Win big by sharing your event sourcing insights.
Complete our latest survey on event location selection for the chance to win a cutting-edge VR Headset!
Take the survey.

Top 50 Innovative Event Pros 2013: Ray Bloom

The chairman of the IMEX Group brought the company's massive travel, meetings, and events exhibition to the United States—where it continues to grow.

Ray Bloom, chairman, IMEX Group
Ray Bloom, chairman, IMEX Group
Photo: Shaun Fenn Photography

The organizers of IMEX in Frankfurt, led by United Kingdom–based IMEX Group chairman Ray Bloom, brought the first IMEX America to the United States in 2011, spreading the show over 100,000 square feet at the Sands Expo, amid an atmosphere of optimism and steadily flowing business—never mind the tough business climate in the U.S. and beyond.

The massive exhibition focusing on incentive travel, meetings, and events brought almost 2,000 exhibitors—substantially more than expected—representing 140 global destinations, 2,000 hosted buyers from around the world, and 1,700 non-hosted attendees.

The show’s second run in 2012 was 28 percent larger, with 77 new booths and 2,413 exhibiting companies. Representation from almost every industry and geographic region grew at the show, with increased interest from U.S. exhibitors expanding that area of the hall by nearly a quarter.

The show is successful because it differentiates itself by the size of its hosted buyer program, which this year brought more than 2,000 top-level planners and partners, whose travel and accommodations were comped.

“When I came up with the idea of hosting buyers at a trade show back in 1988 for a show we were about to open in Geneva, I had no idea how well the concept would take off or that it would become common practice all these years later, within the meetings industry,” Bloom, 66, says. “To me it simply made good business sense at the time, ensuring the success of the trade show that I was then launching. That said, no two hosted buyer programs are ever the same, and the IMEX model is definitely unique. It is backed by a powerful, buyer-led online appointment system which the U.S. market in particular has really warmed to and fully embraced as a useful business tool.”

Bloom says he’s “delighted” with the show’s feedback and success in the North American market: “There was some uncertainty about how large the first show would be so we forecast conservatively, promising 1,500 hosted buyers. As soon as sales started to exceed forecasts, we raised the number to 2,000.” 

Page 1 of 42
Next Page