Since the launch of Event Poll - our audience polling software - in March of last year, we have seen it successfully used across a host of events from conferences to gala dinners, charity events right through to team building events. As audience engagement continues to remain a priority for event organisers, live polling is becoming a standard fixture in the events mix. Here are 8 tips that will maximise audience engagement with your event whilst gathering invaluable information about your audience. What is Event Poll For those who didn’t see our previous post on the BYOD movement or are still suffering from post-holiday withdrawals, Event Poll is a web or SMS-based questionnaire platform that allows both in-room and webcast audiences to participate in live polls at your events. In its simplest form, it works via web based responses or text messaging so even those on trusty Nokia 3315s can participate. The great thing about Event Poll is the responses are displayed in real time, with insights and results delivered to you post the event. 1. Grab your audience with a powerful Event Poll visual display Events are an opportune time to get your brand in front of a targeted audience so you need to ensure all touch points are branded appropriately. Fortunately, the design and layout of the polls can be customised to suit your brand guidelines. You can choose a banner or logo to be displayed at the top of each poll. The background, graphs and text colours can also be chosen to match. Graphical display The classic bar graph is the most common event poll used. This is most effective for multiple choice style questions where you are looking for a percentage of opinion across the audience. Open text display Open text is ideal for Q&A sessions instead of having to hand a microphone around the room. Moderation control allows you to choose what goes to screen and captures all the questions from the room even if there is no time to answer them all. Clickable Image (heat map) This design allows you to plot mass points on any image to create a heat map. A nice way to warm up the crowd is by asking your audience to plot on a map where they’re from. Surveys Event Poll even allows you to group of series of questions together via a URL link as a survey. This is particularly useful for event and/or content feedback. Word Clouds Want to find out what the most talked about topics at your event were? Event Poll has the ability to collect and aggregate all responses into a word cloud, demonstrating by increasing font size what the leading topics/questions were at your event. Idea Session Similar to Open Text, attendees can use Event Poll to type in their ideas or comments and other attendees can place a positive or negative rating on these. The most popular response rises to the top of the leaderboard display. 2. Moderate your event content There’s nothing worse for a marketer than exposing your brand to potentially harmful content and the often very public and embarrassing chaos that unfolds. Therefore, for Open Text polls we encourage you to moderate your content and offer two types of moderation control. We can set an automatic profanity filter or manual moderation control which provides complete control over what goes to screen. 3. Ask the right question Photo credit: Derek Bridges Keep it simple. Questions should have one part only. For multiple choice questions each option should be distinct with no ambiguity. Buzzwords, acronyms and any other wording that isn’t universally understood should be avoided totally. Again, if you’re not sure what questions to ask and how to phrase them contact us and we’ll be happy to guide you. 4. Be ready for any answer With multiple-choice questions, you must prepare a response to each possibility. If you are doing a product launch and ask the audience how likely they are to buy this product and the answer comes back ‘not at all’, you have to be ready to do some fast-talking. So as with any interview, it’s always better to be over-prepared, this way you’ll always remain in control of the conversation. 5. Gather data from your audience In this data-driven world, many people are becoming more and more cautious of giving out personal information so event organisers need to be smarter about how to approach this. One of the main uses of Event Poll is obtaining insightful audience demographic information. Asking your audience some basic information at the beginning of your event can be a useful ice-breaker and provide you with essential information to provide context to your event, the attendees and their responses. As mentioned earlier the Heat Map is a good way to see where your audience is from, or you could use the Graphical display to ask what department or industry they represent. 6. Measure your audience engagement with Event Poll Photo credit: James Duncan Davidson For learning-based events such as training days and new product launches, Event Poll can be used to measure content comprehension and retention. By asking your audience questions throughout the event you are encouraging them to actively reflect and thereby increase learning outcomes. For example, this is particularly useful feedback when you want some insight into what concepts you may need to explore further. 7. Entertain your audience Lively events entail a lot of probing, pushing and polling so it is important to let your audience have a bit of fun too. If you are running a gala dinner, awards night or any other less formal event, there’s a great range of playful uses for real-time polling. Do you have a red carpet entrance? Poll the audience for best dressed. Need to revive your audience after a long conference? Then use it for some fun trivia. 8. Use Feedback to improve future events It all boils down to communication - you are inviting your attendees to engage in a conversation with you. The most common use of Event Poll is to gauge an audience’s appreciation of the event itself – content, effort and/or delivery of the presentation. This type of feedback can play a key role in shaping the content and structure for your next event which is why it’s essential you receive the response insights post the event to keep on file and share with your team. Integrate Event Poll into your event today As we strive to find smarter ways to better engage our audience at events, we also need to ensure we’re not only utilising the latest technologies but maximising their potential. The possibilities are endless and our team of event professionals are ready to help you get the most from Event Poll today. If you are interested in using Event Poll in your next event contact us and discover what Event Poll can do for your brand. Want to stay up to date with industry trends? Browse our range of downloadable Event Insights papers ... Read More

Twitter is ever growing in popularity in both corporate and social circles. It is a simple, free tool that enables greater engagement with your audience and extends your event space to the online world. Most people today are familiar with Twitter, but expect some the less tech-savvy amongst your guests and always be on hand as you will have to explain basic tweeting and character limitations and of course the relevant social handles for your event. If everyone uses the platform during your event you will find that they are more engaged; absorbing and analysing your content in real time. Not to mention, it is also a nice and simple way to make your webcast attendees feel involved in the conversation and the event. 1. Advertise your event hashtag The most important part of your event Twitter feed is an event hashtag. Hashtag’s are a tool for aggregating and archiving metadata and when used by every twitter user it will organize your event discussion into a single tag so you can follow the conversation. Therefore it is essential that everyone is using the right hashtag. Make sure to advertise it on the event invite and post it on Twitter several times prior to the event. Hashtags work over Instagram, Facebook and Google+ so spread the word over every possible platform for maximum exposure. During Your Event In addition to advertising the hashtag prior to the event, you must make sure it is clearly displayed throughout your event. If you hand out flyers ensure that it is clearly marked near your brand logo and if you have presentations, make sure it is visible on every slide. You’re initial presenter should encourage your guests with incentives to use it. Your event hashtag not only organises all of your guests comments and questions but invites people keeping up with the event online to join the conversation and engage with your brand. If you have a large event with lots of tweets your hashtag could end up ‘trending’ exposing your brand to a much larger audience. 2. Turn your event into a contest on Twitter Instead of just telling your guests to tweet, turn it into a contest. The respective prize of the competition is up to you. It does not need to be big, but will get your audience more engaged and invite an element of play to your event. Examples of good Twitter hashtag competitions include most creative answer to a question, best event photo (this can be hosted through Twitter and Instagram) or even a simple lottery including everyone who uses the hashtag, which inspires even your timid guests to join in the tweeting. 