Cool as ICE

Stuart Hunter, Managing Director, Clarion Gaming

“Making the right connections – it’s what ICE London is all about,” says Stuart Hunter, Managing Director, Clarion Gaming as he chats with Casino Life

hat will ICE 2023 look like and how

Wwill it be different to what people have

experienced in the past?

Our primary focus for ICE 2023 has been to see a ‘full scale’ return of ICE, back to its prepandemic best. We have in some ways used the 2020 event as the roadmap, ensuring that the return of the missing suppliers is all in place and that we can offer a complete sector experience for the global industry. Demand to join the roster of exhibiting brands at the show for 2023 has been unprecedented and allowed us to curate the trade-show floor in line with the wants and needs of the industry. All of this will culminate in the largest event in ICE’s history with the greatest mix of products, services, solutions and opportunities, all underpinned by ICE’s ability to be the platform for thousands of exclusives.

As ICE 2023 will be bigger than ever, how are you helping attendees – both exhibitors and visitors – get the most out of their ICE London experience?

Our challenge is to continue to grow ICE London and underscore its attractiveness to buyers at the same time as recognising the need to invest in the tools, technology and human resources to ensure that all stakeholders can maximise the return on their ICE investment. It’s extremely important that exhibitors and visitors are able to take full advantage of what live events provide and that’s the opportunity for visitors and exhibitors to meet, connect and to do business. On a practical level bigger events can be harder to navigate which is why we have invested in the My ICE Gateway, which has been created as a matchmaking and event-discovery tool. The platform empowers attendees to ‘deep dive’ into the ICE London offering

and engages with other attendees including exhibitors and show content – all using a single tool. My ICE will be officially launched in the New Year and will enable our customers to plan their attendance in advance and engage with the community of visitors and exhibitors before the doors open at ExCeL London and ensure connections continue after the event. It’s about making the very most of the huge opportunities that are created when you put the world’s leading innovators together with serious buyers who have travelled to London to make the connections that are fundamental to business and trade. We have also created a dedicated customer-success team which is working alongside both our exhibitors and attendees with the sole objective of enhancing the show experience. We are also producing ‘How-to Guides’ and best-practice insights to help ensure exhibitors capture leads, have the right conversations at show and amplify their brand voice in front of what is the most influential international gathering in world gaming. ICE is too valuable an opportunity to miss.

You are responsible for what is a huge event – how do you ensure that ICE reflects the needs of the market?

That’s a really good question: I would imagine that the common perception is that we simply respond to demand and of course we can only supply space to organisations that are willing to make that investment! However, when it comes to releasing the final tranche of stands, we cross-reference the show floor against the feedback from research that we have undertaken with visitors. I always think the most valuable research is the body of work that identifies those areas where we need to improve. A consistent focus on customer insight underpins Clarion Gaming’s approach to our products and services, and our symposia held in London and Las Vegas this year are just examples amongst a host of touch points. For example, customer feedback from 2022 has highlighted a host of areas where new-product discovery is of interest, including social gaming, poker and NFTs, so this helps instruct our commercial account managers to explore new brands that plug those gaps, rather than simply accommodating existing demand. The ICE show floor has to reflect the needs of buyers and to have a balance covering all of the gaming verticals. ICE has flourished by serving the needs of the entire international gaming neighbourhood which it will continue to do.

You’ve expanded the ICE Ambassador programme – how has this initiative worked and what does it contribute?

I’m delighted to confirm that EUROMAT President Jason Frost and Dr. Laila Mintas, co-founder and CEO of PlayEngine, have accepted invitations to join the ICE Ambassador team, which comprises a consultative body of industry thought leaders who give their time to help guide the future development of what continues to be the leading exhibition for the global gaming industry. They join fellow ICE Ambassadors Simon Thomas (CEO, Hippodrome Casino), Tiina Siltanen (general manager, Casino Helsinki), Tracy Damestani (chief corporate affairs officer, Ambassadeurs Group), Birgitte Sands (senior advisor on gambling regulation and former head of the Danish Gambling Authority), Simon Collins (executive chairman at Backstageplay Inc.), Ian Shanahan (director of business development, YGAM) and Victor Rocha (conference chair, Indian Gaming Association). The purpose of our Ambassador initiative is to ensure that ICE is in step with and responsive to the needs of the business across all verticals and international jurisdictions. The Ambassadors are drawn from throughout gaming, ensuring that we have a varied mix of individuals, roles, and experience who can sense-check our strategic thinking and provide the broadest possible industry feedback and guidance. The fact that we have been able to navigate the last three years is due in no small part to the support of our Ambassadors, for which I am hugely grateful.

Does the staging of a successful G2E diminish the appeal of ICE in any way?

No, not at all, if anything I would say it has whetted the appetite for the international community to book their flights to London and, if they are landing at Heathrow, take advantage of the new Elizabeth Line train service that links the airport to ExCeL London in just 43 minutes! We had a number of the team with us in Vegas and it was an uplifting experience to see G2E back to its pre-pandemic best and to feel the sense of energy that only a live event can deliver. A strong G2E is positive for everyone involved in the global industry and it augurs well for February’s edition of ICE London. At G2E we were told by a significant number of exhibitors that they had scheduled their development plans in order to do a global launch in London. Their opinion is that ICE is the only place to conduct a global launch on the basis that it’s the only show that regularly attracts visitors from over 150 nations.

How would you summarise the appeal of ICE London?

As you would imagine, we spend a lot of time with our customers exploring why ICE is so important to their businesses and to the international community. The primary and most powerful reason for attending is the

calibre of the ICE exhibitors, who provide access to the very latest innovations, and technology solutions. Learning is also really significant—both curated learning via ICE VOX or the knowledge that comes from meeting with colleagues. Overall, ICE provides an opportunity to gather ideas, connect with the right people from all sectors of the industry, and discover new products over what is a precious and unique week in February.

What does success look like?

With so many different audiences drawn from so many different sectors coming together at ICE London, the specific criterion for measuring success will be slightly different. However, the common denominator, whether you are an operator from South America, a machine developer from Europe, a regulator from Australia or a safer-gambling charity working out of London is ‘connections.’ If you connect with the right audiences and leave ICE armed with contacts wanting to collaborate or do business then it will have been a successful experience. From our perspective as organisers, success is a happy and energised community of buyers and sellers. The objectives are simple; it’s how we help achieve them that’s the challenge!

To register for ICE 2023 which takes place across 7-9 February, ExCeL London visit www.icelondon.uk.com