What do trade shows and New York City have in common?

Have you heard of Duolingo? It’s an app that claims to be “the best new way to learn a language.” It sounded intriguing, so we checked out what languages they offer, Spanish, French, German. Oddly, we didn’t find trade show listed. Ok, maybe that’s not so odd, but regardless of whether Duolingo recognizes it, we all know that trade shows have a unique language, and learning to speak it can be frustrating.

Can you interpret this?

Please grab the BOL for the EAC in booth 103 and read me the CWT?

Have you ever been walking through a parking lot and suddenly there is a car behind you? You have to do a double-take. Where did it come from? How is it so quiet?

You know where I’m going with this, right? Yep, the parking space stalker is a hybrid.

The United States is now the second-largest market for hybrid vehicles, making up 36% of global sales. For something so quiet, hybrid vehicles sure have revolutionized the auto industry.

If you’ve paid 30-seconds of attention to the event industry over the past year, it isn’t surprising that hybrid is sneaking up on us too. There is no doubt face-to-face interaction is invaluable, but virtual events are not going away. It’s time to find a way to work them into our exhibit strategy.

Merge into the carpool lane: accepting hybrid events as the future.

How to fix virtual events relies heavily on what we all love about events.

What is that? The energy? The people? The learning?

2020 was the year that finally proved that Sales and Marketing must work together to achieve success. Trade Shows are lead generation machines and sales relies heavily on them to build their pipeline. One of the biggest challenges in 2020 was losing in-person events and the leads that come with them.  

While the in-person events went away, successful marketers used special events to fill that lost demand, while the companies that relied solely on sales lagged behind. Based on surveys from Exhibitor Online, we learned: 

• 39% indicate that the downturn has made the value of trade shows and face-to-face marketing more obvious to members of the C-Suite. 
• 59% indicate a lack of leads/sales opportunities due to the loss of in-person events. 

With that said, let’s start from the beginning. When you start any campaign or event planning, it is crucial that you start with one thing.  

The return of shows means there will be not only expectations to make people feel safe, but requirements and procedures in place to ensure it. In continued efforts to prepare for the future, two of our team members at EDE, Max Maxwell and Shannon Dunne, have received their GBAC certifications.

So what’s GBAC?

It’s the Global Biorisk Advisory Council. It teaches you how to prepare for, respond to, and recover from biohazards in the workplace. Currently, the course places an emphasis on how to handle a post-COVID world of events. Places like McCormick Convention Center (Chicago), Orange County Convention Center (Orlando), Georgia World Congress (Atlanta), and Jacob Javits (NYC) have all been certified, proving the importance of the certification.

Why does GBAC matter to you?

As an exhibit manager, the return of shows is exciting, but also nerve wracking. Safety is everyone’s #1 concern, and quite frankly, the only way our industry we love will get off the ground. This certification will enable us (and you!) to take all of the necessary steps to ensure and manage the cleaning/safety protocols of your exhibit. By finding a trusted partner that is GBAC-certified, you can have peace of mind that your environment will be safe for everyone.

If you’re interested in learning more about the training, you can check it out here. Or if you have questions for our certified team members, please contact us at dunnes@edecorp.com.

“It’s big, interactive, impactful, inviting, and fun!” A satisfied attendee in the MHS exhibit at MODEX 2020 excitedly summarized her MHS experience. The metrics showed that she wasn’t alone — the exhibit had a 500% increase in traffic and generated almost 6 times the number of leads from MHS’s previous show (Promat 2019). So how did they do it?

With 2020 being MHS’s first time exhibiting at MODEX, the company wanted to make its presence known—both as a leader in the industry and physically on the show floor. The company’s objectives were to increase brand awareness and to educate attendees on the newly defined “pillars” that encapsulate MHS’s disciplines. 

To achieve these goals, EDE teamed up with our AV partner Stamm Technologies to create several experiential technology activations. These activations made MHS a must-see on the show floor and educated attendees on MHS’s core business functions they have deemed their “pillars.”

During this period of uncertainty, we at EDE Corporation feel it is our role to help trade show managers and marketers keep up-to-date with the progress of the Events and Coronavirus. We chose five major cities we felt would be the bellwethers for guiding the reopening nationwide.  The following are reports and governmental links as to where each city currently sits, as well as the plan to open for larger gatherings.