3. Grow your social media influence Good integration of social media during an event enhances the experience for the attendees in the room and can capture the attention of your entire market. A lively event Twitter feed displayed on screens in the venue encourages audience participation, but it also gives those who didn’t attend a tantalising glimpse of what they’re missing out on. Encore Event Technologies has a great software platform called Event Tweet that allows you to capture your in room and virtual audiences’ tweets and Instagram posts through a dedicated hashtag and send them live to screen on a template of choice. Posts can be scrolling as audiences comment on ideas or presenters can ask questions igniting feedback and conversation. Your event Twitter feed is an opportunity to develop a stronger connection with your guests. It is advisable to have a moderator working on the Twitter feed. A moderator will post tweets during the event; asking questions, answering questions, acknowledging tweets, posting quotes from the speakers and re-tweeting insightful guest tweets. They will also ensure the Twitter feed maintains it’s focus by filtering out offensive and off-topic material and help grow your brand by following all people who use the event hashtag. Follow your guests on Twitter Following your guests increases the likelihood of them following you back so you can continue to engage with them after they have left. 4. Use Twitter to collect your audiences questions during your event Twitter can assist your Q&A segment greatly. A good way of separating questions from statements is to create another hashtag for questions. For example if your event hashtag is #twitterevent then make your question hashtag #qtwitterevent. You can have these scroll through your Twitter feed in real time and then have your moderator collect them and organise them for question time, cutting out some of the inevitable question overlap and giving voice to a larger cross-section of your audience. 5. Organise your Event’s best tweets in Storify After your event you should aggregate the best tweets, photos and videos organized by your hashtag and place them in a Storify to preserve all the great content created by your guests, speakers and moderator. Storify collects content from all social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Youtube and Soundcloud so if it serves your brand you can find it and archive it together. You can then send this Storify in email blasts to all of your guests and users of the hashtag in the following weeks to keep your event working for you. Make Twitter Work For You Twitter is such a powerful tool because it gives everyone an equal voice. Intellectual and emotional engagement into your real time event is very powerful and as with all powerful tools it requires some moderation and guidance. Use Twitter wisely and it will immensely increase the success of your audio visual event. At Encore Event Technologies we have extensive experience using Twitter for events and utilise our own Event Tweet software. Want to know more? Get in touch today. Want to stay up to date with industry trends? Browse our range of downloadable Event Insights papers ... Read More

Lighting your event is so fundamental and yet so often overlooked. Attention to detail makes the difference between an average event and an extraordinary one. Lighting is so much more than just putting a spotlight on your performer, it creates ambience, displays video content and can be used to in conjunction with architectural elements and dynamic fixtures to build a visual experience that will leave your guests in awe. The advanced lighting displays used at Encore Event Technologies have come a long way since the humble tungsten and halogen incandescent filaments. Since the development of the first high-powered blue LED in the 1990’s, the theatrical lighting industry has progressed beyond imagination. Here are 7 ways to make your event shine! 1. Use LEDs for event lighting Longer lasting LEDs are around ten times more efficient than their tungsten equivalent. That means ten times less electricity to produce the same level of brightness. They can last hundreds of hours longer, emit less heat and are cheaper to manufacture and replace. A rainbow of options Using RGBW LED chips (a combination of red, green, blue and white light emitting LEDs) you can electronically control your mix to create any desired colour. Before this technology you would have to put a coloured gel in front of an incandescent fixture and if you wanted several colours throughout a show you needed to set up and rig several fixtures each with an appropriate gel, and then you couldn’t change colour or position! RGBW LED chips allow you to play with the rainbow. Clever head A moving or ‘intelligent’ head, one that employs controllable motors on the lamp and its lens, allows you to move your light around ‘intelligently’. All movement can be pre-programmed in the lighting desk by the operator and recalled across the rig at the press of a button. When rigged on lighting bars and flown above stages, LED fixtures can create spectacular lighting schemes using a fraction of the time and energy that would have been required just two decades ago. 2. Make fantastic effects with pixel mapping LED technology has created new types of equipment that were impossible barely a decade ago. As they can be made very small, when fitted together closely they have the ability to change quality of light they are outputting instantly. This technique is referred to as pixel mapping and it has many exciting applications. Image pixel mapping One of the most effective uses of pixel mapping is when they are sent through image source material. LED fixtures designed for pixel mapping are usually a square or rectangular grid, pad or tablet fitted with anywhere between four to over a thousand individual LEDs. The 2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremony used pixel mapping on a grand scale. The front of each seat was fitted with a sixteen LED tile projecting one ‘pixel’ of a huge digital image. Video pixel mapping Even more exciting, you can send LEDs through video source material, video which can be set to display across several fixtures at once. This means the image canvas can be as simple as a screen-like grid or as complex as dozens of differently shaped fixtures rigged and set across your performance space, creating a synchronized ‘broken’ image effect. Best of all any content can be mapped, from your company’s logo on loop to a product promotional video. Plus the controllers and software that are used for pixel mapping often come with a generous amount of their own generic content that can be deployed as effects. 3. Get creative with Happy Tubes Flexible fun The flexibility of LEDs have been utilized to create a new type of fixture called the LED tube or the Happy Tube. These tubular fixtures are available in different lengths with varying amounts of LEDs but the most common specification is around one metre long with 96 to 144 LEDs. These tubes are incredibly adaptable. They can be joined, hung, flown, stacked to forma screen and used to emit light or images. You can use them on the outside of buildings to highlight architectural features or hang them from the ceiling like a chandelier. You have probably seen them used in all kinds of live events from rock concerts to conferences. Really really flexible These happy tubes can be mounted on just about any physical structure, making them a must for any event. They work on the edges of stages, screens, lecterns… you name it they fit! Once they are set-up and addressed from the lighting desk they can glow softly as an outline or pulse and ripple with waves of light. Like the pad, grid and tablet LED fixtures, image and video can also be mapped across tubes, but have the added ability to be arranged in a circle to form a 360° element, perfect for a feature at a gala dinner. Using a clever assortment of tubes you can create any effect you desire – both coherent and abstract. 4. Move your audience with Moving Heads Moving heads pre-date the LED revolution but were large, unwieldy and very expensive reserved only for elite theatres and concerts. Nowadays, moving head fixtures use digitally controlled motors, which enable all sorts of light movement and have become common even at the low end of lighting budgets. A must for any professional event. The Gobo In combination with LEDs, rotating lenses and other new technologies, moving lights have invigorated the oldest of lighting techniques: the humble Gobo. A gobo was originally a piece of metal with a pattern of holes cut into it that you placed in front of a light. They could be used for simple diffusion or to create a recognisable pattern, such as geometric shapes or leaves. As technology progressed, glass gobos were developed that could incorporate colours and detailed imagery. With modern LED fixtures a moving head fixture can use plastic gobos, less delicate and easier to manufacture than their traditional counterparts. Moving heads can even hold multiple gobos, sometimes more than one at a time creating interesting detailed textural effects. 5. Use dynamic video for effect Animated spaces New types of moving head LED fixtures can even be used as video projectors – not just your average projector, these moving head fixtures can vary the focus, angle, width, brightness and colour of the video dynamically in real-time. Projecting video from a moving head projector is almost like having an animated gobo, which can be used for some pretty incredible effects. When projected on a loop with a strong texture and colour you can simulate immersive spaces such as a forest or a city skyline. This can be used as a subtle but dynamic wash on a stage or across a wall. Learn more about 2D and 3D mapping in our other blog post. Real-time editing Lighting operator desks have evolved along with the fixtures and are designed to integrate with servers that host video files, fixtures that have video inputs and software that controls and edits video in real-time. All this added complexity means there will most likely be two sets of video infrastructure and operators to manage. 