G20 summit.

American Express Meetings & Events has a history of successful collaboration with industry leaders. Maxvantage, the strategic alliance created with Maritz Travel is now in its third year. Maxvantage leverages the collective experience and capabilities of both organizations to drive return on meetings investment and return on experience. The alliance has offered a center of excellence for strategic meetings management needs, including expert sourcing, registration and planning services. American Express Meetings & Events and Maritz Travel were also recently listed as top 25 meetings and events planning companies in the Corporate Meetings and Incentives (CMI) annual listing. In 2010, the total Maxvantage volume was more than one-third of all the room nights, over 2.5 million rooms, booked by those listed in the CMI 25.

No matter where in the world meetings and events capabilities are needed, American Express Meetings & Events has the services and solutions to deliver leading strategic meetings management.

About American Express Meetings and Events:

American Express Meetings & Events, a division of American Express Global Business Travel, offers long-standing experience, expertise and leading capabilities spanning from program implementation to budget optimization in delivering powerful meeting and event experiences for clients. The team is comprised of more than 1000 employees world-wide focused on meeting and event sourcing, planning, contract negotiations, budgeting, expense management, reporting and benchmarking, combined with strategic counsel and integration of leading technology. This end-to-end approach focuses on creating visibility, driving savings and enabling effective meeting experiences.

With more than 40 years in the industry and an in-market presence in over 50 countries, American Express Meetings & Events is uniquely positioned to manage meetings and events locally, regionally, internationally and across the globe. American Express Meetings & Events works with market leaders to enhance its offering to clients.

For American Express
Erica Rose (at IMEX)
Cell: 212-920-7545
erica.k.rose@aexp.com