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Jun 24 2014

Why Reed’s Decision to Scale Back AIBTM is Brilliant

dominoesRecently, Reed Exhibitions announced plans to change the format of its America Incentives, Travel and Meetings Expo (AIBTM) from a “traditional” trade show to an “exclusive, private” scaled-back event.

In the proposed plan, the number of hosted buyers and exhibitors will be reduced to 250 each. Turnkey “pods” will replace raw exhibit space and attendees—carefully screened buyers—will be required to keep a schedule of thirty appointments.

This conversion is sheer madness or, as I believe, absolute brilliance. Here’s why.

First, the obvious. The slimmed-down event addresses two major pain points for exhibitors: the inconvenience and cost to exhibit. It also speaks to the supreme time deficit of most VIP planners.

The proposed exhibit pods will level the playing field for exhibitors. By removing the perceived requirement to build elaborate custom booths in order to differentiate, exhibitors can focus on the mission of selling and educating prospects instead.

The one-to-one format distills the trade show form factor down to its simplest form and highest value proposition. It epitomizes the value of meeting face to face and the intimate setting allows participants to forge and renew relationships in a way that cannot be replicated online.

The proposed IBTM incarnation is the perfect scenario for justifying to management the time and expense to attend. The perception of decision-makers that such events are fun-filled junkets for an employee is virtually eliminated.

The funds that were previously spent by exhibitors on building exhibits, renting large spaces, labor, and drayage, for example, can be claimed by Reed as compensation for drastically reducing the number and improving the quality of the buyers. As a friend once told me, “it’s easier to sell one locomotive than a hundred ice cream cones.”

The smaller event has the potential to dramatically improve the attendee experience. With such a small group of buyers, Reed can pinpoint and address the educational needs and desires of every single attendee.

Reed staff will be able to focus on identifying power buyers rather than administering to crowds.

The reduced strain on WiFi could make it possible to deliver content, images and information digitally (to compensate for the lack of exhibit real estate to tell the exhibitors’ stories) at a lower cost, as well as enable location and mobile technologies to function flawlessly.

Hosted buyer matchmaking software can focus more on divining optimal mutual matches rather than giving every exhibitor and attendee a certain number of appointments.

On one hand, there will be implications for the IBTM Americas ecosystem and others who attempt similar transitions:

  • In the absence of elaborate booth constructions, exhibit sales staff will have to be brilliant storytellers rather than name takers.
  • The convention center will rent less space.
  • The general service contractor will receive less revenue.
  • The registration system will become an RSVP system

On the other hand, it’s an opportunity for stakeholders to embrace a new reality: alternative marketing mediums are strong competition for some trade shows. It’s better to devise new strategies and service offerings now, rather than wait for something truly disruptive to disable a line of business.

The oft-repeated mantra of our industry—nothing can replace meeting face-to-face—isn’t completely true. In fact, we are pushing our exhibitors and attendees into the arms of less than optimum selling and buying environments because the pain of participating in some trade shows often far outweighs the benefits.

What Reed has announced is truly disruptive and instructive for the entire industry. There are many ways to compete and it’s far better to create disruption than to be victimized by it.

 

 

 

 

 

Written by Michelle · Categorized: Archives, Perspectives · Tagged: digital disruption, Featured

Jan 22 2013

How One Meetings Organization Interpreted Digital Disruption

betaThe time we live in can only be described as bordering on the unfathomable: infants use iPads, celebrities show up at music festivals post mortem and human beings serve as wireless hotspots. We have gone from analog to digital overnight. The change is even reflected in our workplace terminology. We connect (meet), download (inform our colleagues about a project) and kvetch about bandwidth (time required to accomplish tasks). How can any industry keep up?

I left last week’s PCMA Convening Leaders conference in Orlando thinking about a number of statements, but one in particular has stayed with me. Thomas Friedman’s keynote, which alternatively addressed the failures and mandates we have as a country to avoid becoming a mid-day snack for China, mentioned the mantra of Silicon Valley start-ups, “Always be in beta.” It seemed to be the perfect solution for an industry of analogs trying to cope with digital disruption.

Even as the gauntlet of digital disruption—social media, mobile, virtual events, new content channels—was thrown down, PCMA looked it square in the eye and said, “Bring it on.” They attempted to scratch the surface of the issues surrounding digital technologies and meetings in a panel discussion, which I moderated, including industry luminaries from both sides of the aisle. We succeeded in laying out the issues and even discussing the “elephant in the room”: live events are not immune to the disruption.

In fact, PCMA not only exposed the obvious, they embraced it with their continued collaboration with the Virtual Edge Institute and their support of BOBtv. Virtual Edge education is now seamlessly blended into the Convening Leaders programming including an opportunity to sit for the Digital Event Strategist certification exam. An undercurrent of anticipation of the rollout this year of BOBtv was ever present during the meeting. The live streaming of the keynotes and several popular sessions from the conference was another hat tip to digital.

PCMA took mobile a step further this year by deploying a game on the existing mobile platform provided by Active Network. Participants were encouraged to complete evaluations, scan QR codes, add sessions to their agendas and perform other tasks in order to earn points and a coveted position at the top of the leaderboard. Then in typical PCMA style, staffers invited participants to a discussion of what went well, what could be done better and how the game layer performed overall.

The signs of social media were alive and well this year again. PCMA sponsored an official Tweetup. The mobile platform offered plenty of opportunities to tweet, post and upload content—and according to PCMA staff, they did. The three year-old Learning Lounge introduced attendees to a new platform called Tout (scheduled to be a part of the event next year), which developers describe as “Twitter for video.” Tout allows users to create 15-second video updates and add them directly to their Twitter and Facebook streams while enabling other users to reply with their own videos.

More than any specific program feature or technological innovation, it was PCMA’s attitude toward digital disruption that was so obvious at the event. They must have trepidation about keeping pace with technology and the future of meetings—their members surely do—but they didn’t let that paranoia stop them. If the level of experimentation at the meeting (lunch four different ways and the trade show reimagined) was any indication, PCMA is always in beta, trying new form factors and delivery systems. It almost seemed as if, despite some of the glitches that come with the territory, they embrace digital and disruption in general as a matter of policy. What a difference (non) denial makes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Written by Michelle · Categorized: Archives, Case Studies · Tagged: Conference, digital disruption, Featured, PCMA, social media strategy

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