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ASAE Foundation, Exhibition Industry Foundation, Freeman, Gaylord Entertainment and PCMA Education Foundation announced they have joined together to fund a unique industry project, Future Meet, in collaboration with Insight Labs and Manifest Digital, to predict and plan for the future of convention exhibits and trade shows.
Acknowledging the initial exhibit and trade show model was constructed before the internet, email, Google, social media and the expectation of instant gratification, this elite industry group believes there will be negative consequences for the future of exhibits if significant changes are not made in the way the industry currently functions.
According to PCMA President and CEO Deborah Sexton, FASAE, “The convention exhibits and trade shows professional needs new options. In the original model, buyers had to wait 12, 24 or even 36 months to meet face-to-face with suppliers to seek out new products, solutions and innovations. Those days are long gone. Today, with the click of a few key strokes, buyers can obtain immediate answers and quotes to their queries.”
These funders are focused on the future and believe one size doesn’t fit all. In this, the first phase of the project, we have begun to craft five potential models of the future trade show. The models, currently in development, have been influenced by discussions around the country with numerous industry leaders, association and trade show organizers, and others; in-person and online over the course of several months.
“One of the things ASAE has noticed is how the digital environment brings an added dimension to the attendee experience at trade shows through different expectations about what is delivered, what platforms the experience is delivered through, and in the case of social media, the ability to share their experiences immediately,” said ASAE President and CEO John H. Graham IV, CAE. “By participating in this project, ASAE will be able to discover how the digital environment will impact future trade shows, so that we can inform our members and allow them, and ASAE, the opportunity to plan and incorporate experiences that will enhance attendee experience and overall value.”
IAEE President Steven Hacker, CAE, FASAE, underscored the importance of this project to his members, “as communications channels and society continue to evolve, it becomes more essential than ever that IAEE and its members fully understand how change may usher in new opportunities as well as new realities. One of our principle challenges is to understand how technology may enhance the exhibition experience in the future. The ‘Trade Show of the Future’ may yield valuable new insights that can help lead us along an imprecise path.”
Freeman and Gaylord Entertainment are both passionate and participative supporters of the Future Meet project. “We are firmly committed to discovering the trends, ideas and solutions that will impact trade shows in the future” says Carrie Freeman Parsons, Vice Chair, Freeman. “Our obligation is to ensure the health of trade shows. This project has stimulated creative thinking and idea generation that will enhance the experience for attendees, show organizers and exhibitors.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
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