Data-driven engagement was a hot topic at last week’s International Association of Exhibitions’ Expo! Expo! Annual Meeting & Exhibition 2015 in Baltimore. 

The 2,500-plus attendees knew to be at this year’s show to learn the latest on this topic, as well as many others.  With record-breaking numbers, on both the attendee and exhibitor fronts, the right note was hit for this conference.

“Charm City” lived up to its name, and then some, when more than 2,500 attendees flocked to Baltimore, Md., last week for the International Association of Exhibitions’ Expo! Expo! Annual  Meeting & Exhibition 2015.

David DuBois, IAEE’s president and CEO, said that while the attendee numbers were unaudited at this time, they definitely broke records, with a 10-percent uptick, compared with last year’s event in Los Angeles.

In an effort to ensure those working on the ‘front lines’ of the trade show industry offer the best customer service possible, the Exhibition Services & Contractors Association (ESCA) and the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission (SLCVC) have teamed up to hold the first-ever ‘Labor Day’ Nov. 19 at America’s Center.

All the unions that work on the tradeshow floor are invited to participate in this day of complimentary training and enhancement. 

The 2015 NACS Show attracted a record 24,392 registered attendees, of which 9,038 were classified as buyers (retailers, convenience distributors).

The total number of registered attendees, which includes Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI) buyer registration, was 3.3-percent higher than last year and topped the previous attendance record set in 2004.

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers’ CONEXPO-CON/AGG already is the largest show in the United States, and now it’s reaching new heights in South America as well.

CONEXPO Latin America, which debuted Oct. 21-24, 2015, in Santiago, Chile (Espacio Riesco), attracted nearly 32,600 attendees from more than 90 countries.

The top five Latin American countries besides the host country (in order) were Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Bolivia.

Just a few weeks before doors open, more than 1,000 companies from nearly 40 countries already have reserved approximately 553,000 net square feet of exhibit space for IAAPA Attractions Expo 2015, making it the second largest trade show floor in the event's 97-year history.

 Indoor space has sold out, and a limited amount of outdoor space still is available.

IAAPA Attractions Expo is owned and produced by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA).

Urban Expositions and the Retail Confectioners Association of Philadelphia (RCAP) have decided two is better than one and will collocate their shows next year. 

As part of the arrangement, the RCAP's Philadelphia National Candy, Gift & Gourmet Show (Jan. 9-11) formerly held in Atlantic City, will move to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Penn. to run alongside Urban Expositions' Philadelphia Gift Show (Jan. 8-11).

The popularity of virtual reality is evident with the huge jump in growth of that section of the showfloor for CES 2016.

Owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association and on tap Jan. 6-9 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Gaming & Virtual Reality Marketplace footprint will jump 77 percent and feature 40 booths.

Three different entities have teamed up to launch ProFood Tech, a new event that will focus on processing technologies serving the food and beverage industry.

ProFood Tech will make its debut April 4–6, 2017, at McCormick Place in Chicago.

The event will be jointly produced by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, Koelnmesse and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA).

Once a year, National Retail Federation staff members and key stakeholders gather together and brainstorm on how they can not only solve challenges they have with their trade shows – Retail’s BIG Show and Shop.org Annual Summit, but also talk about how to make them a more personal experience for attendees.

They call the sessions “Blue Sky Meetings”, according to Eric Olsen, NRF’s vice president of education strategies, at which they discuss “anything under the blue sky you could think of” in regards to improving the shows.