Trade Show InsightsNews, tips & tools to expand your knowledge of exhibiting

Now here’s an example of a convention center doing good! The Orange County Convention Center in Orlando has announced that they donated more than $1.6 million in goods and services in 2011, including nearly 250,000 pounds of food, $175,000 in educational supplies and grants, and more than $100,000 in building supplies. The OCCC also has an extensive Sustainability Policy, which can be found on their website.

It seems 2012 shows seem to really be on a roll! This week, both the NAMM Show (National Association of Music Merchants) and SHOT Show (Shooting, Hunting & Outdoor Trade Show) reported record-breaking events. The SHOT Show hosted more than 61,000 attendees at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas, while the 110th NAMM Show drew 95,709 to the Anaheim Convention Center.

A few days ago I came across this blog post by a reporter at Computerworld about his experience at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES). My favorite line is, “What I most remember from CES were fairly random things, the kind of interactions that are the result of sheer serendipity.” He goes on to tell several stories about people he met (many of them off the show floor) with fascinating products or experiences to share.

In the last post, I told you about 100 trends to watch regarding consumer behavior and marketing. In this Slideshare presentation by Julius Solaris, you’ll likely see some things you haven’t thought about using for your events, including social ads, livestreaming, and event dashboards. And be sure to check out the list of resources at the end of the presentation for links to learn more about each of the 10 trends. There are a wealth of tools in there!

So what do you see as trends that will shape the meeting and trade show industry this year?

Technology, food, and human interactions are all included in this list of people and things that will shape consumer behavior in the coming 12 months. JWT Intelligence has released their seventh annual forecast of consumer trends, and they’ve proven to be pretty accurate in the past.

Check out the complete list on Slideshare (shown below), or view a summary of 10 Trends on the JWT site. As you view the list, think about which items you believe will influence the world of meetings and trade shows. Here are the six I choose as most applicable (not in order of importance):

Ever since I wrote my book, Build a Better Trade Show Image — ten years ago — I’ve been trying to convince both show managers and exhibitors that doing shows the same way won’t cut it anymore. If you look at the statistics for many expos (especially association shows), you’ll see the primary demographic is age 40-plus, with many averaging even age 50-plus. But if you want your show to stay alive, you better figure out how to reach the 20- and 30-somethings, and you better do it quick!