Exhibitors give two thumbs up for ICE, 'a must-attend event'

The Bright Group's Raif Oymen is preparing for a nearly 23 hour flight across 11 time zones to attend ICE while Racing Post's Jim Cremin simply has to navigate the 11 minute underground and Docklands Light Rail trip from Racing Post's Canary Wharf headquarters, which involves just one change at Canning Town. So what do these two ICE's  exhibitors, one who wins the title for closest to home while the other gets the nod for traveling the furthest,  expect to gain from their three days at ICE 2015?

“The Bright Group has visited the ICE gaming show previously, but this is the first time for us to exhibit. We are currently looking to expand outside the Australasian and North American regions, where we are already well-established, and the London ICE show is a big part of that strategy. ICE is a really good opportunity to find out where the market is moving and it will provide us the opportunity to display our latest products and technologies while sending the right signal that TBG is ready for and serious about the European market. We will be celebrating 20 years in the gaming industry next year and have a lot of contacts that we are looking forward to catching up with, which requires our physical presence.

Like most exhibitors, we spend quite some time on show booth preparations. Luckily, The Bright Group has a great team of people willing to assist with any small last-minute requests, from marketing to making sure our display is working and looks as planned. I’d like to also mention, the preparation time is not just for our own stand – the pressure is also on us to get our customer’s latest products ready for them to display, and this can be very hectic. To send displays over to London by sea would require us to ship  before the end of November, and we simply do not have this  luxury in regards to time”

“So our displays are sent by airfreight, at a much higher cost! Three staff will probably be traveling from Australia, as well as other associates attending from outside Australia. They'll do the booth set-up, man the stands for the duration of the show and then pack everything up again as soon as it finishes. Then they'll continue on to North America for further visits and follow-ups. Our week at ICE will be pretty full-on, but we are looking forward to finding some time to see what London has to offer before we leave.”

Jim Cremin, Betting Industry Editor, Racing Post, said that despite the fact that ICE is “our 'home field' show, we find it to be the most critical in terms of generating international business. Quite simply, it's easier to meet the most relevant people at ICE over three days than it is to cover the globe chasing them. Its a perfect mixture of hard-nosed business taking place alongside seeing and appreciating innovation as well as just having fun, meeting old friends and making new ones.”

“From a commercial perspective, we see ICE as the key show. Our cafe stand is a familiar feature to regular attendees and acts as a hub and meeting point for the betting industry. We don't have the time to hold any 'formal' discussions or events, but we will have lined up a series of meetings with clients as this is the one show of the year that all of the key decision makers attend.”

“There will be some product launches too, and from a new business perspective we will have staff on hand at all times to discuss what we provide to our customers and what we could provide to new customers, whether that concerns new products, new content, or any of the various sports we cover. We are there to talk print, web, mobile, tablet and retail solutions, and we provide quality offerings for each medium.”

“Quite simply ICE is the Grand National, Cheltenham and Royal Ascot rolled into one. It's inspirational in so many ways, but it is very busy, with everyone working hard in a very competitive environment. So my advice to attendees is take time to step back, reflect where you are and where you’re going, and check what others are doing. ICE gives you that chance so do take it.”