The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released an updated version of its popular report, How the Exhibit Dollar is Spent, originally published in 2014.

“CEIR is pleased to update these metrics. Exhibitors, organizers and suppliers alike will benefit from understanding where exhibitors spend their marketing dollars on trade shows,” said CEIR CEO Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE. “It is a resource that helps exhibitors benchmark their spending allocations to industry norms and helps organizers and suppliers understand how much of exhibitor spending they are capturing.”

This report estimates that in 2017, exhibitor direct spending rose to $25.3 billion in nominal dollars. 2017 How the Exhibit Dollar is Spent informs readers how these expenditures break down and identifies where spending has remained constant – versus increasing – compared to 2016 levels.

The outlook for 2018 exhibitor property plans are also disclosed, reporting the percentage of exhibitors planning to use their exhibits as is; to invest in refurbishments or new exhibit purchases; or to contract to rent exhibits. Results reveal there is a healthy market for refurbishing services, and a notable percentage of exhibitors are planning to make new exhibit purchases.

The expenditure categories in this report include: exhibit space; exhibit design; show services; shipping; exhibit staff training; travel and entertainment; pre-show promotions; on-site promotional materials; off show floor promotions; on-site sponsorship and advertising; and lead management and measurement.

In addition to total results, differences in spending allocation are provided by annual revenues, annual marketing budgets and by specific CEIR sectors.

Online survey results are based on a study conducted by CEIR this summer, polling a sampling of exhibitors from lists provided by Fern, Freeman, GES, Hargrove and Shepard Exposition Services. A total of 424 exhibitors responded.

The projected exhibitor direct spend for 2017 is an update of CEIR’s exhibitor direct spending estimate for 2014 and uses data from the CEIR Index for the first two quarters of 2017.

Download 2017 How the Exhibit Dollar is Spent here.

In conjunction with the official grand opening of its Americas headquarters, Bridgestone Americas, Inc. and the Nashville Predators announced an additional five-year extension of the naming rights agreement for Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators. First signed in March of 2010, the extended terms will ensure Nashville’s premier downtown arena continues to bear the Bridgestone brand through 2025.

“Bridgestone is a proud supporter of the Nashville Predators, and it continues to be a great source of pride for our company and our teammates to have the arena bear our name,” said Bridgestone

Americas President and CEO Gordon Knapp. “Now that our new headquarters building is located across the street from the arena, there’s even more of a connection to our city and pro hockey team. Like the rest of the world, we’ve witnessed the success of both the arena and the Preds, and we are excited to continue our partnership with a local landmark that has helped transform downtown Nashville into one of the top destinations in the country. We look forward to keeping the Bridgestone brand front and center with so many passionate fans of sport, music and the countless other world-class entertainment events hosted by this celebrated venue.”

Bridgestone and the Predators agreed to the new extension two years in advance of the conclusion of the previous five-year agreement signed in 2015. Exact terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.

“We’re ecstatic to extend our valuable partnership with Bridgestone to ensure the home of the Predators, and one of the greatest venues in North America, continues to be Bridgestone Arena,” said Sean Henry, Chief Executive Officer and President, Nashville Predators. “As the Predators gain more traction as a household sports franchise and Bridgestone Arena strengthens its position as a dynamic, must-visit site, it’s only fitting that we also bolster our relationship with a world-renowned manufacturing and innovation leader who shares our commitment to the Nashville community.”

Since Bridgestone Americas teamed up with the Nashville Predators seven years ago, the arena has skyrocketed to become one of the most successful venues in the U.S. – annually hosting more than 1 million people in the building – and the Preds were named the “best franchise in sports” in 2017 by ESPN. Along the way, Bridgestone Arena has broken attendance records and achieved a series of industry awards.

Recent highlights include:
•Named 2017 Arena of the Year by the International Entertainment Buyers Association in October
•Named a finalist for Pollstar’s Arena of the Year award the 11th consecutive year
•Hosted 52 sold-out Nashville Predators’ games including three Stanley Cup Final games
•Ranked seventh in the U.S. and 19th in the world for concert ticket sales in 2017 according to Pollstar
•Home to the 2017 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, annual Country Music Association (CMA) Awards, and Country Music Television (CMT) Awards

The Phoenix Convention Center, a LEED-silver certified green building, recently completed several upgrades throughout its campus by converting outdated lighting to energy efficient LED light technology. This past year the Phoenix Convention Center participated in Arizona Public Service’s (APS) Solutions for Business energy rebate program and received more than $175,000 in rebates. The Phoenix Convention Center, a City of Phoenix facility, took full advantage of APS’s rebate program by converting to LED lighting in several areas of the campus including meeting rooms, loading docks, stairwells, food court, garages, production kitchens, and its grand Atrium.

“Providing a positive guest experience and maximizing our sustainability efforts are among our top priorities,” said Phoenix Convention Center Director John Chan. “The recent conversion of our

lighting fixtures to LED supports our focus on energy efficiency by extending the life cycle of equipment and minimizing the hours spent on maintenance.”

Chan added that the center participates in the City of Phoenix Public Works department’s initiative to increase its waste diversion rate by 40 percent by 2020. In addition to the LED conversion project, the Phoenix Convention Center participates in several other sustainability initiatives including hosting a solar generating power plant on its rooftop, which produces enough energy to power 12-14 homes annually.

