EXPONET CELEBRATES TWO AWARDS AT THE MEA NATIONAL AWARDS NIGHT

ExpoNet has claimed two of the event industry’s highest national honours for excellence being awarded winner in the Exhibition Services category and taking home the coveted Platinum Award at Tuesday night’s Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) National Awards.

The events supplier received the MEA Awards accolades for its outstanding provision of products and services to the Australian conference, meeting and exhibition industry at the gala awards celebration held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Jim Delahunty, CEO, ExpoNet said the announcement, which marked the first two MEA Award wins at national level, were welcome recognition of the dedication of ExpoNet's team in Sydney, Brisbane/Gold Coast and Melbourne.

“We are honoured to receive these national awards which are due largely to the strength of our partnerships with our clients and the efforts of our team at all levels. ” said Delahunty.
“In the past year, we have successfully serviced some 400 meetings and events in more than 100 venues around the country.  We could not have achieved these accolades without the continuous commitment and hard work from all our staff.”

The Exhibition Services category was judged on a number of criteria, including business planning and management, resource management, financial performance, contribution to the industry as well as the uniqueness of the company. The national award has been presented to ExpoNet following their win at state level where the company took home the MEA award in the same category for New South Wales.

Winning the prestigious Platinum Award was a great achievement. This is considered one of the highest industry accolades awarded to the organisation receiving the highest scores from the judges overall.

ExpoNet Does It Again With EEAA Award Win

ExpoNet was again amongst the winners being recognised two years running in the Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) Awards for Excellence .

The exhibition and event supplier was named Best Supplier Team at the gala event held at Luna Park's Crystal

Palace in Sydney, which recognised outstanding achievement in the Australasian exhibition and events industry.

Jim Delahunty, CEO, ExpoNet said to win the award again in this category was an honour and a great way to

bring 2011 to an end. “This award reflects the ongoing hard work and dedication of our team across the ExpoNet network of branches in Sydney, Brisbane/Gold Coast and Melbourne,” said Delahunty.

The Best Supplier Team category, one of 16 awards presented on the night, was judged on a number of criteria including achievement, strategies, recognition and customer service.

To add to the victory, one of the company’s rising stars Christine Philips was also amongst the winners of the

prestigious Richard Geddes Young Achiever award. ExpoNet continued its industry support by sponsoring the

EEAA Awards as a Supporting Partner.

Delahunty said the company was now preparing for an even bigger year in 2012.

“It’s a wonderful honour to be recognised by independent industry experts. We are looking ahead to another

exciting year of supporting the industry. The year ahead will also be one of innovation and we have chosen the EEAA Conference to launch an exclusive new furniture hire range, called the StyleMe collection ,” he said.

ExpoNet's UK partnership brings new furniture concept to shows

A range of bespoke furniture that has featured at such high-profile events as London Fashion Week and the Good Food Show will soon be introduced to Australia’s exhibition floors thanks to a new partnership between ExpoNet and UK supplier Pennybanks.

ExpoNet CEO, Jim Delahunty said the partnership would allow Australian exhibition and event organisers and corporate companies to create furniture and feature areas in colours specifically matched to their individual company logos and corporate identities without breaking their budget.

“Pennybanks’ reusable furniture has been designed specifically for the exhibition hire market and since the items are colour lacquered each time they are hired, they always look fresh and new,” said Delahunty.

“Their range has proven an incredibly popular and cost-effective alternative to expensive custom-made furniture in the UK and we’re looking forward to bringing it to Australia’s exhibition and event market for the first time.”

With distinctive product designs for feature areas such as bars, media rooms, networking lounges and reception areas, Pennybanks has made its mark at a series of major events including the Good Food Show, the Frieze Art Fair, and London Fashion Week.

Company CEO, Penny Horner visited Australia in May to inspect ExpoNet’s operations and production facilities before sealing the new partnership.

“This will be the first time our product range and designs have been manufactured and distributed outside the UK and, in ExpoNet, we’ve found an ideal partner to further increase the profile of our designs and make an impression at a whole new series of exhibitions and events,” said Banks.

ExpoNet’s new bespoke furniture range will be available to order in early 2012.

ExpoNet Launches Free Support Service To Take The Stress Out Of Exhibiting

ExpoNet has launched a new live support service to help Australian exhibitors prepare for their participation in exhibitions and trade events and make their mark amongst the crowds on the exhibition floor.

Operating every weekday during business hours, the free online service allows exhibitors and event organisers to chat live with the company’s experienced staff and ask any questions about their exhibition and event needs.

