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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

Doing away with pay-to-play
Doing away with pay-to-play

Doing away with pay-to-play

Antony Reeve-Crook, Director, ArciMedia. (Continued from previous post: Make 2019 the year we captivate our audiences) Chris Day, the senior marketing director for both MJBizCon and associated publication Marijuana Business Daily, recently told Steph Selesnick (my collaborator on The Exhibitionists and regular contributor to this blog) that you have to come at it from a very clear credibility standpoint. “Most of our editorial and programming team come from a traditional news background, that’ [...]

By Antony Reeve-Crook| 2019-01-10T10:21:09+00:00 January 10th, 2019|All, Best Practices, Exhibition Industry, UFI Updates|0 Comments

Make 2019 the year we captivate our audiences
Make 2019 the year we captivate our audiences

Make 2019 the year we captivate our audiences

Antony Reeve-Crook, Director, ArciMedia. Happy new year to you all and may your 2019 be equally as newsworthy a year as 2018 was. Some big deals went public in the closing weeks which is both aspirational and reassuring for those in the industry hoping to follow in their footsteps. It appears that buyer confidence is high and the clever money is on us all witnessing more industry-shaping private-equity acquisitions before the fireworks bring this year to a close. However, we also witnessed som [...]

By Antony Reeve-Crook| 2019-01-10T14:08:03+00:00 January 10th, 2019|All, Americas, Asia – Pacific, Best Practices, Europe, Exhibition Industry, Topics, UFI Updates|3 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|1 Comment

The importance of tugboats when tankers run aground
The importance of tugboats when tankers run aground

The importance of tugboats when tankers run aground

Antony Reeve-Crook, Director, ArciMedia Ltd. When the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement the USMCA (aka the new NAFTA) was signed earlier this year, exhibition industry observers said that it should yield financial growth and political negotiations that would complement the creation of trade shows in this part of the world. We all (according to social media at least) breathed a collective sigh of relief. Our consternation instead returned to Trump’s foreign economic policy on the other side of t [...]

By Antony Reeve-Crook| 2018-12-11T13:39:02+00:00 December 11th, 2018|All, Americas, Asia – Pacific, Exhibition Industry|1 Comment

UFI’s 5 trends to watch in 2019
UFI’s 5 trends to watch in 2019

UFI’s 5 trends to watch in 2019

Kai Hattendorf, UFI CEO/ MD. As every year, the UFI team has used our association’s Global Congress as well as many separate conversations all around the world to isolate and identify the core themes that the UFI team feels will impact the global exhibition industry in 2019. So today, let me share with you “UFI’s 5 trends to watch in 2019”: Written by Kai Hattendorf, UFI CEO/ MD. Shifting trade patterns and a jittery global economy Amidst a climate of political tension, protectionism and fals [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2018-12-07T08:59:51+00:00 December 4th, 2018|All, Exhibition Industry, UFI News, UFI Updates|0 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

Our place in an inclusive future / Standing up for gender equality
Our place in an inclusive future / Standing up for gender equality

Our place in an inclusive future / Standing up for gender equality

Mary Larkin, UFI Incoming President. For those of you who may have missed it, Diversified’s Mary Larkin joined the UFI presidential trio at UFI’s annual congress in St Petersburg earlier this month. As part of her new role, Larkin will work on increasing the number of women in leadership positions within the global exhibition industry. Her newfound platform to advocate gender equality and diversity is underpinned by a call for action. Consider the Thursday afternoon panel discussion in St Pete [...]

By Antony Reeve-Crook| 2018-11-16T08:53:40+00:00 November 15th, 2018|All, Exhibition Industry, UFI News, UFI Updates|0 Comments

What does Matchmaking mean for exhibitions?
What does Matchmaking mean for exhibitions?

What does Matchmaking mean for exhibitions?

Stephan Forseilles, Head of Technology and Digital Transformation, Easyfairs. Matchmaking has been an ‘on/off’ topic in events for at least 15 years. From the ages of manual matching in Excel to the era of artificial intelligence being the promise of effortless and real-time recommendations, things have evolved. But not so much. Most of us are still selling to exhibitors the right to annoy visitors. So, as usual in that situation, I remove my “organiser” hat and look at it from my “frequent vi [...]

By Guest| 2018-11-09T14:17:59+00:00 November 9th, 2018|All, Best Practices, Digital Innovation, Exhibition Marketing, Topics, UFI Updates|2 Comments

Glimpse ahead
Glimpse ahead

Glimpse ahead

Kai Hattendorf, UFI MD/CEO. It’s that time of year when many of you will be booking your trips to the upcoming UFI Global Congress. The UFI team is busy getting ready for what is sure to be another memorable meeting. (If you still need to register, just click here). After Shanghai in 2016 and Johannesburg in 2017, our industry’s global annual gathering will take place in St. Petersburg (Russia). It’s been a memorable year for our industry, so there are many issues to discuss – from M&A to [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2018-10-19T12:09:46+00:00 October 19th, 2018|All, Exhibition Industry, Exhibition Industry Research, UFI News, UFI Updates|0 Comments