Exhibitions CLARION GAMING
AN EVERLASTING ICE AGE
G3 interviews Clarion Gaming’s Kate Chambers about the past, present and future of the Totally ICE gaming show
This year we saw greater integration of the stands at ICE, with interactive companies cheek by jowl with land-based. Is this continuing into 2015 and what was the reaction from exhibitors and visitors to this blurring of the lines of demarcation?
One of the key themes impacting the industry in general has been convergence and ICE simply reflects that in the same way that it reflects all aspects of the business. I would agree that some of the sectors represented at ICE probably need a sharper focus, notably the betting sector. The team looks at each sector individually, establishes what the exhibitors need to achieve from their time at ICE and then works with them in order to deliver their objectives. Floor plans are always going to be a bone of contention in an event the physical size of ICE, but overall I believe our visitors and exhibitors are happy with the way we manage it as it gives them the freedom they want to express themselves.
Gaming trade shows tread a fine line when they integrate conferences into their schedule, as they draw foot traffic from the exhibition floor, much to the annoyance of exhibitors. Where does ICE stand as regards to conference integration and how do you value their importance?
The ICE Conference programme has grown and developed into one of the most influential platforms for the international gaming industry in all of its guises. Gaming professionals from both sides of the metaphorical fence – that is business and regulators – come to ICE to learn and to engage. Rather than taking people off the show floor our research has demonstrated that a robust conference programme actually brings in a new audience, which adds to the numbers attending the exhibition. Organisations which are prepared to send senior team members many thousands of miles across the globe are also keen to have their staff exposed to new thinking and to make new contacts at our Conferences. Those countries that are in the process of regulating gaming often start
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Kate Chambers Portfolio Director, Clarion Gaming
“We apply our resource into giving the event a distinct identity with new creative themes developed each year. ICE has moved from being a product to a brand and as the custodian of the brand I feel a responsibility to deliver on behalf of our 500+ exhibitors and the 23,506 visitors who in 2014 made the journey to London from an amazing 156 nations.”
the research process in London by attending ICE Conferences where they meet with other regulators, attend the appropriate sessions to immerse themselves in current thinking and then see gaming in its full glory on the ICE show floor. It's a great opportunity and we can trace the attendance of countries for whom an important part of the deregulation process began at ICE Conferences in London.
How do you keep the proposition fresh and appealing?
That is the challenge which keeps me and the team awake at night! How do we keep this huge blockbuster of an event relevant, topical and exciting? To be honest a lot of that success is down to the exhibiting companies which invest their time, their energy and their creative resource into making ICE their headline event of the year. Product is key and as we have discussed on numerous occasions the number of world launches that take place at ICE is pivotal to
keeping it fresh and appealing. In addition to that, we apply our resource into giving the event a distinct identity with new creative themes developed each year. ICE has moved from being a product to a brand and as the custodian of the brand I feel a responsibility to deliver on behalf of our 500+ exhibitors and the 23,506 visitors who in 2014 made the journey to London from an amazing 156 nations.
How do you determine success and what does it look like?
This is quite a complex issue – do you take a quantative or a qualitative view? On the surface, numbers are important, after all it's the way in which most journalists will judge us in February and it's a headline, a tweet, a passing comment and a verdict. In two decades working in events, I know how inadequate those figures are. Head counts can't differentiate between people who might be getting on the train from Stratford in their lunch hour from senior buyers who have
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