Staging Connections, now Encore Event Technologies*, have taken out the National Title for Special Event of the Year at the Meetings and Events Association (MEA) Industry Award Gala Dinner in Adelaide last night.
The who’s who of the meetings and events sector celebrated a year of great achievements together at the Adelaide Convention Centre; the Awards are the culmination of the MEA National Conference from 6-8 May, 2018.
Encore won the prestigious award for their superb execution of the Asian Paints Privilege Club Convention 2017 – accepted by an ecstatic events team.
The impressive incentive event was acknowledged by industry peers as a true testament to the team’s creative production capabilities in a highly competitive field. Asian Paints welcomed over 1,000 delegates participating in 12 events across multiple locations. The event included amazing stages, hosting lively entertainment and stunning multimedia projections. The President’s speech was brought to life via motion sensing technology and gesture control.
This accolade recognises Encore’s ongoing dedication to producing outstanding business events, as well as their significant contribution to the Australian event industry.
Commenting on the win for Special Event of the Year, Encore Event Technologies Managing Director Tony Chamberlain, gave high praise to the dedicated and passionate team.
“I want to congratulate the entire events team involved in the creation of this event from concept to execution. Our client allowed us to push the boundaries and implement technologies their audience hadn’t seen before.
This award will inspire us to continue to elevate our service offerings and strive to exceed expectations,” said Chamberlain.
The highly-coveted MEA Awards are judged by a panel of independent industry leaders to celebrate excellence and best business practice in the meeting and events industry. The aim of the MEA Industry Awards is to encourage event professionals to excel in achieving their business and personal goals.
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On 2 July 2018, Staging Connections formerly rebranded to Encore Event Technologies.
SCHILLER PARK, IL, and DALLAS,TX – January 14, 2019 – PSAV, a global leader in event experiences, and The Freeman Company, jointly announced today that the companies have entered into a purchase agreement for PSAV to acquire Encore Event Technologies, a global provider of event technology, staging and production services. The combination of PSAV and Encore will join two companies with deep expertise and a shared commitment to be an invaluable global partner for the meeting industry. This transaction reinforces PSAV’s mission of Connecting and Inspiring People by expanding the breadth of its capabilities throughout North America and Asia Pacific. The transaction is expected to be finalized later this year. Terms of the transaction will not be disclosed.
Encore has a long and distinguished history dedicated to helping create high-impact meetings and live events for the hospitality industry. Encore operates as both an in-house partner to some of the world’s leading resorts, hotels and casinos, as well as a creative production company for clients around the world.
“Encore is an ideal partner for the PSAV family of companies given its shared commitment to meeting and event planners, and strong alignment with our purpose and mission,” said Mike McIlwain, CEO of PSAV. I am excited about what this means for PSAV, and more importantly our customers, as we continue to focus on more ways to create amazing event experiences wherever an event is held.”
“We’re extremely proud of the success everyone at Encore – including our FAV Canada operations – has created in building one of the world’s leading in-house hospitality, event technology and production service businesses,” said Joe Popolo, CEO of The Freeman Company. “At Freeman, we continue our mission to provide powerful brand experiences, which include our audio visual solutions, for association and corporate customers around the world.”
“It has been an honor to lead and develop Encore and to witness its growth,” said Ken Sanders, chief development officer, The Freeman Company. “I want to thank everyone at Encore for applying their work, skills, dedication and creativity to build this world-class company, and I look forward to watching their continued prosperity as part of PSAV.”
Peter Wallace and David Kestnbaum of Blackstone’s Private Equity team commented, “We are excited about the combination of our portfolio company, PSAV, with Encore. Blackstone sees continued growth opportunities in live events, and we are pleased that Encore will bring additional capabilities to support event planners and our venue partners.”
Bill Stein of Blackstone’s Real Estate team added, “The combination of PSAV and Encore will further enhance our strong capabilities to serve meeting event planners and our venue partners across a diverse suite of services as part of our mission of creating a world-class, diversified global live events platform.”
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is serving as legal counsel to PSAV.
JP Morgan is serving as financial advisor to Freeman and Encore, and Baker McKenzie is serving as legal counsel to Freeman and Encore.
Media Contact – PSAV
Bob Niersbach
Director, Communications
rniersbach@psav.com
(847) 385-3619
www.psav.com
Media Contact – Freeman
Stephen Phillips
Director, Communications
stephen.phillips@freeman.com
(214) 445-1205
www.freeman.com
Immersive and unique staging and production by Encore Event Technologies recently transported 400 guests who attended the annual Great Humpty Ball back to their childhood.
