The winners of the EIBTM Stand Awards were presented yesterday on the second day of EIBTM (www.eibtm.com).
As a new feature to the show this year, the EIBTM Stand Awards were created to recognise and acknowledge the brightest, busiest and best stands at this year’s show. There were eight categories overall, scored by independent judges who visited the stands before selecting the best in each category. One award was voted by Hosted Buyers during their first day at the show.
Category – Winner
1) Best Stand Design Overall – Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau
2) Best Stand Design – Shell Scheme Jungfrau Region Marketing
3) Best Stand for Doing Business Holland – Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions
4) Best Stand Personnel – Estonian Tourist Board
5) Best stand Feature/Attraction – Abu Dhabi National Tourism Authority
6) Most Innovative Stand within the Technology and Event Services Village – Getyoo
7) Sustainability – Convention and Visitors Bureau of the Republic of San Marino
8) Hosted Buyer Voted Best Stand – Korea Tourism Organisation
Chair of Judges Rob Allen, Chief Executive of experimental marketing and events agency TRO, awarded the Best Stand Design Overall category to Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau for its “combination of clear-cut practical factors and attractive, emotional notes”. Allen said; “the stand stood out predominantly through its clear, high level branding and strong reference to the Petronas Towers”.
The Shell Scheme Design category was awarded to Jungfrau Region Marketing, which brought a “slice of the Alps to the hall through a clever use of graphics, props and costume to create a log cabin effect”, commented Allen.
Holland – Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions was presented the Best Stand for Doing Business, due to its layout which enabled large numbers of visitors to attend in a relaxed and casual manner. Allen said; “visitors were attracted to the space by a clever, informative front of stand act, supported by welcoming stand staff.”
The Best Stand Personnel category was awarded to staff on the Estonian Tourist Board stand, who “demonstrated the highest levels of enthusiasm, product knowledge and attentiveness to questioning”. The judges said they witnessed the highly professional staff undertaking formal presentations, one-on-one meetings and front of stand engagement with passing delegates.
Abu Dhabi National Tourism Authority was awarded the Best Stand Feature/Attraction title for its “simple but highly effective photo opportunity”, which included staff dressed in traditional Arab robes who encouraged visitors to pose against a ´Liwa´ desert backdrop for a personalised photograph.
The award for the Most Innovative Stand within the Technology and Event Services Village was awarded to Getyoo. According to Allen, the range of products and services on display were explained swiftly and powerfully to visitors, using their support display.
Convention and Visitors Bureau of the Republic of San Marino won the Sustainability category, and the Hosted Buyer vote for the Best Stand category was awarded to Korea Tourism Organisation.
EIBTM’s Exhibition Director Graeme Barnett, who presented the awards to the eight exhibitors, said: “These Awards were set up in recognition of the importance that stands and stand personnel play in the success of achieving their return on investment at EIBTM. The winners of all eight categories certainly deserve this recognition for their creative design, business planning and marketing efforts.”
