Hello, everyone!

I’m Ema, in my first year at GP, where Sailor Moon outfits are becoming part of my work attire.

This time, I’m excited to report on AIME Melbourne 2024, which New Nitta, Murakami, and I participated in! For those who read about our last exhibition at IBTM Barcelona 2023, I hope you enjoy comparing the two experiences!

First up: Swifties in the City!?

Upon arriving in Melbourne, we were struck by the influential power of singer Taylor Swift. During our stay, Taylor had a concert, leading to an overflow of fans (known as Swifties) dressed in pink and sequined outfits throughout the city. It was a moment that truly highlighted the impact of a single music icon.

Let’s go!!! AIME Melbourne 2024

The Asia Pacific Incentives & Meetings Event (AIME) was held from February 19th to 21st at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. It’s a key trade event in the Asia-Pacific region for the meetings and events industry, where decision-makers connect, create, and conduct business.

This exhibition was anticipated to be more conducive to business connections than our previous ones in Las Vegas and Barcelona, setting our expectations high!

Insights from the Exhibition

Unlike IMEX and IBTM, AIME’s schedule included keynote speeches, business sessions, and networking events on the first day, followed by business meetings on the second and third days.

[2/19 Keynote Speeches & Business Sessions]

I’ll share some notable insights from the keynote speeches and sessions:

Keynote Speaker: Lisa Ronson on “Leadership and Culture in the Age of Glocalization”

・The essence of purposeful leadership
・People often overlook the individual impact
・Lack of leadership is a primary reason talented individuals leave organizations.
・79% leave due to not receiving appropriate recognition from leaders.
・Bad leaders can still offer valuable lessons as negative examples.

[Leadership 5 Principles]

• Consideration
• Context
• Clarity
• Removing Obstacles
• Celebration

[Companies excelling in Glocalization]

Adobe
Meta
Starbucks
Whirlpool
Tourism Australia
With McDonald’s being the top example
Keynote Speaker: Seb Terry on “Living Your List”
The importance of comprehensively listing and achieving your dreams and ambitions.How a list can help identify your strengths, values, impact on others, and ways to overcome challenges.
Choose a goal
Verbally share your goal (42% achievement rate)
Send your goal in a message to someone (95% achievement rate)
[2/19 Networking & Welcome Event]

Networking event

Welcome Event

What I learned from Business Meeting Sessions [2/20 – 2/21]

[Insights from the Business Meeting Sessions 2/20]

・LGBTQ Event “Mardi Gras”
Despite the prevalence of LGBTQ events worldwide, they’re not as familiar in Japan. A conversation with an organizer of the Mardi Gras LGBTQ event sparked the idea of bringing such an event to Japan, aligning with my past interview at GP where I expressed a desire to organize LGBTQ events.

・Mardi Gras
https://www.mardigras.org.au/

・World Pride
https://www.mardigras.org.au/worldpride/

[Insights from the Business Meeting Sessions 2/21]

・Future Prospects for the Japanese Market
Most companies based in Australia are expanding their business scale to nearby New Zealand. Japan isn’t far from Australia in terms of distance, but the smaller population of English speakers in Japan makes market expansion challenging. This is seen as an opportunity to bring international business to GP.

In Conclusion
Being our third exhibition, AIME Melbourne 2024 allowed us to approach it more relaxedly. We’re committed to successfully developing the projects we’ve heard about during the exhibition. And look forward to changing up our outfits for the next one!

AIME Photo Highlights

[Partner Edition]

[Fashion Artist Danni B.]

[Booth Edition]

Featuring “song division” for music-themed team building.

[Performance Edition]