PALAIS DES CONGRÈS:
On the cutting edge The Palais
The Palais des congrès de Montréal leads all others thanks to a best-in-class technology environment
It was a phone call that took Marie-Josée Boilard a little bit by surprise. A group of signage experts from Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts wanted Boilard to advise them on how to offer more creative digital signage ideas to their meeting and event clients.
MGM operates tens of thousands of digital screens in Vegas, but they’d heard about the Palais des congrès’s recent $5-million technology upgrade, and were impressed by the gold award the conference centre had won at the Digital Signage Expo 2014 APEX Awards.
GOLD, EVENT VENUES CATEGORY—DIGITAL SIGNAGE EXPO 2014 APEX AWARDS
FINALIST, WORLD’S BEST CONGRESS CENTRE 2014—INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CONVENTION CENTRES (AIPC)
“They wanted to see how we do things in Montréal,” says Boilard, assistant director of event technologies at the Palais. The Vegas entourage spent a day learning about the Palais’s ultramodern convention and exhibition space, and how the high-performance tech environment enables the creative coordination and packaging of assets, including ideas for helping event planners generate additional revenue.
Digital integration is the key. The Palais’s recent technological upgrade features a 90-sq.-ft. video wall and 90 HD screens throughout the facility, including more than a dozen mobile screens. Now, the integration of content—from event information to sponsor messaging—is quick and easy, and can also be updated on conference mobile apps.
The ability to bring on new sponsors and other partners is a big deal to event planners who are always looking for ways to generate new revenue, says Boilard. The screens located in the Palais’s commercial mall are often used to generate excitement and advance ticket sales for public events—a bonus given that the busy concourse is home to restaurants and boutiques, and through which thousands of people walk every day thanks to its direct access to Montréal’s metro system and underground pedestrian network.