Trafalgar Group

With events spread throughout the world, Reed Exhibitions was not immune to macro economic pressures last year, posting an overall revenue decrease of 4 percent, compared with the year before.

Overall revenues for Reed Exhibitions in 2015 were $1.21 billion (857 million), a dip from $1.26 billion (890 million) in 2014.

Exhibitions achieved strong underlying revenue growth in 2015, albeit slightly below the prior year, reflecting the macro economic environment, according to Reed officials. Underlying revenue growth was +5 percent. After portfolio changes and five percentage points of cycling out effects, constant currency revenue growth was +1 percent.

The difference between the reported and constant currency growth rates reflects the impact of exchange rate movements.

Underlying adjusted operating profit growth was +2 percent. Margins were higher year on year, as total profit growth was slightly ahead of total revenue growth.

Growth in the United States was strong, although slightly below prior year, and growth in Europe was moderate, marginally ahead of prior year.

Growth in Japan remained strong, driven by new launches and strong demand across our events. China continued to see differentiated growth rates by industry sector.

Revenues in Brazil reflected the general weakness of the wider economy. Most other markets continued to grow strongly.

We continued to pursue growth opportunities and launched 44 new events and completed 10 small acquisitions, primarily in high growth geographies and sectors, Reed officials said.

Just a few of the acquisitions in 2015 included Legend Exhibitions, the organization behind two of Europes leading retail technology and retail design events; CNP Expo, for ecommerce and mobile commerce; and the African Automation Fair.

As far as how 2016 looks, Reed officials said, We expect the 2015 underlying growth trends to continue. In 2016 we expect cycling in effects to increase the reported revenue growth rate by around 3 percentage points.

Reed Exhibitions has 500 events in 30 countries and in 2015, 7 million active event participants attended their events.

U.K.-based Tarsus Group posted overall 2015 revenues of $122 million (86.9 million), a 15-percent overall uptick over comparable year 2013, as well as a 10-percent *like-for-like revenue increase for the year.

2015 was an important year for Tarsus, said Douglas Emslie, Tarsus managing director. We passed a significant milestone in the strategic progress of the Group with the sale of our French business. This will allow us to concentrate resources on our selected core geographies, which offer the best opportunities for growth.

The company also continued to implement Quickening the Pace, a strategy to accelerate the pace of financial returns to shareholders.

Our Quickening the Pace growth strategy gained further traction and we achieved industry leading organic growth through our focus on delivering larger numbers of buyers to our exhibitions up 9 percent in 2015, he added. We achieved organic revenue growth of 10 percentand are continuing to invest in replications of our successful brands to maintain momentum over the medium-term.

Last year marked the run of two of the biennial largest shows in Tarsus portfolio Dubai Airshow and Labelexpo Europe, both of which performed well.

Dubai Airshow attendance surged 9 percent and also had strong revenue growth. Labelexpo Europe had buyers up by 12 percent, compared with the previous edition, to a record 35,700.

Shows in the companys other markets, such as Turkey, China, Indonesia, Mexico and the U.S., all posted positive performances as well.

Tarsus also made two strategic acquisitions last year. In May 2015, Tarsus acquired 100 percent of Painweek in the U.S.

This completes the exposure of the Groups medical business to the four main sectors of the US preventative medical market neurology, endocrinology, cardiovascular and oncology.

Painweek has enjoyed strong growth since it was established in 2007 and its main annual event is supported by a series of satellite events in the US and a strong digital presence.

In July 2015, the Group purchased 50 percent of the AMB Group, an established South-East Asian exhibition organizer with a major presence in Myanmar and Cambodia.

This adds significant scale and presence across the region, building on Tarsus existing business in Indonesia. Tarsus intends to scale up AMBs events and launch new exhibitions in its existing markets.

Besides acquisitions, the company continued to replicate its existing brands in new markets.

Even though 2016 will not have Tarsus two largest shows running, it still looks to be a good year. Forward bookings for the Groups major events in 2016 are tracking 10 percent ahead of 2015 (adjusted for biennials and acquisitions).

Forward bookings are strong, and the Group is well positioned to deliver a good performance in 2016, Emslie said.

*Like-for-like revenue: Constant exchange rates adjusted for biennial events, excluding acquisitions impacting for the first time in 2015, prior year disposals and non-recurring products and items.

The ISA International Sign Expo 2016 trade show floor has completely sold out, topping out more than 200,000 square feet and nearly 600 exhibitors.

