AIME refines key elements
Matt Pearce, CEO of event organiser Talk2 Media & Events, shares details about its debut in hosting Asia Pacific Incentives Meetings Event (AIME)
What changes have you brought to the show?
We have taken the fundamentals of the event and made them better. A good show has to have three things: you have to have good business, the ability to talk to people, and you have to have the ability to educate people as well. So, in terms of education, in our knowledge programme we had 15 different sessions running. We worked with PCMA as our strategic education partner. We also had SITE and ICCA as education partners.
We had very specific sessions around the core components of incentives, meetings, and events. Another thing that we did was to upgrade the networking, so that there would be more opportunities for conversations beyond the booths and appointments.
Give people an opportunity to talk and they find a way to do business! Our first year was aimed at just getting the basics right.
What do corporates expect these days?
Corporates are now emphasising on events, so whether it's Oracle, Cisco or Microsoft, they are using event companies to manage their shows. They are looking for something that can really shake people up and say this is it! They are looking for venues and technologies that understand flexibility.
What are the emerging trends in MiCE overall?
The three important things that remain are India, China, and technology. They were always there but are now becoming more powerful as wealth improves in both countries.
There are four billion people in Asia Pacific, one billion in Africa, one billion in the Americas, and one billion in Europe; what's happening in this industry is that two and a half billion of those are starting to wake up.
You will see quite a significant shift in what is happening and how it happens. We focused on the whole of Asia Pacific and not just Australia. We hosted buyers from 38 countries and exhibitors from more than 15.