Aztec Event Services awarded in-house AV contract at Business Design Centre

The venue’s AV support is set to be greater than ever, now that the London venue has partnered with
Aztec Event Service, the international award-winning audio-visual production company. Aztec will be
the venue’s preferred supplier and can assist exhibitors, exhibition organisers, corporate clients and
design agencies from a dedicated office and store room within the centre.

“We are very pleased to have won the contract for providing the in-house audio-visual services for the
BDC,” says Chloe Retter, Sales Manager for Aztec UK. “From LED screens to printers, from creative
AV renderings to live recording solutions, we are thrilled to have a dedicated office at the venue to
further assist clients even more comprehensively with their enquiries.

Our expert technical team will work with the BDC to ensure that their clients receive the outstanding levels of service that they have
come to expect from the venue. We are excited to be providing engaging and creative audio-visual
experiences with over 2,500 square metres of available event space at the BDC.”

John Robson, Managing Director at Aztec UK, added, “We are on a mission to make the AV hire
experience accessible, quality-focused, and as friendly as possible to UK and international exhibitors
at the BDC. We want them to hold amazing live events and expand their audience reach even further.
Both of our organisations share similar values and high standards. We are looking forward to
exploring creative technical solutions to exceed organiser’s and clients’ expectations, and this
partnership will allow us to deliver a top quality service to the BDC for many years to come.”

The London-based company, which has recently expanded its operation in the Spanish city of
Barcelona, is already the contracted supplier to over 700 UK and International events a year and is
now looking to assist with over 200 events a year at the BDC.

Executive Director of Venue Sales for the BDC, Max Bull, comments, “We are really excited to
announce our partnership with Aztec who will become our new in house Audio Visual supplier. We
have admired their work in the venue for a number of years and like all of our in house relationships it
is crucial for us to be aligned with companies that are so customer focussed.

John and his team will be a fantastic addition to the Business Design Centre and I am confident that they will help us deliver
and continue to grow our ever expanding award winning conference sector alongside the busy
exhibition schedule for many years to come.”

• Aztec’s Silent Seminar System delivers a high quality audio experience
• No interruptions and no need for expensive soundproofing
• Greater freedom and flexibility to locate theatres wherever you choose

Aztec’s Silent Seminar system improves the audience experience in terms of clarity and accessibility. Now organisers can enjoy increased capacity, flexibility and most importantly reliably deliver quality of sound to their delegates. It eliminates the need for soundproof structures that are costly for the event organiser.

Using the Silent Seminar System, event organisers can now position their seminar theatres with complete freedom. By eliminating all loudspeakers, seminar theatres can hold bigger audiences. The signal radiators can be sited wherever needed so they can also accommodate odd-shaped theatres.

Every audience member has a personal volume control, and can hear the presentation in crystal clear audio wherever they are sitting, whilst the headset helps to screen out peripheral sounds. Audience members with hearing aids can be provided with an induction loop (instead of a headset) that will transmit the audio presentation directly to their hearing device.

A sophisticated system, simply delivered

Aztec’s Silent Seminar System delivers a speaker’s voice or an audio presentation via headsets plugged into individual pocket receivers.

The audio signal is taken from the main PA and instead of being routed to amplifiers and speakers, it is sent to a number of ‘radiators’. These ‘radiators’ then use high frequency infra-red light waves to broadcast the signal to the pocket receivers.

Organised by Imago Techmedia, IP EXPO is now the biggest IT infrastructure and cloud event in the UK.  IP EXPO Europe 2017 took place at ExCeL and was co-located with two other shows, Cyber Security Expo and MACHINA Summit.AI.

IP EXPO Europe 2017 was the biggest show yet, attracting 15,593 visitors to the event, a 1% increase on 2016. Aztec has been involved in this large show since 2011.To give an idea of the scale, for the 2017 event, three articulated lorries full of equipment were required to transport the equipment to ExCeL. This was a 35% increase on equipment Aztec had provided in 2016. In addition, 29 technicians per day were used for the installation and 30 were on site throughout the show to address any issues and manage the theatres and all the other services we were providing.

IP EXPO Europe’s objective was to grow the number of European and UK delegates. Their strategy was to deliver relevant, contentious and interesting topics through a new international keynote conference and associated seminars. Although this was not a new event for Aztec, the scale and complexity of the 2017 event was set to be a challenge.

At the planning stage Aztec began to realise the complexity of the task, simply due to the volume and variety of equipment that would be used. This included; audio visual services to all 21 seminar theatres including the keynote area, live video streaming, 6.1m wide front projection screen with 14k widescreen HD projector, digital signage, silent seminars, AV services to more than 150 exhibitors and a total of 180 wall mounted screens. This would need 30 technicians per day all under Aztec’s management.

The highlight of the IP Expo Europe event was to be the keynote speaker Prof. Brian Cox OBE, the world renowned physicist. Imago advised Aztec that registration to attend this presentation had already exceeded the capacity of the theatre.  To cope with this exceptional demand, the organisers decided to stream the speech live to another 20 theatre areas at the show. Using its video streaming system, Aztec ensured that the maximum number of delegates could enjoy this important presentation.

To deliver the best experience of the keynote speech, the speaker needed to be visible to all delegates, irrespective of their position in the room.  After evaluating the lighting conditions within the venue, Aztec decided the best solution would be use front projection using one of its high power HD projectors to feed a 6.1metre wide screen.  Combined with a carefully positioned sound system, Aztec’s technicians ensured everybody could hear and see everything.

The remaining 20 theatres were smaller and required a smaller projection screen to create the same effect. The lack of space clearly meant that in order to achieve the best image quality, rear projection would be the best solution.  Although there was the issue of some theatres being placed on the show floor, creating a noise pollution issue, this was not a problem for the Aztec team. They simply installed their Silent Seminar solution, providing perfect audio quality to attendees – this utilised over 120 headsets.

