Nowadays a meeting is more than gathering people in a room. It’s a vehicle that tells a story, engaging the audience from the moment they walk through the doors. At International Confex, the UK’s leading event designed for conference organisers, PSAV® Presentation Services will be on hand at stand G132 to talk with planners about making meetings more engaging, more memorable and, ultimately, more meaningful.

PSAV provides the ideas and technology that inspire great meetings, managing event technology for meeting planners and producers across the corporate, association and tradeshow markets. The company provides an unparalleled range of audiovisual technology and with more than 800 partner locations worldwide. In 2011, PSAV Europe produced more than 8,750 shows in the UK alone, supporting presentations to more than 275,500 attendees.

"Competition for attendees’ attention is getting stronger," said Hamish Slengard, PSAV Europe senior account executive. "PSAV has spent the past five decades creating event experiences that transcend the meeting room, the ballroom, and even the event itself. We do this not by using smart technologies alone, but by bringing bright ideas to the table from the moment an event is contracted at a venue."

"Some event technology companies are simply order takers," he said. "They provide just what is requested, execute the event, and then move on. At PSAV, we look at each event – no matter how big or small – as the start of a long-term customer relationship. That means bringing more than just equipment to a meeting. We marry the technology to inspiration so our clients’ meetings will have the greatest impact on their audiences."

International Confex will be held 6-8 March at ExCel London, the city’s International Conference Centre which will host some of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics events this summer. This is the first time in 20 years that Confex has moved from Earl’s Court to London’s International Conference Centre, putting the venue in closer proximity to the London City Airport, as well as cross rail and cable car transportation.

New to Confex for 2012 is ‘Association Day’, an educational conference aimed specifically at buyers and planners of association-run events. Combining practical workshops with inspiring speakers, the programme will allow delegates to pick and choose sessions they feel most relevant.

The main event will feature four content-themed seminar theatres, including: Business and Corporate Theatre, Organising and Production Theatre, Marketing and Agency Theatre and Best of British Showcase Theatre. At each theatre, motivational presentations will complement practical sessions with talks on the digital age and latest technologies, the Hybrid Age and the Future of Cities, customer service exercises, global citizenship and the forthcoming London 2012 Olympics.

"2012 is an exciting time to come to London and exhibit at Excel," said Robert Reed, PSAV global sales manager. "In just six months, the world’s best athletes and international spectators will fill Excel’s five arenas to host some of the Olympic and Paralympic events, and I am certain that the anticipation and spirit of this event will be present during Confex.

"It’s with shared enthusiasm that PSAV comes to Confex and Excel London to introduce attendees to our broad range of audiovisual services and discuss with them how we can make their meetings or events more successful," Reed said. "It’s important for planners to understand that technology alone doesn’t make a great production. A global network of people does. PSAV has a team of technicians and global sales professionals that are second to none. We encourage everyone attending International Confex to pre-schedule a meeting with PSAV to see first-hand how we can make their next event more engaging, more memorable and, ultimately, more meaningful."

Companies and event planners interested in pre-scheduling an appointment with PSAV should contact Lisa Wulf at +44 208 896 6132 or email lwulf@psav.com.