Some of you most probably had an opportunity to read last year's article about GITEX and my first experience with this exhibition, so I thought it would be a good idea to share my experience in 2018.
Friday morning, 4th October, all Markable team at DWTC and the party were about to start for the next 48h. When I say party, I mean running around figuring out from which entrance we will offload the equipment. The branding we print last night after the client decides to make some changes at the last minute, why this chair is here, and so on… Yeah, this might look like a mess for someone from outside, but it's just a "normal day in the office."
Futuristic Tenable stand designed and built by Markable.
This time we had twice more clients, a bigger team, and precious experience from the 2017 GITEX exhibition. So trust me when I say – the last one was crucial.
Custom stand for Veeam Software at the 2019 GITEX Exhibition.
Saturday night, all exhibition stands up, clean and shine, marketing materials distributed, branding on the place, and just seating there, eating our shawarma, and happy that job is done.
Open-design stand built for French network operators, Sigfox. Designed, built and managed by Markable.
Sunday came, thousands of people mingling around. I am coordinating an army of promoters and praying to God to nothing goes wrong. I still can't believe that everything went so smoothly so far. Photographer taking shots- checked. A10 Networks gets final delivery of brochures- checked. Veeam TV screens working – checked. Tenable promoters on the place, Sigfox – checked, what I forget? Business cards, of course. I am running through halls to the CA Automation booth, taking my business cards, saying hi to clients on the way – all smiling, all good. This is my lucky day.
Side stand for CA Automation at the GITEX Expo.
I don't know how most of you are pitch clients, but I like exhibitions because I can show them my work. So, I started walking around, greeting people – the IT community in Dubai is quite significant. Once you get in – everybody knows everyone. Long story short, four days after, I couple more new clients, many new things I learned, and one more GITEX older. Yes, I started counting my years here from GITEX to GITEX, because lets are honest, it was, and it is one of the most significant and most visited exhibitions in DWTC.
Toshiba exhibition stand in the center stage of GITEX.
This year I was positively surprised by the number of startups and new ideas I saw. Many young, smart people with incredible energy came here to show the world what they can and what they will do. Make me smile; I think it's started with my generation, dream big – because why not. It's so true! You can do everything, idea, a good plan, and dedication – after, the sky is the limit! Today even that is not the last stop.
I took a couple of photos, here and there, to get some ideas for future projects, met many new, interesting people, learn from them, and get inspired for the next 365 days until GITEX 2019.
As a passionate marketing & event professional, I'm client-oriented, with an instructive sales approach, and I do believe that " The power of mouth" is one of the best ways of advertising your work.
