This year, 1374 visitors came through the doors for Entech Connect, which was a 20% increase on the attendance over the two days, with an additional 15% increase on interstate visitors on 2012. Visitors got to experience the Live Audio Demo Zone, take advantage of the onsite manufacturers training, and gain exclusive access to some of the industry's leading names that were presenting at the show.
The education programme continued to be a draw card as seminar attendance was up by staggering 28%, which saw over 60 of the biggest names from around the world, involved in over 40 sessions covering all aspects of the industry. This year's programme was headlined LeRoy Bennett, in his very first public speaking presentation, along with other presenters such as Tiny Good, Scott Willsallen, Michael Rutledge Todd Hensley (Schuler Shook Theatre Planners), Joost De Frene (Barco, LiveDots) and Peter Johnson.
Entech Connect event manager Stephen Dallimore said, "This is far exceeding our expectations. When we launched this concept of an industry show that was focused on Education, onsite training, networking and not just the trade show element, i didn't expect to see it be embraced so quickly by everyone in only its second year, though It was unfortunate that Melbourne was hit by a cold snap that resulted in a cooler than expected venue. The introduction of the onsite training rooms, more international speakers and opportunities for greater visitor experience has seen our clients report back of the quality of attendees was high with several reporting brand new business opportunities already."
2015 will also be a big year for its sister show Entech, as it will be celebrating its 21st anniversary and will take place 7-9 July at the Royal Hall of Industries, Moore Park, Sydney.
"We had a really positive show which is excellent to report. Our new QL-series digital mixing consoles were extremely well received across multiple industries and we're pleased to have generated confirmed orders for multiple units at the Melbourne event and are looking forward to seeing these in action very soon," said Mick Hughes, sales and marketing manager, Yamaha Commercial Audio.
(Jim Evans)
