You want to know why IMEX does so well and other industry shows basically suck or are on life support…
It is because they actually try to make it better year after year. New initiatives, new programs, new life… they are always thinking about 10 steps ahead of the competition. They may not always get it right, but they try.
Many industry events seem to create a formula that works and then pound that formula into the ground until we are all sitting around shaking our heads saying “man, that show used to be great”.
If you want to survive and grow a conference, you always have to be setting the bar higher than it was last year, and by higher, I don’t mean flashier or more expensive. What I mean is that you always have to be thinking of ways to outdo yourself on a content level, an interaction level, and a satisfaction level.
If you are thinking about doing the same thing that you did last year, red flags should be popping up all over your office and the robot should fly out of the closet, arms swinging, yelling “Danger Will Robinson, DANGER”.
Check out this promotional video that is well produced and delivered by someone (Ray Bloom) who actually believes what he is selling… They did not go out and get a sexy, sexy spokesmodel who delivers canned lines, they went for real. They also shot it in a hotel lobby, but who cares,this is a place that most meeting and event professionals are intimate with and are comfortable with… we love that background noise, I hear it in my sleep.
What is most important is that the quality and emotion are there and that is what viewers want…They do not want a shot of your association president sitting in his or her office droning on for 3 minutes about this year’s conference; viewers want a 30-second connection that speaks to them.
Watch Ray’s smile in the last 1 second of the video…. he knows his show and he loves it. That is something money cannot buy.
Can your conference promotion do this… oh wait, you don’t have a promotional video do you?