“We encourage our customers to look at how they use energy and explore the many different options for becoming more energy efficient,” said David Werth, APS’s manager of energy efficiency programs. “The Phoenix Convention Center has done exactly that and, as a result, they’re saving energy and money. The APS and Phoenix Convention Center partnership is a victory for the local community.”

In 2008, the Phoenix Convention Center completed a $600M expansion, which tripled the size the facility. The Center consistently ranks as one of the top convention centers in the U.S. Since its expansion, the Phoenix Convention Center has welcomed more than 1.7 million delegates with a direct spending impact of more than $2.4B. Over the last three years, the Center has successfully hosted fan events for Super Bowl XLIX, College Football Playoffs, and the NCAA Final Four.

 

Since 2010, IAVM’s membership has grown substantially, currently over 5,500 members, which reflects a steady increase of 6% each year. In 2014, we created Group Membership which delivered exceptional growth in 2015 of 14%. This year alone, we’ve added 21 venues to Group Membership, with more than 400 new members in this category.

Our members are a huge part of our success story. Members have helped our growth by supporting iCommit, Just One, and Give The Gift of Membership (our annual recruitment campaigns) by identifying students, young professionals, and seasoned individuals who are rock stars and are passionate about the venue management profession. This has been invaluable to stimulate growth and continue to encourage more participation by all sectors of our industry and to encourage diversity in leadership roles.

Your support enables your association to continue to deliver professional development, training, and unique networking opportunities, such as our recent VenueConnect in Nashville. Advocacy has increased on behalf of our membership. The Industry Affairs Council has led the way in making our voice heard to ensure our venues remain competitive within their communities without adverse legislation. Many of our members have updated their safety and security measures due to the Life Safety Programs that IAVM provides. Numerous member venues in the U.S. and Canada have participated in the Mindset: Situational Awareness, Active Threat/Active Shooter and Trained Crowd Manager live training exercises. Soon the Call for Volunteers will go out, so watch your inbox for the application form.

This is a sampling of your dues at work. Brad Mayne, CEO & President, will be sending an annual review very soon that will expand on our accomplishments for 2017.

Membership Dues: A portion of your dues are tax-deductible. You can check your renewal date by clicking here: Renew Now, and select your membership category, i.e., Professional, Allied, Faculty, etc. Just a friendly reminder, please take care of your renewal before the New Year. We value your continued support!

By Erin Jepson, CMP

This is the time of year where many of us reflect back on the last 12 months and are looking forward to the fresh start a new year brings. We may be celebrating accomplishments from the past year, thinking of how things can go differently next time and many of us are planning for next year’s resolutions.

I ask you this – what did you do last year to make a difference in someone else’s life? Perhaps you coordinated a coat drive at work or wrote a check to the IAVM Foundation (wait … you didn’t do that? It’s not too late to get that in before the end of the year). Did you know that IAVM provides the opportunity to give back in a way that doesn’t cost you any money out of pocket but the returns are priceless?

I first signed up to be a mentor in the Mentor Connector program during VenueConnect 2016. I have to be honest, however. I signed up on the heels of a frustrating conversation with a colleague and was looking to feel better about my participation in the industry so it was purely self-serving at the time. What I didn’t know that August afternoon on the exhibit hall floor was how much the program would transform how I look at my career – past, present and future.

Over the course of the next 12 months, I had the pleasure of sharing information about IAVM volunteer opportunities and what volunteering has meant to me, connecting my mentee with professional contacts as he prepared for the CVP test, and discussions around my experience working at the Super Bowl in 2012 as he is preparing to help host some of the Super Bowl activities in his own venue in 2018. When I signed up to help, I had no idea those would be the areas we talked about at length. If you had asked me what I could contribute as part of the program, my response may have been “Umm, I’m good at taking leaps of faith and throwing caution to the wind so if someone is on the fence about a decision, pair them with me and I’ll talk them into it.” What I was able to offer was so much more. Aside from all of the association and professional knowledge you actually have to share, being a mentor means making a meaningful connection outside of your workplace and good connections have a lasting impact.

Is this still not resonating with you? Let me try to tug at your heartstrings a bit. Do you remember your first mentor (official or unofficial)? I do. I wasn’t expecting to meet someone who turned out to mean so much in my career the second year I attended VenueConnect but thankfully I did. Would I be where I am today without her? Maybe. Would the path to get here have been the same filled with interview opportunities, volunteer work and leadership opportunities? Absolutely not. My connection to her helped lay a road map that has taught me so much, whether she directly impacted that or not, having her in my life was paramount to how my career has turned out so far.

Don’t you want to be that for someone else? What if it only took an hour or so a month to make that impact? That’s nothing for you in the grand scheme but it may mean the world to your mentee. So as you’re thinking about how to give back and what resolutions to set for yourself in 2018, make a note to head to the IAVM Mentor Connector website and sign up for the next round. You absolutely have what it takes to be a great mentor; you just need to take that first step.

Wait, are you still on the fence about signing up? Remember when I said I’m good at talking people into good decisions? Feel free to email or call me to talk about this. I’m happy to tell you more about my experience. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Erin Jepson, CMP, is Director of Events at the Oregon Convention Center. Contact her at 503-731-7890 or at erinjepson@oregoncc.org.