< PreviousPLANNERTIPS W hen it comes to planning a successful trade- show as an event planner, it’s probably time to question our basic assumptions about what a tradeshow looks like and how it works after decades of the same old “set-up-a-booth-and-hope-people-stop” tradeshow strategy. Think back to the trade shows of a few decades ago – many of them were “cookie cutter” events filled with standard-sized tradeshow booths and branded promotional “giveaways” at every turn. Today’s association tradeshows are vastly different from previous genera- tions with high-tech interactive displays and unique “meet and greet” opportunities. As today’s tradeshows continue to evolve, meeting plan- ners are having to reevaluate what makes a tradeshow a success. According to Lee Gimpel, meeting planning expert and founder of Better Meetings, a meeting design, facilitation, and training company in Washington, DC, a tradeshow often has at least three masters with three different objectives. “The event organizers often see it as a cash cow that brings in rev- enue. The exhibitors go because they want to make sales or find part- ners. And the attendees are looking for real solutions to their issues,” Gimpel says. “Many tradeshows seem to be overweighted to producing revenue for the organizer versus really delivering homerun results for the exhibitors and the attendees.” CEDIA is the leading global trade association for smart home technology, serving more than 4,000 members and 30,000 profes- sionals from 77 countries. Jen Roth, director of meetings and events at CEDIA, says that planning tradeshows requires a much heavier lift logistically compared to a typical meeting. From understanding floor plan design, lingo of general service contractors, booth restrictions and How to Create the “Wow” Event That Brings Attendees Back For More themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIESMARCH 2023 Transform Your Next Tradeshow By Maura Keller 20Next show 21 MARCH 2023 themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIES COURTESY OF JEN ROTH / CEDIA Utilizing unique signage is one way to increase brand recognition and retain attendees’ interest beyond the show. COURTESY OF DARA BEGLEYwhat the fire marshal will approve, to why drayage is neces- sary (because undoubtedly that will always be a pain point for exhibitors), there are so many elements that exhibitors will rely on the meeting planner to know. “It can be overwhelming for a first time exhibitor to be handed a 50+ page exhibitor kit and be expected to know what forms apply to them, so they will look to you for hand-holding them through the process,” Roth says. “There are nuances for each tradeshow and different vendors at each facility, so it’s not as easy as rinse-and-repeat from other shows where they exhibited. As the meeting planner, you will become their source of truth and be expected to know the ins and outs of the tradeshow logistically.” In Roth’s experience as an association event planner, an initial gauge of a successful tradeshow means that exhibitors are provided the necessary tools to support them through the event cycle so they can focus on putting their best foot for- ward once the show opens. “Although we cannot influence the product they display or their process for following up with quality leads cap- tured, we can walk beside them through their journey at our show,” Roth says. “When the show organizer, exhibitors and attendees alike are all invested in making it a great event and maximizing the value received, this ultimately is the best measure of success.” CEO of edgefactory, Brian Cole, says a tradeshow booth needs to stand out to engage passersby, while a meeting has a captive audience. Tradeshows with many exhibi- tors means you have to compete for attention, and stand out from the rest. “Through booth builds, fabrication, giveaways, in-booth seminars, workshops, video content and overall brand visualization, there are many tools a tradeshow planner has to consider that are far beyond a standard meeting’s audio/visual, food and beverage order and room block,” Cole says. In Cole’s opinion, engagement and retention are what tradeshows are all about. A successful tradeshow means more qualified leads from in-booth engagement — more than just scanning a lanyard, but having a system that collects interests and conversations to be used in follow-up campaigns and con- nection points. “Brand recognition, or making a tradeshow booth mem- orable, is also an achievement other than leads,” Cole says. “It’s the brand retention that may help an attendee come back again to the same brand at another show.” “In my opinion, the key attributes of a ‘successful’ trade- show include anticipating the needs of your audience and establishing the goals and objectives of the tradeshow,” says Kimberly Roberts, CMP, agency event marketing manager at Cowbell Cyber. “As the meeting planner, we are setting the stage for attendees, exhibitors and sponsors to do business. Therefore, we should put ourselves in the shoes of each of these participants to identify their needs so that each group has a success experience. People remember experiences good and bad, so make sure that there is enough and appropriate signage, clear requirements for booth set-up and installation, themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIESMARCH 2023 Being creative when setting up tradeshow booths is important to facilitate clear access to attendees, encourage networking and ensure brand messaging is easily understood. COURTESY OF CHRIS DOLNACK Lee Gimpel Meeting Planning Expert and Founder, Better Meetings Many tradeshows seem to be overweighted to producing revenue for the organizer versus really delivering homerun results for the exhibitors and the attendees. 