Hosted by the Humpty Dumpty Foundation, a children’s charity that for more than 28 years has purchased life-saving medical equipment specifically requested by over 380 hospitals and health services across Australia, Encore delivered an imaginative, compelling and truly sweet Charlie and the Chocolate Factory inspired event at the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney.
Every year Encore works closely with the Humpty Dumpty Foundation team to create an immersive gala dinner themed with fun, colour and technical magic to deliver on the charity’s vision.
First impressions count. On arrival, guests entered the chocolate factory gates constructed of purple bricks and golden wrought iron gates with Humpty branded signage – a welcoming invitation fuelled with intrigue and wonder.
The grass covered walk-way included boxes of Humpty branded chocolate bars, giant gobstoppers, colourful windmills, lollies and mushrooms. Purple trees decorated with lollipops and fairy lights framed the main doors of the hotel’s Ballroom. Guests were entertained by the Wonka inspired photobooth with giant windmill lollies in flower pots and Humpty signage all created to encourage guests to explore the decorated venue.
The beautifully dressed tables were adorned by shiny purple cloths and Wonka inspired golden wrapper runners and two stunning centrepieces. The first, a magical garden, included intricate trees on a grassy knoll decorated with lollies, mushrooms, tea lights and miniature buckets of candy. The second included Willy Wonka’s red top hat, candy jars and colourful windmills on sticks.
Mimicking the iconic “fizzy lifting” scene from the film, Encore created a bubble ceiling installation above the dance floor with long garlands of stunning sliver, white pearl and clear balloons that created the illusion of bubbles exploding out of an oversized fizzy soda bottle.
Keeping to theme, the multimedia team created a chocolate river backdrop with the Humpty mascot image floating past the magical garden that transitioned into an evening scene with Humpty in a glass lift with a giant shimmering moon.
The set was complimented by colourful mushrooms, gobstoppers, a lolly tree and the walls draped with sparkling star black cloth with themed Humpty gobo lighting. Complete with projections and staging, the Encore team delivered purple and gold themed lighting, matching both the Humpty branding and Wonka bars, which ensured guests at the event were reminded of a childhood full of imagination.
Paul Francis OAM, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Humpty Dumpty Foundation commented on the night,
“For each annual Great Humpty Ball we like to pick a theme that can take our generous supporters back to their childhood. Encore certainly helped us achieve this, creating a real wow factor when guests entered the Four Seasons Hotel Ballroom. As with each year we host this event, Encore did a great job ensuring our guests enjoyed a memorable evening”.
The annual Canberra Business Chamber Gala Dinner is the premier event on the Chamber’s calendar and their team and attendees were wowed by a stunning installation created by our talented team at the National Convention Centre Canberra.
Encore were tasked with delivering a purple themed gala dinner with a central focal piece that “took their breath away”. Purple lighting effects, styling and set design elements were key components to creating this look.
The hero of the evening was a giant chandelier Encore constructed using hundreds of interlinked Scenic Panels in contrasting designs. When illuminated with purple lighting and gobos, the Scenic Panels’ laser cut shapes cast stunning reflections around the venue walls for a truly unique and impactful focal point. This was the first time the Scenic Panels had been rigged to the ceiling in a multi-layered chandelier formation and the vast ceiling of the National Convention Centre provided the perfect canopy.
Flowers and dramatic purple draping and lighting dressed the stage for a look befitting of the prestigious business organisation. Two giant screens at the back of the stage ensured all guests could clearly see the entertainment and presentations and a state of the art line array ensured everyone could hear every word of the performances and award presentations.
This was the third year that Encore has delivered the event for the Canberra Business Chamber. Kate Holland, Event Director commented,
“Just wanted to thank you and the team for a great night last night. You all did a fantastic job and the room looked amazing! We really appreciate your work for the Chamber and your professionalism. “
Stuart Buchanan, General Manager of Encore ACT was delighted with the result,
“The team went over and above to deliver on the brief to wow guests. This was the first time we have created a giant chandelier using our beautiful Scenic Panels product. The team continue to come up with unique and beautiful displaying using them in different ways. The clients and guests loved the effect.”
PARTNER WITH EXPERTS YOU CAN TRUST TO DELIVER AN UNFORGETTABLE GALA
We believe in turning ordinary events into extraordinary experiences. Encore Event Technologies is the largest event services company operating throughout Asia Pacific. For over 30 years we’ve maintained a reputation as a leading event production and technology company, offering unrivaled experience across audio visual, lighting, staging, styling, multimedia, through to the latest in event technology. It’s our passion for creating extraordinary experiences that drives our 750+ team. Whether you’re planning a conference, gala dinner, roadshow or incentive event, successful events start here.
