We’ve been asked by many of our readers what was happening at AVEX, so as usual – we took note and asked the team at AVEX to let us know where they were now. This is what they’ve said…
NEW! – Debut exhibitors – we have many great companies exhibiting at AVEX for the first time. This includes companies such as Vimto, Follett Ice, Stanley Handling, Nim’s Fruit Crisps and Mistral Coolers to name a few. They will offer a wide and varying element to visitors at the show. They will be exhibiting alongside seasoned exhibitors such as N&W Global Vending, Coca-Cola, Coffetek and Burts Chips.
NEW! – Enhanced Speakers’ Programme – we have taken on experienced speaker coordinator, editor of Essentially Catering and event organiser for Horizons, Nic Belfrage to coordinate this. Each speaker will present on a pressing issue in the vending market, a known area of interest for the visitors that we want to attract, or general business topics from Brexit to blogging – all with the aim of opening up AVEX to a wider target visitor audience. We have started announcing the speakers over the past few weeks and further details will be unveiled over the coming months.
NEW! – Operators’ Workshop – this will be taking place on Monday 11th September with a carefully constructed, topical schedule of talks and discussions with the aim of encouraging operators to attend the show.
NEW! – Exhibitor Marketing Toolkit – this helps exhibitors raise awareness of their presence at the show and offers them a range of methods via which they can raise their profile. The toolkit includes how to use social media effectively, how to get the best from PR for the show and how best to advertise to their guests and contacts. The Exhibitor Marketing Toolkit is also customisable to each exhibitor and will help encourage their own customer database to attend AVEX.
NEW! – Trade Association Links – for the first time we are teaming up with other trade associations so we can get the AVEX message to all of their members. This gives us the opportunity to tap in to thousands of people that we may not have been able to contact previously.
NEW! – Hosted Buyers’ Programme – we are inviting top business targets to join us at AVEX. They will be personally invited to the show and will be joining the organisers for lunch before being shown around the exhibition.
IMPROVED! – Visitor registration goes live soon and will, for the first time enable visitors to register using their social media profiles. This will make registration quicker and registered visitors will be able to see which of their contacts have registered as well as inviting colleagues and prospects along to the show. Together with the targeted activity outlined above this, will assist us in bringing the right people from across the UK and overseas together to do business at AVEX 2017.
Visitors!
Every action that we take for AVEX, we always have visitors at the forefront of our minds. As well as all the changes above which we are sure will attract new visitors we are targeting new sectors in new ways.
Enhanced targeted audiences outside of the vending & water sector such as
- Catering Managers
- Facilities Managers
- Purchasing Managers
- Property Managers
- Operations Managers
- Gym owners
from the following sectors:
- Health
- Business & industry
- Catering
- Travel & tourism
- Education
- Leisure
- Retail
- Local government
Zones!
AVEX 2017 will feature five key zones focusing on the latest trends in these sectors.
Health and Wellbeing Zone
Featuring the latest healthy vending products, the inaugural Health and Wellbeing zone was a great success in 2015 and is promising to be one of the key attractions at this year’s event. Exhibitors in this zone include returning health brand 9BAR and, new to AVEX 2017, Nim’s Fruit Crisps.
Barista Street
This coffee culture-inspired area will showcase vending’s latest and most innovative bean-to-cup machines that are responsible for bringing coffee shop excellence to vending – perfect for visitors from the hotel, restaurant and café sectors. Find out about the latest coffee trends and developments here.
Hydration Highway
A specifically designed water area that brings together distributors, operators and suppliers from the water-dispensing sector. With a wide range of industry suppliers exhibiting, this zone provides you with the opportunity to browse the very latest innovations in the water industry. Hydration Highway sees the return of exhibitors such as Allpure Filters and new international exhibitors, Follett Ice and Mistral Coolers.
Operator World
A brand new zone focusing on the operators in vending and water, inviting them to share their knowledge and what they have to offer. We are sure that this will be a popular new zone!
Innovation Space
Another new zone for this year’s event, Innovation Space will bring the latest technologies to the table and showcase the very latest that vending has to offer. Companies such as Jofemar and Astrosystems will be exhibiting their latest offerings.
Gala Dinner!
AVEX will include a gala charity dinner taking place on the night of Tuesday 12th September. Any profits from the night will go to three charities connected to vending: the Point Foundation, the Gallagher Trust and EdUKaid. These nights are always well attended a great way to network with colleagues/peers in a relaxed environment.
What’s next?
Visitor registration will open shortly – watch out for a press release coming soon! We will of course continue to sell stands and we will be ramping up our social media presence.
…So there you have it. Stands are selling, and there will be better choice if you book now of course. We’ll no doubt be finding out even more about the show now that Charlotte Wilson has joined the AVA (read about her arrival here)