This comes well in advance of the show, which occurs April 20-23 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.

The ISA International Sign Expo 2016 will feature the latest in new technologies and products. It also will include dozens of educational opportunities free with trade show admission.

Selling out the trade show floor this far in advance of the show signals the excitement in the sign and graphics industry, said Lori Anderson, ISA president and CEO.

She added, Were excited to deliver outstanding business opportunities, important new products and industry-leading education to attendees.

The trade show floor is just one aspect of the four-day event. Other highlights:

Insight into the coming tidal wave of demographic change and how that will impact businesses will be presented by demographer Ken Gronbach and Millennial expert Seth Mattison as part of the Game Changer sessions. Similar sessions were standing-room-only in 2015.

A new daily drawing of up to $10,000 will boost the incentive for sign and graphics professionals to leave ISA International Sign Expo 2016 with new printing equipment.

More than 60 educational events will feature the sign and graphics industrys leading thinkers. The sessions are designed to address key business challenges and opportunities.

Increased networking opportunities, including the ISA Rocks: THE Industry Party, will bring together attendees and exhibitors. A new reception for wide format printers also is on tap. They will join returning favorites like the ISA Networking Reception for Custom and National Sign Companies and the Last Hour Happy Hour, which closes the trade show floor each day.

This years NY NOW, the Market for Home, Lifestyle + Gift drew almost 25,000 attendees, marking a 6 percent increase when it ran Jan. 30-Feb. 3 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center of New York.

This years NY NOW winter market continued its tradition of being a truly global stage for companies to share their new products with buyers and the industry, said Randi Mohr, NY NOW co-director and vice president.

He added, In addition to the incredible products on display, attendees were presented with a number of rich New York-exclusive programs, from seminars to performances, to enhance the NY NOW experience.

Of the markets almost 2,300 exhibitors, more than 150 companies returned to NY NOW after a hiatus, and more than 400 exhibitors brand new to the market hailed from 40 U.S. states and 42 countries across the globe.

Theres more traffic here and were meeting a lot of new people, said Lindsay Mason, French Knot, Personal Accessories exhibitor.Whats interesting is that the buyers are here to buy.

To round out the market experience for exhibitors and attendees, NY NOW, which is owned by Emerald Expositions, ffered a wide variety of seminars where industry experts discussed topics that matter most to market attendees.

Seminars were hosted by leading trade publications, such as Gift Shop magazine; Gifts and Decorative Accessories; Souvenirs, Gifts and Novelties and more, plus industry associations, including the Day Spa Association, and CRAFT (Creative Retailers & Artists forTomorrow).

NY NOW also welcomed a number of special guests and performers to the winter market this year, including GRAMMY award-winning artist Lionel Richie, who promoted his Lionel Richie Home Collection in collaboration with Impulse! Enterprises, and Marcus Lemonis of CNBCs The Profit celebrating the Biren & Co. line of candles.

Also returning this year was the #NYNOW Social Media Lounge, sponsored by Apartment Therapy, which allowed attendees to participate in the action live, while connecting and sharing highlights with fellow industry professionals.

National Trade Productions, the San Diego Convention Center Corporation and MC ² all have named new leaders in their companies.

National Trade Productions has promoted Christopher Harar to president of NTP Events. In this role, he will oversee the Events Division, including all show management, personnel and administration.

Harar will provide leadership working strategically with the Event Services teams to ensure outstanding customer service through the management of NTPs Client Care Program.

Chris is an exceptional executive and his insights, ideas and leadership have been a tremendous asset to our organization, said Robert E. Harar, chairman and CEO.

He added, His promotion is well-deserved, and I am excited to see where he will take the division, elevating our events and the success of our clients across the board.

During his time at NTP, Harar previously held positions of corporate vice president, show director, director of marketing and marketing manager.

Prior to joining NTP, he worked as an account executive at CSG Creative. He also served as show program coordinator at The Vision Council.

The Board of Directors of the San Diego Convention Center Corporation selected Clifford Rip Rippetoe , a convention and meeting industry veteran, to take the helm as president and CEO of the San Diego Convention Center Corporation.

The Corporation manages, markets and operates the San Diego Convention Center on behalf of the City of San Diego.

The San Diego Convention Center is a world-class facility and we are thrilled to welcome Rip Rippetoe as our new leader, said Rabbi Laurie Coskey, chair of the Board of Directors.Rip brings a breadth of industry expertise and skills that will help insure our continued success for years to come.

