Stephanie Selesnick, Author at UFI Blog

Exhibitions Change Lives
Exhibitions Change Lives

Exhibitions Change Lives

Stephanie Selesnick, International Trade Information, Inc. At the recent EEAA (Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia) Leaders Forum in Melbourne, Australia Exhibitions Day, Timothy Collett, Managing Director of Specialised Events, a for-profit exhibition company, quoted a young person from his team discussing our industry. She said, “You don’t have to be a doctor to change people’s lives.” It got me thinking about the exhibitions industry and what we do at heart: Help forge lifelong [...]

By Stephanie Selesnick| 2019-06-14T09:19:53+00:00 June 14th, 2019|Education, Exhibition Marketing|1 Comment

The Case for Investing in our Second- and Third-Year Exhibitors and Attendees
The Case for Investing in our Second- and Third-Year Exhibitors and Attendees

The Case for Investing in our Second- and Third-Year Exhibitors and Attendees

Stephanie Selesnick, International Trade Information, Inc. Many interesting facts came out of the UFI/Explori Exhibitor and Visitor Insights over the last couple of years, among them that the largest attrition for both exhibitors and visitors happens from years one to two and years two to three. (LINK: https://www.ufi.org/industry-resources/surveys-and-studies/) It costs significantly more to recruit both new attendees and exhibitors. So, what’s an organizer to do? Here are some suggestions. F [...]

By Stephanie Selesnick| 2019-05-21T10:32:15+00:00 May 13th, 2019|All, Exhibition Marketing|0 Comments

What are US Organizers Looking for When Going Offshore?
What are US Organizers Looking for When Going Offshore?

What are US Organizers Looking for When Going Offshore?

Stephanie Selesnick, International Trade Information, Inc. One of the more anticipated sessions at the upcoming UFI European Conference taking place in Birmingham, UK from May 15-17 is the Glocalization 1: U.S. Players Reaching Out moderated by Gabrielle Weiss, Publisher and Editor, Trade Show Executive, Mary Larkin, Executive Vice President, Diversified Communications, Cassandra Farrington, Co-Founder and CEO, Marijuana Business Daily; President at Anne Holland Ventures Inc. and Dianna Steinb [...]

By Stephanie Selesnick| 2019-04-24T08:19:32+00:00 April 12th, 2019|Americas, Europe, Exhibition Marketing|0 Comments

Some Things Organizers May Not Know About Japan
Some Things Organizers May Not Know About Japan

Some Things Organizers May Not Know About Japan

Stephanie Selesnick, International Trade Information, Inc. One of my favorite things about attending the UFI Regional Conferences is learning about other cultures and visiting countries for the first time. Here are a few things we learned last week about Japan at the UFI Asia-Pacific Conference - and how you may incorporate them into your exhibitions: 1. Signage. Japan is pretty easy to travel around! Having bilingual signage – Japanese and English - enabled us to easily travel around the co [...]

By Stephanie Selesnick| 2019-03-19T11:30:27+00:00 March 19th, 2019|All, Asia – Pacific, Best Practices, Digital Innovation, Management|0 Comments

Exhibitor Retention – Are You Doing All That You Can?
Exhibitor Retention – Are You Doing All That You Can?

Exhibitor Retention – Are You Doing All That You Can?

Stephanie Selesnick, International Trade Information, Inc. Jefferson Davis, President of Competitive Edge, is a self-described, “Trade Show Productivity Expert” with more 30 years of experience in training exhibitors and working in exhibitions. We recently discussed one of his passions – exhibitor retention. In the United States, the average exhibition has 76% exhibitor renewals. That’s still 24% of exhibitors who are not returning – and must be replaced annually. That’s a lot of companies! Ev [...]

By Stephanie Selesnick| 2019-02-11T11:26:08+00:00 February 11th, 2019|All, Americas, Exhibition Industry, Exhibition Marketing|2 Comments

Do You Know Your Competition?
Do You Know Your Competition?

Do You Know Your Competition?

