This year was a busy one so far for the Exhibitions Mean Business advocacy effort aimed at spreading awareness about the tremendous value of face-to-face events.

“The Exhibitions Mean Business Campaign is a key component in promoting the value of face-to-face events as the primary marketing medium for business growth and development,” said IAEE’s President and CEO David DuBois, CMP, CAE, FASAE, CTA.

He added, “When you consider the more than $70 billion that attendee and exhibitor direct and indirect spending contributed to the US GDP in 2014, along with the millions of jobs created by this industry, the campaign is a vital component in raising awareness to federal and local lawmakers, media and the general public on the great value that we as an industry contribute to society.”

The focus starting in the beginning of 2015 was to create new assets and content needed to ensure this year’s campaign efforts are as fruitful as possible, according to EMB officials.

These efforts included: the launch of a new EMB website, the creation of new Exhibitions Day rallying materials, the re-introduction of EMB’s presence on LinkedIn and Facebook, and a continued focus on media relations.

Exhibitions Day, a one-day event in June that brought more than 100 trade show professionals to Capitol Hill to meet with their state representatives on issues impacting the industry, was a success.

EMB supported this special day by creating a special visual campaign that blended the existing EMB look/feel with the idea of advocacy to strike a chord on Capitol Hill.

EMB also created several other assets to support Exhibitions Day efforts:

• A marketing campaign series aimed at promoting attendance and rallying

2015 Exhibitions Day attendees

• Educational materials and overview documents to be uploaded on the Exhibitions Day website

• Videos that can be shared and reposted by supporters

• A digital toolkit containing shareable visual assets, social media content and posting tips, template media materials and a “social directory” of other individuals and organizations supporting the campaign and Exhibitions Day

Another key focus of EMB is to garner as much positive press about the events industry as possible. To date, they have secured more than 400 million impressions, with a publicity value of close to $44 million in publications such as the Los Angeles Times and Forbes.  

Other efforts to continue to spread the good word about the events industry include utilizing social media to build an audience and buzz, engage industry professionals to write blogs and to also keep the momentum going surrounding the industry and the issues discussed on Capitol Hill.

All of these efforts, though, do not happen in a vacuum. Exhibitions Mean Business is in the middle of a fundraising campaign and needs YOUR help. Please pledge HERE.