Family Business Australia (FBA) held its 20th National Conference in Alice Springs from 9-12 September 2018. Bringing together nearly 400 FBA members, the conference was held at the Alice Springs Convention Centre as well as a number of picturesque venues in the region, making the most of the unique location.
Encore Event Technologies made sure the four-day event ran without a hitch, supplying all audio, lighting and projection for the whole convention, including numerous key-note speaker sessions, masterclasses and workshops that ran simultaneously. As well as the conference program, delegates attended a number of social events throughout the Alice Springs region.
To kick things off, the Welcome Function on Sunday night was held at the stunning Simpsons Gap, a dry river bed surrounded by lush native greenery. An entrance statement, comprising a large truss arch as an entrance feature with flood lighting in the event colour scheme, greeted guests as they made their way down to the river bed. This elegant touch allowed the natural beauty of the surrounding area to shine, while focussing the space where delegates mixed and got to know one another.
Taking advantage of the fantastic Central Australian weather and scenery, most of the social events were held outdoors. At the first outdoor dinner, at Telegraph Station, Encore constructed a giant custom-made projection screen, allowing award winner images and videos to be projected from 30m away while maintaining perfect visual quality. This delivered an engaging experience and created an emotive sense of pride for the winners. This gave the client provided content of award winner video stings and slides an impressively large canvas to work on.
The final evening of the conference ended in style with an event at the Old Quarry. Surrounded by walls of red rock, guests were treated to a performance by Tommy Crowe, who played his didgeridoo on a ledge overlooking the crowd before the live band got delegates dancing under the stars. Encore created an immersive atmosphere for Tommy’s performance by dramatically lighting the rock behind him creating a glowing silhouette on the quarry and drawing all eyes to the performer.
The spectacular experience concluded after Tommy’s performance with him painting contemporary aboriginal art in his unique style on a large canvas. Encore filmed Tommy painting and projected his work onto the rock wall in real time, which gave the illusion of the painting being created directly onto the cliff.
Danielle Ricato, National Events and Sponsorship Manager, Family Business Australia was thrilled with Encore’s work.
“I don’t even know where to start when talking about this event, it was sheer perfection, from start to finish.
“There were so many moving parts to this event, and I am in awe of the enormous amounts of work that went into making this all look effortless!” said Ms. Ricato.
Brien Keys, Regional General Manager for Encore Event Technologies remarked,
“The Encore team was proud and honoured to go the extra mile, working with such an amazing client in the FBA for an event attended by amazing people. It was truly a privilege to produce the
event at some of Central Australia’s most spectacular settings. The technical challenges posed by the locations were a great opportunity for our technical teams to showcase their talent.”
Consult Australia held their annual Awards for Excellence at the Park Hyatt Melbourne on Wednesday 10 October 2018. The gala dinner was a spectacular experience for the 250 guests in attendance.
Guests were invited to a night at the circus where they were transported back in time to the late 1800’s to relive the Circus in its prime.
Greeting guests on their arrival was a butterfly parted red and white striped drape to simulate the opening of a circus tent welcoming guests to the wonders within.
To deliver the feeling of being “under the big top” a series of chiffon drapes in red and white, gathered in the centre of the ceiling, fanned their way across the ceiling to create a canopy over attendees heads. The drapery and ceiling was then lit in reds, whites and ambers to create additional mood and excitement. Beautiful red and white velvet drape were placed at the back of the stage to create a visual focal point and simulate the walls of the tent.
The theme continued with centrepieces consisting of a popcorn bucket base with a string of fairy lights emerging from the top to meet a large red or white helium balloon. The centrepieces were individually lit from the ceiling to add additional colour.
To complete the circus look, moving lights were hung from the ceiling to search across the crowd to simulate the “Roll up, Roll up” introduction of the Circus Ringmaster. These moving lights were also used to create a dramatic spotlight on the master of ceremonies for his opening performance as the Circus Ringmaster.
Mark Rock, Marketing Manager at Consult Australia commented,
‘We were very pleased with how this year’s Annual Awards for Excellence went. The Circus theming was extremely striking and the feedback on both the look and feel of the room was overwhelmingly positive.”
The event was truly a carnival for the senses creating an unforgettable experience for all.
Encore Event Technologies invited corporate clients to ‘Experience Encore’, an intimate evening of great food, wine and entertainment on Monday 10 September at the National Art School in Sydney’s Darlinghurst.
