HKECIA Conference 6 June 2019

13 3 月 2019

We are delighted to inform you that the HKECIA Conference and the 29^th Annual Dinner will be held on Thursday, 6 June 2019 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre in Wanchai.

The tentative schedule on 6 June 2019 is as follows:
15:00 – 15:30 Annual General Meeting (Full Members Only)
15:45 – 18:00 HKECIA Conference
18:00 – 19:00 Cocktail Reception
19:00 – 21:30 Annual Dinner

<<CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW>>
* Conference tickets are sold out.

HKECIA Conference 2019

Earlier this year the HKECIA Education Subcommittee surveyed the members on what they felt the most pressing issues facing the exhibition and events industry in Hong Kong. It was interesting, but perhaps not surprising, to see that among the issues considered most important to the members were 1.) The increasing importance of technology in creating smart events and 2.) (not unrelated) The ‘Festivalisation of events’, meaning the changes required to create lively and engaging attendee experiences so that visiting a trade exhibition or convention becomes not only a necessity but also an enjoyable experience that is looked forward to and recommended to peers.

The 2019 HKECIA Conference then will take these important issues and bring insight into the latest trends and technology being employed to create better, smarter and more engaging event experiences. In a packed afternoon attendees will hear presentations and panel discussions from 7 leading industry experts including representatives from UFI and IAEE the two largest global industry associations. The takeaways from this afternoon of learning will help all members to understand the latest trends and explore ideas to improve their own event experiences for visitors and exhibitors coming to Hong Kong.

Conference speakers, panelists and moderators:

Mr. Ian Chan, Senior Director, Business Development, International Business Group, Tencent
Mr. Justin Choy, Managing Director and Lead Design Engineer, Creative Technology Hong Kong
Ms. Michelle Cao, Founder and CEO, VPhoto
Mr. Gu Xuebin, Chairman, IAEE Asia Council; Managing Partner, SINOPlus Advisory; Founder & CEO, WeMeet
Ms. Sarah Williamson, Vice President & Creative Director, Jack Morton
Mr. Gregory Crandall, Director of Brand Engagement, Pico+ Hong Kong
Mr. Mark Cochrane, UFI Regional Manager, Asia Pacific

<<Click here to view the biography of speakers, panelists & moderator>>

* The conference will take place in English, simultaneous interpreration is not provided.

Conference Programme

15:45	How AI Technology Improves Conference Efficiency and User Engagement? *Mr. Ian Chan, Senior Director, Business Development, International Business Group of Tencent*Artificial intelligence is not as complicated as it sounds like, it can be widely applied across different areas in our daily lives. To understand what an AI-driven future will look like in the context of conference management, this session will highlight some key AI capabilities and their benefits, and how it improves user experience and conference efficiency.
16:00	Immersive Displays in Experiential Marketing *Mr. Justin Choy, Managing Director and Lead Design Engineer, Creative Technology Hong Kong* A wise man called Bill Gates once coined the phrase “Content is King” back in 1996. And he was mostly right. Content captivates audiences and enables marketers to send messages to their audiences unlike ever before. But today when every teenager with a cell phone and a social media account can make an infomercial to sell a product, how can a traditional marketer make even greater content to become the king? In this talk we will explore a new form of marketing where we influence the influencers using immersive experiences and larger than life displays.
16:15	How Instant We-Chat/Instagram-able Photos Help Live Events Go Viral? *Ms. Michelle Cao, Founder and CEO, Vphoto*We live in a very visual world, the 21st century is the first time in history where every person with a smart phone (which is everyone) has a voice and through social media they have the power to be heard. We also know that a post which is accompanied by a great photograph will get ten times the response than one without. VPhoto’s success is based on the fact that the platform allows the best professional photographs to be edited and uploaded to a platform where they can be “grabbed” and scared in almost real-time. In this session Michelle Cao will explain the power of having attendee’s doing the job of your marketing department in drawing more attention to your events.
16:30	Panel Discussion 1 – Technology and Smart Events *Moderator:* *Mr. Gu Xuebin, Chairman, IAEE Asia Council;* *Managing Partner, SINOPlus; Advisory* *Founder & CEO, WeMeet* *Panellists:* *Mr. Ian Chan, Senior Director, Business Development, International Business Group of Tencent* *Mr. Justin Choy, Managing Director and Lead Design Engineer, Creative Technology Hong Kong* *Ms. Michelle Cao, Founder and CEO, Vphoto*
17:00	Festivalization of Events: The Power of Extraordinary Experiences *Ms. Sarah Williams*on, Vice President & Creative Director, Jack Morton The events landscape has changed dramatically in the last few years. There is increasing interest in the “festivalization” approach to events where attendees are no longer passive bystanders, but active participants in the experience. And this engagement can be further strengthened by reaching beyond the one-off event and creating a journey of experiences which can create an emotional and personalized connection. Jack Morton’s VP, Creative Director, Sarah Williamson, will share insights on creating an experience journey through practical examples from the region and four key criteria essential to building extraordinary experiences.
17:20	Using Festivalisation to Reach Millenials *Mr. Gregory Crandall, Director of Brand Engagement, Pico+ Hong Kong* Exploring why brands are engaging and partnering with festivals, how the process works and best practices. This session looks at how brands like HP and Intel are using festivals like Coachella and SXSW to build deeper relationships with millennials by creating brand engagement experiences.
17:40	Panel Discussion 2 – Engaging Attendees’ Experience *Moderator:* *Mr. Mark Cochrane, UFI Regional Manager, Asia Pacific* *Panellists:* *Ms. Sarah Williams*on, Vice President & Creative Director, Jack Morton Mr. Gregory Crandall, Director of Brand Engagement, Pico+ Hong Kong
18:00	Conference ends