Quality of visitors higher than ever at PALME 2005 exhibition

"This is our first time as an exhibitor at PALME" said John Steven, Director of Marketing for Sennheiser UK. "The show has very quickly grown in both size and international stature - the organisation of the event has been exceptional, and we have been particularly impressed with the high quality of visitors that we have met."

Now firmly established as the Middle East's premier professional sound, light, music, audio visual and systems integration exhibition, PALME is regarded as a must attend event on the international industry trade show calendar.

"The response from exhibitors has been extremely positive" said Darren Brechin, Project Director, PALME. "The remarkable growth of PALME is not only the result of the high quality of the event, but also our ongoing commitment to a strategy of highly focused promotion that has been designed to attract the visitors that our exhibitors want to meet. As event organisers, we are dedicated to putting key regional decision makers in contact with the world's leading manufacturers and suppliers - this, combined with the expansion of the show in the form of three additional dedicated industry sectors - Event 360, Install and Musac - has significantly increased the value and overall appeal of the show".

Install, Event 360 & MUSAC - the three new sectors of PALME, covering the AV installation, event staging and musical instruments sectors, resulted from extensive industry research - in-depth discussions with exhibitors, visitors and industry associations clearly showed that there was a real demand for additional dedicated events that would complement the core concept of PALME, which is internationally acknowledged as the key forum for the industry in the Middle East.

Exhibitors have also remarked on the effectiveness of the master classes and seminars, which gives them the opportunity to explain their new products and innovations to visitors, subsequently generating interest that has resulted in stand visits.

Martin Cockton of IBS Flightcases was another exhibitor to make special mention of the top quality of visitors attracted this year; "The outstanding plus point for us this year has been the visitor audience - everyone we have met has had real buying power and authority, meaning that a high number of deals have been completed at the show, which has proven to be very cost effective for us. We have taken good orders from companies based in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain at the show, and have also met with interested potential customers from as far away as South Africa."

Supported by PLASA UK, the professional lighting and sound association (one of the few shows in the world to receive their official endorsement), and other major industry associations including APIAS (Italy), Secartys (Spain), VPLT (Germany) and ILDA (U.S.), this year's show has seen PALME strengthen and enhance its international stature.

Osram, one of the two largest lighting companies in the world, used PALME to promote their range of highly specialised lamps. "We doubled the size of our stand this year based on the success of last year's event" said Peter Rothnie, Marketing Manager, Osram. We have received some good orders for our speciality lamps, and the show has proven very successful for us, due to the high quality of visitors".

"Based on the high number of exhibitors that have already confirmed their participation at PALME 2006, we are confident that the show will be even bigger next year" added Darren Brechin of organisers IIR Middle East. "We will continue to enhance and develop the show in line with the requirements of the industry, exhibitors and visitors to ensure that the event builds on this year's success" he concluded.