Looking forward to AMRAE 2018

With the summer fast becoming a distant memory, the team have just returned from a planning trip to Marseilles ahead of AMRAE 2018, which is being held in the city in February next year.

We have supported clients at AMRAE for many years – starting in 2010. Over that time, we have seen it grow in terms of importance to the delegates. The agenda continues to respond to the ever-changing risk landscape and the investment that exhibitors have made in listening to the needs of the risk managers, and refining their products and services accordingly. With the need for even more insight and understanding as risks take on a more complex and geographical nature, exhibitors have increased their investment in AV and technology as a platform to show more easily their proposition and the support they can provide.

Long gone are the days when the meeting spaces/exhibition booths were bland and soulless – simply large spaces created by grey shell scheme walling and some furniture. Now, thought and creativity are evident in many of the spaces there – they have become platforms for companies to engage with their clients and prospects, spend time with them in an environment that makes the discussions easier, and a place that allows complex messages and propositions to be more easily communicated. The social side of AMRAE is still there – and long may it remain. It gives an excellent balance to the complex and detailed discussions – remembering that whilst technology and ‘online’ is so important in the marketplace of today, personal relationships and trust is still critical.

So, what do we think will be prominent at AMRAE 2018?

I think we can be certain that Cyber will be towards the top of the topics being discussed, plus the global economic outlook and the upcoming changes within Europe. People pressures and how they react to economic, political and social pressures has the opportunity to present some huge challenges, along with climate change – its impact and the position of the US will, I am sure, be a topic of debate. Historically, other events of this type have embraced social media more than AMRAE, but will this be the time that changes? We are certainly expecting greater investment in AV and technology to be part of the exhibition booths that we design and build. Brand and proposition will certainly be there too as companies look to differentiate themselves. The ‘Big Beasts’ will be in attendance as always, but will there be a place for the ‘disruptors’, the FinTech companies, and service suppliers?

We are already well advanced in our planning and design for AMRAE, but if you are looking for something new, a different take on the event, and what is possible, please don’t hesitate to reach out and we can talk through your objectives and plans. Don’t be afraid to challenge – don’t be afraid to be different.