This time a year ago, we were reflecting on a novel year for the events industry, with exhibitions making a mass comeback after the pandemic. We anticipated that it would be a little longer before we saw more predictable patterns, and we were right - 2024 has still not been a 'normal' year for events.
Nevertheless, together with our clients we've achieved some extraordinary things this year. We’ve worked with some fantastic brands in sectors like food and drink, pet care, renewable energy and more. We’ve produced some of our most creative work yet, and even won some awards along the way. It’s been another eventful year at Image Experiential, and we’re incredibly grateful to everyone that’s been with us for the ride.
There’s a lot of highlights to note, but we thought we’d condense some of the top ones here. So, without further ado….
Small Business of the Year Finalists
We began celebrating our highlights a few weeks ago, being selected as finalists for Small Business of the Year in the EDP Business Awards! And while we didn't take the winner's post, we're very proud runners-up in the Small Business category (as well as being shortlisted for the Sustainability Award, and our Managing Director Alex shortlisted for Director of the Year).
The Business Awards gave us a chance to take stock and look back on some of the extraordinary things we’ve achieved as a team, celebrating together and alongside some fantastic individuals and businesses.
Award-winning sustainability efforts
There is no denying the extraordinary scale of work to be done on sustainability, and the events sector must step up to account for our role in this.
It’s a responsibility we take seriously, and deliver it honestly as part of every project for every client.
Our long-term client Aviva have always taken a stand on sustainability too, working with us to bring ‘life cycle thinking’ into every part of the project process. At BIBA this year, these efforts were rewarded with Aviva awarded ‘Most Sustainable Stand’!
Crufts 2024: the biggest project in an eventful history
With its long-standing history as the biggest dog show in the world, Crufts has always been a big date in our calendar. This year, the show took a new shape entirely, with our clients striving for more creative and ambitious spaces. From country cottages to campfires, puppy play zones, custom kitchens and much more, we brought to life a wide range of creative concepts for our clients.
New stands and ambitious concepts meant a large volume of work across our team, making Crufts 2024 not just our biggest Crufts, but the biggest event in our entire 35-year history.
Taking local global
Bringing local brands to the global stage is always a rewarding part of our work across events and exhibitions. In 2023 we saw a return to European events following the pandemic, something that’s continued this year and taken us to several shows in Europe - from Electronica in Munich to World Brush Expo in Bologna.
Rumour has it, we’ll be heading back to Europe early next year, so watch this space to see what we're up to...
A mysterious giant Shoebox
A particular highlight of our eventful 2024, we worked with local social enterprise The Shoebox to get more eyeballs on their historic tours, as well as the important work The Shoebox Enterprises CIC does in our community.
The project took shape as a giant red shoebox, which we created and landed in Norwich’s Castle Quarter. And not just any giant red shoebox – inside was a mini discovery of The Shoebox Experiences’ key tours, brought to life by storytelling and an immersive sensory experience. You can read more about the project here.
Supporting international brands with UK events
We took on a unique project earlier in the year when Enshu approached us about the Speciality Fine Food Fair at Olympia. On behalf of the National Tax Agency of Japan, Enshu were assisting a number of Japanese drinks brands with exhibiting in the UK.
Working together, we created a stand that celebrated the unique flavours, expertise, and culture behind each exhibiting brand. Each exhibitor had space to shine, while benefitting from the halo effect of the ‘Sake & Spirits of Japan’ master brand and the support of their fellow exhibitors.
It was a space that celebrated innovation, international brands, and the passionate people behind them – everything that F&B events like Speciality Fine Food Fair are all about.
What’s more – the stand was awarded Gold Status in the Better Stands Scheme for our commitment to sustainability!
More extraordinary with Ecologi
Partnering with Ecologi since 2022, we’re on a mission to make events a sustainable part of marketing for the future. Our Ecologi contributions are attributed to our clients who by working with us, enable us to support a wide range of climate action initiatives, and make each event project climate positive.
What we’ve achieved so far…
· 23.18 tonnes of CO2 avoided
· 192 trees funded
· 28 climate action projects supported
Want to learn more about the initiatives we’ve supported through Ecologi? Take a look at our forest here.
2024 has been an eventful year. Pushing our creativity and challenging ways of working, we’ve solved a number of creative conundrums and delivered outcomes our clients can be proud of.
Our sincere thanks to every one of our clients who’ve entrusted us with an experiential marketing project this year. We look forward to creating more ‘extraordinary’ together in 2025.
OUR CHRISTMAS CLOSURE DATES:
We will close at 3PM Friday 20th December 2024
& reopen 8:30 AM Thursday 2nd January 2025
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