6. Ask yourself the right questions about your event With so many new lighting technologies at your disposal you have to consider a few things: What mood and colour palette do you want to create (this can also be aided by styling)? What lighting equipment should you use? How should you use it? What existing video content can you use to enhance your event? Should you create original content for a one-of-a-kind look? What content needs to shine the brightest? At Encore Event Technologies we employ dedicated content creators and video experts that can guide you through the process of achieving your creative vision. We pride ourselves on keeping up-to-date with emerging technology and we will make sure existing and new content fits the physical and aesthetic requirements of your event space. The most important thing for us is to maintain sensitive to your brief and provide you with innovative effects and techniques that will perfectly suit your content. 7. Keep your event real No school like old school ‘Old School’ event lighting (analogue tungsten and halogen lighting with gels) still have their place. Many designers prefer white light of a traditional source to an LED and in many venues (particularly theatres) the installed lighting rig will still contain many traditional fixtures. A combination of both old and new technology often combine for the best results. Incorporating traditional fixtures to your lighting scheme expands your palette and makes your budget go further. At Encore Event Technologies we are all about making your content king! When technology becomes the main attraction of an event, then you’ve lost your purpose. As they say in theatre “If the audience is looking at the set, there a problem with your show”. While we have the ability to create an artwork of pixel mapped video and columns of revolving happy tubes, using the right tool for the right job will always be more effective. Love learning the latest lighting and AV techniques? Download our range of free Event Insights downloadable papers today. ... Read More

When you’re preparing an audio visual budget for your event, there’s a lot more to think about than simply how much money to allocate for theming, lights, sound and vision. To ensure you’re getting the most value for money from your event’s AV design, a solid knowledge of the capabilities of both technology and your audio visual company are essential. Here we give you our top 8 audio visual tips for creating a successful event. 1. Look for creativity in your audio visual supplier When shopping for an audio visual provider, you traditionally seek service, price and reliability. All are good measures of a quality audio visual company, but to truly do justice to your event, creativity needs to be a central part of their product offering. Advances in projection and event lighting technology mean that the old business model of simply hiring out and operating gear for a client is no longer an adequate level of service. The main driver of this conceptual shift in the market has been technologies such as projection mapping. Projection mapping is the art of creating multimedia content for projection onto flat surfaces (2D projection mapping) or objects (3D projection mapping) and then using advanced computer and projector technology to bring that imagery to life. It has transformed major events, conferences and theatrical presentations the world over. While the technology is now common place, the creative talent to successfully use it is not. To really ensure peace of mind when selecting an audio visual provider, ask about their history in presenting similar events and their history at the chosen venue. Look at some examples of their work closest in scope to your event. If they have documentation of their work at your chosen venue, even better! 2. Set your event vision and share it Having a clear vision of the aesthetic feel and tone of the event is crucial at this stage of pre-production. Storyboard your event like a movie director, discuss themes and images with your key staff and audio visual team. Don’t get fixated on what you have seen done before or know to be possible; a good audio visual company should be able to take on board any creative idea you have and translate it into a practical suggestion. 3. Remember the importance of sound for your event The event sound system employed to deliver it should match the content. Important things to look for are adequate coverage of the room to ensure all attendees get crystal-clear speech as well as the full impact of any musical material. If you are employing high-energy music or cinematic sound effects ensure the system can replicate the full range of sound. A minimum of two subwoofers need to be in place to maximise the impact of any low-end effects or bass lines. Have a look at our blog post on how to get the best sound at your event for more in-depth understanding of the importance of sound. 4. Think digital Discuss with your Audio visual company about methods to digitally enhance your event. Can they digitally brand your conference with projections and then successfully transform the same space for a gala dinner? Entire ballrooms can be changed into another world, and the walls of an auditorium can ripple at the arrival of a new product. A custom built set design can be transformed into a living, breathing animal. Pretty much anything is possible, and an in-depth conversation with a design professional is invaluable to help direct your thinking in the planning stages. Understand what design and creative support the audio visual company offer and whether the in-house designers have the skills to shepherd you through the concept creation, implementation and delivery of just about anything your imagination can conjure. Creating a multimedia driven event from the ground-up can seem to be a longer process than the traditional method of simply stating a theme and letting the staging company deliver, but the results represent a much better return on investment. Elements of digital branding or presentation content can not only be used at one specific event, but also transported to similar events or venues at no further cost. The same media can also be repackaged as web content where appropriate 5. Get Mobile Almost everyone now carries a video displaying, networked computer a.k.a. ‘Smartphone’ in their pocket. This makes them capable of not only absorbing your content but also interacting with it. An audio visual company should have a lot of fresh ideas on how to make this work for your event, extending your theme and offering greater engagement with your audience. A key technology for presenters are apps to enable snap event polling of audience members and instantly display aggregated results on a main screen. For attendees, important information such as timetables, maps and key messages should be easily accessible from an app or network. 6. Ask your audio visual team the right questions Questions about the technical details are excellent for getting a sense of competence and good organisation. Is the PA suitable for speech reinforcement only or can it deliver loud, exciting music if you need it? What combination and numbers of lighting fixtures do they usually use – LED, moving lights, wash lights? Again, it’s not necessarily the specific information that you need, but the assurance of their confidence in answering. If you’re satisfied with that, then ask them what they recommend, or better yet, what they have always wanted to do given the opportunity. You’ll soon establish whether you’re in good hands. 7. Achieving cut through At Encore Event Technologies we realise that you have a unique opportunity to create an event specific to your audience. It’s worth your time to work together with a creative audio visual company to bring an original vision to life that makes a strong statement about your organisation. Your customers are already enjoying new types of audience engagement in both their professional and personal lives, either driven by large corporate organisations or the entertainment industry. The increase in quality of experience means all content providers have to compete to cut through. Watch this two minute video of an audio visual set up by the Encore Event Technologies team featuring Australia's first 360 degree projection screen, custom designed for the event and venue space to create something guests had never experienced before. 8. More than numbers Your audio visual budget now has the potential to deliver results way beyond the date of the event itself. All of your customers, employees and/or delegates are broadcasters, sharing their impressions, images and videos across their networks. Devoting time and creativity at the outset of your event planning can now pay off almost in perpetuity. Get to the heart of your message, envision the best possible shape it could take, and invest in bringing it to life in the most effective way. Written by Robert Meek, Event Project Manager With over 20 years’ experience in the meetings and events industry Rob has a wealth of corporate audio visual event experience that he brings to the delivery of the diverse range of corporate and association events he has managed. Related Blogs 5 top event tips for 2014 What benefit does vision fold back provide in your audio visual solution? Optimise your event communication with event design and technical production ... Read More