22and ensure that you have fulfilled all of the requirements for your sponsors. Executing these things will allow for partici- pants to attend your shows in the future.” Throughout her career as a meeting planner, Roberts has helped lead the planning of tradeshows. Key steps that she took to be successful were meeting with the stakehold- ers to identify goals and objectives, creating a project plan, identifying vendors and working with the marketing team to market the event. “Identifying the goals and objectives is the first step in planning a tradeshow, because as the meeting planner, you have to know the purpose of the tradeshow and what the stakeholders want to achieve form the tradeshow,” Roberts says. “Knowing this information will set you on the road to success because you will keep this information in the back of your mind when creating the floor plan, selecting vendors, soliciting sponsors and ensuring that these areas match with the goals and objectives.” Creating a project plan also will show all involved parties how to proceed to produce the association tradeshow. Roberts suggests the project plan include timelines, deliverables and more to ensure that the entire team is moving cohesively to produce a successful tradeshow. “Finally, working with the marketing team to establish attendee demographics is important to successfully market the tradeshow to gain attendees,” Roberts says. “Providing the goals and objectives to the marketing team and working with them to creating landing pages, digital invitations and collat- eral, along with a schedule indicating when to reach partici- pants, is important to the success of the tradeshow.” Creativity, organization and attendee engagement are also keys to a successful tradeshow. According to Stephanie Bright- well, owner and managing director of Bryan Allen Events, a successful tradeshow offers interesting, entertaining and meaningful experiences that leave attendees with a positive connection to the event, sponsors and fellow attendees. “However, many tradeshow events are actually unevent- ful, and have become a routine boring and stale experience. Attendees may watch the obligatory keynote speech but then disappear, spending little time engaging or networking with event sponsors,” Brightwell says. It’s imperative association meeting planners remember that people have short attention spans, which is why a suc- cessful tradeshow must always evolve and continually improve to capture the attention, focus and goodwill of all who attend. “Modern tradeshows should leave participants excited about the content, eager to learn more and motivated to share their newfound knowledge,” Brightwell says. “From the reg- istration process to meals and workshops, a successful trade- show should be easy to navigate and offer a smooth and seam- less flow for all who participate.” TRADESHOWS’ UNIQUE ASPECTS According to Maria Britton, CEO of Trade Show Labs, many aspects of tradeshows are different from those of other events association meeting planners manage — the show floor size, volume of trade show attendees and venues differ signifi- cantly. Another important factor is engaging activities. “Tradeshows offer a wide range of experiences which keeps [attendees] interested: live entertainment, food demonstra- tions, product presentations and more. Experiential marketing has become increasingly popular in trade-show attendance as technology advances,” Britton says. “In addition to experiential marketing engagements, it is also necessary to leverage data correctly to target the right audience for maximum impact, as well as maintain a good visual appeal at the event such as appropriate signage or displays that draw attention from afar. “Unique components of a tradeshow that differ from other events that we handle as meeting planners would include working with convention centers and union members. Each convention center is unique regarding space, set-up and themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIESMARCH 2023 Keeping attendees fully engaged throughout the day is important. Adding entertaining elements like demonstrations, live music and presentations keeps attendees happy and coming back for more. COURTESY OF IMEX AMERICA 24requirements to use the space,” Roberts says. As Roberts explains, convention centers are typically raw spaces in which the meeting planner has to create the right type of atmosphere for their event. Basics are needed when using a