ALICE SPRINGS
Right: A new group of
converts celebrate the Alice
Stampede famil. Below: Sunrise
ballooning over the outback.
An unconventional approach
Adam Ford takes a trip to Alice Springs, to find out firsthand how this unconventional city can inspire
meeting planners and delegates to think outside the box.
What does it take for business event
planners to think outside the box and
deliver something that truly inspires, and
even fundamentally changes delegates?
Well, it certainly takes guts. And a strong
belief that conventional thinking can be
challenged; and that conference outcomes
can be dramatically improved. And it also
takes a destination that motivates change.
Welcome to amazing Alice Springs.
There’s no doubt Alice Springs will
appeal to planners in search of something
different. This is a town that does things
very differently. It has to, given its remote
location, and that unique way of working
is reflected in every aspect of the city’s
business event offering. Here, the normal
rules don’t apply and the rewards can be
immense, as 20 event planners from around
the country recently experienced first-hand
during the Northern Territory Convention
Bureau’s Alice Stampede for 2016 – a four-
day showcase of event infrastructure.
“Holding a business event in Alice Springs
is really all about finding out what’s beyond
four walls for your organisation,” says
Nicole Jervis, manager – marketing and
communications at the Northern Territory
Convention Bureau (NTCB). “It’s about
taking delegates away from the everyday and
inspiring them to think and work differently.”
Selling that message to an organisation
isn’t always easy or straightforward. At the
Stampede networking event we hear from
Savio D’sa, marketing and events manager
at Audiology Australia, which held its annual
conference in Alice Springs in 2015. In that
instance, the destination selection process
took more than a year of close collaboration
with the NTCB.
“We will work with planners every step of
the way,” says Jervis. “The NTCB is there
to connect you into Alice Springs. We offer
information and advice, contacts, assistance
22 Convention & Incentive Marketing, Issue 8, 2016 www.cimmagazine.com
with site inspections and feasibility studies,
and a wealth of marketing support.”
From the moment we land in Alice Springs
it’s pretty clear we are indeed in for
something special. The welcome is heartfelt,
nothing is too much trouble and the message
from our hosts is very much one of an
industry, in fact a whole community, willing
to pull together to make each and every
event a resounding success.
“It’s also about immersion,” says Jervis.
“Alice is a compact place and what’s
unique here is that event planners have the
opportunity to literally take over the town.
You’ll be amazed at what’s possible. From
our extensive conferencing infrastructure
and hotel inventory to the range of
Indigenous experiences and corporate social
responsibility (CSR) programs and workshops
that can be layered into your conference
and partner programs, there is nowhere in
Australia quite like it.”