“They may have questions about building code regulations at an exhibition venue or they want advice on incorporating extras such as fridges or plasma screens into their exhibition stand,” said Jim Delahunty, CEO, ExpoNet.

“Whatever the question, our team will be on hand to provide an answer and helpful advice to take the stress out of preparing for an exhibition.”

Exhibitors accessing the support service outside of business hours are invited to leave a question for staff to answer upon their return.

The live support service can be accessed via the ExpoNet website at www.exponet.com.au

Hitting The Floor at Euroshop

One of the purposes of this new blog is to inform our clients, event organisers and exhibitors of emerging trends shaping the exhibition and events industry and in that spirit, this next series of posts will focus on our recent visit to EuroShop 2011 in Germany.

Held every three years, EuroShop is the world’s largest trade fair for retail and exhibition-related equipment and technology and the ideal location to see the very latest exhibition products and design trends under one roof.

The 2011 event saw more than 2000 exhibitors and 106,000 visitors from over 90 countries converge on the Messe Düsseldorf trade fair ground from 26 February to 2 March, including a contingent from ExpoNet.

The sheer size of the event was staggering and our group spent a number of hours exploring the many avenues of the design and build.

From bespoke furniture to LED lighting, EuroShop threw the spotlight on a host of emerging technology and trends, but for this post we will focus on flooring.

EuroShop shunned venue carpeting in favour of raised flooring, most of which was coated in vinyl, digital print or a similar style of finish. The use of acrylics within the floor was another common trend, with coloured lit acrylic panels proving a popular feature.

Rules for floor¬ing in Germany clearly differ from Australia as our group scarcely saw a ramped edge in the entire venue.

They also had the chance to check out a host of new flooring systems, some of which were extremely impressive. There was not a car¬pet tile to be found in the whole show, with floor tiles, broadloom and needle punch tiles dominating.

The use of LED lights to light the edges of floors was not uncommon and our Queensland Branch Manager, Matthew Desprez loved this effect, as it really helped exhibits stand out from the crowd on the exhibition floor.

Another popular practice was the use of raised floors or plinths on top of the main floor. This option helped highlight products and present larger objects in a classy fashion.

Watch this space in the coming weeks for more on EuroShop’s trends and technology. Until then, thanks for reading.

Exhibiting for the first time

Here are some important tips for the first time exhibitor:

1.Book your stand early

You will have a choice of stands, time for planning and may be eligible for an early booking discount

Establish your budget and how much space you ideally require to display your products/services

Select a stand with high traffic flow eg near the entrance, adjacent to cafe, or on a corner.

2. Consider Stand Design

If the budget allows, use the professional help and experienced staff available at ExpoNet to design a custom stand to maximise your impact and success, or select from our range of cost effective stand packages.

If the budget is limited, consider a stand upgrade, changing your walls or flooring to set your stand apart from the others

Visitors need to know in a glance what you do, ensure your product is the most obvious feature, keep your message clear and simple.

Don’t over fill your stand, generally half your floor space should be free for visitors

Consider graphics, large, bold, and simple; use ExpoNet’s designers to create custom graphics for light boxes or banners to get your message across and have them delivered and installed on your stand

Consider using AV to add colour and movement, ExpoNet have a range of products available

3. Ordering Requirements

Return all information requests and orders as early as possible to avoid unnecessary stress, missing out on your preferred stock, delays in setting up your stand and late fees

If you have lost your forms or need another copy, download them from this site

Read our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) which answers the most commonly asked questions. Talk to our support staff if you are not sure, need clarification or ideas

Take copies of all your documentation to the show during move in to avoid any confusion over what has been ordered

4. Promote your participation and follow up

Send out letters to all of your current and potential clients to let them know you will be at the show\

Consider show promotions, sample giveaways, competitions, hospitality, or launch a new product

Brief your best staff on goals and targets and roster in 4 hour cycles

Be active in searching for qualified buyers at the show and record their details

After the show follow up on all leads, deliver on promised activity, track results

Euroshop

Exponet sent a team to Euroshop 2011 this year to see first hand one of the biggest retails shows in the world. The team based itself on the Octanorm stand and were given some very important tips on visiting a show of the magnitude of Euroshop. (2086 exhibitors 200,000 sqm) The six main areas of design trends the team felt were significant were:
• Flooring
• Led lighting
• Fabric
• Shapes
• Materials
• Technology
The stands we viewed were absolutely brilliant with most using a raised floors, LED's and significant shapes to give their stand a depth and uniquiness not often seen outside of Europe (until now). We have brought some really good ideas back from the trip and our R&D teams are busy mocking up some excellent new additions for our custom stand range. Stay tuned as we bring some of the new state of the art innovations to you over the next few months.