Ideas and insights from AIME's show floor - AV1

An Industry Inspired

The Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) welcomed the events industry back in style at Melbourne Conference and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) this year with no shortage of ideas and inspiration for event planners.

This year’s Ideas Academy included speakers from MCEC, Delegate Connect and ICMI Speakers on topics from sustainability to reinventing the workforce.

Exhibitors were out in force showcasing the best the industry has to offer to engage and entertain your guests at your next event.

Here are our top ideas and insights from the show floor.

The Ideas

Zero Waste Café

Always strong advocates for environmental sustainability, MCEC’s Zero Waste Café ditched disposable packaging and offered sustainable alternatives. The takeaway cups and containers were made from 75% recycled stainless steel. The initiative included the clever tagline “Keeps forever, not yours to keep”.

Ball Pit Bar

Leading event hire and styling company Valiant Events in collaboration with The Photobooth Guys outdid themselves with their Ball Pit Bar. The eye-catching concept champagne bar combined interactive elements of childhood fun, a competition, and top-class social media content.

Custom Neon Signage

Electric Confetti’s neon wall was a showstopper this year. Vibrant, bright and fun, these guys specialise in creating custom signage. If you’re looking for a sign to introduce some light into your next event, this is it…

Cocktail Tasting Bar

This offbeat beverage service from Liquid Infusion included gin, vodka and tequila tasting cocktails. The unexpected flavours and garnishes included a bubble gum margarita; a vodka and peach liquor combination with caramel popcorn; and the ‘Bedazzle Basil’ – a gin cocktail garnished with fresh basil.

The Feedback Phone 

This clever alternative to collect feedback from your attendees was dreamed up by the team at The Photo Booth Guys. A novel and interactive alternative to sending out a post-event feedback form; automated messages from the feedback phone prompts your guests and records their responses at your live event. We love the idea of collecting real-time feedback, giving attendees the chance to express ideas that are fresh in their mind; while you get insight into their tone in the voice recording.

The Insights

Tough times don’t last, resilient people do
Speaker: Heidi Dening

According to a study by PWC, only 37% of people know how to switch off from work after hours. 

Heidi Dening has some top advice for event organisers to shut off at the end of the day using her CPR method. 

• Cut off: do something at the end of the day to signal the transition from your working day to your personal time. Walk your dog, go to the gym or chat with a friend. 
• Prioritise personal time: enriching your life with personal time will ultimately lead to better performance in your professional life. Keep the balance. 
• Reflect: on what went well during your day and go to bed with a state of optimism.

Reinventing your business from the ground up 
Speaker: Jason Clarke 

Jason’s framework provides a simple way to categorise your employees based on their strengths. Jason referenced a quote “If you hire someone you rent their body, if you learn how to talk to them, you get their mind for free”. He advised evaluating your people with the IDEA acronym and playing to their strengths rather than trying to change them. 

• Ideas: who are you creative minds with the big, blue sky ideas?
• Design: who are the people who can take those ideas and build them into a tangible concept? 
• Evaluate: who can prod the design and identify holes in the concept? 
• Action: who can patch the holes and bring the project to fruition? 

Session: Working towards more sustainable events by reducing your carbon footprint 
Speaker: Samantha Ferrier 

Samantha from MCEC’s presentation was chock full of insights and statistics here are just a few. 

• 34% exhibitors and 36% attendees would not attend a trade show if it didn’t have a reasonable approach to sustainability.
• Travel and accommodation accounts for 80% of the carbon footprint of an event.
• MCEC’s 100 mile menu with produce sourced within 100 miles of the venues provides organisers with the option to reduce their event’s carbon footprint, cutting down on emissions in the supply chain. 

Samantha left us with some great advice to favour progress over perfection when trying to reduce our carbon footprint. 

Thanks to AIME for another show stopping event. Here’s to next year.