Rippetoe has a long career in facility management and operations working in the for-profit sector, as well as not-for-profit and governmental organizations.

His immediate past position was president and CEO of the Kentucky State Fair Board (KSFB). The KSFB manages the Kentucky Exposition Center (the sixth largest convention center in the United States).

MC ² has appointed David Fee as president ofthe newMC ² Consumer Events division, which includes offices in Los Angeles and Charlotte, N.C.

In his role as division president, Fee will manage substantial experiential event business from top Fortune 500 clients. He will be responsible forthe productivity ofsales,display concepts, design and productionas it pertains to consumer events.

Feehas spent25 years in the mobile event marketing industry. His background includes such event venues as NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA, State Fairs, Air shows, Golf tournaments delivering up to 100 nationwide events each year and hospitality events for up to 10,000 people.

Feeholds a degree in marketing fromCalifornia State University Long Beach. He isbased in Los Angeles with oversight of the Consumer Events east coast offices outside of Charlotte, NC.

Having David in charge of MC ² Consumer Events is a natural outgrowth of our acquisition earlier this month of Brand Promotions where he was General Manager, said Rich McAdam, MC ² president.

He added, Davids acumen and long experience in the mobile tour marketing arena makes him the right choice.

Push notifications are commonly used by mobile apps in every industry to engage users with real-time messaging. Mobile devices are a crowded space, however, and understanding the best way to leverage push alerts is vital to ensure attendees continue to accept communication from trade show hosts and enjoy real value in return. The following concepts go beyond the basics such as event promotion and last-minute updates to focus on creative options best suited to maximize benefits for hosts and attendees alike.

Utilize Deep Links

Standard push notifications are effective for quick alerts regarding a booth number change or reminders about a networking event. Yet many attendees consider turning off notifications unless they consistently provide tangible value and more relevant details; inserting a deep link into the majority of notifications gives attendees the ability to quickly access relevant mobile app content from a link provided in the alert.

Examples of helpful deep links include directing attendees to the exhibitor profile of a sponsors message or a session detail page when sharing room or time change information. Compare a short message without the ability to extend the interaction with attendees to providing insightful context available one tap away. The latter provides better value and simultaneously increases page views in any mobile app.

Schedule Alerts

Push notifications without a consideration for timing are seldom as useful to attendees. Do mobile app users really want an alert generically promoting the event or urging people to mingle on the trade show floor? Consider scheduled push alerts to coincide with important sessions and meaningful demonstrations throughout the event to provide helpful and real-time information. Attendees are increasingly expecting personalization with their event technology and sending timely messages only serves to improve the experience for everyone involved.

Scheduled push notifications also serve to remove a significant workload from event planners. The set it and forget it model of queueing push notifications days or even weeks in advance enables planners to focus on other responsibilities and once again improves the attendee experience and overall effectiveness of the event.

Generate Additional Revenue

Traditional methods of selling sponsorships in a mobile event app include banner ads and splash screens. Push notifications enable trade show planners to offer a more personalized method of reaching attendees as companies may request a notification timed around a specific presentation or to promote a brochure. Real-world examples include charging an exhibitor to include marketing material in their exhibitor listing with the ability to deep link the content to a series of timely push alerts.

Sending sponsored push notifications also helps attendees. Ensure each sponsor is relevant and valuable to the trade shows audience to create a better event experience; new product launches or updates on industry trends is often of great benefit to attendees and might even surpass the ROI associated with increased sponsorship dollars.

Consider the Overall Attendee Experience

Many event hosts are rightfully consumed with sending updates and promotional content via push alerts without ever stopping to consider the attendee experience. Send a push alert notifying attendees of free snacks when lunch is pushed back for a longer midday session or provide tips on the best spots for free wifi around the event facility.

Ask what attendees might appreciate most and utilize push notifications to communicate in ways traditional communication before mobile technology could never accomplish. Let a sponsor provide the snacks or partner with a company to provide the free wifi hotspot if it makes sense. The goal is to make sure attendees receive great service at the event with thoughtful alerts when needed most.

The start of the year is always a good time to look ahead. Here is a brief look at five trends affecting our industry trends that we at UFI believe will be discussed and debated in 2016:

The state of the global economy

This, of course, always belongs on such a list. Our latest UFI Global Barometer shows a mixed outlook for the exhibition industry. The barometer, based on a survey sent to leading organisers worldwide, shows positive turnover expectations in 2016 for the large majority of companies in North America and Europe with the notable exception of Russia.

In Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa the situation remains generally positive, but with a greater degree of uncertainty. In Central and South America, half of companies surveyed are expecting decreases in turnover, but respondents in Brazil expect an improvement in the second half of 2016. In terms of operating profits, between 30% and 40% of those surveyed expect that their profits in 2015 have risen by more than 10%; even more so in the US and the Middle East, but lower levels are anticipated in Brazil and Russia.

Venue and event security

The recent string of attacks on civilians by terror groups in Europe, the Middle East and Asia combined with the ongoing European refugee crisis has led to increased security levels at many airports and cities around the world. Passport controls are being re-established and visa applications are taking longer. This will have an impact on some trade shows as global industries are relying on international participation to grow their businesses.
Recently at a conference in China where many Chinese venues were presenting themselves to organisers, venue security measures were commonly cited as a key selling point. For many venues, it may become a necessity to deliver an increased level of security in these less secure times.

O2O Online to offline

The digital world continues to make headlines in our industry, with increasing cooperation between online platforms andorganisers. Interestingly, this is happening in China first, as three announcements were made in recent weeks with theAlibaba Group at the centre of it all. Alibaba has partnered with UBM to evolve joint offers for show exhibitors andteamed up with Messe Berlin to launch an electronics show in Shenzhen which aims to rival the industry leading event, CES in Las Vegas. Finally, last week, Alibaba announced that the group would partner with Hannover Milano Fairs to provide credit services to exhibitors in China. Expect more developments like this throughout 2016 as the digital transformation of our industry picks up speed not just in China, but in exhibition markets around the world.

Developments in China

These digital collaborations come just a few months after the Chinese Government published plans to reform the Chinese exhibitionindustry. The mandate, issued by Chinas powerful State Council, includes ambitious plans to help Chineseorganisers to grow and acquire businesses internationally with the aim of placing Chinese companies on the list ofglobal leaders in our industry. The State Councils plan is to be implemented over the next five years, but the changes willcertainly begin to appear sooner than that.

At the same time, China is facing significant challenges such as the dilemma of venue overcapacity in some cities. Of course, this is not the case in Chinas first tier exhibition cities Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Shanghai but many second and third tier cities now have venues that offer far more capacity than is required by current levels of demand.

On top of all this, Shanghai has published its own policy stating that it aims to become the global capital city of exhibitions. The city certainly has a reasonable chance of meeting that goal with two mega venues, SNIEC and the newly-built NECC. Shanghai now offers more than 800,000 square meters of exhibition space.

UFI members will have their own opportunity to see these developments first-hand this year at our next congress, in Shanghai from 9 12 November. Mark your calendars!

Venue investments

Shanghai offers a good example of our fifth and last trend: venue investments are increasing on a global level. To cite just a few recent developments: EMECA has reported that the major European venues will invest well over three billion euros into expanding and upgrading existing facilities. In the US, the Javits Center will increase its space for exhibitions and conventions by 50%.
New venues such as ICE in Jakarta and BITECs planned expansion in Bangkok are stimulating growth in key regional markets. Meanwhile in China, despite the overcapacity affecting some markets, venue projects have recently been undertaken in cities such as Shenzhen and Kunming to name just two.

The UFI team will track these trends throughout the year as we develop our regional events in the coming months. The 11th UFI Open Seminar in Asia, to be held in Chiang Mai later in February, will focus on digital disruption, and our Middle East-Africa Seminar in March in Beirut will focus on the changes in that region. Our team is busy working to ensure you can take away valuable insights at all of our event, and we look forward to welcoming many of you to Thailand later this month!

This article first appeared on UFILive.org: ]]> https://ufilive.wordpress.com/2016/02/18/ufis-5-trends-to-watch-in-2016/

The Center for Exhibition Industry Researchs CEIR Total Index, which tracks the overall health of the trade show industry, ended last year with a substantial uptick in not only the fourth quarter, but also for the full year.

The index posted a strong year-on-year gain of 3.7 percent in the fourth quarter. This growth is the second highest rate since the second quarter of 2012. It also marked the 22nd consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth.

During the three years, 2012 through 2014, the exhibition industry growth generally lagged the pace of GDP, but the industry has now outperformed the macro economy for four quarters straight, and by a wide margin, according to CEIR.

