Gone are the days when an exhibition is simply a bunch of people standing in a hall handing out brochures and gathering business cards. Quality exhibitions in today’s marketplace must differentiate themselves from their perceived competition and offer educational components as well as the right mix of product and suppliers.
On the flip side, the show organiser must deliver quality visitors with a genuine interest in the segment.
The Incentive Show, in just its second year, did so on numerous counts, with plenty of exhibitors happy with the event, and visitor numbers up. The event was held at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre on June 3-4, 2008.
Event director, Mark Harvey of Wakamo Business Media, said visitor numbers were up by 60 per cent and exhibitor numbers were up by 120 per cent. Of these, he has had reports that 80 per cent recorded a “great show” while the balance said their experience was “lacklustre”.
“That’s the segment that we need to improve upon,” he said.
Already strategies to do so are taking shape. Mr Harvey said as the show organiser he was not hiding the fact that there were some aspects of the show that need a rethink, and he would be working to address those going forward.
“Incentive Show is pioneering a new era for the Australian incentive market by bringing together other segments of the incentive industry such as merchandise rewards, [companies that service the] performance improvement [sector] and online solution providers.
“With the exception of the Motivation Show in Chicago, no other event in the world does this. All the events in the incentive market focus pretty much on the fulfilment of incentive travel. They don’t showcase the other critical components of an incentive or performance improvement program. Nor do they incorporate the promotional side of the industry.
“Incentive Show does and as such, we are attracting an unprecedented number of corporate buyers to the show. We just need to educate them a little more on how all of the components connect together.
“We are very happy with the quality of the audience and our attendance numbers were strong, although poor weather on day one did see a slow start to the show.”
Nevertheless, those who did make it to the show were there with genuine interest, and many with a desire to learn more about the incentive sector.
The majority of seminars were highly rated. Topics included:
• A balanced approach to loyalty program delivery
• Group incentive travel – keeping it unique
• Using sales incentive management to romance your sales people
• How to develop motivation and incentive plans that won’t break the bank
• Making rewards more rewarding
• Engaging retail staff
• Using gift cards in your incentive or reward programs
These and others were well-attended, and offered visitors a mix of information and ideas for experienced practitioners to more “how to” style presentations that were clearly targeted at those new to the incentive and performance improvement segment.
Also on offer was a one-day conference – People Performance Management 2008 – held at the centre on day two of the exhibition. The conference was “dedicated to the growing discipline of people performance management and measurement” and was designed for managers seeking to better understand how to connect employee engagement and customer satisfaction for improved financial results and competitive advantage.
An attendee told mice.net that this format may be re-examined for 2009.
One of the most outspoken individuals working in the incentive rewards and merchandise segment, Les Frampton of Hagemeyer Brands Corporate, was positive about the event.
“I’ve always looked at these as three to five year projects,” he said.
“The first year the numbers weren’t as high but with the way Mark Harvey has put it together and the energy he puts into it, I think that it’s looking very positive moving forward.
“He’s [Mark Harvey’s] heading in the right direction; he’s done the homework and he’s made the contacts. I could not speak highly enough of the way it was.
“From a company point of view we’ve now got a bigger database to work on from the previous year; we’ve got more people that we want to tell about what we do. We look upon this as a cost-effective way of growing our business.”
In 2009 Mark Harvey and his team are planning to launch “a show within a show” called Meet2Motivate. This is another new concept show that’s designed specifically for corporate buyers looking for more engaging ways to motivate and communicate with their target audiences.
“Unlike the more traditional meetings industry events, Meet2Motivate is focused entirely on the `motivational’ segment,” Mr Harvey said.
“It’s a niche event that zeros in on a growing and lucrative segment of the meetings space. It’s not a `one size fits all’ event. Its purpose is to connect corporate buyers with the very best in meetings and travel as it relates to motivating employees, dealers, distributors and customers.”
Mr Harvey believes the market is changing and as employees and other audiences become immune to the traditional corporate meeting, planners are having to up the ante and think outside the square to deliver an experience that’s inspiring and truly memorable.
“Our research shows today’s planners are looking for more than just new suppliers, they’re looking for ideas, venues and activities that are a little more unconventional. And that’s exactly what we plan to deliver at Meet2Motivate, a showcase of suppliers that offer something a little different.”
Exhibitors at Meet2Motivate will feature the best in team-building, motivational events and activities, games and entertainment, non-traditional venues, inspirational destinations, motivational speakers, incentive travel services and meeting facilities.
For more information on Incentive Show or Meet2Motivate contact Mark Harvey at info@wakamo.com.
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