Last month we did something we haven’t yet done before: we took a punt and decided to exhibit at our own trade show. It’s called the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo, or AIME for short. It’s a coming together of meeting planners, venues, hoteliers and event services personnel to the Asia-Pacific market. Similar to ATE, it’s a combination of speed dating and networking between customer and seller.
It was an invigorating learning experience to be on the other side of the exhibition fence—the exhibitor. As a supplier and hospitality pro we’re always the last piece of the puzzle when it comes to building a custom trade stand, especially at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. So being on the other side of the fence has given me a great deal of empathy when considering bumping in and out—especially around the psychology of how to prepare to meet expectations in the lead up to getting ready.
It certainly wasn't my first time in the MCEC, and it definitely won’t be our last. The key take away that I had from AIME was all around the ramp up period to the show and the importance of planning to execute correctly. I now see that on the date(s) of exhibition you want your focus to be on engagement, making connections, rekindling old ones and truly maximising the “why” you are exhibiting.
I think for me, taking this away it will help me guide and shape the conversations that my team will be having with exhibitors especially on day one.