Despite difficult economic conditions, one of the nation’s biggest events of the year, the CES Show in Vegas, has had its best year yet.
According to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), CES 2012 was its biggest in 44 years, with over 1.851 million net square feet.
The show, which was held Jan 10-13, boasted more than 3,100 companies exhibiting across seven separate halls and revealing over 20,000 new products.
The show drew a record crowd of more than… Read the rest of this entry »
One of the biggest events in the US exhibitions calendar, the CES technology and gadget show in Vegas, has lost its biggest supporter.
Microsoft has announced that, after 20 years of being a keynote speaker or a major booth taker at the event, the 2012 event this month will be its last. In what could a warning to the rest of the events industry, the company cited a ‘disconnect’ between its marketing activities and what the trade show can offer, as well as mentioning its growing reliance on alternative means of getting news out there, including…. Read the rest of this entry »
Last month we covered news that the events industry was going on a PR offensive to generate awareness about the value of exhibitions on business and commerce. Read ‘Events Industry Launches Largest PR Campaign‘.
The world might becoming virtual with an increasing number of online business-to-business (B2B) and social tools and services out there but, most marketing folk, still rate trade shows and events as the best way to build new customer relationships.
In fact, 99% of them in a recent survey claimed that B2B events offer numerous unique advantages. Leading the pack was the…
It’s ‘good to be green’, or so the current thinking in pretty much all business sectors tells us these days, not just the event and exhibit sector.
While support for more environmentally conscious events is on the rise, it seems that the deep economic recession of recent years has taken some off the shine off getting more planet-friendly.
A recent survey shows a disconnect between company marketing messages about green practices and what the companies are actually doing. Over 50% of exhibitors showed a….
When the going gets tough, the tough get, well, busy cranking up their marketing machine.
In an effort to combat the effects of a sluggish economy the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) is going on the offensive, launching the largest public relations (PR) campaign in its 83-year history to generate awareness in about the value of exhibitions on business and commerce.
“The exhibition industry remains the most resilient business-to-business marketing and communications channel despite the challenges brought about by the most serious recession in the nation’s history,” says IAEE Chairman, Vinnie Polito. “The exhibition remains the preeminent choice of corporate marketing executives, and we have a unique opportunity to build upon this strength and to further reinforce the fact that exhibitions can do more to advance corporate objectives than any other medium.”
The campaign has been made possible by a huge amount of fundraising with the IAEE’s members. The campaign will focus on:
Anyone who has ever visited a show knows that wireless Internet access via Wi-Fi either works great, works sometimes or works not at all.
The exhibition industry is aware of the problem and for the first time, a task force comprised of convention venue owners, trade show and exhibit organizers are about to look at the issue if Wi-Fi performance and cost. More importantly, how good the Wi-Fi system needs to be and who will pick up the tab.
The task force, which will be overseen by the International Association of Exhibitions and Events [IAEE], which published its own study into the issue back in August.
See our story ‘Wi-Fi: Who Should Pay?’.
Most notable in that study was the clear divide between what show organizers and venue owners think about the subject. Most show organizers (90%) said that attendees should be…..
Long-time exhibitors are proud of owning their own exhibits, which they patch up, pack up and modernize when necessary every year as they trundle across the country from one convention to another.
However, considering the ever difficult economic conditions and shrinking marketing budgets, have companies swapped owning exhibits for renting them?
Seemingly not. Times might be a lot harder but a recent survey shows that most exhibitors still own their own exhibits and many prefer to tweak them rather than rent.
Almost 90% of respondents to an… Read the rest of this entry »
In recent years we have seen how tablet devices – particularly Apple’s iPad – have become more common at large events as a new way of interacting with show visitors and gathering information.
Just check out our stories Apple iPad Captures Trade Show Leads and ‘Gather’ iPad App Hits Pebble Beach Auto Show.
But now it looks like the iPad may finally be getting a real competitor in the shape of the newly announced Kindle Fire, which is due to drop in November.
In an unprecedented move, four of the most important exhibition and events associations have announced their intention to band together in an effort to define industry best practices.
Described as a ‘long overdue breakthrough’ the four groups will address industry issues and set out a series of Guiding Principles to ensure best practice across the sector.
The four associations involved are the ASAE, the Exhibit Services and Contractors Association (ESCA), International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), and the Society of Independent Show Organizers’ (SISO).
“There have been many piecemeal attempts throughout the years to define those practices that are essential to the efficient and fair conduct of business in the exhibition industry”, explains Chuck Grouzard, Chairman of the Exhibit Services and Contractors Association (ESCA). “While we applaud all of those past attempts the fact remains there are too many troublesome issues….
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