Upon arrival, guests met in the courtyard of the Cell Block Theatre for cocktails and canapés before taking their seats. A spectacular table projection sequence set the scene, choreographed perfectly with the opening track.
Popular culinary personality, TV host and author Justine Schofield, designed the amazing menu inspiring Encore’s production services team to develop a dreamlike sensory experience. The audience were transported on a culinary and sensory journey like no other, incorporating theatrical elements and custom table projection mapping to the food and entertainment.
Encore Managing Director, Tony Chamberlain, and National Sales Director, Michael Magafa, opened the evening by thanking clients for their patronage and introduced Justine to present each course of her exclusive menu.
Each course had a uniquely themed kinetic light show to match the vibrant and fun personality of the food; the ceviche entrée and matching wine saw tables transformed into a beautiful underwater wonderland. As the second course of sticky beef cheek was announced, the room transformed to reflect a rural kaleidoscope of foliage.
The ‘encore’, was a delicious panna cotta which ignited the final animation, a stunning soft pink and white design, wrapped up the culinary experience.
Vickianne Lane, Principal, Flick It To Me Solutions, said the evening was a truly unique experience that showcased the creativity of the Encore team.
“I was taken on a sensory experience – from the food and the way it was introduced, the immersive visuals, the music, was all orchestrated so seamlessly. It was wonderfully creative,” she said.
Michael Magafa, Encore Event Technologies, said the evening was a great way for Encore to say thank you to their clients.
“A great event is when every element comes together to create a memorable experience. Technology doesn’t make an evening. How it’s applied, does. Engagement and evoking emotion does. Having Justine Schofield curate and present her amazing menu with passion, humour and authenticity simply made it easy for us to create a sensory environment around her wonderfully delectable food. Thank you very much to our guests, the incredible band and to Justine for joining us. And, to our inspirational team for their limitless creativity. We’re looking forward to the next #experienceencore.”
ABOUT ENCORE
Encore Event Technologies is the largest event services company operating throughout Asia Pacific. For over 30 years we’ve maintained a reputation as a leading event production and technology company, offering unrivalled experience across audio visual, lighting, staging, styling, multimedia, through to the latest in event technology. It’s our passion for creating extraordinary experiences that drives our 750+ team. Whether you’re planning a conference, gala dinner, roadshow or incentive event, successful events start here.
We are proud to partner with the best hotels in the countries where we operate; spanning Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, plus all throughout Asia, and also North American, Canada and Mexico.
Whether you’re creating a global conference, a large scale gala dinner, a corporate meeting, charity function, party or a wedding, we will work our hardest to go above and beyond your expectations. Because it’s our goal to turn every event into an extraordinary experience.
The Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA) recently hosted 750 guests at The Star Sydney, for their annual Tourism Accommodation Awards for Excellence (NSW) night. The much-anticipated evening was again assigned to Encore Event Technologies, who created a beautifully styled event. The awards provide a platform for measuring and promoting service excellence by hotels.
The client requested a concept that complimented the design of the annual logo created for the event. This year was a swirling gold logo which our team translated into a glamorous look for the event through a staging and theming solution including stage design and multimedia for the stage set and on screen content.
The team created a custom stage set comprising custom projection screens shaped like the Sydney city skyline. Beautiful animated artworks were projection mapped on to the screens throughout the night.
Encore’s dedicated event social media platform, Event Feed, was used on the night to enable guests to post their photos to the big screen during the night and tag the event #TAAAwards2019 to integrate the shots onto the TAA’s social media.
The Children’s Cancer Foundation ‘The Million Dollar Lunch’ soared to incredible new heights last week, raising a record $2.5m in 2018. A stellar line-up of over 600 celebrities, socialites and high-profile business leaders descended on Crown Melbourne for the glamorous luncheon and to make a difference for Australian children faced with cancer.
Encore Event Technologies were responsible for the audio and vision, lighting and custom multimedia for this milestone event, as well as conceptualising and pitching to event organisers the visionary theme – galaxies – to create an astonishing experience from out of this world.
Upon arrival at the world-class venue, guests were prepared for launch within the pre-function cocktail space, emulating the interior of an actual rocket ship, replete with boarding sounds and lighting simulations.
The immersive theatrics continued after cocktails as the shuttle doors of the “rocket ship” cocktail space opened to reveal two tunnels, leading to the Palladium at Crown. Thanks to the cunning use of fog jets and creative lighting, the experience was one of mystery, excitement and discovery. The VIP guests emerged from the mist to orbit a glamorous new world as the ultimate reveal of the beautifully-lit ballroom was unveiled.
