On the evening of 1 February 2018, AAXO hosted Southern Africa’s most reputable exhibitors and organisers at the annual and exclusive ROAR Awards. The evening was a black-and-gold affair with glitz-and-glam everywhere and its sole purpose was to celebrate the work of outstanding professionals in a broad range of categories in relation to the organising and exhibition industry. With an array of award categories and a high volume of entries, the ROAR Awards’ success truly reiterates the high level of professionalism and standard the industry strives towards maintaining.

The ROAR Awards were well received among the entire exhibitor, organiser and supplier community of Southern Africa.  The Awards have become renowned for the opportunities it offers for industry players to unite, celebrate their successes, enjoy recognition for their hard and excellent work and gain credibility at the same time. An overwhelming amount of entries were judged with almost one-third of the entries being in the new categories of Social Media and Africa Bound.

This year’s event highlighted the level of merit in the African exhibition industry yet again. Not only was there an increase in quantity, but the quality of entries received was outstanding. Both the Exhibitor and Organiser categories were judged on pre-set criteria like successful exhibition strategy incorporating marketing, activation, stand construction and ROI. For the Organiser Awards, public relations were also adjudicated.

The Best Overall Exhibition of the Year Award (2017), the most prestigious award in the industry, was won by Spintelligent for their African Utility Week exhibition.  “It was an honour and really motivating to be recognised for all the hard work and effort that went into arranging an innovative exhibition that adds value to the visitors and delivers real ROI. It is motivating not just to our team but to every exhibitor – to up their game…”

AAXO Organising members had the opportunity to vote for the Best Venue and Best Associate Member. Gallagher Convention Centre won the Best Venue Award (2017), and GL Events was the winner of the Best Associate Member Award (2017).

Two teams of judges, consisting of prominent industry leaders and experts, had the difficult task to select the ROAR 2017 winners. The Exhibitor category was judged by Projeni Pather (Vice Chair, AAXO), Leatitia van Straten and Dee Reuvers (Board Members, AAXO) and Jaqui Reynolds (Member, AAXO) while the Organiser section judges were Talita Myburg (HOD, Activations and Experiential Marketing, Grey Group), Chantal Riley (Marketing Manager, Clockwork Media SA), Clinton Soutter (National Sales Manager, Franke South Africa), Charlene Olivier (Creative Director AMEA, Grey Group), Atul Todi (Co-founder and CEO, 10times), Lance Gibbons  (Publishing Editor, Film Event Media),  Tom Hall (Editor, Exhibition World) and Joey Pather (CEO, GIGEC China).

The ROAR Awards were hosted under the umbrella of the Exhibitions Industry Alliance (EIA), in conjunction with EXSA. It was well attended, and guests were enchanted with the program, entertainment, the good spirit and networking opportunities.

Carol Weaving, Chairperson of AAXO, thanked the panel of judges for considering entries of such distinction as well as EXSA for their partnership in hosting the Exhibition Industry Awards. Weaving continued thanking the entrants for attending, the outstanding quality of their entries and their commitment to the industry. In one statement Weaving encapsulated the sole purpose of both AAXO and the ROAR Awards, noting that “AAXO was created to bring quality, credibility, transparency and professionalism to the exhibition industry. When our members prosper, so do we”. Indeed, after the success of both the Exhibition of Exhibitions as well as the ROAR awards, it once again proves that 2018 will be a successful year for AAXO and its members.

To view the full list of winners click here – https://aaxo.co.za/aaxo-roar-awards-2017-winners/