Twenty-five exhibition industry thought leaders participated in the 2019 Connect Expo Leadership Summit at the Westin Hapuna Hotel and Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii May 21-23, 2019.
The group, consisting of 13 exhibition organizers and 12 industry suppliers, explored the current state of the exhibition industry led by Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE, executive director of the Center for Exhibition Industry Research. Breden presented the recently released quarterly CEIR Index results and analyzed the data for the group. Sam Watkins, of the MDG Agency in San Diego, presented a session focused on the most current developments in digital marketing, and Corbin Ball, of Corbin Ball & Associates, presented a program highlighting emerging technologies and how they are likely to impact the exhibition industry.
Each member of the Connect Expo Leadership Summit presented a Preferred Practice (formerly known as Best Practices) to the group. It was explained at the outset of the Summit that the term “Best Practices” had recently been employed by a plaintiff’s attorney to find a defendant guilty as a direct consequence of not employing practices identified as Best Practices. Thus, the Events Industry Council prompted the change in industry nomenclature.
A 23-page compilation of Preferred Practices has been prepared for distribution to the exhibition industry. An example of a Preferred Practice submitted to the group by Michael Carlucci, senior vice president of Clarion Events, describes how to overcome the typical post-event sales planning lag that can hamper the best of trade shows. Click here to access a complimentary copy of the document.
Attendance at the esteemed, high-impact event is based upon supplier recommendations of thought-leading exhibition organizers who then attend the event as the guests of the supplier.
Chris Collinson, president of Connect Meetings, describes the event as, “A truly innovative networking event designed to bring together a small group of leading thinkers within the exhibition industry for peer-to-peer discussions that often lead to creative solutions to common problems. We are excited by the response to the Expo Leadership Summit and have already begun planning for next year’s event. We intentionally limit attendance to no more than 25 individuals to preserve the intimacy of the program.”
Next year’s program will feature several new, hands-on demonstrations of exhibition products and services by selected vendors followed by one-on-one discussions with exhibition organizers. Suppliers who anticipate introducing new products or services should contact Hacker. Both organizers and suppliers, who may also be interested in participating in future editions of the Connect Expo Leadership Summit, should contact Steven Hacker, executive director of Connect Expo, at shacker@connectmeetings.com.
Connect 2019 that takes place Aug. 26-28 at Louisville Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky, will have an Expo learning track and a new Connect Tech Showcase featuring 25 hot technology solutions for the exhibition and meeting industry in addition to the face-to-face reverse trade show. Approximately 4,000 attendees are expected.
.jpg){kind=tracking}
