The unprecedented spike in interest has come in the wake of last week’s announcement confirming the postponement of the summer editions of the co-located ICE London and iGB Affiliate London shows, which will now take place in February 2022.
Barton (pictured below left) explained that iGB Live! and iGB Affiliate Amsterdam had always been popular in the industry. The last edition, held over 16 to 19 July 2019, achieved a satisfaction rating of +38, which she said put the shows “in the Premier Leagues of B2B events”.
“The level of interest measured by traffic to igblive.com, and more significantly by the number of enquiries that are being made directly to the sales team, underlines the strategic importance of iGB Live!,” Barton said.
“Our event will be the first established in-person show of 2021 for our industry and has all of the credentials to kick-start the beginning of the return to normal or to redefine what normal is and its implications for consumers and the industry.”
The enquires have come from a mix of stakeholders, she revealed, including those that would normally associate more closely with ICE London.
This, Barton said, highlights a desire across the industry to engage with the market in 2021, and a growing desire from the land-based sector to explore opportunities to diversify their offerings by moving online.
As a result, Clarion Gaming is looking to add new experiences, new content and new features to connect with the needs of the market.
Furthermore, iGB Live! 2021 will be run with the highest possible safety and security standards in place.
“The safety and security of the iGB Live! and iGB Affiliate community is at the top of our agenda and the owners of the RAI have put in place the very best in-venue Covid protocols and cleaning standards to ensure visitor safety, as has the mayor and the city of Amsterdam,” said Barton.
“I would be delighted to hear from any of our stakeholders who would like to contribute to this and help shape the look, feel and content of what will be the most important event of 2021,” she added. “I can be contacted on my personal email address: naomi.barton@clarionevents.com.”
Clarion Gaming will also run a series of digital engagement initiatives over 2021, providing its audiences with the latest insights and analysis of the market across multiple channels.
One of the tentpoles of this digital strategy will be ICE Connect, an invitation-only executive summit programme. This will see algorithms employed to scientifically match qualified, senior level decision-makers who have both buying power and immediate requirements with industry leading solution providers.
ICE Connect will run from 21 to 25 June, focused on Europe, then with a North American focus between 28 June and 2 July. A repeat of this schedule will then follow in the autumn.