Joalien Johnson

Getting an Edge

At TSW's Fastest 50 this year, held Nov. 13-15 in Houston, I felt one of the most valuable aspects of the weekend was the Saturday morning conference session(s). Multiple speakers (like Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Assn., who really wowed the crowd with an engaging and entertaining presentation on the importance of meetings and travel) took to the stage and covered myriad topics, from show audits and technology to ROI and what the future holds for shows. And those just scrape the surface of what was discussed.

In my opinion, one of the most interesting comments brought up came from Michael Hughes, TSW's vice president of research and consulting. Citing research conducted this year, Hughes said, for the future, rather than assuring attendees that economic recovery is occurring, show managers will want to research how attendees can “get an edge.” That, he indicated, would lure attendees in and help shows next year. I could be wrong – maybe they were taking other notes – but at that point, I saw many a show manager jotting something in their notepads.

So I started to wonder, and I am hoping to see a response to this from show managers, whether, as a result of Michael's comment or not, do you consider helping attendees to “get an edge” a priority? And, if so, what are some of the steps you plan to take if you feel that will help your show?

Posted by Joalien Johnson on November 16, 2009 | Comments (0)