In Case You Missed It
Over the last month, BizBash's Meetings & Trade Shows vertical covered Freeman's acquisition of brand experience agency Sparks. Senior contributing editor Claire Hoffman chatted with Freeman President Janet Dell to learn more about the acquisition, how the teams will work together, her big-picture view on what's trending now in events, and more. Read the Q&A here.
Other coverage from the last four weeks includes a recap of Engage! Summit's 15-year anniversary event, a guest column on the do's and don'ts of event sponsorships, and design inspo from Pinterest's "Unboring My Boardroom" campaign.
Here are five more things you should know about this month...
1. One of Indy's largest annual conventions, Gen Con, sets a record.
On the heels of news that Indianapolis' convention center expansion officially broke ground, Visit Indy has shared that one of the city's largest annual conventions—Gen Con, the largest and longest-running tabletop gaming convention in North America—set an attendance record earlier this month. When the convention came to the Indiana Convention Center (ICC) and Lucas Oil Stadium Aug. 3-6, it hosted more than 70,000 attendees. The event generated nearly $75 million in economic impact for restaurants, hotels, and other local businesses in Indianapolis.
At this year's show, Gen Con also announced that it extended its contract with the city through 2030.
“Twenty years ago, when Gen Con first came to Indy, they were a 20,000-person hobby gaming show,” said Leonard Hoops, president and CEO of Visit Indy, in a press release. “Today, it is a 70,000-person cultural phenomenon. Indy and Gen Con have grown together, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to do so in the future. Keeping this global event in Indy has been a team effort, and the Pan Am convention center and hotel project has been an indispensable part of that. We greatly value our decadeslong partnership with Gen Con.”
This year, the exhibit hall featured more than 570 game publishers and vendors, and attendees took part in over 20,000 ticketed events including board games, card games, role-playing games, comedy shows, live musical performances, seminars, the annual costume contest, a film festival, and more. Concurrently with the in-person convention, over 700 virtual games and events were held through the convention’s Gen Con online program.
2. Toronto's Beanfield Centre will debut a VR tour at CMEE.
This week, Exhibition Place will return to the Canadian Meetings + Events Expo (CMEE), taking place Aug. 15-16, where it plans to launch a new immersive virtual reality (VR) tour of Beanfield Centre. The tour will allow planners to explore a "digital twin" of the venue and navigate through various room setups.
“We're excited to be one of the first venues in Canada to offer this leading-edge technology, enhancing the site visit experience for meeting planners," said Exhibition Place general manager Laura Purdy in a statement. "Similar to our debut of Wi-Fi 6 at the Beanfield Centre in 2022, this VR tour responds to the need for enhanced digital connectivity across the meetings and events industry."
Planners will be able to interact with the tour for the first time at CMEE at Exhibition Place’s booth (#1010). Branded VR viewers will also be available to take home, and by request, following the expo.
3. Destination DC announces a new sustainability role.
This is something we expect to see more of: Washington, D.C.'s DMO, Destination DC (DDC), announced this month that it promoted Shelby Luzzi to senior manager of sustainability. In the role, Luzzi will develop and implement DDC’s sustainability strategy to meet the growing need to focus on sustainable travel practices across meetings, conventions, and leisure travel.
She'll also help educate colleagues and industry peers on the latest city initiatives and trends and motivate stakeholders to adopt more sustainable practices that will impact residents.
“We need to take a proactive approach around environmental initiatives," said DDC President and CEO Elliott Ferguson in a press release. "In particular, the global community prioritizes sustainable business events and travel. By focusing on sustainability with Shelby’s expertise, Washington, D.C., will stand out from other U.S. destinations as we compete for business worldwide.”
Luzzi held the position of coordinator for DDC’s convention sales and services department and has led DDC’s internal sustainability task force since March 2022.
“The sustainability of tourism, meetings, and events is important for the economic livelihood of our city’s residents and the industry, which is why we must carry out activities responsibly," Luzzi added. "I hope that by engaging more closely with our destination’s businesses and community members, we can ensure our industry has a more positive environmental, social, and economic impact in the District."
4. New data from Bizzabo says "in-person events are thriving."
In June, event tech platform Bizzabo surveyed more than 4,000 event organizers and attendees to better understand the state of in-person gatherings. It culminated in a new report, The State of In-Person B2B Conferences, which collected insights on budget details, event venues, event technology, what planners prioritize, their challenges, and how they’re planning for 2024 and beyond.
Some notable stats include:
- 75.9% of organizers believe in-person conferences will become increasingly critical to their organization’s success in the coming years.
- 86.4% of organizers plan to schedule more or the same number of in-person B2B events in 2024 compared to 2023.
- 78% agreed or strongly agreed that in-person B2B conferences offer the best networking opportunities.
Read the full report here.
5. Connect Marketplace kicks off in Minneapolis next week.
BizBash's parent company, Connect Meetings, will host its largest Marketplace to date in the Twin Cities next week from Aug. 22-24. Along with an immersive trade show floor and valuable one-on-one appointments, attendees will be treated to a Prince-themed opening night reception downtown. Already registered and wondering how else you can explore the city? We chatted with Meet Minneapolis' SVP of destination branding and strategy to find out some of the best events and activities to fill attendees' free time. (Hint: The legendary Minnesota State Fair begins during the conference.) Learn more about the Twin Cities here.
