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Exhibitors and buyers alike on day 3 of IMEX America report business success, whether it involves closing deals or getting new ideas to provide inspiration and creativity to help them in their jobs.

Business power

Exhibitors – new and returning – felt IMEX America 2019 has been a success. According to Paul Sullivan, director of group sales at the Westin Boston Waterfront: “I close business at this show, including one yesterday for around $30,000.”

Heike Mahmoud, chief operating officer at CCH – Congress Center Hamburg, says: “I spoke to a planner from Silicon Valley about hosting events for around 5,000 people at our venue. The show has been a really valuable opportunity to showcase and gain feedback on the CCH before it reopens next year. I have some great insight to bring back to my team and some really strong leads.”

“We consider IMEX America as the cornerstone of the work we do,” said Robin Miller, director of sales at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center. “It’s where we secure face-to-face time with large numbers of potential clients and existing clients. It’s critical that we’re here.”

The show is highly valued by buyers, too. “We’re expanding our international market so this show is essential for us. The appointment system means I can guarantee time with the right person from my suppliers,” said US-based Mary Somerville from HPN Global.

Diversity driven learning

IMEX America continues to deliver on a commitment to education with a range of compelling sessions on its final day, some of which explore diversity as part of Imagination, IMEX’s Talking Point for this year. Sessions include Creating environments of acceptance: gender expression in the workplace and beyond, presented by LGBT MPA, with Ron Renee Roley, senior event manager for global events at Nike, who will use personal stories and experiences to provide a safe discussion environment.

SITE and Prevue have joined forces to dive deeper into the gender-specific challenges female meeting planning professionals and suppliers have faced in their careers with Challenges women face in the meetings industry. Rhonda Brewer, vice president, sales for North America at BCD Meetings & Events and Amanda Armstrong, assistant vice president of the meetings and travel department at Enterprise Holdings, Inc., will dive into survey results about gender-specific challenges of female meeting planning professionals and suppliers. Attendees will engage in a lively discussion about issues women face in the meetings industry and will hear from experts in the field as they share their own stories and examples.

Powerful language tools for women in business with Kate Patay, CPCE, a motivational speaker, consultant and faculty lecturer at the International School of Hospitality, who offers a frank discussion about building a personal brand and boosting leadership skills. How do you measure visitor experience? led by Maksim Godovykh from the Center for Event Studies, will help attendees learn how to measure and influence customer experience at each stage of the event process.

Other sessions on Thursday cover business skills and legacy. Lasting legacies: designing better community service projects hosted by The Events Industry Council (EIC). Mariela Mcilwraith, president of Meeting Change and David Fiss, director of business development, partnerships & event strategy at Sustainable Brands, will provide a framework for developing a lasting, positive impact through meaningful projects and explore transformative approaches that benefit communities, event planners and their teams.

IMEX America concludes today, September 12, in Las Vegas.

#IMEX19

eTN is a media partner for IMEX America.

IMEX America… “the cornerstone of the work we do” — Education offerings sparks creativity and imagination

IMEX AMERICA 2019

IMEX America 2019 is currently taking place September 10 – 12 at the Sands Expo® Convention Center preceded by Smart Monday, powered by MPI on September 9.

Exhibitor news can be found here.

For further press information, please visit us at the on-site press center (Upper Lobby, Level 2, Sands Expo® Convention Center) or contact:

Emma Blake (UK): emma.blake@imexexhibitions.com

Norman Birnbach (US): norman.birnbach@imexexhibitions.com

IMEX AMERICA 2020

IMEX America takes place in September again next year: September 15 – 17, 2020.

#IMEXcited. Why? Because IMEX America is celebrating its 10th birthday in 2020. More details to follow soon.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Emma Blake (UK): emma.blake@imexexhibitions.com ; Norman Birnbach (US): norman.birnbach@imexexhibitions.com

“It’s our first time at the show and we’re very excited. The reason we’re here is because the Ministry understands how much economic potential this industry has,” explained Daniella Garson from the Israel Ministry of Tourism. Meanwhile, Robin Miller, director of sales at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center, said, “At my very first appointment today, we learned that somebody we’ve been talking to has decided to take the next step in going to come and see us. And we know that when people put their feet on the ground, we really start to move forward. Being at IMEX America means we can achieve a lot in a short period of time.”

Connections and collaboration spearheaded the second day of IMEX America, currently taking place in Las Vegas. David Meisner from Austin Marriott Downtown was one of the many exhibitors confirming business. “What a success! We have four or five really hot pieces of business. Everyone’s here! We’ve made so many valuable connections. The ROI is totally worth it,” he said.

The buyers were busy with appointments – “I’m in the process of confirming meetings and events in both Europe and the USA – a corporate group of 50 and a medical congress of 4,000,” explains hosted buyer Hugo Rosa from LKD Abatur in Mexico.

The power of positivity

Alongside the business on the show floor was expert-led education beginning with Michelle Gielan, MPI keynote. In The optimism quotient: changing our mindset, fueling success, she shared research showing the ripple effect that rational optimism can have on performance, profitability and happiness at work. “Being positive, optimistic and resilient drives every single educational, business and health outcome. It increases your productive energy by 31% and your chances of promotion by 40%.”

A dedicated technology education track covered the latest in smart project management, how to use speech recognition apps and presentation tools. “You need to consider how to use your event app strategically – turn it from a tool for attendees to a tool for yourselves” – this was the opening statement by Kate Gray from EventMobi in her session Rethink your event app: how to take your content and design to the next level. Kate shared examples of event apps and ideas on design, content and presentation.

One of the learning experiences at the Tech Zone, home to all the latest technology innovations, was a session by Tara Thomas from The Meeting Pool. In Understanding and leveraging the MarTech landscape, Tara recommended a goal-orientated approach to choosing and using tech and detailed specific measurement tools – “don’t invest in tech without having a plan,” she advised. Many buyers agreed on the increasingly important role of technology. “Technology helps to track and evaluate the process and make it much more manageable. When used properly, it can help to create remarkable customer experiences and really raise the bar,” said buyer Roxann Hendrickson from Hawaii Meetings+events.

“Being green used to be nice… now it’s imperative,” said Tammy Blount-Canavan, President and CEO of Monterey. Tammy joined forces with Fiona Pelham from Positive Impact Events to deliver the education session Future trends for the global event industry. Fiona described the UN Sustainable Development Goals and how events can be used to achieve them.

The learning opportunities at the show were welcomed by many attendees such as James Kim, corporate events manager at Netflix. He said: “Education is an important part of our company culture, our teams share knowledge and experiences to keep on top of trends. To see such a wide range of education here is a great aspect to the show.”

IMEX America continues until September 12 in Las Vegas.