The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) has announced the second annual industry outlook conference, Predict, which will be held on September 13, 2012, at 10 on the Park at the TimeWarner Center in New York City. The event will be limited to C-level executives and will focus on the results of the CEIR Index, which provides an objective measure of the annual performance of the exhibition industry, measuring year-over-year changes and predictions through 2014.
Attendees will interact with presenters and colleagues throughout the day to share best practices, ideas and future strategies including projected event growth, merger and acquisition strategies and planned launches. Attendance is limited to no more than 150 participants including exhibition organizer executives, merger and acquisition firms, private equity firms, debt providers, investment firms and the financial press to allow for an intimate, high-level idea exchange about the future of the exhibition industry and implications for specific business sectors and their supporting exhibitions.
“CEIR Predict’s tailored program will bring together elite business leaders whose entrepreneurial spirit demonstrates the power of innovation that fuels the global economy,” said Chris Brown, 2012 CEIR chairman, and executive vice president, National Association of Broadcasters. “The exhibition industry outlook is positive as reported by the 2011 CEIR Index Report in which all four metrics of measurement showed improvement, marking an end to three consecutive years of decline. Exhibitions mirror the industries they serve, and Predict is the key face-to-face event that provides vital economic analysis needed to help exhibition industry stakeholders better shape a successful future for the industry.”
The Predict 2012 program task force, chaired by Don Pazour, CEO, Access Intelligence LLC, is putting the final touches on a program that promises to provide key information and data that cannot be obtained elsewhere. Example sessions in the preliminary program include:
Oxford Economics’ John Walker will set the stage for the day’s discussions by providing an overview of the geo-political, geo-economic situation and the outlook for the global economy through 2014.
With consumer confidence increasing, albeit cautiously, retail trade has improved over the past 18 months. Combined with the seemingly ceaseless craving by consumers for the newest and latest electronics and communications services, both the Communications and Information Technology and Consumer Goods and Retail Trade sectors are forecasted to grow. What factors may stall this recovery and what exhibition organizers anticipate in the short to mid-term will be discussed.
Experts in the financing and lending field will discuss the current and forecasted driving forces in the global acquisition market. As a part of the media business, the panelists will analyze the event business outlook and talk about how given show business valuations are affected by characteristics such as sister media properties and online extensions of event brands.
Predict 2012 will close with an interactive session on the key takeaways of the day, led by Galen Poss, chief operating officer, dmg.
