Posted on March 14, 2024
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Event Management
The inside scoop on what’s hot in event management and production
In February 2024, the Cliftons team was on the ground at the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) – the leading trade event for the meetings and event industry in the Asia Pacific region. With international travel firmly back, this year’s event had more participants from across Asia, meaning we got great perspectives on the broader region too.
Walking around the show floor as well as attending knowledge sessions and forums gave us some key insights into what some of the hot topics are in event management and production, here’s some of our highlights.
Event technology is well and truly a standard expectation
Event technology was a critical element of AIME. This included easy online registration and integrated platforms to drive audience participation in sessions. It’s no longer a nice add on – McCrindle research launched at AIME found that 70 per cent of respondents said an easy registration and sign in process was important to the event experience!
Technology integration at the event was also highly valued by survey respondents of most generations - Cliftons CEO, Vanessa Green, was able to take advantage of this firsthand in her Knowledge Session panel , with live audience responses used to drive discussion during interactive workshops sessions on how to achieve the best possible outcomes for you in 2024. (For more about Vanessa’s session and key takeaways, stay tuned for our dedicated blog coming soon.)
People also loved the photo and video booths which were set up for fun and easy sharing of photos and videos to social media.
People love personalisation
There were a lot of stands with exhibitors giving away plenty of swag. Far and away, the most popular giveaway was the stand where you could get a water bottle engraved. Rock up, provide your name and ten minutes later, you get a text to pick up your personalised water bottle. Massive hit!
Experiential elements add a lot of value
The information at the show and the networking opportunities were, of course, incredible. But the extra details that created more of an ‘experience’ were incredibly popular and helped to set this event apart. This was reflected in the McCrindle research – 65 per cent of Generation Z respondents (and no, they’re not babies, they’re in their 20s and are the most likely to have attended events compared to their older peers) said experiencing something for the first time was important.
At AIME, the experiential elements included things like timeout lounges and massages to give people a chance to re-energise during the day, as well as the welcome party with a lot of roving interactive entertainment that attracted plenty of attention.
Sustainability and localisation are big focus areas
Attending the Industry Leaders Forum on day one of AIME, Cliftons CEO Vanessa Green said that sustainability and the ability to report on the ESG elements of events was a hot topic of discussion among attendees. Leaders and event professionals also stressed that localisation is an important element of events in 2024.
Creating compelling events in 2024 means more than booking a venue
All these factors combine to emphasise that ensuring your event provides value to delegates means more than just booking a venue. That’s why Cliftons supports clients with comprehensive event management and event production services.
To help you determine what you need and the different ways you can bring your event to life, we’ve also built a handy Plan Your Event questionnaire. This will take you through a series of questions to help you define what you need and then connect you with our team of event management professionals to explore your options in more detail.
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