UBM announced last year its strategy was going to focus on putting ‘Events First’, and those efforts paid off, with full-year 2015 total revenues surging 30 percent to $1.3 billion (£974 million) , compared with $1 billion (£746 million) in 2014.

The addition of Advanstar Communications to the company’s portfolio was a boost, with a first year return on investment of 10.3 percent. UBM also sold PR Newswire for $841 million last year, further solidifying its ‘Events First’ strategy.

By Elizabeth Johnson

From classic toys like Lincoln Logs and Legos to innovative tech toys like drones, the world of toys came together for the 113^th time Feb. 13-16 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center of New York.

This year’s North American International Toy Fair exceeded 30,000 play professionals from 92 countries - a 16-percent increase, compared with 2015.

UK.-based Informa Exhibitions has scooped up the WATER & WASTEWATER EQUIPMENT, TREATMENT & TRANSPORT Show from Cole Publishing. Terms of the deal were not discussed.

“Bob has spent the last 40 years creating and building the leading environmental services industry event,” said Rick McConnell, president, of Informa Global Exhibitions.

At last year’s AAPEX, a show for the aftermarket auto parts industry that is held in November at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas, decided to up their attendee engagement game by hiring a bevy of customer service staff members they called “Ask Joes” to help people out at the show.

The “Ask Joes” auditioned for their roles to demonstrate their ability to meet and greet attendees with enthusiasm, according to show management, and then they also received comprehensive training and were stationed at custom-designed Ask Joe Service Stations throughout the showfloor.

This year’s Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) West conference at the Anaheim Convention Center not only saw more attendee, but also they were engaged in a variety of ways on the showfloor.

The leading medical manufacturer’s conference was held Feb. 9-11 and drew an estimated 22,000-plus attendees, more than 2,200 exhibitors and 380,000 square feet of exhibitor space at the Anaheim Convention Center.

With the North American International Auto Show officially wrapping up at Detroit’s Cobo Center recently, this marks the end of a $279 million, five-year transformation at the venue.

Highlights of the project includes adaptive reuse design of the old arena that incorporates 45,000 square feet of outdoor flex space, which includes a large terrace now called Cobo Square.

Last year was a good one for Global Experience Specialists, with the recent earnings report indicating that GES scored a 14.6 percent increase in Q4 revenues, from $213.4 million during the same quarter in 2014 to $244.5 million last year.

In addition, GES’ full-year revenues also saw a 3.4 percent increase, from $944.5 million in 2014 to $976.9 million last year.

Music blasting from loudspeakers that pumped up the standing-room only crowd who cheered on the more than 20 contestants of the Bricklayer 500 World Championship, in which 800 bricks are placed in an hour flat, was just one of the many exciting opportunities offered to attendees of World of Concrete.

The show, which ran Feb. 2-5 at the Las Vegas Convention Center and is owned by Informa Exhibitions, was a huge hit overall, drawing its largest attendance in seven years, according to Tom Cindric, vice president at Informa.  

Private equity firm Sentinel Capital Partners bought Marketplace Events, which organizes home and garden shows in the United States and Canada. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"We are very excited about our investment in Marketplace Events," said Michael Fabian, a partner at Sentinel. "We seek to invest in niche market leaders, and Marketplace Events is the clear leader in the North American home and garden show industry.”

The trade show industry had a strong kick off for 2016, with shows posting big exhibitor and attendee numbers that focused on not only what the newest gourmet food trends might be, but also the latest in musical instruments and everything that someone interested in shooting and hunting might need.