Stephanie Selesnick, International Trade Information, Inc. Last year, in a post- show survey from one of the largest United States largest exhibitions, I was happily surprised by this question: Thinking about the future of the industry, are there any shows that could “steal the thunder” of the XYZ Show or that your company might attend instead of the XYZ Show? Which show and why? This annual exhibition has engaged exhibitor and visitor bases. Exhibit space sells out every year and there is a w [...]

By Stephanie Selesnick| 2019-01-17T15:02:58+00:00 January 17th, 2019|All, Americas, Best Practices, Exhibition Industry|0 Comments

Are Exhibitors Another Dollar to be Made?
Are Exhibitors Another Dollar to be Made?

Are Exhibitors Another Dollar to be Made?

Stephanie Selesnick, President of International Trade Information, Inc. Recently, I was in charge of coordinating the booths for clients at two exhibitions here in the United States. The process was painful. One of the worst parts was navigating exhibitor manuals. Both (from different companies) were not intuitive and technologically challenging. In other words, it was difficult to find, then order booth display items, etc. Compare that with TripAdvisor.com, who makes the experience easy. You [...]

By Stephanie Selesnick| 2018-12-20T14:07:17+00:00 December 20th, 2018|All, Best Practices, Exhibition Industry, Exhibition Industry Research, Topics, UFI News, UFI Updates|2 Comments

Leave the Rides, but Bring On the Experiences – How to Add Festivalization to your Exhibitions
Leave the Rides, but Bring On the Experiences – How to Add Festivalization to your Exhibitions

Leave the Rides, but Bring On the Experiences – How to Add Festivalization to your Exhibitions

We keep hearing the word “Festivalization” when it comes to exhibitions. Chet Burchett, Reed, at the recent UFI Global Congress said our focus should be about delivering a solid business experience more than offering fun with our events. I think we can deliver an enhanced experience by combining the two in a thoughtful, creative way. Written by Stephanie Selesnick, President of International Trade Information, Inc. Festivalization is a term coined to describe making b2b events more fun and exper [...]

By Stephanie Selesnick| 2018-11-23T09:50:36+00:00 November 23rd, 2018|All, Best Practices, Exhibition Industry|2 Comments

Interview with Miranda Martin, Maria Tsedeviyn & Glen Foulstone, NGL Grant 2018 Recipients
Interview with Miranda Martin, Maria Tsedeviyn & Glen Foulstone, NGL Grant 2018 Recipients

Interview with Miranda Martin, Maria Tsedeviyn & Glen Foulstone, NGL Grant 2018 Recipients

2018 NGL Grants: Miranda Martin; Glen Foulstone; Lilian Burgardt; Maria Tsedeviyn. Earlier this month, I spoke with Lilian Burgardt, Informa Brazil about being an NGL Grant recipient. Now, let’s get to know UFI’s other NGL (Next Generation Leaders) Grant Winners. Miranda is Portfolio Director, Niche Events with Fresh Montgomery in the UK, Maria is the Head of Advertising, Design and Internet Marketing for ExpoForum-International, Ltd. in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Glen is Senior Project Mana [...]

By Stephanie Selesnick| 2018-10-05T08:22:45+00:00 October 4th, 2018|All, Best Practices, Exhibition Industry, UFI Updates|2 Comments

UFI Next Generation Leadership Grantee – meet Lilian Burgardt
UFI Next Generation Leadership Grantee – meet Lilian Burgardt

UFI Next Generation Leadership Grantee – meet Lilian Burgardt

2018 UFI NGL Grantee - Lilian Burgardt, Head of Digital Products - Informa Brazil. Meet Lilian Burgardt, Head of Digital Products - Informa Brazil, one of the four recipients of the UFI Next Generation Leadership Grant (NGL). Lilian Burgardt, one of the four recipients of the 2018 NGL Grant, and I had a chance to catch up earlier this month. The UFI NGL Grant is awarded to future leaders of the exhibition industry for exceptional initiative in driving change and innovation within their differe [...]

By Stephanie Selesnick| 2018-09-13T14:06:48+00:00 September 13th, 2018|All, Americas, Asia – Pacific, Best Practices, Digital Innovation, Europe, Exhibition Industry, Exhibition Marketing, Management, Middle East – Africa, UFI Updates|0 Comments

About Stephanie Selesnick