In our latest blog Senior Event Stylist, Georgia Strachan, shares her secrets to creating a 'Mad Hatters Tea Party' themed event and discusses how she brought the event alive with digital styling. In our latest blog Senior Event Stylist, Georgia Strachan, shares her secrets to creating a 'Mad Hatters Tea Party' themed event and discusses how she brought the event alive with digital styling. Georgia brings to her role 20 years of experience in design for film, television and creative theme park attractions. Her varied professional background provides a fresh take on conceiving unique event experiences for clients. Georgia injects a fresh and innovative flair for event concepts both locally, nationally and globally. In order to set the scene for my clients Mad Hatter themed dinner party I collaborated with our technical services team to bring together creative styling with audio, vision and lighting technology. Through digital styling we created exciting integrated visual content that transported guests “down the rabbit hole” from the minute they stepped inside the room through a rear projected entry portal. From there the guests enjoyed pre-dinner ‘teapot cocktails’ at the custom made Astroturf hedge bar and played highly contested games of croquet on a purpose built mini Astroturf croquet course. We also covered plinths and cubes with Astroturf to make quirky cocktail furniture and decorated this area with topiary trees and hundreds of red and white artificial roses in Victorian urns. The lighting was very bold and directional to add to the surreal, artificial nature of this concept. For the main dining experience we built a ‘room within a room’ using floor to ceiling rear projection screens to give our guests the impression that they were really in another world. With full control over the environment we had the ability to transform the entire space throughout the evening as each course arrived at the table. We also wanted to change the proportion and perspective of the room at various times making the guests feel small one minute and giant the next and we achieved this by altering the content. It was a very dramatic effect and kept the guests guessing all night. All of our 35 guests were seated at one huge table and I wanted each place setting to have its own sense of style and character so we used a selection of beautiful antique timber chairs, leather wing backed armchairs and upholstered love seats sourced from all over the venue. For the table decor I used piles of old books and stacked them with collections of clocks, feathers and flowers and table cloths were layered with colours and textures to suggest the Mad Hatters workshop. Chef created spectacular cupcakes which we placed on lovely tiered cake stands to become edible centre pieces and we used dozens of vintage porcelain teacups as votive holders to bathe the table with flickering light. Check out the pictures below and let me know what you're ideas are for the ultimate Mad Hatter's Tea Party! Author: Georgia Strachan, Senior Event Stylist, Staging Connections. Image Credits: Unless stated otherwise, all images are owned by us ... Read More

2017 was certainly a big year for Staging Connections - we launched new products and won 17 new venue partners, bringing our total to over 80. Our teams delivered a whopping 35,000 events for our valued clients, delivering conferences, gala dinners, incentives, sporting events, roadshows and everything in between! We continued our pursuit of the very latest event technologies and made improvements to some of your favourites like our free event app, social media platform, webcasting and more. Our creative teams also continued to shine, delivering on-trend styling, creative set designs and multimedia content that delivered an amazing brand experience for attendees. Whilst we can’t talk about every event delivered in 2017. We are proud to share with you some of the highlight corporate events our teams produced around our offices. Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Charitable Trust Venue: Brisbane City Hall Event Type: Gala Why: Our Southeast Queensland team delivered a truly multi-sensory experience, including their largest projection mapping activation to date. Over 460 attendees gathered at the impressive Brisbane City Hall to raise funds and awareness for the Lord Mayor’s grants programs, providing much-needed assistance to deserving charities across the city. As the onsite event services provider at Brisbane City Hall with EPICURE, Staging Connections created a glittering ‘There’s No Place Like Oz’ themed evening. Using a full suite of audio visual services, our teams immersed guests in a multi-sensory experience from the moment they clicked their heels and followed the yellow brick road into the City Hall. Every space within the venue was transformed to represent a different scene from the iconic movie, re-telling the story as a live event experience. The entrance was brought to live as Kansas complete with Dorothy’s House and the iconic ruby slippers, and dramatic hurricane. Inside the auditorium, the Emerald City story continued transforming it into four separate spaces– the Wicked Forest, Cornfield, Munchkinland, and Poppyfield. Staging Connections Southeast Queensland team executed its largest projection mapping activation to date, to great success: the projection mapping on the walls displayed iconic scenes from The Wizard of Oz movie, mesmerising guests for the entire evening. Further immersive technical theatrics rendered the space unrecognisable, including vivid balcony lighting, segmented silent auction spaces, and an animated projection of ‘The Wizard’ onto the City Hall’s grand organ, creating a virtual ‘MC’ who interacted with the live presenters. Honda Motorcycles India Venue: Sydney Showground Event Type: Incentive Why: Delivering this incredible large-scale incentive with only 2 weeks notice is a great reflection of our teams’ expertise, knowledge, perseverance and creativity. Staging Connections were engaged by Encompass to produce an exciting, dramatic extravaganza for over 1000 Honda India employees and dealers, including a cocktail function, business session and gala evening. Confirmation was received merely two weeks from show day, leaving Staging Connections to go into overdrive to see it delivered seamlessly. The theme of the incentive event needed to incorporate the company's values and theme of RAW 6.0 (Reach, Acquire & Win), with a key component to showcase the new range of motorcycles' ability to easily transition from city to outback. The end look of the event was developed taking a literal approach to the ‘Raw’ theme. The event was centered around a huge 48m x20m ‘V’ shaped stage which split the room into two distinct landscapes – city and outback – two key components of theme. Decorating the stage with bushland and a city skyline provided the perfect setting on which to display the the motorcycles. The stage was framed by a stunning illuminated backdrop spanning 55mx3m, casting a silhouette resembling the Australian outback and city. The end result was a turn-key event solution provided by Staging Connections, from AV and lighting through to entertainment and production with the aim of providing guests with a money can’t buy experience, proving Honda to be a world class company. “Thank you and your wonderful team for all the help and support at our Honda event. The production was great, the set looked amazing and the welcome arch was my personal favorite. A big shout to all the guys from your team who worked so hard to put up a fantastic show for us and for keeping up with all our last-minute requests. We look forward to collaborating again.” Randeep Singh, Encompass AFL Grand Final and Best & Fairest Week Venue: Palladium, Crown Melbourne Event Type: Awards Night, Gala Dinner Why: Our onsite teams used their expertise and creativity to develop a flexible AV and lighting package that could be customised for each client booking during the weeks to enable the events to reflect the branding and type of event. AFL Grand Final Week - Staging Connections developed an AV and lighting package specifically for the Palladium, Crown Melbourne, which could be customised for each client booking during the week whether it was a charity luncheon, club breakfast, or gala dinner. A number of the events held throughout the week are for charity, so value was important, as was a strong focus on the main stage with a large visual element crucial to the AV solution provided. The centrepiece was the 15m x 4m LED wall at the back of the stage, with a 16:9 projector screen on either side, creating a visually immersive experience for every guest around the room to enjoy. The industry-leading technology could be tailored to display logos and branding or to engage the audience with dynamic, blank canvas, enabling each client to add their own personal styling and multimedia touches with brand colours and décor. AFL Best & Fairest Week - Celebrations continued long after the siren sounded at the AFL Grand Final, with the annual Best & Fairest Week – where AFL clubs gathered alongside sponsors, associates and fans to recognise their stars of the season. Crown Melbourne required a flexible lighting and AV package that could be easily customised to suit each of the different client’s requirements throughout the eight days of celebrations. Taking pride of place in the centre of the ballroom this year, the Staging Connections team featured an impressive new element – a 7m diameter curved LED screen suspended from the ceiling. A large LED wall set the backdrop for the main stage, in front of which the team set two wide screens with additional display screens relayed around the room. The dazzling effect