convention center such as carpeting, electricity and internet service. “If the convention center is being set-up for a conference or convention, exhibitors may be a component of the program. Therefore, the meeting planner will connect with a general services contractor (GSC) that is approved to work in the space,” Roberts says. “The GSC should create an exhibitors’ kit that provides the information that exhibitors will need such as booth size, carpet, furniture, demo stations, electricity and internet access.” Additionally, the requirements for moving the exhibitors’ booth materials may be limited by the use of union workers. Some convention centers only allow union workers to move boxes and materials into the convention hall. “Therefore, as the meeting planner, make sure that you ask this question so that you can create a load-in schedule that allots for breaks, lunch and departure time for the union work- ers,” Roberts says. “The last thing that you want to happen is for your exhibitors to have a negative experience moving their booth materials into the convention hall.” EMBRACING CHALLENGES An unclear organizational structure, unaccountable roles and lack of experienced leadership can doom any event, but that is especially true in the world of association tradeshows. As Brightwell explains, with the Great Resignation of 2021 and 2022, employee turnover in the industry has been exten- sive, leaving many organizations without experienced leadership or staff to help execute a project. “This is where experienced event planners are invaluable. We help the client define their collab- orative event leadership team, goals and decision- making structure to avoid unnecessary confusion and drama,” Brightwell says. “We also establish clear expectations, budgets and the logistical frame- works upfront to help make the process smoother.” For Roth, it’s important to remember that making broad assumptions of what attendees want leads to spend- ing money unnecessarily. Data and feedback still need to drive decisions. “It’s easy to fall in the trap of, ‘we’ve always done it this way,’ but when you consider the feedback and pivot accord- ingly, that’s how you can remain relevant and keep attendees coming back,” Roth says. Gimpel agrees. “It sounds sacrilegious, but 10-foot booths might not be the right format even if that’s what predominates at tradeshows,” he says. “Ultimately, the goal is to connect people — typically in buyer and seller roles — in a way they both find advantageous. Maybe that’s better accomplished by setting up more relaxed highboy tables where people can chat as if meeting at a bar. Or maybe it’s adding some structure like speed dating tables with quick, timed interactions.” Common mistakes that Roberts sees meeting planners making when orchestrating a tradeshow is not adequately familiarizing themselves with the rules and regulations of the tradeshow space and selecting inexperienced vendors. During the initial and subsequent meetings with the venue, Roberts advises that the meeting planner should take notes and send follow-up emails noting what was discussed and agreed upon. “This allows for all parties to be on the same page and the meeting planner to have information that they can ref- erence during the planning and execution of the trade- show,” Roberts says. Britton also sees association meeting planners failing to consider how attendees will travel inside the venue. With large venues, the layout of the space can be difficult for attendees to navigate, and it’s important to provide signage, maps and guidance on where exhibitors are located. “Other mistakes may include lack of adequate seating, which can lead to a cramped and uncomfortable atmosphere; not enough staff installed as on-site helpers throughout the event; and lack of physical swag or premium items that attend- ees can take away with them,” Britton says. “Meeting planners should focus their efforts on creating an enjoyable experience tailored specifically toward their audience that meets all their needs from start to finish.” Roth adds that it’s so important to be tuned into your attend- ees during the entire event cycle and capture feedback face to face with attendees during the event, even if it’s just a few simple questions about their experience. Items that can be addressed at that moment should be a priority, and no one wants to have to wait until the next show to see if the changes made an impact. “Never hide away in a show office out of sight, and rather do quite the opposite,” Roth says. “Be proud of your event, showing attendees you have a vested interest in its success by being visible and accessible, and you’re more likely to receive candid and constructive feedback.” THE FUTURE OF TRADESHOWS From associations to corporations, Cole is seeing organiza- tions doing fewer, better-quality tradeshows. More and more shows are utilizing audio-visual technology in new ways. Small booths to large booths are utilizing video in much bigger ways than before. “There will always be gimmicks and cheesy giveaway trinkets, but we believe the future of tradeshows is more dynamic