Believe it or not, event marketers are on the same wavelengths as neuroscientists. Have you ever noticed how some event spaces are especially relaxing and calming, while others tend to irritate or perk you up? There’s a good chance the colour arrangements in those environments are playing a big part. Interior designers have long known of the influence of colour on our emotions and state of mind—the same holds true when appealing to the senses of event attendees. When we create a unique brand experience, we aim to produce customized experiences that deliver unique messages and tell stories. The more vivid and authentic an experience is, the more effective and memorable the outcome for event attendees. Leveraging the scientific correlation between colour and emotion can help us engage our audiences in new ways and boost the impact of our brand experiences. Designing with the outcome in mind When harnessing this neuroscience knowledge, it’s important to incorporate it into your event design after thinking through the kind of reactions you want your audience to have. How do you want them to feel? What do you want them to focus on? Designing your event experience with the end in mind is an important component of design thinking, which helps to ensure that every event you create is more effective, and implementing these psychological effects is just a part of that smart approach to design. When you know what emotions you want to evoke, it’s time to find just the right colour to fit the mood. A recent study by the University of British Columbia discovered that red boosts our attention to detail and performance on tasks such as memory retrieval, while blue enhances our ability to think creatively and encourages our ability to think outside the box. Event design techniques you can try Applying the psychology of colour theory to the environment of event design takes things up a notch and helps to ensure that you’ll get the response you’re looking for from your audience. As an example, last year Staging Connections delivered Greencross Limited’s annual gala dinner with a “fire and ice” theme to inspire creative stimulation among participants through the use of red and blue. We designed a modular stage set using their range of digital banners and projection mapped various themed content to match each colour concept – sizzling flames for ‘fire’ and’ frosty blue colour bursts for ‘ice’. Even the table centrepiece styling was specifically designed to reflect one of the two concepts. It’s important to consider what you ultimately want to achieve or evoke from the event to help you determine which colour palette is going to best help you achieve your goals. This guide from Sommer+Sommer, a UK advertising agency that specializes in brain training and neuromarketing, is a good starting primer on what emotions can be tied to colour. Exploring different ways you can utilize colour to engage your audience in a scientific way is a small addition to your design plan that could reap big benefits post-event. Think about your next event design—what colour can you connect with your theme and the way you want your audience to feel? Related Articles Creating an immersive conference to engage your audience Transform your corporate event with creative stage design Keep your audience engaged and entertained with Event Poll This post was originally written by Tony Allen, Director of Business Development, Freeman ... Read More