allowed each client to showcase multimedia, video, presentations and corporate branding from every angle in the room. Adding depth and texture to the visual landscape, Staging Connections featured Harlequin 3D Scenic Panels frame the stage and added 2D Ribbon Scenic Panels to create small ‘wings’ on stage. Adelaide Crows Gala Dinner Venue: Adelaide Entertainment Centre Event: Gala Dinner Why: The annual Crows Gala dinner gives our Adelaide team the opportunity to flex their creativity and theming muscles. Last year’s dinner was truly memorable, leaving a Scrumdiddlyumptious taste in everyone’s mouth. In our 12th year as the Adelaide Crows’ official audio visual partner, we wanted to deliver something special that pushed the envelope on 2016's visually spectacular Right Royal Gala event. We brought to life a Willy Wonka inspired “Scrumdiddlyumptious” themed event, using a complete event production solution including audio, vision, lighting, staging, multimedia creation, styling and production management. The vast space was transformed into a delightful, magical setting using theatrical intelligent lighting, themed styling and an enchanting stage look. All eyes were drawn to the giant custom stage set, created using our new 3D Scenic Panels in the Harlequin pattern flanked with multiple screens framing the Toyota car ad– the grand prize of the evening! Large inflatable red and white candy trees were placed around the room and stage for colour and a quirky touch. The 32 m wide x 9 m high Scenic Panel stage backdrop became the central projection surface for the night, featuring custom Crows themed multimedia content for the Welcoming and Closing presentations and for each individual auction item. All content was created in house by our multimedia design team. As a clever touch to add theatre and excitement, every guest was given a Golden Ticket on arrival with the lucky Golden Ticket winner taking home the brand new Toyota. Canberra Business Chamber Awards Gala 2017 Venue: National Convention Centre Canberra Event: Awards Night Why: Guests were treated to a stunning display of projection mapping and visual effects to enhance the “theatrically-themed” awards night. Guests were treated to a dazzling ‘theatrically-themed’ evening at this year’s Canberra Business Chamber (CBC) annual Gala Dinner. Held at the National Convention Centre, Staging Connections was tasked with delivering the extravaganza for the ninth year running. The guests were immersed in a captivating setting using animated projection mapping, lighting effects and elegant styling amongst other design elements. Adding to the visual delights, guests were also entertained with an exquisite performance by the Woden Youth choir and an acrobatic aerialist, who dazzled on silk elevated above the main stage, surrounded by 18 white lycra columns. Staging Connections designed the audio-visual and styling elements using a mix of screens, projectors, a CBC-branded gobo light, spotlighting, and projection mapping. As the evening progressed, the Staging Connections team continued to inject life and atmosphere into the room by tailoring the animated projections and lighting during the evening’s performances and presentations. Asian Paints Incentive 2017 Venue: Various NSW/QLD Event: Incentive Why: Last year’s Asian Paints Incentive was our largest event delivered in 2017. The scale of the event production, interstate coordination and collaboration within teams and inclusion of innovative technology like gesture-control makes this a stand-out event. 1000 guests in 3 waves across 12 events equals 1 massive incentive road show. Leading Indian event company Encompass Events, approached Staging Connections produce and deliver the Asian Paints Privilege Club Incentive Event Series. The event series was held in various venues in Sydney and the Gold Coast with the aim of strengthening personal ties within the Privilege Club and reward the Asian Paints staff for their hard work and commitment. The theme was ‘Ultimates’ and Staging Connections were tasked with bringing this to life throughout each of the 12 events including the Welcome function, team building and social events, the grand conference and closing Gala dinner. The incentive gave our Sydney and Gold Coast teams the opportunity to collaborate and produce a truly unforgettable experience through a complete event staging solution. It was a masterful celebration of everything we love; from design to delivery, including production and stage management, logistics, audio visual, styling, design and even interactive technologies. Barfoot & Thompson Annual Conference 2017 Venue: Vodafone Event Centre, Manukau Event: Conference Why: A cleverly themed conference, which allowed our Auckland team to design a bespoke experience using our full breadth of AV solutions to enhance the theme and conference message. For the sixth consecutive year Staging Connections powered an inspirational event at Barfoot & Thompson’s Annual Convention with 2,500 commercial, residential and property management attendees from all over Auckland. The theme for this world-class event was “Opportunity Knocks” tied in brilliantly with the calibre of guest speakers on the day who came together to celebrate the companies’ highest sales achievers and Garth Barfoot’s retirement. Staging Connections were engaged to deliver all AV aspects of the event, from stunning lighting to audio and impactful visual content. Central to the proceedings was the main stage, where an impressive 12 m x 4.2 m LED screen was hung via a truss above four ground level 1.2 m x 2.4 m LED panels on either side of the stage, that at times projected doors to cleverly incorporate the event theme. This was the first time Staging Connections has delivered such a large event in New Zealand with LED screens only. The opening sequence started off slowly as the doors opened dramatically to allow each guest to enter, including CEO Wendy Alexander performing Adele’s hit, “Hello, how are you?”, thrilling and delighting the audience. Retiring Director, Garth Barfoot, completed a victory lap of the arena to commemorate his last Annual Convention, which was captured and projected onscreen so that all members of the audience could share in the touching moment. ACTON Real Estate Awards 2017 Venue: Crown Perth Event: Awards Night Why: Straying from the familiar to create a new experience is always a challenge for both the client and event production team. The creativity, expertise and professionalism demonstrated by our Perth team in delivering a new event design for this year’s ACTON Real Estate Awards, makes this event a highlight for the year. Just another example of our teams’ commitment to creating truly extraordinary experiences year after year. The prestigious awards evening for ACTON Real Estate brought together 500 employees, sponsors and partners to celebrate the year’s achievements and recognise ACTON’s brightest stars. Staging Connections delivered an impressive ‘art deco’ styled evening; complete with red carpet, diamond-shaped dance floor and glamorous crystal centrepieces. The Staging Connections team configured a completely new set design for this year’s awards night - opting for a single multi-purpose stage flanked by two large dual-projection, wide screens and Scenic Panels dramatically used to pull the set together and complement the art deco style. Combining the presentation and entertainment stages into the one set added a sense of intimacy to the space, and heightened dramatic impact. Top Secret Lunch Venue: National Convention Centre Canberra Event: Famil Gala Why: The creative use of audio visual techniques to create an immersive experience showcasing the National Convention Centre and Canberra as an ideal destination for business events. As the in-house AV and event services provider to Canberra's iconic National Convention Centre, Staging Connections were tasked with showcasing the venue as part of the Canberra Convention Bureau's business tourism event - aimed at encouraging more business events to the Canberra region. The team used creative AV with a focus on projection mapping to highlight the venue's capabilities and showcase Canberra's selling points as an event destination. Deciding to opt for a more novel approach other than traditional event screens and event productions, and inspired by the hot air balloons that have become synonymous with Canberra’s Enlighten Festival, Staging Connections utilised a 3m inflatable sphere to create a mid-air floating screen. Beautiful imagery and multimedia was projection mapped onto the sphere turning the lifeless object into a stunning 3D artwork. Coloured LED wash lights cast beautiful shades of Autumn’s orange, amber and gold around the lunch room, which perfectly complemented the lunch menu. Further captivating guests and adding a unique touch to the dining experience was the high definition projection mapping and multimedia on the table, curved walls, archways and beams, all themed to highlight the light, colour and movement of the Enlighten Festival held annually in Canberra. Tables came alive with colourful animations which changed with each meal, perfecting and highlighting the theme accompanying the menu. Individual dinner plates were also circled with white projection spots highlighting the food while guests’ names were projected onto their seats, offering a unique personal touch and making networking easy. EB Games Venue: Gold Coast Exhibitions & Convention Centre Event: Conference and Gala Dinner Why: A huge 5-day conference that ended with a spectacular, action-packed Gala Dinner celebration befitting of the company’s 20th Anniversary. After a seven-year