video content being used to make a product or service stand out,” Cole says. An example of a way to imple- ment video, he says, is “replacing all the print and text walls with digital components so more information can be displayed in less words at a time to capture the shorter attention span of a new generation of attendees.” Brightwell agrees that interactive experiences, virtual real- ity and artificial intelligence will be the hallmarks of future tradeshows as she notes that “events must capture the atten- tion and imagination of attendees to deliver meaningful expe- riences.” | AC&F | Jen Roth Director of Meetings and Events, CEDIA It’s easy to fall in the trap of ‘we’ve always done it this way,’ but when you consider the feedback and pivot accordingly, that’s how you can remain relevant and keep attendees coming back. 25 MARCH 2023 themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIESINDUSTRYTRENDS themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIESMARCH 2023 All Access COURTESY OF CORY LEE Cory Lee, who publishes the award-winning travel blog Curb Free With Cory Lee, recommends planners include accessibility information on their event websites. 26L et no one say that greed is a good reason for stepping up to accommodate people with dis- abilities at their conferences and meetings. And yet, association meeting planners who aren’t going out of their way to make their events accessible to all prospective attendees may be leaving money on the table. While the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been the law of the land since 1990, true accessibility con- tinues to challenge disabled people from all walks of life. This includes not just those using wheelchairs for mobility, but also less obvious physical impairments, such as arthritis, cognition, and sight and hearing disabilities. But disability experts say that, increasingly, some destinations are going above and beyond ADA requirements to become more wel- coming — and they’re using it to attract meeting and con- vention business. When launching plans for a new Kansas City International Airport terminal, the Kansas City Council challenged the Aviation Department to make the facility the most accessible airport in the world. The result is that the recently opened terminal includes such features as fully accessible restrooms with adult-sized changing tables, private rooms for mothers who need to breast feed infants, and service dog relief areas in each concourse, so han- dlers don’t have to leave the secure side of the airport. At the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis recently, an attendee with a severe peanut allergy reached out asking for help in finding seating at an event. The guest ser- vices staff identified a location that was as far as possible from food vendors utilizing peanut products. Another attendee had an allergy to latex, and the facility worked with vendors to ensure the guest would not be served by someone wear- ing latex gloves, and reviewed the environment to ensure that they would not be sitting in an area that might have items containing latex. This year, Visit Jacksonville announced it became Florida’s first DMO to earn the Certified Autism Center (CAC) designation, recognizing organizations that have undergone staff training to better understand and meet the needs of autistic visitors and their families. “We’re proud to be the first destination in the state of Florida to achieve the Certified Autism Center status,” says Visit Jacksonville president and CEO Michael Corrigan. “But we’re most proud to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for all who visit Jacksonville.” At its recent Convening Leaders conference in Columbus, Ohio, PCMA conducted a session to highlight the Greater Columbus Convention Center’s outreach to visitors with dis- abilities. PCMA had Rosemarie Rossetti, Ph.D., a disability consultant and disability ambassador for Experience Colum- bus, lead a tour of the convention center for 25 meeting profes- sionals, focusing on the facility’s accessible features. “Elevators were clearly marked, every restroom had an accessible stall, sinks, mirrors, hooks and towels to dry my hands, and the doors were automatic,” says Rossetti. “The carpet is easy for me to roll on, wheelchairs are available at no cost if you need them, and if you need a scooter, there’s a small charge to rent one for the day. The convention center has done a wonderful job outlining services.” Rossetti is a Columbus resident, and she confesses to a bit of local bias. But she was also hired by Experience Columbus to create an Accessibility Guide (experiencecolumbus.com/plan-your-visit/accessibil- ity), a specially curated list of attractions, hotels and sources of transportation chosen for their disability access. While focused on Columbus, the guide has tips and considerations that could apply in any city. “Experience Columbus — and the entire community — believes it’s of utmost importance for visitors of all abilities to feel welcomed and comfortable when traveling,” explains Kari Kauffman, Chief Destination Experience Officer