IMEX Frankfurt Breaking Away From the Norm

Google, Encore, DRPG & Maritz turn traditional learning practices on their head at the next IMEX Frankfurt.

With over 3,000 buyers gathering to meet global a range of suppliers during the three days of IMEX Frankfurt, doing business remains a fundamental thread running through the show, which takes place May 23-25.

The show has been designed to deliver a broad experience, however, one which unites business needs with purposeful and exciting learning opportunities. The IMEX Group has partnered with a cutting-edge roster of organizations to showcase a range of innovative – and often surprising – learning experiences. The emphasis is on breaking away from the norm and doing things differently.

Highlights of some of the experiential activity taking place across the show floor this May include:

Google Experience Institute (Xi) CoLabs

The Google Experience Institute (Xi) CoLabs is a series of mini design-thinking sprints exploring the current curiosities of the global Xi community. These 20-minute fast-paced ideation and brainstorming sessions center around six ideas and themes from Google’s research. Together with Storycraft LAB, experts from Google will lift the lid on all aspects of events – ‘culture carriers’ as they call them – covering the following: creating an industry design practice around belonging; cultivating belonging at a trade show; measuring an event’s ‘ripple effect’; designing a radically inclusive event. This is a unique opportunity to experience Google’s in-house collaboration models and techniques – expect short snapshots packed with takeaway content.

Encore Ideation Station 

Quick fire is the order of the day at the Encore Ideation Station with snappy seven-minute presentations that turn traditional education sessions on their head. These include:-

Reverse pitch – a way out from the inquiry madness? 
Finding resilience in times of crisis: what might be all the ways?
Bringing Belonging to Life – What might be all the ways to grow inclusion at your events?

Encore’s Anthony Vade is joined by Thomas Lanthaler, Alex Brueckmann and Valuegraphics pioneer David Allison to facilitate structured brainstorms designed to allow planners to share their voices and collectively source answers to some of the problems they keep facing. Each session rounds off with an exciting – and secret – finale. Attendees are also encouraged to keep their eyes peeled for a hidden speakeasy that’s part of the mix.

DRPG & Maritz – More than Experience Theatre

The DRPG & Maritz – More than Experience Theatre returns this year with a firm focus on the delegate experience. A team of experts will help planners look at their event with fresh eyes and apply a huge dose of creative thinking to addressing current attendee needs. What if your attendees designed your event?  Does anyone really know what to expect next? and The Metaverse: Fleeting fad or future of the industry? are some of the issues to be tackled.

The quote “We’ll never meet our business needs if we don’t meet our human needs” has never been more true in 2023.

Hosted buyers can discover how to provide personalized attendee journeys that satisfy the intersection of human needs and individual learning preferences by heading to the Hosted Buyer Lounge. Here Storycraft LAB will have a dedicated area where their team will help planners discover their own learning profiles and advise on how to use them as tools to craft curated journeys at their own events.

Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group, comments: “While doing business and catching up with contacts are absolutely fundamental, today’s attendees increasingly expect to be able to navigate the entire show experience in a personal way, one that enables them to explore at their own pace and according to their own preferences. Our range of experiential learning opportunities allows attendees to enjoy an individualized, micro experience at a macro event.”

All these sessions form part of the extensive, free program of 150 educational and networking events at IMEX Frankfurt. The learning journey starts with education for specialist audiences the day before the show, on Monday, May 22, followed by six tracks of general learning that run Tuesday to Thursday on the show floor’s Inspiration Hub.  Attendees can also search and personalize education choices according to CMP/CE credits or CSEP approval. 

IMEX Frankfurt  takes place May 23-25, 2023. To register click here. 

Travel and accommodation details – including new hotel booking discounts – can be found here.

eTurboNews is a media partner for IMEX.

Media Contact:  Emma Blake: [email protected]