partnership, Staging Connections were the principal choice to manage the production of EB Games’ annual Conference in October 2017. EB Games’ staff from across Australia gathered to celebrate 20 Years of EB Games. Held over five days, the conference concluded with the much-anticipated EB Expo over the weekend – a sold-out public event featuring big-name tech brands, product launches, live demos and cosplay. The October Conference was made up of several social and business events, including the annual Gala Dinner and a glamorous 20 Year Rock Party. Start planning your 2018 events with the event experts With 2018 events already well underway, now is perfect time to get in touch with us to start discussing your requirements for your upcoming events. Whether you're looking to plan your company's Annual General Meeting, a fundraising Gala Dinner, celebratory Awards Night or a sell-out Conference, we have the ideas, skills and equipment to make them your best events yet. If you haven't chosen your venue yet, we can also assist with this crucial decision. Encore Event Technologies (formerly Staging Connections) are the chosen in-house AV and event services provider to over 80 of the regions top hotels and venues. This means we have the flexibility to deliver your event in one of our venue partners or at another location of your choice. Planning a successful event takes time, so don't waste another minute. Simply send us your event requirements or speak to us in person and let's get to work! ... Read More

Live streaming is a powerful way to connect with thought leaders and present your brand which must not be overlooked. More and more event planners are turning to live streaming their events as they want to amplify the reach of their event to maximize ROI. However, beyond this obvious reach benefit it provides, the vast majority of event planners are missing out on the many other benefits that come from live streaming events. And we don’t want you to miss these valuable opportunities any longer! To start things off, a lot of event planners miss a big opportunity by not streaming the event via their social media channels. This is a great way to engage your followers, attract new ones and importantly, a tactic for marketing and driving ticket sales for your next event. Branding your live stream by incorporating your logo and company services into the footage will make a brand more recognisable. You’ll also be able to better understand the audience through live streams using analytics to capture data that will let you know the exact number of your virtual viewers and their location. Here are 6 things you should know about live streaming so you aren't missing out on valuable event ROI. Live streaming has a high return on investment Did you know that Facebook Live videos are more watched three times longer than pre-recorded content? This is most likely because today’s online audience craves authenticity and human connection, further explaining why video enhances brand recognition by 139% is so important to your event marketing and brand. Professional conference organisers look to live streaming to broadcast events held in intimate settings. The live stream can integrate a larger audience without additional seating, making it easier for your best leads (often found in your social media following) to be converted into customers and loyal brand advocates just by watching your broadcast. Your approach to live streaming doesn’t have to be complex because content that is offered from a live stream doesn’t need to be scripted. It can be streamed across the a live streaming channel, its own webpage, or across your social channels. It just needs to be real to show the audience that your brand is genuine. With the technological capabilities of mobile phones and affordable cameras, we know that using live streaming for events doesn’t always require a major budget. Regardless of budget, small and large scale businesses see major returns on their investment when live streaming for events, with up to 35% of a live stream audience physically attending the same event the following year. You can get creative with live streaming Build brand awareness and give exposure to fellow event participants through your live stream. This fosters a sense of community while showing off your dashing personality. Remember that the more people like you, the more they will respect your business. Some of the best ideas for live streaming are as follows: Invite an influencer to speak at your event. Share their actionable knowledge on your live feed. Conduct an interview with an expert. Research the concerns of your followers to compose interview questions. Follow this with a live stream that provides answers in an engaging way from a trusted source. Offer a personal perspective. Live stream from a collaborative event where your company is in attendance. Engage other attendees as you stream to create a more personal feel. Corporate event live streaming requires specialised knowledge It takes a great deal of pre-planning and professional assistance to broadcast a corporate event without any hiccups. High quality and functional sound and visuals will position your team for a successful event and keep your viewers focused. Live streaming during a corporate event can make or break your brand’s image, especially if you are working with sponsors (who always expect top-notch quality). You want to avoid poor quality filming resolution or shaking, poor audio or picking up coughs, comments or other sounds made by your attendees not intended to be part of the presentation. Nor do you want the speakers and attendees to deal with malfunctioning equipment during a presentation. To avoid the embarrassment and stress that comes with amateur mistakes, use professional audio visual services that will test your equipment before live streaming, and have a backup plan to quickly put into action if any issues arise. “Live streaming is not a fad.” – Event Manager Blog Live streaming boosts social interaction It’s your responsibility to make sure your virtual audiences feel connected and acknowledged during your live stream. Our Event Feed platform offers a comprehensive solution to help event planners monitor and moderate social media activity while engaging their viewers. Enable a chat option to address questions from viewers during Q and A sessions, or use Event Poll. Event Poll is Staging Connections' live audience polling platform that lets you connect in real time to form a better understanding of online viewers through your questions and their responses. Live streaming is more profitable with ads and sponsorship opportunities Your viewers want to trust your brand. Monetising your content through ads can further build your credibility if you show advertisements that will be valuable to your market. Promote short, engaging ads on behalf of products and services you believe can truly benefit others. With options for pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll advertisements, flexible choices are available to suit your preferences. Here at Staging Connections, we’ve done our research, and here’s some information we want you to know: Pre-roll and post-roll ads are known to be most effective. Viewers complete pre-roll adverts 78% of the time, but mid-roll advertisements have a completion rate of 90%. By avoiding live streaming, you're losing out on brand amplification When you don’t use live streaming, you lose the ability to extract genuine pieces of footage and repurpose it for social media marketing. Your live broadcast also serves as an outlet for strategic networking to align your brands with influencers by promoting their involvement with your event. Here is a quick tip: Always add social media tags. Beforehand, do keyword research to discover the terms your target audience searches and uses most frequently. The more you know about your viewer’s interests, the more relevant your content will be over time. Content that offers solutions lives on. Wrapping your event doesn’t mean your live stream is no longer valuable. Research has shown that 78% of people online are watching videos, and 75% of executives are watching videos related to their business every week. We're here to help you go live - live streaming experts you can trust At Encore (formerly Staging Connections), we know that live streaming video can change the way brands engage with audiences. Whether you’re looking to show behind the scenes footage or host competitions, we offer event streaming and recording services to bring all of your live streaming ideas to life with quality and professionalism. Get in touch today to find out more about our event streaming services and plan your event with a live stream that will impress audiences and maximise social engagement. -- Photo Credit: Valoso ... Read More

