Five major trade show industry associations met recently to form the Exhibit Industry Council (EIC) in response to rising concerns from exhibitors that business practices in the industry are leading to an unsustainable business model. “The EIC’s goal is to unite trade show industry stakeholders in support of exhibitor-focused best practices that support world-class service and increased exhibitor value at trade shows,” said Eric Allen, Executive Vice President of the Healthcare Exhibitors Association (HCEA), a founding member of the EIC.
In addition to HCEA, the members of the Exhibit Industry Council are the Trade Show Exhibitors Association (TSEA), the Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA), the Exhibit Designers + Producers Association (EDPA) and the Exhibitor Appointed Contractor Association (EACA).
The inaugural meeting of the EIC was recently held in San Francisco with representation from each of the five associations. In addition to committing itself to the development and promotion of trade show Best Practices, the founding members agreed to meet quarterly to take up any additional issues aimed at increasing exhibitor value at trade shows. “Exhibitors are frustrated by confusing rules, lack of audited attendance information, and inconsistent and archaic business practices at trade shows – all of which lead to costs that escalate out of control,” said Margit Weisgal, President/CEO of TSEA. “We believe it’s time our industry worked together to create a customer service mindset that recognizes and responds to the needs of its customers – the exhibitors. In our opinion, it doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. It just needs to consistently meet their needs and expectations.”
The Exhibit Industry Council is a joint trade show industry council with representation from HCEA, TSEA, CEMA, EDPA, and EACA. The EIC is dedicated to unifying all trade show industry stakeholders to support reputable, consistent standards by defining best practices that recognize and support customer service at trade shows. All trade show industry professionals that would like to support the work of the Exhibit Industry Council are welcomed and encouraged to contact the EIC directly (jimwurm@eaca.com) with any ideas or suggestions you may have.
