Our long-time client, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) hosted their 2023 annual meeting at Marriott Harbor Beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. AEM is North America’s leading organization advancing construction and agriculture equipment manufacturers in the global marketplace. Bringing in around 500 of their members, the annual meeting provides an opportunity for AEM to share with its members how they continue to speak for the industry.
Having partnered with AEM for over 30 years, we make it our goal to bring the ‘WOW!’ factor, year after year. So for the 2023 annual meeting, we made it rain.
Drawing upon the theme of the meeting, “Small Changes Ripple Big Impact,” we pitched the idea for a curtain of water, or water wall, as part of the stage design. Water walls like this are typically used as a pretty decoration to be admired outside an event, but we planned to bring the water indoors and make it the main feature. Rather than walking around and admiring the water wall, our presenters would walk through it, and the water would interact with the presentations. The feature wall would draw the audience in and get attendees excited throughout the conference. Yet, we knew that if we wanted to make a splash at the annual meeting, we had to execute our plans with exact precision. So, our technical team went to work planning every detail.
As show producers, we not only handle the creation, construction, and planning, we also handle the extensive considerations of bringing a large water feature into a hotel. For example, with the hotel ballroom of the event on the 3rd floor, we had to obtain the right insurance to pump 350 gallons of water into their event space (that’s equivalent to 7 full bathtubs). Additionally, we had to deal with mitigating the risks of a potentially slippery stage for performers and presenters (ultimately, a simple mop and squeegee proved to do the job). Once these issues were resolved, we were ready to dive into the fun stuff – the design. A collection trough was integrated into the system and proved to be the best way to collect and recycle the water while minimizing the splash zone. With careful planning, we made the system work like a printer, releasing the droplets in precise patterns, and even allowed speakers to pass through the water while staying dry. In addition to the water curtain displaying intricate designs and ripple patterns, we had to have the ability to turn the water off entirely, revealing the LED wall behind the waterfall displaying graphics that accompanied the presenters as they passed through the water wall.
But as the saying goes, when it rains, it pours. On day 2 of the conference, power went out across the majority of the venue. With technology and electricity being such an integral part of conferences, we had to think fast to keep the meeting afloat so AEM could continue to conduct business. Luckily, the Florida weather was on our side. Using power from the small sections of the hotel with electricity, our problem-solving, day-saving, event team got to work setting up the meeting to continue outdoors. We grabbed a generator from the nearest hardware store and brought speakers, microphones, and everything else needed to keep the conference running smoothly on the beach outside the hotel. Two panel discussions were held outdoors before power was restored and we were able to do the closing sessions, water wall and all, from the ballroom. The conference was a huge hit! Audiences were wowed by the water wall, speeches were given, and a good time was had by all.