at Experience Columbus. “Whether you’re coming to town for Going Beyond ADA Compliance cess By David Swanson 27 MARCH 2023 themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIES Rosemarie Rossetti, Ph.D. Disability Consultant and Disability Ambassador Experience Columbus Elevators were clearly marked, every restroom had an accessible stall, sinks, mirrors, hooks and towels to dry my hands, and the doors were automatic.a conference, event or visiting a friend for the weekend, we want everyone to feel confident while exploring our city. The Accessibility Guide is truly a professionally-backed, one-stop resource for people to use while planning a visit, or in real- time while exploring the city.” FACING CHALLENGES Prospective attendees with disabilities cite a number of challenges that able-bodied delegates are less likely to face. Current estimates hold that one out of five Americans have a physical or mental limitation of some kind — and that’s not counting those with a temporary disability caused by an injury or sur- gery. Explaining how these limitations are accom- modated at conferences is a major step towards encouraging participation. “My number one concern is transportation,” explains Cory Lee, who uses a motorized wheel- chair and publishes the award-winning travel blog CurbFreeWithCoryLee.com. “I fully get that not every- thing can be accessible, but I have to consider how I will get around.” Although Lee has traveled to all seven continents, he cites one conference he has declined to attend, because the event website lacks accessibility information. “I don’t want to have to email back and forth with questions. Meet- ing planners can increase attendance just by having that info on the website.” In a recent study conducted by the Valuable 500, a global collective of CEOs dedicated to disability inclusion, 3,500 trav- elers with disabilities were asked to identify the global desti- nations they found most accessible. Echoing Lee’s concerns, among the key areas respondents were asked to consider were transportation links and the availability of information about accessibility. The three U.S. cities that made the top 10 list: Las Vegas, New York and Orlando. Jake Steinman, founder of TravelAbility.net, works with the leisure travel industry on accessibility issues, and in August, will host the Emerging Markets Summit, which is co-located with U.S. Travel’s Educational Seminar for Tourism Organiza- tions (ESTO) in Savannah, GA. When the pandemic arrived, Steinman pivoted by conducting a “listening tour” to gauge the industry’s ethos around accessibility, eventually speaking with 53 representatives from hotels, attractions, museums, CVBs, tour operators and travel agents. “I found three mindsets in the travel industry,” explains Steinman. “One was fear — fear of litigation and complaints, especially at hotels. In this case, the decision-makers, the man- agers, do the absolute minimum required to be accessible. The second is the idealist, the ones who feel everyone should feel welcome no matter what. Museums that receive grant funding tend to be hyper-accessible, along with some of the big attrac- tions. They get locals as part of their customer base, which includes schools groups and senior groups, and they see people with accessibility issues every day.” Steinman continues: “The third mindset is growth, and these are the businesses that see an untapped market. When you factor in baby boomers who are aging into a disability, like arthritis, suddenly that’s a big market.” Health Today reports that 40% of baby boomers self-identify as having a disability after they reach age 65. Although larger cities and meeting des- tinations have made the transition to meeting ADA guidelines, Steinman says secondary locations are starting to position their facilities to actively cater to this market. “Right now, we’re working with Fairfax, Lexington, Lancaster, Mesa, Tampa and Kissimmee on an initiative called Rethinking Accessibil- ity. These second-tier destinations all live in the shadow of the bigger convention destinations. They want accessibility to be a differentiator. We’re showing them how it’s not about what you can’t do; it’s what you can do.” ADDRESSING NEEDS Increasingly, associations are demanding that destinations rise to the challenge. Frank E. Gainer, CMP, CAE, an occupa- tional therapist by training and vice president of meetings and events for the American Occupational Therapy Association, says his group expects the places they meet to be accessible to anyone who wants to attend. “We work with individuals with disabilities, so we would be hypocrites if we didn’t honor increased accessibility,” says Gainer. “Anywhere we go, we walk the talk.” AOTA’s RFP requires the host destination to not only be ADA com- pliant, but includes a caveat expecting them to go above and beyond. Before contracts are signed — up to five years ahead — Conference Direct receives an ADA checklist for both the convention center and the hotels, and AOTA comes in for a detailed site inspection. “Some of our attendees may have themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIESMARCH 2023 Having a selfie station like this one used by occupational therapy students is a great way to help your attendees remember and treasure the fun they had at the tradeshow. COURTESY OF FRANK E. GAINER Jake Steinman Founder, TravelAbility.net When you factor in baby boomers who are aging into a disability, like arthritis, suddenly that’s a big market. 