Q & A
Q & A
In the spotlight
CIM spoke with Ian Steigrad , managing director of the Australian Event Awards , about the need for the event industry to recognise the wealth of talent it harbours .
Q : What prompted you to found the Australian Event Awards ?
A : Over my years in the events industry I ’ d been constantly impressed with the quality of work produced , while feeling a lot of that work was unrecognised and certainly that the value of the industry as a whole was under-recognised . Partly , that is because the industry itself was sliced into many different ’ silos ’. You can see it with the associations in the mix – you ’ ve got MEA , EEAA , PCOA and the like – which are all valuable because they cater to the niche issues of being specialised in those areas – but we needed something to unite all those parts and recognise the achievements overall .
In any case , I can ’ t take credit for The Event Awards alone . The Awards grew out of a number of people supporting the same idea . It couldn ’ t have gotten off the ground without legends of the industry like Sandy Hollway and Johnny Allen , the first two co-chairs of the Awards ’ Judging Panel , as well a host of luminaries that jumped on board at the outset to make it happen . Happily , most of those are still working on the Awards today .
This year , we ’ ll have over 35 industry experts who will assess hundreds of entries . Of course , the ceremony itself is put together through collaboration with industry suppliers .
Without this industry support , the Awards simply wouldn ’ t happen . We always envisioned that the Event Awards would be an event celebrating the industry , put on by the industry . I ’ m just the lucky guy who gets to oversee it .
Q : The Event Symposium has also seen a resurgence last year – what ’ s going on there ?
A : In 2015 , the theme didn ’ t resonate with enough people . In 2016 , we refocused on content which would benefit the heartland of Event Awards entrants . We balanced
Ian Steigrad ( left ) and 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award winner Peter Jones .
skills sessions with inspirational speakers like Ignatius Jones from Vivid Sydney and worldwide event producer Julie Brooks , and suddenly we had a success on our hands .
The theme this year is Events , Technology and art of the unexpected – it ’ ll address core elements of planning and executing great events , whether they ’ re business events , public events or special events and it ’ ll explore how events can incorporate technology and the unexpected to leave a lasting impact on attendees . There will also be sessions for the tourism industry looking to support events in their areas .
Q : Tell us about the move to the Sunshine Coast .
A : The move has broken new ground for us . Prior to 2016 , we ’ d never held the event outside of Sydney , primarily because Sydney based bids had always been the most competitive . But when we did the latest Search for a Home , interestingly enough , the top two contenders were both regional locations and neither were in New South Wales . In the end , despite fierce competition , the Sunshine Coast bid , which was a collaboration between Visit Sunshine Coast and the Sunshine Coast Council , won and it ’ s been great .
We ’ ve encountered an incredibly enthusiastic destination host , who have worked with us on every part of the Event Awards and Symposium experience . It ’ s been very much mutually beneficial – in 2016 , we brought over 200 people from interstate to the Awards and Symposium and an additional 175 from Queensland we estimate that over 180 events were represented by those in attendance . Visit Sunshine Coast estimates that the region will enjoy up to a $ 1.2 million benefit from hosting the Awards .
Q : What ’ s next for the Awards ?
A : For the first time , we ’ re holding the awards in a theatre this year , so we ’ ll be able to do some things we ’ ve never done before , and explore the ‘ art of the unexpected ’ a little more .
We ’ ll also be starting the Search for a Home for 2019-2021 before this year is out , so keep an ear out for that !
And next year is our first major anniversary – 2018 will be the 10 th Australian Event Awards so it ’ ll be ‘ go big or go home ’ – and we have absolutely no intention of going home ! Watch this space …
32 Convention & Incentive Marketing , Issue 1 , 2017 www . cimmagazine . com