Over 900 Event Professionals Converge at WOW Awards & Convention Asia 2015
by EVENTFAQS Bureau Business Events | June 29, 2015 | News
WOW Awards Asia WOW Convention Asia
The WOW Convention Asia 2015 followed by the WOW Awards Asia 2015 culminated on June 25 at JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity.
The Convention featured 18 sessions in three formats across four venues involving 65 speakers from 12 countries across 4 continents and extensively covering aspects of Experiential Marketing, MICE, Entertainment, Weddings & Social Events industry.
The evening before the Convention saw the WOW Welcome reception take place at Hard Rock Café, CyberHub, Gurgaon. This was a networking evening, the highlight of which was the announcement of shortlisted entries using a new format. All shortlisted entries were announced on Twitter via the official handle @WowAwardsAsia. Entrants and participants of the WOW Awards and Convention Asia could access and post updates on their experiences at the event using hashtags #WOWAwardsAsia and #WOWConventionAsia. Much excitement followed the announcement, even as 269 companies with a total of 1088 entries had been waiting expectantly for this moment.
The WOW Convention Asia 2015 that took place at JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity saw 464 delegates register to attend key note presentations, knowledge exchange sessions and workshops. The Convention began with an opening address by Sabbas Joseph, Director, Wizcraft International who focussed on opportunities for the Asian industry in India and for the world in Asia and India. Talking about the growing global focus of agencies and about the WOW Awards and Convention, he said, “WOW gives professionals in the industry a chance to connect, build partnerships and learn. We all want to wow our clients and WOW offers us a platform to learn what others in the industry are doing. As far as the events industry in Asia is concerned, India is where the action is, despite infrastructural challenges. The world is a stage for the Indian event industry and India is clearly the gateway to Asia.”
Joseph was followed by Dr. Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, who talked briefly about the direction India is taking with regard to creating an environment conducive to further growth. He said, “With the events and MICE industry, there is a lot of growth. But there is also a lot more potential. The ministry has looked at some of these figures and the success the industry has seen and is introducing a new framework to attract further growth, especially from the MICE segment. There is definitely a new focus on international business, both in terms of getting events here and doing events abroad. Hanover has provided ample proof of what we can do. The government is set to provide support to service providers to bring top international events to India.”
Interesting insights emerged over the course of the day, even as speakers and panellists shared their experiences, discussed trends and speculated about future growth and the direction this would take the industry. In addition to these sessions, the unique WOW Market Entry Platform® allowed for enriching exchanges between industry professionals, making the event especially advantageous for professionals and businesses looking to engage other businesses and explore prospects for future collaboration.
The convention also featured a unique exhibition via the WOW Experience Zone which saw 11 exhibitors.
Later that evening, awards in 57 categories across 4 segments were announced at the WOW Awards Asia, which saw over 650 industry professionals celebrating the best of the year gone by. A total of 179 winning entries from 83 entrants were announced and trophies presented.
The event will soon be telecated on India's leading business channel, Bloomberg TV and followed by release on YouTube.
Watch this space for more detailed coverage of the convention and awards.
The highly successful inaugural edition firmly establishes the event as the definitive business platform for the Asian event industry.