A Society of Independent Show Organisers (SISO) report on organisers thinking big in Texas
Over 370 exhibition industry professionals gathered at the Barton Creek Resort Austin, TX, USA, 30 March–3 April to learn and network at the annual SISO CEO Summit. It was the largest gathering of for-profit exhibition CEOs to date and had an increase of 22% first-time delegates since Covid. There were people from 15 countries outside the United States.
With visitors and exhibitors demanding greater ROI and Return on their Time (ROT), organisers are now charged with offering interesting experiences on and off the expo floor, better use of technology, utilising Generative AI, increasing purposeful networking, and more. The SISO CEO Summit’s theme The Innovation Imperative explored these issues, focusing on takeaways for event company leaders to embrace disruption and grow their businesses.
Headed up by SISO chair Paul Miller, CEO, Questex, the one and a half-day educational programme included a keynote by Informa Board member Marcus Weldon. Other sessions ranged from noted economist Dr Anirban Basu, Sage Policy Group, Inc., to engaging attendees in today’s world, and to discussing new operating models, markets, and products.
Entrepreneurship alive and innovating
Ahead of the SISO CEO Summit, both the Executive Women’s Forum and Small Business Roundtable (SBR) were held. The Forum had 110 delegates. Rachel Wimberly, chair of the Forum, and head of business development – US, Easyfairs said: “This year’s SISO CEO Executive Women’s Forum was focused on how to bring Emotional Intelligence (EI) into an organisation not only as a leader, but also when acquiring and integrating companies.”
The SBR expanded to five hours from previous years with 56 members in attendance. Chair Walter Charnizon, president of Continental Exhibitions, explained that entrance, “is limited to for-profit independent operators of event businesses with no more than $10m in annual revenue. We discussed everything from how to develop sales team comp plans, to AI tools for small business operators, to how to develop new revenue streams, and how to to consider looking for investors.
“If I had to sum it up in one sentence, I would tell you that entrepreneurship in our ecosystem is alive, well – and innovating.”
Interactive cure for isolationism
Some of the educational focus of the Summit was on attracting younger generations to exhibitions. Members of Gen Z (ages 13–28) are coming to exhibitions, and those numbers are only going to increase.
Via an exclusive SISO study by Freeman, they found 69% of Gen Z feel less connected and more isolated from their companies and industries. In-person events help lessen that isolation.
Attracting them to events includes adding more interactive content, immersive experiences, as well as working with exhibitors to bring fewer salespeople and more subject matter experts to facilitate engagement.
This realignment of experiences with commerce was echoed by a panel on the last day with three Gen Zers who actively attend or exhibit at business events. They cited matchmaking, maximising the experience of being at an exhibition (this includes events outside show hours and bleisure), along with discovering innovative solutions as important factors in deciding whether to attend or exhibit at an expo. Lastly, the panel shared the impact of influencers or a trusted boss or colleague, on making the decision to visit a business event. (It is big!)
David Audrain, Exposition Development Company, CEO and partner, and former CEO of SISO was awarded the Robert L. Krakoff Award for Excellence. It is the only award SISO gives out, and is presented to the most impactful leaders of for-profit businesses in the exhibition and event industry. The award is named in honour of the legendary Robert L. Krakoff, who built and ran some of the most successful businesses in our industry.
Source: www.exhibitionworld.co.uk
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