Welcome to this month’s exhibit industry news digest for corporate trade show marketers, featuring intel on research, trends, people and company updates.
Data
Younger generations are more focused on a holistic trade show experience with emotional connection, ambiance, convenience and unique moments making them more willing to revisit these events in the future, according to insights from the ASM Global Survey on millennial and Gen Z preferences.
The venue management company with a portfolio of 98 convention centers worldwide leveraged its proprietary Insights customer-experience platform to survey 20,000 event organizers, exhibitors, and attendees over the last six months. Some 42 percent of attendees were under the age of 40 with 18 percent under the age 25, a six-percent increase from the prior year. Sixty percent of those under 40 said they will attend two or more conventions in 2024, and the majority said they will regularly attend two to four conventions a year in the future.
In response to the changing needs, the company is combining entertainment areas, work environments and food zones to round out experiential offers of convention centers. “Hush hubs” for keeping up with work while at a convention center as well as healthy and diverse F&B offerings are also a hot priority.
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UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, released its 33rd Global Exhibition Barometer report, projecting significant growth for trade shows even against a complex global backdrop.
Across all regions, 77 percent of companies are reporting that they plan to develop new activities in the “classic range” of exhibition industry activities, outside of current product portfolios, or both. The most pressing business issues are the state of the economy in the home market (22 percent), global economic developments (15 percent), geopolitical challenges (14 percent), competition from within the exhibition industry (14 percent), internal management challenges (11 percent), sustainability/climate (nine percent) and impact of digitalization (six percent).
Trends
OCTANORM has introduced The AI Booth Designer, part of a research project developed in collaboration with Algebra_X to investigate how artificial intelligence can enrich the work of trade show architects and designers without replacing them. The aim is to broaden creative horizons, optimize design processes and maximize the synergy between human creativity and artificial intelligence.
Company Updates
George P. Johnson has achieved an ISO 20121 Certification for sustainable event management, the first entity in the company’s global network to do. The international standard is intended to guide companies on how to integrate social, economic and environmental sustainability into event planning and execution.
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Exhibitus has been ranked No. 1689 on the 2024 Inc. 5000, Inc.’s annual list of the fastest-growing private companies in America.
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Mike Morrison has been promoted to vice president of sales at WS Display. Morrison joined WS as national sales director in 2016. Prior to that, he held sales management roles at BeMatrix, Moss, and Octanorm USA.
People profiles, story pitches and all other trade show coverage: Send us a note.
Image Credit: iStock/kbeis