It’s been a very busy quarter for Staging Connections right across the business. From delivering the AFL’s week long Best & Fairest and Grand Final Week celebrations to helping EB Games celebrate 20 years, our teams have work tirelessly to produce innovative event experiences. We've seen the successful launch of our fun new product, SpeakUp, as well as renewed and welcomed new venue partners including Mercure Sydney, Cordis Auckland and Pullman Brisbane King George Square, with more in the pipeline. Here is a snapshot of our latest work for your dose of event inspiration. See how we used projection mapping at a gala in Canberra; constructed an evolving stage set that grew throughout a Sydney conference; and transformed Melbourne's iconic MCG from conference to gala and so much more! It’s been a very busy quarter for Staging Connections right across the business. From delivering the AFL’s week long Best & Fairest and Grand Final Week celebrations to helping EB Games celebrate 20 years, our teams have work tirelessly to produce innovative event experiences. Our new SpeakUp throwable microphone has made huge waves in the industry for a fun little product as PCOs and event professionals look for simple ways to shake up the usual event formalities. Our specialised incentives team are finally relaxing after producing a mammoth sales incentive for JoyMain. The event welcomed over 1100 mainland Chinese, culminating with a dazzling gala dinner at Sydney Town Hall with special performances by the cast of MAMMA MIA! the musical, which was playing at the time. Up in the centre of Australia, our Alice Springs team did a stella job for this year’s Alice Stampede – the business event marketing initiative showcasing Alice Springs and the surrounding venues as an ideal choice for your business events. Across the ditch our team in New Zealand welcomed the launch of our new venue partner Cordis Auckland, formerly known as The Langham, Auckland. The launch showcased the new, contemporary facilities and state-of-the-art event spaces making it one of Auckland’s leading venues. Following on from Cordis Auckland, we’re proud to announce we’ve been chosen as the in-house event services provider to Mercure Sydney and renewed our partnership with Pullman Brisbane King George Square Hotel. Watch this space because we’ll have more exciting venue partners to announce in the near future. If you are interested in finding out more about our services in these venues please contact me. Below you’ll see a snapshot of some the amazing work our teams produce to help inspire your next events! If you have any questions about the events or our solution please get in touch with me. VICTORIA AVCAL alpha conference® Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground was the venue of choice to host this year’s AVCAL alpha conference®. As the in-house AV and event services provider, Staging Connections delivered the 24th annual conference and gala dinner for the private equity and venture capital industry’s biggest networking event of the year. Over 400 delegates enjoyed the two-day conference enjoying various plenaries, break-out sessions, a tour of the MCG, leader’s forum, cocktail function and more, culminating in the esteemed 24th Annual AVCAL Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner. The Australian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association Limited (AVCAL) developed this year’s conference theme ADAPT. CREATE. INSPIRE. to reflect the industry’s evolving ways of working; the value created in building better businesses; and the partnerships and stories which will strengthen and inspire the future. AVCAL’s Nilanga Kotigala expressed his thrill at another wonderful event, “The alpha conference® 2017 was a real success and we would like to pass on our sincere thanks to our AV Partners, Staging Connections for the fantastic support provided”. See Event Gallery NEW SOUTH WALES Strategies Conference 2017 Venue: Carriageworks This year we helped the PortfolioConstruction Forum stage one of Australia’s most reputable investment conferences at Sydney’s Carriageworks with over 700 finance professionals attending. This year’s event program was jam-packed over two-days, featuring more than 25 intensive, interactive breakout sessions from more than 35 local and international portfolio experts, as well as a special cocktail function to celebrate the 15-year anniversary of the PortfolioConstruction Forum. The conference theme ‘It all adds up!’ – was a clever play on the concept of investment strategies working together to contribute to better-quality investment portfolios, as well as the Forum’s 15 years of programs adding up to more competent investment practitioners. Our Staging Connections team seized the opportunity to carry this clever conference theme throughout all event production elements including the audio visual, stage set, design and styling of the event. This included an evolving stage design made from hexagonal panels and exposed scaffolding for an industrial effect. Constructing a ‘burgeoning’ set to begin the forum, as the program on Day One unfolded, more and more panels were added to the set design to reinforce the conference’s theme - “It all adds up”. The cocktail event space was fully designed by Staging Connections, featuring stunning laser light displays and custom styling pieces, linking the brand logo and conference theme. A 15-piece big band performed, making full use of the incredible acoustics and grand sense of space at the Carriageworks venue. See Event Gallery VICTORIA AFL Best & Fairest Week 2017 Venue: Palladium, Crown Melbourne Celebrations continued long after the siren sounded at the AFL Grand Final, with the annual Best & Fairest Week – where AFL clubs gathered alongside sponsors, associates and fans to recognise their stars of the season. The Palladium was the venue of choice for many teams for their festivities, with Staging Connections the partnered AV provider. This year the Palladium hosted Geelong FC, Western Bulldogs, Collingwood FC, Richmond FC and more, to present their annual awards and celebrate another season’s achievements. Crown Melbourne required a flexible lighting and AV package that could be easily customised to suit each of the different client’s requirements throughout the eight days of celebrations. Taking pride of place in the centre of the ballroom this year, the Staging Connections team featured an impressive new element – a 7m diameter curved LED screen suspended from the ceiling. A large LED wall set the backdrop for the main stage, in front of which the team set two wide screens with additional display screens relayed around the room. The dazzling effect allowed each client to showcase multimedia, video, presentations and corporate branding from every angle in the room. Adding depth and texture to the visual landscape, Staging Connections featured Harlequin 3D Scenic Panels frame the stage and added 2D Ribbon Scenic Panels to create small ‘wings’ on stage. For each Best & Fairest Week event, Staging Connections offered a custom multimedia look to work with all of the screens in the Palladium and create an effective animated visual as guests arrived at the event. Angie Becker, Director of Sales for Crown Hotels and Crown Events & Conferences, commented on the high level of expertise that Staging Connections continues to raise. “The AV and lighting package that Staging Connections offers is always amazing value for our clients, without ever compromising on delivering the latest and greatest in the industry. Our clients continue to be impressed and as a result book with us year-on-year, said Ms Becker. See Event Gallery VICTORIA AFL Grand Final Week Venue: Palladium, Crown Melbourne AFL Grand Final Week is the pinnacle of the football fans’ calendar. This year the Palladium hosted six events, including the exclusive Carbine Club luncheon, the Crown Grand Final Breakfast and the 2017 AFL Toyota Grand Final Eve Lunch. Staging Connections developed an AV and lighting package specifically for the Palladium ballroom, which could be customised for each client booking during the week whether it was a charity luncheon, club breakfast, or gala dinner. A number of the events held throughout the week are for charity, so value was important, as was a strong focus on the main stage with a large visual element crucial to the AV solution provided. The centrepiece was the 15m x 4m LED wall at the back of the stage, with a 16:9 projector screen on either side, creating a visually immersive experience for every guest around the room to enjoy. The industry-leading technology could be tailored to display logos and branding or to engage the audience with dynamic, blank canvas, enabling each client to add their own personal styling and multimedia touches with brand colours and décor. Angie Becker, Director of Sales for Crown Hotels and Crown Events & Conferences, commented on the value of the long-term relationship with Staging Connections and the ensuing benefits to their clients. “Our partnership with Staging Connections is valuable – our clients continue to return to Crown assured that all elements of their event will be taken care of to the highest standards. The Staging team continue to make every year bigger and better than the last,” said Ms Becker. See Event Gallery AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY Canberra Business Chamber Gala Venue: National Convention Centre Canberra Guests were treated to a dazzling ‘theatrically-themed’ evening at this year’s Canberra Business Chamber (CBC) annual Gala Dinner. Held at the National Convention Centre, Staging Connections was tasked with delivering the extravaganza for the ninth year running. The guests were immersed in a captivating setting using animated projection mapping, lighting effects and elegant styling amongst other design elements. Adding to the visual delights, guests were also entertained with an exquisite performance by the Woden Youth choir and an acrobatic aerialist, who dazzled on silk elevated above the main stage, surrounded by 18 white lycra columns. Staging Connections designed the audio-visual and styling elements using a mix of screens, projectors, a CBC-branded gobo light, spotlighting, and projection mapping. As the evening progressed, the Staging Connections team continued to inject life and atmosphere into the room by tailoring the animated projections and lighting during the evening’s performances and presentations. The décor dramatically reflected the CBC’s colours of