Immerse your guests in a cinematic experience with our new LED Wall - Crown Palladium Ballroom has been at the forefront of event technology in Australia for more than 15 years. It was the first Ballroom to use intelligent table pinspots, the first to use Meyer Sound’s award-winning horizontal array loudspeaker system and now features another stunning new innovation. The room now boasts 58m2 of VuePix E series Pro LED Wall permanently deployed by Staging Connection with the express purpose of providing event clients with a truly stunning visual experience thanks to its impressive size, brightness and colour intensity. The impressive 14.4m wide and 4m high display is mostly in use as a backdrop on the proscenium stage to provide the perfect virtual set for event designers that want to create strong visual impact. Due to the flexibility of the system it can also be safely rigged or ground-stacked* almost anywhere in the space either as one complete wall or as a series of displays. Employing more than half a million individual LEDs with a rated brightness of 3500 nits (a home television is usually around 350 nits) your show content will display brilliantly and will have no issues competing with stage lighting. “Once upon a time corporate Ballrooms used starcloths or cycs as a show backdrop. This new LED Wall takes the creative potential to an amazing new level. Anything is possible,” says Andrew MacColl, Director of Event Technology at Staging Connections Group. Use the new LED Wall to display corporate or club logos and branding, engage audiences with dynamic animated media backdrops, up the ante for band or dance performances with exciting multimedia or even customise the configuration to deliver a unique event that captivates your audience. The sheer size and impressive luminance makes the LED Wall the perfect backdrop for all events. Being a blank digital canvas it lends itself to all types of events such as; Corporate breakfasts, lunches and product kick offs. Charity events and fundraisers Awards nights, gala dinners and sporting events Music concerts Conference plenary sessions Staging Connections’ team of in-house multimedia designers can create custom content, both animated or still imagery, to leverage the power of the LEDs. The LED Wall was used at the Crown Melbourne Christmas Showcase to give the stage a more dynamic environment and allowed the event theme to carry across the stage set. “The Event theme was the 4 seasons of Christmas travelling through different countries. This theme allowed us to cast the room in an array of different colours through spectacular on-screen content, supported by dramatic lighting. The theming of this event came to life through the vision elements with the intensity of the LED Wall giving more impact to the imagery,” says Kristy Richards, Crown Melbourne Venue Sales Executive for Staging Connections. The LED Wall was the final piece of the puzzle that turned the event into an immersive visual journey for guests. “The LED Wall was displayed in conjunction with all the other screens in the room. It was the central feature, flanked by two 20ft x 11ft screens and lining either side of the room was two 30ft x 10ft screens.” Throughout the event, Staging Connections utilised different applications of imagery to demonstrate its versatility and show how well the LEDs work against projection. “We’ve been the in-house AV supplier to Crown Melbourne since it opened in 1997. During this time, we’ve helped the venue maintain its position as one of Australia’s leading event venues and it’s because of our relentless commitment to technological innovation,” says Mr MacColl. "The LED wall that was used for the Shared Tables Gala Ball in 2015 added that extra sparkle to the room and elevated the entertainment to the next level. A sensational addition to our event by Staging Connections, who have been designing and collaborating with Shared Tables for the past 14 years to ensure we have the best show in Australia for our guests." Gerard Doherty, Shared Tables | Crown Melbourne Staging Connections Melbourne Events Team Our Melbourne team is proudly led by Haig Walker and comprises some of the most talented design and styling professionals in the industry, offering event excellence across 7 key venues. If you're looking to host your next corporate event in Melbourne, than we're the experienced events team you can rely on. We proudly offer Australia's largest range of event services across audio, lighting, staging, vision and extending to styling, multimedia and digital event solutionslike webcasting, live polling and event social media. Get in touch with us today or call 1800 209 099 to speak with one of our event experts. * Please note there are additional charges for the rigging or moving of the LED Wall from its current position within The Palladium at Crown Melbourne. ... Read More

Every year, Staging Connections offers a Certificate III in Live Production and Services program (CUA30413), where new recruits undergo an intensive six month course, learning invaluable skills in AV technical, safety and live production management, under the guidance of experienced AV technicians. This highly sought after events training program is well regarded in the events industry, with Staging Connections' unique 'on-the-job' training curriculum providing hands on experience with the latest event technologies. As the only events company in Australia registered as a Registered Training Organisation, we are very proud to support the audio visual and events industry by delivering a nationally recognised qualification across our Eastern seaboard offices, including Brisbane, Canberra, Gold Coast, Sydney, and Melbourne. Pictured above are the AV Trainees based at our Sydney and Canberra offices. This year, the Queensland events team received over 150 applications, of which two lucky Trainees were recruited (pictured below), and will experience everything the events industry has to offer in a practical learning environment. The Certificate III course is specifically designed to give Trainees the required skills, knowledge and experience to kick start their career as an events technician, learning all aspects of live audio, vision, lightingandstaging. The program also places strong emphasis on safety, as the live events industry, sees exposure to a large volume of manual handling and electrical elements units. By offering this course to trainees every year, Staging Connections is committed to educating the next generation of AV technicians with the aim of instilling high standards of service delivery to improve the safety and execution standards of live events into the future. Based around an hands-on approach and rotation through all areas of the business including Warehouse, Venues, Sales, and Operations, the Trainees will work alongside experienced AV practitioners to hone their skills and knowledge. Working with the latest in event technology, alongside our world-class industry experts, ensures they are job-ready at the end of their six months of training. The success of the program means we are provided with great results with tailored training to our needs. Trainees who are better equipped to start on the job, armed with an understanding of the business culture and our high expectations. It is a great opportunity for up-and-coming AV technicians to gain real life experience in the events industry and to receive positive responses from staff, venues, and clients. With the further support of internal training and succession program within the business, many of our Trainees are promoted through the ranks into Senior Management positions. One of the longest serving employees of Staging Connections, Andrew Thorne, joined the company via the traineeship 20 years ago and now heads up the Safety and Training Department of the Staging Connections Group. Staging Connections first commenced the program in 1998 and was accredited as a Registered Training Organisation in 2004 to deliver a Nationally Recognised Training Program. ... Read More

What better way to reward your top staff than a spectacular gala dinner and awards night? Late last year the Adelaide events team were asked by a global financial services institution to deliver a high-impact ‘Spy’ themed gala dinner, with a ‘Casino’ feel. The purpose of the event is to recognise the hard work and ...

As Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute commented, “colours this season transport us to a happier, sunnier place where we feel free to express a wittier version of our real selves.” We recently discussed how colours are an immensely powerful tool that can influence our event attendees’ moods. Taking the lead by the colour experts, we show you just how easy it is to style your next event so it's on trend this Spring! The 2016 Pantone Fashion Colour Report outlines that the colours this season are influenced by the world of art, new global doors opening and the desire to disconnect from technology and unwind. The designers who selected the colours were drawn towards a palette that is first and foremost calming. Designers were also inspired by the contrast of urban design and lush vegetation, leading to unexpected colour combinations and collections reminiscent of architecture, travel and nostalgia. By creating looks that truly represent the world we live in, both constructed and organic, designers sought to awaken a sense of reflection, followed by playful escapism. Taking this influence to the world of events, our Styling team from South East Queensland, have put together a range of exuberant centrepiece ideas and styling ideas to enhance your next event! 1. Event styling with Pantone 'Peach Echo' and Pantone 'Buttercup' Our fun, groovy Combi Van centrepieces conjure up memories of love ins, surfing holidays and road trips past. The vans come in pale blue, red and yellow. They’re ideal as a table centrepiece, combined with scattered shells and votive candles to brighten up a beach theme. Go all out and use personalised thongs as place cards, or make an entry feature out of freestanding Malibu surfboards! 2. Event styling with PANTONE Green Flash and PANTONE Iced Coffee You just can’t beat the calming, reviving influence that plants have on your mood. Combine an assortment of small plants and shrubs on your table in a geometric terrarium. Address issues of global or local importance and make a statement by using greenery at your next event - plants used as centrepieces can be donated to organisations like Landcare after the event and used for rainforest revegetation projects. 3. Event styling with PANTONE Fiesta and PANTONE Lilac Grey Custom printing a wrap allows you to achieve any colour combo, or unique brand colour you like! Bring in elements of a James Bond or Casino Royale theme using these red, grey and black centrepieces. Graphics can be used to create the right look, you can even include corporate imagery logos, marketing material or just beautiful pictures and text. Coordinating your centrepiece graphics with printed menus or screen content will create a cohesive story throughout the room. 4. Styling with PANTONE Limpet Shell and PANTONE Serenity Use lighting in a range of blue hues to bring an electric atmosphere to any event. Add classic and contemporary crystal centrepieces, to emulate diamonds in a luxurious environment. Classic hurricane candleholders are elegant and understated, or embellish with crystal votives for extra sparkle or heighten the luxury with our dramatic spiralling floral stand with its long facetted crystal drops. Colours this season transcend cultural and gender norms, so are perfect to liven up event environments. Vivid brights evoke a sense of excitement and optimism, although subtle stability prevails in this season’s palette. Integrate some of Pantone’s renowned wisdom on colours into your next event. Ask our team of experienced stylists to create an atmosphere that achieves all your event objectives, whilst looking stunning and leaving a positive impression on your guests. Staging Connections Brisbane, Gold Coast & Sunshine Coast Events Team Our South East Queensland events team is proudly led by Karsten Richert as the General Manager and Sales Manager, Susan Hamilton. The SEQ team is based between Brisbane and Gold Coast and comprises some of the most talented design and styling professionals in the industry, offering event excellence across 7 key venues. If you're looking to host your next corporate event in Brisbane, on the Gold Coast or event at the Sunshine Coast, than we're the experienced events team you can rely on. We proudly offer Australia's largest range of event services across audio, lighting, staging, vision and extending to styling, multimedia and digital event solutions like webcasting, live polling and event social media. Get in touch with us today or call 1800 209 099 to speak with one of our event experts. Event Styling by Staging Connections - South East Queensland ... Read More

