MIPIM Propel Becomes MIPIM NY
Why the premier U.S. proptech conclave decided to rebrand and expand
By Philip Russo March 3, 2023 11:59 am
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Recognizing that proptech has become an integral aspect of real estate innovation, industry conference company MIPIM this year will expand, rebrand, and replace its annual Manhattan-based North America flagship event, MIPIM Propel, with MIPIM NY.
This year’s event, which is related to the global MIPIM Cannes conference, will be held Nov. 29 and 30 at New York City’s Javits Center. The event will fit proptech in a broader innovation scope that will also include retrofitting, sustainability, data ethics, urban planning and ESG, according to the company.
MIPIM is looking to draw a more diverse mix of attendees from across the real estate industry with its MIPIM NY conference, said Lauriane Halle, MIPIM NY director.
“We didn’t want to be a tech conference anymore, because the U.S. already has amazing shows and conferences throughout the years in different locations,” said Halle. “Actually, what we’re good at doing as MIPIM is building shows dedicated to other real estate players: public authorities, governmental agencies and, of course, developers, contractors and owners.”
With those factors in mind, MIPIM decided there was no reason to limit innovation in the real estate industry to just proptech in the narrow sense. Additionally, the organization saw an opportunity to embrace its view of New York City as the global capital of real estate.
“I think it could be way more interesting for markets to participate in a show focusing more on New York,” Halle said. “It’s really important — and I feel like I need to apologize, but maybe from a European point of view — for us, New York is like a real temple for everything related to real estate. It’s an open lab for innovation, for digital tools, and I feel like proptech was even invented here.”
As climate tech, construction tech and ESG have risen to much greater importance in real estate, the concept of proptech has widened to touch each of these areas. That makes a broader MIPIM NY conference more relevant to industry leaders, said Halle.
“I want to move back from proptech because it’s important, but there are so many other players as well,” she said. “Innovation for me is way bigger, and I think we really need to look into innovation and to consider and to talk about innovation. It can come in many shapes and forms.”
MIPIM NY 2023 attendees will experience panels, off-site learning expeditions, MIPIM awards (similar to those held in Cannes) and networking opportunities, including a closed-door summit with leading global investors, according to the company.
Aaron Block, co-founder and managing director at MetaProp, which created NYC Real Estate Tech Week and made MIPIM Propel its flagship event, said he’s excited by the event’s evolution into MIPIM NY and his firm’s continued partnership in producing the conference.
“MetaProp’s goal has always been to make proptech mainstream, and our worldwide partnership with MIPIM — via MIPIM PropTech, Propel by MIPIM, the global startup competition, and now MIPIM NY — has been a key element of this success,” said Block. (It’s unclear whether the tech week and MIPIM NY will coincide as in the past.) “MIPIM NY will continue to be the innovation events’ laboratory for the global MIPIM brand and MetaProp is proud to be the founding partner.”
Block noted that as real estate innovation has evolved and matured in recent years, the lines between the two have blurred in everyday use and in their events.
“Our 2023 show and NYC Real Estate Tech Week will continue to attract a strong proptech startup and VC presence from the U.S. and around the world,” Block said. “And the convenient New York City setting attracts the top global real estate executive attendees and speakers for which MIPIM is best known.”
Philip Russo can be reached at prusso@commercialobserver.com.
CORRECTION: This article was updated to reflect the correct dates of MIPIM NY.
