News
Oct 08, 2024
Dreamforce made headlines last month after the now-viral moment when comedian John Mulaney roasted Salesforce’s “imminently replaceable” workforce for wearing “fleece vests” and embodying all of the other corporate tech bro stereotypes.
“The fact that there are 45,000 ‘trailblazers’ here couldn’t devalue the title any more,” Mulaney added during his 45-minute set, throwing in that the Salesforce workers filling the audience around him looked “like a group who looked at the self-checkout counters at CVS and thought, ‘This is the future.’”
The reality is that hiring a comedian for an event… more
Oct 07, 2024
A host of event technology companies have been forming strategic partnerships and adding new services to help trade show organizers and exhibitors streamline their events and elevate ROI.
RainFocus Acquires WebEvents Global
Event marketing platform RainFocus has acquired WebEvents Global, an established event technology and data analytics firm. The acquisition will allow RainFocus to extend its leading event marketing position through WebEvents Global’s strong client relationships with leading enterprise technology organizations and long-standing industry expertise, according to… more
Oct 04, 2024
Trade Show News Network (TSNN) opened nominations for its 14th annual TSNN Awards, recognizing trade show excellence and innovation across 12 categories. For the first time, TSNN and the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) are uniting to co-locate and present dual industry awards programs on Monday, Dec. 16, at The Novo during Expo! Expo! IAEE’s Annual Meeting and Exhibition® in Los Angeles. The joint awards celebration will honor and celebrate the industry's finest on a stage that's hosted music legends.
“This collaboration showcases the best of what TSNN and IAEE… more
Oct 03, 2024
As IMEX America 2024 approaches, IMEX Group CEO Carina Bauer joined TSNN’s VP of Group Content Danica Tormohlen for an insightful preview of what attendees can expect at this year's event, which will be held Oct. 7-10 at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
Bauer told us she expects this year's IMEX America to surpass last year's success in terms of both size and attendance. The event's app, equipped with advanced navigation features akin to Google Maps, will be integral in helping attendees navigate the expansive show floor.
Related: IMEX DEBUTS GROUNDBREAKING DIGITAL WAYFINDING… more
Oct 02, 2024
CompuSystems, a registration and lead-retrieval provider for a number of the largest U.S. trade show organizers, is back online after taking its systems offline in response to a network disruption, impacting major trade shows like SEMA, AAPEX, and PRI. These show organizers alerted their exhibitors and attendees about the outage via their websites.
CompuSystems acknowledged the disruption on its website: “We have identified a network disruption that is affecting some of our systems.”
We reached out to CompuSystems with several questions about when the disruption started, what shows are… more
Oct 02, 2024
UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, is welcoming a new CEO on Jan. 1: Chris Skeith, OBE, who is the current CEO of the Association of Event Organisers (AEO), an association for organizers of trade and consumer events in the UK, which he has led for 10 years. He will assume the UFI helm from Kai Hattendorf, who has served as the organization’s CEO since 2015.
With his extensive events industry leadership experience and excellent business track record, Skeith is uniquely qualified to take on UFI’s CEO role, said UFI President Geoff Dickinson.
Context: UFI directly… more
Oct 01, 2024
Author: Russell Greenway, President, Nth Degree
The key to a successful trade show exhibit is drawing people in, creating a memorable brand experience, and ultimately making the sale. The challenge: Ever-shrinking attention spans leave mere seconds to captivate your audience.
Without a magic wand to conjure razzle-dazzle, let’s seek inspiration from retailers — the experts in audience engagement and salesmanship — for secrets and tactics to create the magic on the trade show floor.
Attract and engage your customers with visual merchandising. Retailers use innovative arrangements of… more
Oct 01, 2024
Ask most trade show industry professionals why they chose their line of work, and most will tell you that they “fell into” the business rather than intentionally chose it as a profession. Jenn Heinold is no exception to this story. After graduating with a journalism degree with the intention of becoming a newspaper reporter, Heinold’s first job out of college was at a local non-profit handling media relations for her hometown of Cape May, NJ, where she still lives to this day. A National Historic Landmark city, Cape May hosts numerous events for visitors and locals such as Food & Wine… more
Sep 30, 2024
As the flagship event produced by global B2B e-commerce platform Alibaba.com, Alibaba CoCreate bought together more than 2,000 e-commerce and supply chain industry experts, celebrity entrepreneurs, Alibaba.com users, manufacturers, and small to mid-sized e-commerce businesses to explore current trends, including the new developments in artificial intelligence (AI) that are driving the e-commerce space. The Chinese technology company’s event grew attendance by 53.8% year-on-year. For the quarter that ended June 30, Alibaba generated revenues of $33.5 billion--a 4% year-over-year increase. … more
Sep 27, 2024
The top three global exhibition organizers by 2023 revenue remain unchanged from 2022, with Informa and RX holding firmly onto the first and second spots while Clarion maintained its presence in third place, according to the annual Top 20 Ranking of Exhibition Organizers released by Stax on Sept. 6.
The combined 2023 revenue from the Top 20 increased 51% compared to the previous year, a clear sign of the continuing recovery of the industry in 2023, according to Stax. Most organizers achieved double-digit growth, except for a few of the European organizers due to biennial show cycles. … more
Partner Voices
MGM Resorts is committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse culture, not just among employees and guests but also within its supply chain. The company prioritizes procuring goods and services from businesses owned by minorities, women, veterans, people with disabilities, LGBTQ individuals and those facing economic disadvantages. This commitment is integral to MGM Resorts' global procurement strategy.
Through its voluntary supplier diversity program, MGM Resorts actively identifies and connects certified diverse-owned suppliers to opportunities within its supply chain. The company is on track to spend at least 15% of its biddable procurement with diverse-owned businesses by 2025, demonstrating that supplier diversity is not only a social responsibility but also a strategic business imperative.
Supplier diversity isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s good for business. A diverse supply chain allows access to a broader range of perspectives and experience, helping to drive innovation, entrepreneurship and resilience, while strengthening communities. At MGM Resorts, engaging diverse suppliers ensures best-in-class experiences for guests and clients. Supplier diversity ensures a more resilient supply chain while supporting economic development in the communities in which it operates.
The impact of MGM Resorts' supplier diversity initiatives is significant. In 2023, these efforts supported over 3,500 jobs across more than 30 states, contributed over $214 million in income for diverse-owned businesses and generated more than $62 million in tax revenue. The story extends beyond the numbers – it reflects the tangible benefits brought to small and diverse-owned businesses, fostering economic empowerment in their communities.
MGM Resorts also supports the development and business skills of diverse-owned businesses through investment, mentorship and education. Through the MGM Resorts Supplier Diversity Mentorship Program, the company identifies, mentors and develops diverse-owned businesses to fill its future pipeline, while providing businesses with tools and resources to empower and uplift. Since 2017, the program has successfully graduated 105 diverse-owned businesses and is on track to achieve its goal of 150 graduates by 2025.
MGM Resorts’ commitment to supplier diversity not only enhances its business operations but also plays a crucial role in uplifting communities and fostering economic development. This approach reinforces the idea that diversity is a powerful driver of innovation and resilience, benefiting both the company and the wider community.