From the fireworks show to the interactive conference sessions, it was another successful Expo! Expo! With 250+ exhibitors and 80+ conference sessions, though, the MDG team just couldn’t cover it all in 3 days. Thankfully, a few of our trusted sources have agreed to share their key takeaways…

“Mother Nature made getting to this year’s IAEE Annual Meeting a bit daunting for many of us, but after a few days at the event it was apparent that it was well worth the hassle. While networking, participating in many of the seminars, and learning about great new services, products and destinations at the Expo, I found this year’s event valuable because it reinforced my thoughts on what it takes to succeed in this industry. The need for our teams to have solid “blocking & tackling” coupled with a sense of what changes the future may require; murky as that may be at times. During a session focused on Social Media, for instance, I realized basic Social Media “blocking & tackling” can be a recipe for disaster — there is no cookie-cutter social media strategy that can be applied across the board. At best, we need to think of social media as a “inbound listening tool”, and based on what we hear we can then determine how and to what degree we use it to promote our events. That’s just one takeaway from my trip to IAEE…a second might be the need to check the forecast before heading out — who knew Houston could get so cold?”
Christopher McCabe, SVP
Emerald Expositions

“It is hard to pin-point just one aspect of Expo! Expo! that stood out because I felt there was a good “buzz” around the whole event. But if pressed to mention the one thing that resonated most for me it was the executive level education. Best executive education I can recall. I found it engaging, thought provoking and I walked away with a few new perspectives on dealing with younger generations and understanding the ramifications of integrating social media with events.”
Skip Cox, President and Owner
Exhibit Surveys

“Expo! Expo! 2013 was such a pivotal event for me as a senior planner. I am used to seeing the same people at every industry event, and this event really showed me that there are so many new resources and contacts out there for me to network with.”
Carrie Abernathy, CMP, CEM, CSEP,
Director of Education, Training & Events
Practice Greenhealth

“Houston was a positive reminder that nothing rivals face-to-face for getting things done! Everywhere I looked, at any time, people were connecting. Friends catching up; finding new partners; private meetings — so much was accomplished in a short amount of time. No wonder the exhibition industry continues to thrive.”
Sam Lippman, Producer
Exhibition and Convention Executives Forum (ECEF),
Attendee Acquisition Roundtable,
Exhibit Sales Roundtable,
Large Show Roundtable

“At every education session I attended, I was able to come away with at least one Nugget to take back and incorporate into our association and trade show. Whether it was as simple as cleaning off my desk to create space for something new or as complex as recreating our entire contract/sponsorship offerings or even collaborating and creating partnerships with entities I would have never thought of. It was truly inspiring to come away with all of those wow moments and I look forward to nex year’s Expo Expo to do the same.”
Bill McGlade, Sr. Manager Business Development
International Sign Association

“First, as always, I am struck by the power of face to face. I may talk to a client 30 times over the year. But five minutes spent shaking a client’s hand, slapping them on the back or having a cocktail with them is worth more than all those calls put together. It reaffirms what this industry is all about. The second takeaway is in regards to becoming the Chair of the Southwest chapter of IAEE. I was so impressed by the many people who came up to me and volunteered their time and effort to the chapter and their desire to see the chapter do well. It’s great to see the spirit of volunteerism alive and well within IAEE.”
Chris Eisenberg, Vice President
Bartizan Connects & Chair of SWIAEE

“My number one take-away from IAEE this year was the importance of data—from a non-attendee survey to the ideas of creating targeted marketing personas. Based on the sessions I attended at Expo Expo this year, I feel like that 2013 will be the year smart show managers begin compiling clean and comprehensive attendee data in an effort to drive attendee marketing.”
Kellie Shevlin, Executive Director
Craft Beverage Expo