I’m back from my first visit to IMEX, in Frankfurt, one of the biggest trade shows of the events industry. I’ve been sponsored to attend it as part of the Future Leaders Forum, a joint program between IMEX and MPI for students.
It’s been 3 extremely intense days with lots of seminars, networking, receptions, and parties. I’m going to briefly talk about my main impressions and learnings:
– Although the show is clearly (and predictably) still dominated by the hospitality and tourism industry, it was great to see the TechTap booth. Members of the Meeting Support Industry showcased their latest products, such as the Spotme device.
– Attending the Future Leaders Forum meant that I got to see many seminars on the latest trends on events. No speaker mentioned the concepts of ‘meeting design’ or ‘meeting architecture’. Nonetheless, I was pleased to see that actually many sessions were connected to it: yoga to improve attendees’ energy, the relevance of personality types and cultural differences between delegates, or the measurement of ROI.
– Generally the industry is optimistic about the future and predictably, some of the trends announced are increased importance of CSR and ROI measurement.
– During the Meeting Architecture dinner, I had the chance to experience for the first time a new gadget called Poken. And I LOVED it and I’m convinced that if it reaches its tipping point, it’s going to be on everybody’s hands soon. Basically it allows to exchange digital business cards, sending all the information to a website. I will talk more about its features in another post, because I think it deserves it!
One curiosity, it turns out that on average, 50% of the population are introverts, and the other 50% extroverts. Guess what’s the proportion between event professionals? 9 out of 10 are extroverts! Perhaps not very surprising, but still I found it interesting.
Now, anyone else here went to IMEX? What did you like most? Would love to hear your comments!
Share it
The Conference Goer's Blog 
Hey
I’m not surprised they are all introverts. It’s the detail of these introverts that the make the events run smoothly
Scott
LikeLike
Thanks for your comment Scott!
However, did you mean introverts or extroverts? Were you talking about events professionals?
Rosa
LikeLike
Opps! Read that very wrong!
Wow – extroverts hey. I guess that also makes sense. They must have teams of detailed poeple around them, yes?
Scott
LikeLike
Yes, like many things in life, in teams there should be a balance between introverts/extroverts…and of course enable them to work together and make the most out of everyone!
Rosa
LikeLike
Hello Rosa,
Wonderful report, good that people like you publish!
If you search on introverts on http://www.meetingsupport.org you will find some interesting material. One remark: Many introverts learn how to behave like an extrovert So, our industry has probably more introverts than meets the eye…
I hope that is one day you look for an intern-ship, the Meeting Support Institute will be on your list.
Maarten
LikeLike
Hello Maarten,
Glad that you liked it! And now that you mention it, actually the proportion of extroverts/introverts between the FLF participants was something like 70/30…
And about the internship, your comment is very flattering, and I’m sure it would be a unique learning opportunity for me. However, I’ve almost finished my studies which means I’m going to look for a job 🙂
All the best,
Rosa
LikeLike
Hi Rosa
I am glad you liked the Yoga and appreciated the concept of improving peoples energy!
Interesting articles – good blog.
Kind Regards
Janet
LikeLike
Hello Janet,
thanks for your kind comments!
I really like the mission of your company, unfortunately nowadays we’re usually too stressed, especially event professionals! And I think you did a very wise choice when you targeted meetings, it is essential to improve attendees’ experience…
I hope to see your session at another event soon!
Best regards,
Rosa
LikeLike