Dec 18, 2020
The show for shows lived up to its billing, even if it looked different from past years. Expo! Expo!, International Association of Exhibitions and Events’ annual gathering, reunited more than 1,250 attendees in a virtual format to help spur trade shows toward a faster recovery.
“None of us expected 2020 to be the year it’s been,” said IAEE 2020/2021 Chairperson Bob McClean, executive vice president and PPAI. “We’ve all been faced with learning new and challenging things, and now we’re becoming experts at virtual events.”
Engagement levels suggest McClean is spot on, and also indicate how… more
Dec 17, 2020
Sometimes a little teamwork can go a long way. Emerald, owner of the International Gift Expo of the Smokies, and Clarion Events, which owns the Smoky Mountain Gift Show, recently celebrated a joint milestone for their companies – and the exhibitions industry overall – by pulling off productive and safe in-person trade shows last month in Tennessee.
To accomplish this feat during the pandemic, the event producers created Tennessee Market Week, a collaborative effort to safely and conveniently reunite brands, wholesalers and buyers from across both shows to form the gift, resort and souvenir… more
Dec 16, 2020
Snowsports Industries America is hoping that a dual-pronged approach to updating two long-standing expos will create an avalanche of excitement.
In announcing its new strategy and rebranding of events, SIA is getting the ball rolling with a new immersive platform, Snowboundfest.com.
The website serves primarily as a showcase for two November events: Rockies and New England Snowbound Festivals. It includes a healthy dose of ski-related news, notes and interviews to maintain engagement with attendees. Event swag like ski hats and face masks (it is 2020, after all) is available for purchase in… more
Dec 15, 2020
Swapcard, an AI-powered engagement and matchmaking platform for events, announced the launch of their second in-house 3-day virtual event and show, Evolve 2.0, which will be held from February 23-25, 2021.
To attend, please register HERE.
Following the success of their first virtual event back in May 2020, Evolve: The Virtual Event for Planners, which built a community of more than 4,000 event professionals, Swapcard made the move towards a 365 platform with the Evolve Community Series.
The team has continued to release new content monthly and the community has continued to grow and… more
Dec 15, 2020
The U.S Travel Association has agreed to partner with Connect Travel for a multi-event trade show in Las Vegas, set for Sept. 12-22, 2021.
The centerpiece of the event will be USTA’s flagship IPW travel trade show, which will collocate with Connect Tour, Connect THRIVE LGBTQ Summit and eTourism Summit. IPW will encompass the Las Vegas Convention Center while the Connect events will be held at a property (to be announced later) adjacent to the facility.
“IPW has always placed a heavy emphasis on evolving along with the needs of our delegates, and 2021 will be perhaps the most important year… more
Dec 11, 2020
'Tis the season for holiday work parties! In line with most of 2020, the festivities are going to look and feel quite a bit different. Why not one last Zoom call to ring out the year?
The challenge facing event planners is overcoming the most complicated aspect of virtual events—creating engaging teambuilding activities—so the party feels…well, like a party. After all, the ROI on a virtual gala is quite a bit different than an in-person event.
Networking and teambuilding are items 1) and 1a) on the agenda. The goal is to have fun and escape, albeit momentarily, the joys of working with… more
Dec 10, 2020
It’s not often you can put Trivial Pursuit, an MTV-styled workout and Spongebob Squarepants-themed yoga into one event, let alone of one sentence. Yet that sort of creativity is why Informa Markets is hailing the success of its month-long virtual Festival of Licensing in October.
Traditionally held over three days at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, the 2020 Licensing Expo was entirely reimagined due to the pandemic. Rather than cram Zoom connections with attendees all across the world into a few days, Informa dramatically altered the scale and shape of the show.
The sheer size… more
Dec 09, 2020
Every winter in Las Vegas, buyers and sellers in the fashion industry typically converge for a week filled with a series of trade shows held throughout the city.
This February, however, due to the continued uncertainty organizers face on when they will be able to hold their shows in Las Vegas, three of the largest for-profit companies have banded together to move their events to Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center Feb. 9-11.
The collaboration between Informa Markets Fashion’s newly announced MAGIC Pop Up Orlando; a women’s and men’s apparel, accessories and footwear event - with US-… more
Dec 04, 2020
In an effort to speed the pace of recovery in Indianapolis, Visit Indy has pooled together its tech partners to offer discounted prices for citywide hybrid meetings.
The CVB says it is the first in the nation to present citywide discounts on audiovisual and WiFi. Planners who take advantage of the offer can receive 25 percent off WiFi and 10 percent off AV equipment. Thirteen venues, including Indiana Convention Center and a mix of hotels, are participating.
Visit Indy’s discount is available for events booked by the end of next year and held by Dec. 31, 2022.
As a destination designed… more
Dec 04, 2020
While the 2020 edition of Expo! Expo! IAEE’s Annual Meeting and Exhibition will look different this year, that doesn’t mean the first-ever virtual “show for shows” isn’t going to be packed with tons of valuable content, business and engagement opportunities.
Set for Dec. 8-10, the annual trade show and conference will once again offer exhibition and events industry professionals the chance to learn about the latest, top-of-mind industry trends and technology, participate in special events and network with like-minded professionals as the industry looks toward a brighter future after one of… more
Partner Voices
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