The 13^th edition of IMEX America is a wrap. The booths and signage have come down at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, and the show's record-setting 15,500 participants, including more than 5,500 buyers, have headed home. Now comes the work of maintaining the connections and acting on the education and experiences delivered at the October 8-10 event.

Here are four ideas and two trends from IMEX America that focus on thinking a bit differently about event planning.

Great Idea: Hands-On A.I.

“Wow,” “Oh my goodness!,” and spontaneous clapping: Those were some of the audience reactions during the workshop about Spark, the artificial-intelligence tool specifically for planning events. Session leader Tess Vismale, CMP, DES, CEO of iSocialExecution, led the audience through several hands-on exercises on the A.I. platform, and the power of “doing” rather than listening or reading about the tool was abundantly clear. One planner trying the Spark platform for the first time announced that she had just used the system to develop an event description and had already sent it off to a colleague. The takeaway: For some learning, there’s no replacement for a hands-on experience.

Great Idea: A Rappin’ Wrap-Up

In the category of never-seen-that-before, the team from Event Rap was on the scene bringing their rap summaries to some of the education sessions. The Event Rap artists composed a “Rap Up” while the speakers were on stage and then performed it at the end. A true recap? Nah. A fun, energetic way to end the session? Definitely. 

Another musical moment in the IMEX education area took place on the show’s opening morning. Reverend Maya Jaguar led an experiential ritual featuring drummers and a chance to move. “Dance church” brought energy and good vibes to the start of a busy day.

Great Idea: Community Table

Where do you have your best conversations? If it’s around the dinner table, IMEX had the educational set up for you. The 10-seat Community Table was among the venues in the exhibit hall’s Inspiration Hub and, along with one-on-one coaching sessions, was among the most intimate. For example, a session called “Positive Intelligence and Neurodiversity: Unlock Your Unique Strengths,” was led by Denise Hinden Yush, chief change catylst at Managance Coaching, and Yush Sztalkoper, CMP, founder of TEN.

Trend Watch: Less Booze

Restaurants have expanded their lists of alcohol-free cocktails, sober bars are on the rise around the country, and statistics show that alcohol use has been declining in the U.S., particularly among young adults. The message at several sessions and events during IMEX: Event organizers need to stay ahead of this trend and do more to make sure attendees who don’t consume alcohol don’t feel left out.

Caesars Entertainment, in partnership with the Corporate Event Marketing Association, held an insightful panel discussion one evening called Beyond the Bar. Thought leaders on sober-inclusive beverages included (from right in photo) Bravo TV star Carl Radke, an investor in zero-proof Loverboy cocktails; Madelyn Olavarria, principal global sales and the president of Women at AWS, Amazon Web Services; Alyssa Hart, global sales manager, OTHR Agency and Reimagine Meeting Management; Tracy Stuckrath, host of the Eating at a Meeting podcast and founder of Thrive! Meetings & Events; and David T. Stevens, wellness architect at Olympian Meeting and host of the Return on Wellness podcast. The takeaway was simple: Whether for health, religious, personal, or professional reasons, not everyone drinks alcohol. If attendees are offered an elevated beverage experience, non-drinkers should be too. Sugary sodas and juice don’t cut it!

Great Idea: Less Plastic

This feels like a no-brainer: plastic-free name-badge holders. Twice-folded standard printer paper slipped easily into the light cardboard sleeves, which were sponsored by PCNametag. Just a small step in IMEX’s sustainability efforts, but meaningful for their visibility.

Trend Watch: Team Kicks

Branding and comfort make a great duo. On the IMEX America show floor, a number of teams sported sneakers that showed off brand logos and colors. In the case of Loews Hotels, the skyline on the side of the sneaker was customized to the team member’s property location. Shown below, clockwise from top left, are the sneakers worn by Atlanta CVB, IMEX Group, Loews Hotels, and Encore.

Beyond booth branding, sneakers have taken over as the footwear of choice for comfort-seeking attendees at IMEX America—so much so that Dahlia El Gazzar, event-tech expert from the DAHLIA+ Agency, had some fun hosting an #eventprofs “Shoedown” at the show. The winner: Hunter McKinley, co-founder & CEO Backtrack.

This article was originally published in our sister publication, MeetingsNet.

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