Leading sporting stadiums around Australia and the world are turning to event service providers to help provide fans with an impactful and memorable match day experience. The same is said for major sporting clubs. Staging Connections has been the official audio visual partner of the Adelaide Football Club (the Crows) for over 6 years now. Throughout the partnership,we’ve helped the Club grow their fan base and match day attendance by delivering a more interactive and memorable experience. This has been achieved by improved ground lighting and AV installations, live social media and fan polling, as well as staging, vision and audio for the entertainment and other Club related events. In 2016 Staging Connections worked with the Crows and other partners such as TLA Worldwide to ramp up the match day experience. For last week's inaugural 2016 Toyota AFL Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round, the Crows wanted to celebrate by providing a unique and special pre-game segment to honour their current and past Indigenous players. Staging Connections and TLA Worldwide worked together to create an unforgettable experience for fans, projecting images of their current Indigenous players onto the grandstand’s roof, turning the stadium itself into a branded canvas and mural to the players. In what was a first for the Adelaide Football Club, the stadium lights were switched off before the game which allowed the player projections to shine whilst a Welcome to Country and other entertainment celebrated the Indigenous Round. Using gobo projection was the simplest and safest way to ensure a great outcome but also working in with the logistics on ground prior to an important AFL match. Each light was protected from the weather in inflatable domes on individual trolleys to ensure a speedy exit prior to kick off. But we aren't just engaging the fans in the stadium. The Crows have extended their fan engagement strategy outside the stadium, to the surrounding grounds, buildings and Adelaide city itself. If you have been to Adelaide recently you may have seen the Crows’ badge lighting up the night sky. The custom projections shone the Crows’ logo and “We Fly As One” tagline across iconic buildings on the riverbank, including the Adelaide Festival Centre and InterContinental Adelaide. Even the Adelaide Oval exterior, surrounding parklands, footpaths and trees were lit up with the colourful projections, making them a talking point for fans on arrival at the stadium. For a final touch, the Crow’s club colours were beamed into the night sky using theatrical moving lights with custom glass gobos. This ‘call to arms’ tactic promoted team loyalty and provoked the all important club rivalry during the first half of the 2016 Toyota AFL Premiership season. Anna Muecke, Brand & Marketing Manager at Adelaide Football Club commented on the successful brand activation and the impact it had on the match day experience. “We are always looking for new and exciting ways to engage with our fans both inside and outside the stadium. Our trust for Staging Connections’ technical know-how to create this activation allowed us to effectively utilise the dark space around Adelaide Oval to create and build a strong sporting atmosphere. “The results were outstanding and captured the attention of our team’s supporters, the wider public, fans on social media and news outlets. The simple techniques were applied in creative ways to truly reinforce our brand and rally our supporters – the visuals added to a fantastic match day vibe,” said Ms Muecke. Staging Connections communicated with several stakeholders and authorities to ensure the safe operation of the powerful lights in a busy flight path and an active pedestrian, vehicle and public precinct. Staging Connections is the official audio-visual partner of the Adelaide Football Club and worked alongside their activation partner TLA Worldwide to light up the Adelaide sky. ... Read More

Signage has been a show essential since the beginning. There is no doubt that attendees would be lost, confused, and frustrated without it. But these days digital signage is the way of the future. Digital signage is a versatile system that supports multiple media types and rapidly distributes information throughout the venue. Your key message, such as, “Presentation A, This Way” is displayed, along with strategically curated messaging. Signs now have the ability to illustrate much more than directions. Here are five unexpected ways that digital signage will strategically improve your event. Provide Targeted Messaging Attendees don’t just crave personalisation, they expect it. Digital signage in the venue will not only show the basics, like who is speaking, but also a deeper level of messaging that targets the needs of attendees. The software is able to collect data and act on it by showing targeted messaging. You can schedule and edit content dynamically that will reach your audiences as they pass by. Integrate Social Media and Videos Your attendees are already posting and tweeting about your event, so put it up on the big screen! Designed to sync with social media surrounding your event, you can use digital signage to illustrate social trends and top tweets. By showing attendees that you care about what they think and what they have to say, you can create a stronger sense of community. Even your attendees who are not active on social media will see what others are posting when they look at the signs and feed off of this energy. Another way you are sure to engage attendees is through video. Humans have short attention spans and even shorter patience. While they might not take the time to stop and read words on a screen, an incredible video displayed on your digital signage can stop them in their tracks Maximize Visibility for Sponsors Digital signage equals to more sponsorships. Attendees will seek out signage whenever they need something. As a result, they will focus their attention on signage for at least part of their show experience. Strategically placed sponsorships on digital signage will increase visibility for your sponsors. Because it is digital and can be changed, each sign can accommodate more than one sponsor. Additionally, sponsors can choose to display their content in a variety of different mediums. Sponsors will also be able to change what content appears on screen at different points of your event or conference. Branding A great way to use digital signage is to give impact to elevate your brand. A colourful and engaging digital backdrop is a simple yet effective way of enhancing your branding, styling and overall event experience. No event should go unbranded – which is why we’ve developed a unique range of cost effective branding and styling solutions. Event Backdrop is our latest offering, and comes in a variety of standard sizes. You can create impactful branding for corporate events, entrance features, gala dinners, event registration desks and media walls. Photo opportunities You can use digital signage or backdrops to create the perfect photo opportunity. Guests will be snapping photos in front of your signage to remind them of brand, message or creative behind the event. You can use digital signage to engage audiences at sporting events, by giving them the opportunity to grab a selfie in front of their favourite team or sporting personality. Whether it’s a ballroom, meeting room, or small stage, our range of backdrops suit any occasion. Getting the look of an event just right can turn a great event into a stunning experience. Our impactful digital signage, backdrops and stage sets deliver an engaging environment by displaying beautifully designed multimedia, imagery and brand messaging. ... Read More

