September 15, 2011
The event had more than 42,000 visitors over the three days, and a fair percentage passed the IESTA stand in its prime corner position in the People Zone. With its striking graphics and brand new shiny brochures, it proved quite an attraction.
IESTA had three main objectives it wanted to achieve from the show – gaining valuable international contacts, encouraging collaboration and interaction between members, and increasing awareness of the role of IESTA.
Pre-event promotion paid off, and there was a surge in numbers for the lunchtime presentations, with their varied content covering hostile environments, how to drill to Westhill, and the answer to IT dilemmas. What had been billed “the sandwich skirmish” proved a great success (footage of Iain Hutchison’s Spitfire flight over the AECC prior to his talk can be seen here).
There was plenty of connecting, with the member representatives spreading goodwill and goody bags, as well as collecting details from interested visitors and delivering excellent PR. The business card draw was also extremely popular with hundreds entering for the chance to win Glenmorangie, golf at Gleneagles, a digital video camera and other top prizes.
As well as the main stand, there was a lot of legwork going on behind the scenes. Director of operations Gary Boyd met with various international contacts and significant opportunities have been developed in Angola, Ghana, Russia, Australia and the Middle East.
So now the dust has settled and everyone has made it out of the car park, the consensus among participating members is that it was a worthwhile investment of time and money. IESTA’s stated objectives have been achieved and members can look forward to reaping the rewards.
|
|
|
| Andrew Kain kicks off the lunchtime presentations on Tuesday. | Iain Hutchison comparing Spitfires with drilling risk. | Cerri McDonald explains Onboard Solutions during her presentation. |