Under a draped ceiling covered in twinkling, starry lights, returning MCs Edwina Bartholomew and Hamish McLachlan enchanted the audience and introduced a touching story from beneficiaries of the Children’s Cancer Foundation.
Behind the hosts stood 14 Hex Panels and a “3D-effect” diamond outlined in LED lights to reflect the windows of a spaceship. The backdrop radiated with the out-of-this-world performance by the LED dancing troupe, which relaunched the room’s energy, providing balance and flow for the day’s event.
After a delectable three-course lunch, specially-designed by renowned Crown chefs to complement the theme, was the main event: The Grand Auction and Volvo Premium Raffle. The electrifying auction went off with a bang, and auctioneer, Peter Heagney, could barely keep up with the fast-paced bidding from all corners of the Palladium Ballroom.
Ten once-in-a-lifetime experiences were auctioned, from luxury holiday escapes to world-class curated dining events. Along with the raffle items, the Million Dollar Lunch exceeded its name, ultimately raising a record-breaking $2,503,350.
To keep up the tempo, Australian singer-songwriter and popstar, Samantha Jade, brought the house down with a stellar performance to cap off the extraordinary occasion.
Mark Holmes, Executive General Manager – Food & Beverage, Crown Melbourne, spoke about the event’s success,
“Encore Event Technologies were once again able to deliver and ensure the event was a success! As a valued partner they contribute in terms of every aspect of the event from the initial concept, to design, to flow and of course the content – once again a memorable event was delivered – thank you. The entire luncheon was seamless and remained true to our objectives, while contributing to a very worthy cause.”
One of the world’s leading manufacturers of eyeglass lenses, ZEISS, launched their latest innovation at a spectacular two-day event in Adelaide last month. Privileged guests were treated to an exciting journey through the ZEISS Australia brand headquarters to celebrate its newest technology, UVProtect.
Clients from around Australia experienced a day of ‘ZEISS through the ages’, with an intimate, first-hand look at product conceptualisation and development of the world-class ZEISS technologies over the years. Their capstone exhibit, an exclusive glimpse of the newest product to market, UVProtect, was revealed with Managing Director, Hilke Fitzsimons.
To mark the occasion, Encore Event Technologies worked closely with Event Manager, Victoria Clements, to envision an immersive experience with an abundance of tech and futuristic design; a portal for guests to enter an alternate reality through the eyes of ZEISS.
The Encore team conjured a custom 30m x 3m tunnel to create a dramatic entrance to the Tonsley Main Assembly Building in Adelaide, the walls of which were covered with bespoke ZEISS artwork and projected ZEISS animated graphics and roving laser lights, enshrouding guests in a fantastic, modernistic new world.
Once through the tunnel, all were ushered into a ‘waiting area’ surrounded by black curtains, unaware of what was to come. The contingent was kept in suspense as they listened to the Welcome Address, and on cue, a Kabuki Drop revealed the wider venue to astonishment and delight of those in attendance.
Moving deeper within this crafted world of ZEISS, guests’ attention was ever-captive, thanks to stirring performances from Japanese drummers and a theatrical Teppanyaki lunch prepared by two skilled Teppanyaki chefs. This was followed by an exclusive product information session with ZEISS Australia representatives to learn about UVProtect.
Around the unique space, the theme was further enhanced by 15 decorative metal sheets, sourced specifically to suit the architecture and history of the Tonsley Innovation District – with Jupiur Scenic Panels suspended from the ceiling, enlivened by colourful LEDs to segment the industrial, contemporary space.
Attendee’s names were included as a quirky, surprise feature in the stage backdrop as part of the panelled artwork on the internal building windows, providing fantastic photo opportunities and creating a great ice-breaker. These were updated to reflect guests’ names attending on day two.
To conclude the educational element of the day, guests were whisked away to local Wirra Wirra Winery for a well-deserved evening of wining, dining and networking. An after-party was held at the Stamford Grand Adelaide Hotel which lasted long into the night.
The Encore Event Technologies team celebrated in crafting a new, engaging way for clients’ guests to experience a brand story through creative technical production. The local team at Renewal SA were vital to the execution of the design element of the event, assisting Encore in bringing this ambitious vision to life.
Melissa Roberts, Carl Zeiss Pty Ltd, added, “taking advantage of 3D render technology during the design process enabled all stakeholders to visualise the moving parts before execution, streamlining the process.”
“We could not have asked for more from our Encore AV team. Ever accommodating, innovative and invested, they were genuinely excited about what we were creating together, and it showed in their commitment.
We truly gave our guests a unique experience to remember.”