The strong momentum in the exhibition industry could carry forward into 2016 and offset weaker macro factors, said CEIR Economist Allen Shaw, Ph.D., chief economist for Global Economic Consulting Associates.

All four exhibition metrics in the fourth quarter posted year-on-year gains. As was the case during the first three quarters of 2015, the strongest metric was Real Revenues (nominal revenues adjusted for inflation) which rose an impressive 6.5 percent followed by Attendees, increasing by 4.9 percent. Net Square Feet increased 2.6 percent and Exhibitors rose 0.9 percent.

In line with expectations as presented at last years CEIR Predict Conference, the Total Index increased by a robust 3.7 percent for 2015 for the year as a whole, 1.8 percentage points higher than in 2014.

Real Revenues had strongest growth among the four metrics, gaining 6.2 percent from 2014. Attendees continued its upward trend since the end of the recession in 2009.

In 2015, attendees exceeded its previous peak in 2007, 33.4 million and 32.4 million, respectively. To a large extent, the gains in Attendees during the last few years has been propelled by a strengthening job market.

Since Attendees is a leading indicator of the exhibition industry, good news on attendance bodes well for business in coming years.

The overall exhibition industrys performance varied by sector. The best performing sectors were (1) Industrial/Heavy Machinery and Finished Business Inputs (ID) and (2) Building, Construction, Home and Repair (HM), which gained 12.9 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively.

Both sectors benefited from rebounds in housing construction and robust auto sales. On the other end of the spectrum, the weakest sector was the Government sector, where the index declined by 1.3 percent. This isnt a surprise as governments at all levels and functions continued to face tight budgets, especially for training, education and travel.

We anticipated 2015 would deliver positive results and yet we were pleasantly surprised that the industry outperformed our original projections, said CEIR President and CEO Brian Casey, CEM.

He added, While there are varying perspectives on the future performance of the U.S. economy, we remain optimistic for the year ahead. Stay tuned for our full 2015 Index report scheduled for delivery on or aroundApril 1st.

]]> Click here for information on how to purchase the complete CEIR Index Report , which analyzes the 2014 exhibition industry and provides a future outlook for the next three years.

Predict: CEIRs Annual Outlook Conference will be held Sept. 14- 15 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.

The event provides an outlook on the global economy and the exhibition industrys performance. Visit ]]> www.ceir.org/predict for more details.

UBM announced last year its strategy was going to focus on putting Events First, and those efforts paid off, with full-year 2015 total revenues surging 30 percent to $1.3 billion (974 million) , compared with $1 billion (746 million) in 2014.

The addition of Advanstar Communications to the companys portfolio was a boost, with a first year return on investment of 10.3 percent. UBM also sold PR Newswire for $841 million last year, further solidifying its Events First strategy.

UBM has taken significant steps in its transformation in 2015.Weve integrated Advanstar, announced the sale of PRN, successfully begun implementing Events First and delivered an operational performance ahead of expectations, said Tim Cobbold, UBMs CEO.

He added, Looking forward, UBM is now a focused business with more than 82 percent of revenues derived from events across a range of industry verticals and geographies. Our Events First strategy will deliver growth, margin and, we believe, create the best platform in the industry.

UBMs annual events in 2015 posted a revenue increase of 35 percent to $811 million (582 million), compared with $598 million (429 million) from the year before.

The companys seven biennial major events also performed well, growing by 34 percent, on a constant currency basis, compared with their 2013 editions.

UBM runs 116 major (more than $1.4 million in revenue) annual events, which delivered 86 percent of annual event revenue in the year.

Revenue growth of these major shows grew 5 percent, despite the Furniture China and Sign/LED shows, compared with 3.9 percent (underlying growth adjusted for rationalization) for the portfolio as a whole.

Advanstars events, which are 74 percent of the UBM Advanstar division, grew just more than 4 percent last year, with a major initiative focusing on further integrating the business into UBMs overall structure.

All UBM divisions, including UBM Life Sciences, were brought under one umbrella in the U.S., as well as changes were made in the management structure.

Simon Foster was appointed Interim CEO of UBM Americas after the departure of Sally Shankland, who previously had the role.

As he has demonstrated, Simon was well-placed to take this role, combining his 25 years of experience in the industry with specific knowledge of many of the constituent businesses in UBM Americas, UBM officials said.

The remaining Advanstar integration (of finance systems and processes, and other business systems) will take place during the next 18 months.