28a scooter, or they have low vision, or maybe hearing issues. We might only have 30 that self-identify as needing some- thing, but we’ve turned down places that don’t rise to the level we expect.” Gainer says that some people think you just install some grab bars and a restroom is accessible. But he explains, “In a bathroom, you need a 60-inch turning radius to be accessible, you need paper towel holders at a level so someone in a wheel- chair can reach them. Overall, Kansas City has been very good, although we’ve had some challenges with the bathrooms. We signed the contract pre-COVID-19 and they agreed to make some changes, but then there were budget cuts. We’ve had to go back and prioritize the upgrades we’d like to have done in the bathroom.” BECOMING INCLUSIVE The American Association of Geographers has been attuned to accessibility needs for a long time, according to Oscar Larson, director, AAG Meetings. The organization has about 75 specialized disciplines, including a disabil- ity geography group. For its conference this year in Den- ver, Larson expects about 4,000 in-person attendees, with about 50 people in total making special requests, all of which can be shared through an open-ended response field dur- ing registration. “Some of these are about the room lighting or noise lev- els, some have requested a nursing mothers room,” explains Larson. “We want to make our Annual Meeting as welcoming as possible, and diversity and inclusion are really core to our values.” Larson says, about six years ago, AAG decided to get ahead of accessibility issues, instead of being in a position of reacting to events on the ground. AAG wound up hiring Rose- marie Rossetti as a consultant. “Not being experts, she came to our site visit in Denver and gave attention to some of the details that we would have over- looked,” adds Larson. “We spent a long time talking about the hotels, and she pointed out a lot of things they needed to do. She has a super close eye for detail. It keeps us accountable and helps us keep our partners accountable.” The Denver site visit brought several issues to the fore. One of the two hotels selected for attendees had both a revolving door and a door on hinges at the entrance. The regular door was locked to keep homeless residents from entering the hotel, and Rossetti, who uses a manual wheelchair, couldn’t enter the lobby through the revolving door. “This was part of our discovery that we never would have expected,” notes Rossetti. “There was also a miscom- munication about what type of room I needed — I had asked for one with wheelchair access with a roll-in shower. But when I got to the room, there was not one grab bar and the shower was not curb-less. They sent me to another room, but it also was not accessible, despite the request being noted in the reservation. As an accessibility consultant, my first impression was that this hotel room was not safe for me for two nights, so my client and I had a conversation with the sales manager.” Larson says AAG expects to continue working with an accessibility expert indefinitely. “It’s really important for us to have a point of contact for real-time intervention and sup- port,” explains Larson. “Each place we go to will have its own challenges, but there are so many nuances. It’s more than us just having a checklist.” It’s also important for attendees of different backgrounds to feel seen. “If you’re trying to entice people to register, the marketing people should showcase people with disabilities, to show that I’m included,” suggests Rossetti. “Just like gender or race, incorporating people with visual disabilities shows how we belong. And then, as they start registering, we need to see the appropriate questions, such as what do you need to be able to fully participate in this conference.” Such efforts at inclusion can continue all the way to the keynote stage, where panels and speakers foster another kind of connection. Cory Lee mentions that he was particularly moved when he was asked by an association conference plan- ner to lead a professional development session on Facebook, a communications area he has excelled at monetizing. “These groups always want to put me on that standard diversity panel,” says Lee. “But it was great having a chance to speak about something where I was an expert. I really loved being asked to speak about something having nothing to do with accessibility or diversity, or disability.” | AC&F | 29 MARCH 2023 themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIES PCMA invited disability consultant Rosemarie Rossetti, Ph.D., on a tour of the Greater Columbus Convention Center with 25 meeting professionals, focusing on the facility’s accessible features. COURTESY PHOTONext >