Top Executives Gain Insight into Industry Future Trends
Predict: CEIR’s Annual Exhibition Industry Outlook Conference drew a record-breaking 164 attendees, all top level executives who gathered on 14-15 September 2016 in Washington, D.C. to learn about the future of the exhibition industry. This year’s keynote speaker was economist and international bestselling author Dan Altman, who also serves as an adjunct associate professor of economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business. Altman discussed the global economic outlook, as well as analyzed cyclical and secular trends as compared to the CEIR Index.
“This year’s Predict was a resounding success,” said CEIR President and CEO Brian Casey, CEM. “Every year we strive to make it better and we heard from many that this was the best conference thus far. Our forward strategic view on the future of our industry is something that resonated with many of the top level executives that attended this year.”
2016 CEIR Predict Program Committee Co-Chairperson Kimberly Hardcastle-Geddes, CEM described the event by saying, “Our objective this year was to create a program that was chock-full of big picture, actionable content and we are thrilled that our speakers delivered on this objective. Topics ranged from how to use, analyze and visualize data for better decision making to applicable marketing insights from the current presidential campaign to the development, training and retention of the current (and future) workforce.”
2016 CEIR Predict Program Committee Co-Chairperson Vincent Polito echoed this sentiment adding, “Predict offers attendees truly unique information and insights by bringing in speakers from outside the event industry. We had noted economists, futurists, journalists and other business leaders shining a light on the transformations shaping the world around us — specifically, the markets and audiences our events serve.”
Industry insiders presented topics on notable trends within the trade show industry and how they will affect the way in which organizers approach their strategies for increasing their exhibitions’ performance. In addition to evaluating happenings within the exhibition industry, Predict looked outside of the industry for overall economic trends and indicators.
Key points that emerged from this year’s CEIR Predict include:
- Big data is key to understanding what the future holds. It does, however, require careful examination when comparing to current trends in order to calculate more accurate predictions.
- Companies are much more interested in the consumer’s personality factor than ever before. Tracking behavior is an increasingly popular component to the big data process.
- As the “Millennial” movement makes its way up the ranks of management, employers need to re-evaluate how they will support Millennial employees and therefore benefit from their talents.
Want to see more from Predict 2016? Watch video coverage here, provided by CNTV.
CEIR would like to thank this year’s sponsors of Predict:
- Title Sponsor – Global Experience Specialists (GES)
- Partner Sponsor – Freeman
- Visionary Sponsors – Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and Visit Houston
- Collaborator Sponsors – a2z, Inc.; International Association of Exhibitions and Events™ (IAEE); McCormick Place – SMG; Synchronicities; Orange County Convention Center; and Visit Orlando
- Associate Sponsors – Convention News Television (CNTV); CORT; Experient; Fern; Messe Frankfurt; National Trade Productions; New Orleans Convention and Visitor’s Bureau; The Expo Group; and Ungerboeck Software
- Contributor Sponsors – 4imprint; Access Intelligence; Choose Chicago; CMAC; Cvent; Destination D.C.; Fantail; Georgia World Congress Center; Hargrove; IAEE New York Area Chapter; IAEE Washington, D.C. Chapter; Kuehne & Nagel; Map Your Show; Oscar & Associates; Reed Exhibitions; Trade Show Ready and tvdesign
The 2016 CEIR Index Report provides an objective measure of the annual performance of the exhibition industry by measuring year-over-year changes in four key metrics: NSF of exhibit space sold, professional attendance, number of exhibiting companies and total event gross revenue. It details performance for 14 industry sectors and the overall industry using data from 2002 through 2015 with a predictive forecast through 2018. Click here to order a copy of the 2016 CEIR Index.
CEIR provides industry-leading research on the North American exhibitions and events industry globally which optimizes performance, increases engagement and addresses emerging customer needs. For additional information, visit www.ceir.org.
