The results are in for the inaugural Realise Innovation Competition.
The competition encouraged ideas for new products and services for the meetings and events sector, and was supported by International Confex. The results were due to be announced at the show, but when this was moved to September it was decided not to wait.
“We will still be at Confex, showcasing many of the entries, but we felt it fair to announce the results on the scheduled date,” said Realise CEO David Preston.
Initially there were four cash prizes offered, but Realise COO Richard John explained that the judges were completely divided: “We had some really excellent entries, but we weren’t reaching a conclusion, so we decided to mix things up. So instead of dividing the £10,000 amongst 4 winners, we chose 6.”
Preston added: “We have been thrilled by the response to the competition, and all the winners will be receiving their prizes in the next few days, no strings attached. However, we are already in discussions with several of them to see how we can help them make their ideas a reality – and that’s really what this is all about.”
Walking away with £1,000 were:
- Alexandra Reimann, for Travel Sisters Events
- Claudia Cavariani, for Origin All
- Esther Barrientos, for Tha Jam Hub
- Daniella Gluck, for Virtual Concert Hall
And receiving £3,000 were the two first-place winners:
- Adam Fillary (in association with MESA) for T.R.I.P.S/remote Concierge
- Kate Rushton for Crowd Create
Fillary said: “MESA could not be more excited to have been awarded this prize at such an early stage of our existence. We are not only here to benefit our members and support the wider MICE industry as we feel our way back into physical events, but to also stoke up innovation and collaboration to see an even stronger event sector than ever before. Thank you for helping us enable the TRIPS concept at UK events in 2021 which may have not even been possible without this competition award and the support it brings.”