red, white and black, with an 18m red carpet through the main foyer leading into the venue. VIPs were treated to exclusive pre-event cocktails in the Executive Room, decorated with additional hints of gold. Karen Shaw, Events Coordinator for CBC, commented later, “The dinner was amazing, I want to give a big thank you to your wonderful team. As usual nothing was too much trouble.” See Event Gallery SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND EB Games Conference and 20th Anniversary Gala Venue: Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre After a seven-year partnership, Staging Connections were the principal choice to manage the production of EB Games’ annual Conference in October 2017. EB Games’ staff from across Australia gathered to celebrate 20 Years of EB Games. Held over five days, the conference concluded with the much-anticipated EB Expo over the weekend – a sold-out public event featuring big-name tech brands, product launches, live demos and cosplay. The October Conference was made up of several social and business events, including the annual Gala Dinner and a glamorous 20 Year Rock Party. This year the Gala Dinner saw 800 guests welcomed with a high impact 20 Years of Music Video, accompanied by choreographed real and holographic dancers. CO2 jet blasts, flame projectors and timed pyrotechnics set the night off to an impressive start. The evening featured a poignant presentation with 20 speakers each chronicling one year of the EB Games history, accompanied by a highlights reel utilising holo-gauze technology to envelope the speakers. This was followed by a surprise for everyone in the room: EB Games’ Conference and Special Events Manager, Trent Weekes, organised 60kg of confetti and pyrotechnics to explode from the roof as 4 custom-made stillages wondrously descended on the crowd, revealing 800 exclusive, official EB Games Monopoly sets as a 20-year gift for each employee. See Event Gallery WESTERN AUSTRALIA ACTON Real Estate Awards Venue: Crown Perth The prestigious awards evening for ACTON Real Estate brought together 500 employees, sponsors and partners to celebrate the year’s achievements and recognise ACTON’s brightest stars. Staging Connections delivered an impressive ‘art deco’ styled evening; complete with red carpet, diamond-shaped dance floor and glamorous crystal centrepieces. The Staging Connections team configured a completely new set design for this year’s awards night - opting for a single multi-purpose stage flanked by two large dual-projection, wide screens and Scenic Panels dramatically used to pull the set together and complement the art deco style. Combining the presentation and entertainment stages into the one set added a sense of intimacy to the space, and heightened dramatic impact. The client was thoroughly impressed with the boundary-pushing solution the Staging Connections team delivered, and after an 8-year relationship, continued to be delighted. Travis Coleman, ACTON Real Estate CEO, said, “This year’s awards were another example of the high quality of execution by Staging Connections. Every element of the evening was seamless, on-brand and so impressive – all of our offices look forward to coming together every year to celebrate our achievements and enjoy a spectacular evening out.” See Event Gallery SOUTH AUSTRALIA Siemens Group Venue: Adelaide Oval Siemens recently held its annual Oktoberfest for 2017 at the esteemed Cathedral Room at the Adelaide Oval. Over 200 employees and guests of the company attended the event for some pretzels and beer as a marked celebration for the German conglomerate. For the fourth consecutive year, Staging Connections were the chosen styling and AV provider for the event, giving the space a distinct festive feel. To add to the European festival vibe, the team designed an outdoor beer garden with bunting, cocktail seating, topiaries and barrels, and incorporated the client’s stunning themed backdrops suspended around the venue. A local band took to the main stage to entertain guests in between speeches and presentations, adding to the German-esque atmosphere. Lighting and AV, including Fresnel LEDs and LED honeycombs were kept on-theme to complement the client’s colours of blue and white and their sound requirements. Jodie Andrews, The Incentive Lab, was incredibly pleased with the end result, “The client was especially impressed with Staging Connections’ solutions, particularly with a difficult space, and praised the can-do attitude of the team in helping to deliver another successful event.” See Event Gallery AUCKLAND Cordis Auckland Hotel Launch Venue: Cordis Auckland Located in uptown Auckland, the elegant Langham Hotel recently underwent an extensive transformation and is now known as the impeccably modern Cordis, Auckland. Cordis recently unveiled its stylish new image to over 500 of their top clients, as well as decision makers and media influencers, with a lavish launch party held at the Hotel. The latest refurbishment of 411 rooms and restaurant are distinctly different, representing a contemporary, ‘uptown’ feel that reflects the location amongst the city’s fashionable boutiques, galleries and museums. As venue partner to the new Cordis, Auckland, Staging Connections managed all the audio-visual elements and lighting design, with some staff flying in from Australia specifically for the event. The party began with an official opening ceremony and ribbon-cutting in the Hotel’s grand main entrance led by a local Maori representative. In the main ballroom, the proceedings continued with a Maori Powhiri and a rousing Maori Haka to welcome all to the new space. A cocktail-style décor, taking cues from Cordis’ contemporary branding, enveloped the room along with ample food stations and a show-stopping donut chandelier – a huge hit with guests! The Staging team brought the client’s vision to life using several screens and projectors for the multimedia, as well as an extensive lighting presentation. Audio was designed to highlight the specific stage performances including a welcoming Haka, speeches, 6-piece band, and a DJ. The entertainment had everyone breaking in the new ballroom floor with guests dancing well into the night. Michael Shah, Director of Sales and Marketing, at Cordis, Auckland later told the Staging Connections team, “There wasn’t anything I would have changed. The whole event was seamless. Before the event had even finished I was receiving messages from guests telling me what a superb event it was.” See Event Gallery {module_webapps id="19827" filter="classified" itemId="111352"} ... Read More

Our most versatile styling solution has just landed! General Marketing Manager, Adele Symonds, discusses why everyone is talking about Scenic Panels and how they are making an impact for events of all shapes and sizes. How to add that something special to your next event by Adele Symonds, General Marketing Manager - Encore Event Technologies -- People often ask me: what makes a great event? Is it the topic, the speaker, or could it be the stage setting that can really make an event shine? So far in 2017, we have seen some really fantastic examples of event design and uses of event technology, from projection mapping to elaborate stage sets and clever use of lighting. Event planning has become equally focused on how well you can put on a show in order to really exceed your guests expectations. Encore is constantly striving to make events not only fresh and exciting, all the while keeping the brief and budgets in mind. Our discovery team ‘PluggedIn’ are always looking for new products and technology and recently turned their focus to discover what clients want from their event styling. They found there was high demand for a versatile product which has the ability to transform any space, suit any theme and most appealing of all that can be delivered at a fraction of the cost of some of the advanced technologies used for big budget clients. Listening closely to our client’s needs, we developed a new product range of laser cut Scenic Panels which would add a touch of finesse and style to any event. The demand for a versatile product was delivered by the almost infinite number of ways and formations the panels can be used. Scenic Panels provide the perfect room divider and can help you go from conference to gala dinner. Available in 2D and 3D the intricate laser cut panels in a range of on-trend designs, are a flexible, affordable way to add a special touch to your event. Combine with up-lighting, washes and colourful displays to bring movement and ‘wow’ factor to any venue. Scenic Panels can be used to replace traditional draping in decorating venue walls. Want to hide that stage fascia, wall, or add an elegant textual feature? No problem, these specialised panels are the perfect solution. Want to create a memorable entrance feature, networking area, or distinct focal point for your event? They can do that. Scenic Panels used to create a simple yet elegant stage backdrop for an intimate VIP event. Need an architectural element for theatrical lighting to impress and delight your audience? Scenic panels are perfect. You can event create dramatic ceiling sculptures which when lit create a truly dramatic look. Scenic Panels can even be rigged to the roof to create spectacular ceiling installations. Scenic Panels are now available in every Encore base location, as well as all venues where we are in-house across Australia and New Zealand. Head to our product page to find out more about Scenic Panels today. Love to find out more about how Scenic Panels could be used for your event? Simply send us an enquiry or give us a call on 1800 209 099 ... Read More