Upgrading exhibition service through technology innovation

From 27 to 28 July， the 6th Expo Project Fair for International Cooperation （EPFIC 2016） was held in Beijing. Cathy Breden， CAE， CMP， Executive Vice President COO of IAEE， gave a theme speech entitled Current and Future Concepts in the Exhibition Industry at the opening ceremony. Taking advantage of the occasion， Overseas Exhibitions magazine interviewed her about new concepts and current features in the exhibition industry.

R：Reporters C：Cathy

R： How does IAEE define “exhibitions”？

C： We as an industry association define exhibitions as trade fairs， especially temporary ones lasting for two or three days. By this we do not include world expos and art exhibition.

R： Some big companies， like Siemens and McDonald’s， are organizing their own shows. What is the impact of this for professional organizers？

C： These companies which now organize their own shows used to be exhibitions of professional organizers. Now， since they have their own shows， they may not participate in trade shows by professional organizers. Like digital impact and economic globalization， this is also a challenge for traditional organizers.

R： Do you have exhibition majors at universities in the US？

C：In the US， some colleges offer exhibition courses under the section of “hospitality”， without giving a degree. However I think it would make more sense if exhibitions are set under“Commerce” section. IAEE is now doing our own research about the situation of the industry like salary and practice standards.

R： Talents retention is a major concern for many Chinese exhibition industry. How do US companies cope with this challenge？

C：It is the same in the US. Nowadays people focus more on work-life balance， so， we try to offer more flexibility at work. For example， more flexible office hour， more vacation， and more care of the employees feelings.

R： You talked about “concepts” rather than“trends” in your speech this morning. Why？

C：I did not use “trends” because we do not exactly what are the“trends”， but if we discuss some “concepts”， we can come up with some interesting ideas.

R： Do you think closing trade deals is the major aim of exhibitors？

C：I think this is only a small part of the exhibition aims. After all， only a small part of the exhibitors managed to make deals at exhibitions. A main purpose would be strengthen customer relations. Actually， exhibitors have different goals at exhibitions. Therefore， to deeply understand the different needs of customers is a major challenge of organizers.

R： What’ your opinion on improving exhibition service level through technology innovation？

C：At some events we have seen people get each other’s information only by scanning each other’s badge without the traditional way of exchanging name cards. This is just an example of how technology can assist building connections. I think just like computers， evolving from the early versions to laptops， tablets， and smart phones， the format of exhibitions also must evolve over time rather than staying the same.