Staging Connections has won 2 key industry awards; the Queensland MEA state and national award in the Products and Services Awards -Technical & Creative Production - Branch turnover > $5 million category. In yet another exciting win, Staging Connections' SEQ Business Development Executive Holly Roestenburg was named the Y MEA Future Leader of the Year. This category is open to nominations of any member or an employee of a member who is under 27 years of age and can demonstrate their involvement in Y MEA run initiatives and functions. As NSW and Victorian state winners, and Queensland state and national winners, Staging Connections has been recognised for the ongoing focus on consistent high standards of service delivery. Staging Connections Group Managing Director, Tony Chamberlain, said "The MEA state awards recognise the passion and commitment of our teams to deliver consistently high standards of service to customers regardless of where they are. The fact that three of our businesses have achieved those high standards is a magnificent achievement and one of which we are all proud,". The MEA state awards follow the recent announcement that Staging Connections had won the national mice.net Readers Choice award for Best AV and Production Services Company. ... Read More

During the Staging Connections eposide of Undercover Boss, we went to real time dashboard in Google Analytics and viewed the active visitors on the website. It was amazing to see the number of visitors creep up during the duration of the show, and we all enjoyed digging deeper to observe what users were doing on the website.For the full article click here ... Read More

LED lighting products have gained a certain recognition and acceptance within the corporate events space in recent years. Given this development I thought it might be interesting to have a look at what is available for companies like Staging Connections and what difference they can make to corporate events. Rocco has been part of the Staging Connections team for almost 15 years. With a wealth of knowledge from his work in major concert lighting, Rocco has a flair for transforming any event space into a unique experience. Rocco is involved in purchasing equipment for the Sydney business, and is always looking for new technology to give our clients an edge to their presentations. In this week blog Rocco discusses the benefit of LED. LED lighting products have gained a certain recognition and acceptance within the corporate events space in recent years. Given this development I thought it might be interesting to have a look at what is available for companies like Staging Connections and what difference they can make to corporate events. When LED lighting first came on the scene we were all quite excited and then like the rest of the industry, quickly disappointed. The products had no real punch or control that we saw would have any use to us, they were also extremely expensive in comparison to their traditional counterparts. Due to these restrictions we stayed with our existing product line using fixtures with lamps whilst keeping a close eye on developments from within the LED industry. Then all of a sudden some really cool products came our way! We looked at Cyc and wall lighting and found LED products that were 10 fold better than what we were using at the time. One of the biggest benefits is that with LED cyc lighting the lamps never get hot, making them much safer and helping us reduce risks at our events. Secondly the colour output is fantastic. These units are always in high demand and are always being turned around quickly to be delivered onto the next event. We then ventured out into the world of moving lights and found some great LED products there as well. The great part about these lights and LED in general is that they consume a fraction of the energy in comparison to incandescent bulbs, saving LED lamp life and power requirements. The reduction to our carbon footprint is huge. Whilst I have found some great LED innovations there are some areas that still need to catch up and a good example is with standard profile and wash lighting, which we use on nearly every show. These lights are our work horses in the industry and LED equivalent lighting has been produced to cover these items but the expenditure to buy these lamps far exceeds the purchase price of the similar lamp in a non LED brand. I am sure that these items will come down in price and we are always keeping a keen eye on current releases in the industry to find better, brighter and more efficient ways to light our shows! Written By: Rocco Anzellotti, Technical Director, Staging Connections. Image Credits: Unless stated otherwise, all sourced images are owned by us ... Read More