IAEE Updates ‘Future Trends in the Exhibitions and Events Industry’
December 9, 2014The International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) has released an updated version of its white paper “Future Trends Impacting the Exhibitions and Events Industry,” created by the IAEE Future Trends Task Force, chaired by Francis J. Friedman, president of Time & Place Strategies Inc. The report identifies and addresses major trends that will impact the exhibitions and events industry within the next three years.
“Trends that we reported in last year’s white paper are now maturing and appearing more consistently at exhibitions and events,” said Friedman. “We recommend referring to last year’s report for what is happening now, and using this updated version to prepare for what’s coming over the next three years.”
Friedman noted that one of the major updates in the 2014 edition addresses the area of data, mainly in the capturing, converting and use of data obtained from attendee onsite activities. The use of mobile apps, NFC (Near Field Communications), RFID badges and iBeacon to capture data are becoming more prevalent. Once the data has been captured, however, the challenge becomes organizing the data in a format that allows for maximum use of the information. The final step of the process then involves converting the data into tactical and strategic plans for future shows.
“Last year’s report predicted that Big Data would move down in scale for smaller marketers to use,” noted Friedman. “Now, we are beginning to see companies that provide BDaaS (Big Data as a Service) starting to become available to our industry in the near future.”
The white paper also addresses the impact of the economy not only within the U.S., but on a global scale as well. For example, a recent CEIR study predicted overall economic growth in the 3 percent to 4 percent range with attendee growth projected to be slower than exhibitor growth over the next three years.
“The Future Trends white paper is a wonderful resource for exhibitions and events professionals wanting to relate our industry’s business market to the overall global business market,” says IAEE President & CEO David DuBois, CMP, CAE, FASAE, CTA. “Show organizers in particular will want to take a look at how all this information can be used to maximize the overall experience for attendees at their event.”
Click here to download the 2013 and/or 2014 editions of Future Trends Impacting the Exhibitions and Events Industry.