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

If you’ve ever felt like what we do in this business doesn’t really make much of an impact, check out this study presented recently at the World Economic Forum. They’ve now discovered that meetings, conventions and trade shows not only have an economic impact, but also help to promote world peace!

And speaking of travel, the US Travel Association has rolled out a Congressional Awareness Campaign. They’ve selected 12 metro areas which bring in the most significant revenue and jobs and will be educating the 43 Congressional leaders from those areas with industry statistics and insights. To see what cities are on the list, check out this article from EXPO Magazine.

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.

Last week’s PCMA Convening Leaders continued to draw media attention this week, with summaries of sessions and reviews of the entire event. BizBash covered the often-sensitive subject of virtual meetings and face-to-face events, while on PCMA 365, Richard Saul Wurman, founder of the TED Conference, shared some of his insights on successful meetings.

In other show news, the World Dairy Expo is expanding rapidly but still can’t keep up with the demand for exhibit space. EXPO reports that the show coming up in Madison, Wisconsin this October will expand by 26,000 square feet, yet still leaves 275 companies on a waiting list!

Unless you’ve been completely offline this week, you’ve likely seen the widespread protest against the SOPA and PIPA bills in Congress. But there’s been strangely few media mentions within the meetings/conventions/trade show world, and I can’t understand why.

Thankfully, these bills seem to be losing traction in Washington, according to an article on Mashable. But here’s the nuts and bolts of what provoked the bills and why we should all care.

While there are a lot of things worth copying about the success of the Consumer Electronics Show, there’s one area where they lag far behind other expos.

It seems that among the hundreds of media mentions at last week’s event, there were several (including Inc. Magazine and the Huffington Post) who zeroed in on the fact that a number of CES exhibits still feature what’s commonly known as “booth babes.” This antiquated practice started decades ago in male-dominated industries as a way to draw men into the exhibit. But there are a number of problems with this strategy today, as pointed out in a video by the BBC.