However, the sheer number of theatres required a sophisticated way to disseminate information to attendees. Aztec used their EventIgnite platform to display the theatre agenda and centrally control all the information being shown on the 22 screens. This bespoke software was able to combine the agenda with high-impact sponsored adverts to drive attendees to exhibitor stands. In total an impressive 11,040 adverts were displayed across the two full two days of the show.

The large number of theatres and speakers also meant that managing the organiser’s presentations and distributing them to the correct laptop, in the correct room, was going to be a demanding task. In response to this challenge, Aztec installed a file server to automate this service and allowed speakers to add last minute changes to their presentation in the ‘Speaker Ready room’.

‘Impressive’

All of these elements combined meant the show was an outstanding success on all levels. IP EXPO Europe was a large show in terms of equipment installed and services provided to the organiser. Its smooth running was much appreciated by the event organisers:

Mindy Crosby, Head of Operations at Imago Techmedia sang the praises of Aztec after the show, saying “Aztec mobilised an army of technicians to deliver superb AV services right across the show. I was impressed by how well they managed a very complex project, proving they have the capacity and bandwidth to service the most demanding events”

Furthermore, Aztec has proved once again that they can rise to the challenge and manage any event, be it big, small or huge!

Date: 6th-8th June 2016

Venue: Olympia, London

Infosecurity Europe is Europe’s number one information security event with over 360 exhibitors showcasing the most diverse range of products and services to 18,000 infosecurity professionals..

• Keynote Conference
• 3 x Seminar Theatres
• Closed Theatre session (Pillar Room)
• Live Video and Audio Streaming
• Show Floor Theatre – ‘Cyber Innovation Showcase’
• 12 x Digital Signage screens
• 20 ‘Smart Space’ stands
• 40+ Exhibitors stands
• 24 Onsite Technicians

The entire set and stage was supplied from stock and installed and supported by Aztec’s in-house technical team.

Two Christie M Series 14k HD projectors displayed content on the screens, and audio via a line array system plus, of course, a range of switching and mixing hardware. A full stage wash provided colour to the set. Aztec also provided full power distribution to the theatre and all the LED room lighting.

The room was managed by a project manager, sound technician, data tech and video tech.

To accommodate the overflow of visitors who wanted to attend the keynote theatre sessions, Aztec provided an area where presentations could be transmitted via their Video Streaming System. This was transmitted via the venue network as opposed to running cables all over the hall.

Audio was then monitored by Aztec’s technicians to ensure that the visitors experienced a level of sound clarity as if they were inside the actual theatre.

Using Aztec’s Silent Seminar system eliminates the common problem of noise pollution.

This was particularly effective at Infosecurity where so many sessions were running simultaneously with open theatres adjacent to one another.

Obviously this enhanced the visitor experience but it also gave the organiser a cost efficient alternative to building sound proofed theatres on the show floor. This was a “win win” for the organiser.

Aztec’s Digital Signage system provided information to visitors throughout the show. Screens were dotted around the floor showing theatre programme information, sponsors adverts, calls to action and a twitter feed. The theatre programme was connected directly to the Infosecurity web site so that any last minute changes to the programme on the web site were immediately reflected on the screens at the show.

The organiser sold a number of ad slots to exhibitors and ads were produced by Aztec for those sponsors.

The central bar area was sponsored by Palo Alto Networks. Aztec’s digital signage software was programmed so that tweets appeared as follows – one third for Palo Alto, one third for the organisers and one third for all other exhibitors. Both blacklists and whitelists were operated simultaneously. As a result the networking bar with the large LED screen proved a big hit with everyone!

In addition to dealing with the theatres, the organiser’s 20 Smartspace stands and 40+ exhibitor stands, digital signage, silent seminars and streaming across the venue network, Aztec also contracted to provide large video walls for three of the main exhibitors at the show. This involved working closely with each exhibitor’s agency/stand builder in the run up to the show to ensure that the build and equipment were optimised for the space.

Furthermore, Olympia had two other events happening at the same time, which made the pre-show planning and coordination all the more important on the run up to the show.

The main challenge at Infosecuirty was the sheer scale of the event.

Aztec were asked to manage multiple areas around the venue as well as applying lots of different technologies and skills.

By working closely with the show organiser every area was discussed and planned meticulously so that the best option for each theatre, seminar and feature area were met and aligned with the show’s overall objectives.

Organiser: Govnet Communications
Show: UK Health Show
Venue: Olympia
Date: 27th September 2017
One-day build

• Improve overall image
• Deal with overcrowded theatres
• Produce efficiencies with floor space to increase revenue generating opportunities
• Record all sessions
• Deliver all requirements on a static budget and one-day build

Canvas-wrap sets provide a quick and effective solution to improving image. The team went the next step for the main theatres, with bigger, more striking structures.  Aztec could cover everything for the theatres and seminars from the bespoke sets, rigging and lighting solutions and all other AV requirements. With all the equipment to hand – large projection, PA systems and lighting that could be flown, silent conference – every option could be made to work.
 

The show expanded into West Olympia in 2016 – this increased costs, so Aztec redesigned the floor plan to fit back in the original space.

• Identified ‘dead space’ caused by pillars and designed a theatre around them
• Used a combination of closed and open seminars / PA’s and Silent Seminar

Our project managers went through the floor plans meticulously to find the best way to position areas so sound would push away and not disrupt each other as well as considering optimum use of space and acoustic factors such as low ceilings.

The team helped cost effectively drive revenue by fulfilling all recording requirements

• Utilising team already onsite kept costs down
• Streamed into overflow areas
• Edited recordings in-house