The acquisition of Advanstar has re-balanced UBMs geographic presence to be more in line with the global exhibitions industry.

In 2015, North America accounted for 42.6 percent of Annual Events revenue (2014: 24.7 percent) and Emerging Markets, as a whole, accounted for 40.7 percent (2014: 50.8 percent), with China30 percent of annual revenues (2014: 36 percent.)

Further honing its events portfolio last year, two of UBMs events were sold and 47 events were discontinued, as well as the company also added three events businesses in 2015.

The acquisition of Hospitalar enhances UBMs presence in the healthcare sector. The show, which is the leading healthcare event in Brazil, is expected to experience good growth despite the weak macroeconomic backdrop. The acquisition also makes UBM the third largest organizer in Brazil.

The buyout of the eMedia joint venture results in control of CIOE, a show that has been operating in Shenzhen for more than 20 years and which strengthens UBMs portfolio in China.

Both events are major events while CSTPF, the third acquisition, is a small digital textile printing show in China.

With the sale of PR Newswire, company officials said they would pursue further acquisition activities that meet our strict financial criteria.

Looking into the future, Cobbold said, The Board expects continued good growth (excluding the impact of biennials and ongoing portfolio rationalization) although it remains conscious of the global macroeconomic uncertainty. It also expects further margin progress although this will be offset by the even-year biennial effect.

In just more than a month, top-level executives from trade show organizing companies worldwide will converge at the Society of Independent Show Organizers CEO Summit to hear about the latest trends in the market, whether it be why so many overseas companies are buying up U.S.-based shows or how every event should be considering its content marketing program.

Ranked as one of the best networking events of the year in the trade and consumer show industry, the SISO CEO Summit gathers together CEOs and executives from more than 100 small and large global show organizing companies for not only high-level education, but also important business interactions, said Tony Calanca, SISO CEO Summit program chair and executive vice president of Exhibitions, UBM Advanstar.

He added, We are proud of this reputation and expect this years event will be just as rewarding for all participants.

David Audrain, SISOs executive director, added, Im very excited about this years SISO CEO Summit, our program committee has developed an outstanding lineup of topics and presenters, and, as usual, we will have the very best gathering of our industrys leaders from around the world.

The event, scheduled April 3-6 at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar in San Diego, begins with a board meeting, followed by a special program during the day Small Business Roundtable before officially kicking off with an opening reception and dinner that evening.

The next morning begins with what has been a longstanding tradition at the event, all of the attendees stand up and one-by-one personally introduce themselves before the education program will open with Roger Dow, president of the U.S. Travel Association, discussing How Travel Impacts the Exhibition Industry Today.

The first day of sessions continues with Scott Diament, president and CEO of the Palm Beach Show Group, talking about how his company evolved from a rough idea to polished execution of nationwide ultra- luxury events.

Jochen Witt, CEO jwc GmbH, will lead a presentation, Pricing strategies in the trade fair industry How good pricing can increase customer satisfaction and organizers revenues and profits, that will take a look at how intelligent pricing can help invigorate how teams look at their event, starting with layout planning, and all the way to upselling of added services and profitable premium offerings.

After lunch, at which Calanca will present the SISO annual report and the Robert L. Krakoff award honoree will be named, the afternoon sessions with begin with Brian Casey, president and CEO of the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, presenting the latest CEIR Index numbers.

Up next will be a panel of international trade show company leaders talking about Why are all these International Companies Suddenly Buying Up the USA Market?! With companies such as Informa Exhibitions, Clarion Events, Tarsus Group and several of the German messes either buying or launching in the U.S., it continues to be a stable market that companies worldwide are focusing on.

The first day of sessions will end with Joe Pulizzi, who runs the Content Marketing Institute and Content Marketing World events, discussing Epic Content Marketing and why every event should be utilizing it to grow attendance and drive engagement.

After a night of networking at a reception, dinner and afterglow party, its back to business the next morning and more sessions, beginning with the Current State of the M&A Market, during which private equity panelists will talk about multiples, risk reward and how they look at the industry today.

Another session that morning, aptly titled What Went Wrong?, will involve a panel of executives from major companies candidly discussing launches and acquisitions that didnt quite go as planned.

The afternoon will consist of attendees taking part in a round of golf, bocce and croquet, sailing or tennis, before the event closes that evening with an awards reception and dinner.

To register for the SISO CEO Summit please visit ]]> HERE . Early-bird registration ends March 1.