Spring into Action for the customer

With spring in the air, flowers are blooming, and blue cloudless skies break on the horizon. So, let’s get energized about 2012 meetings. ProShow is off to a fast start in 2012 serving CES, HIMSS and ACS San Diego—just to name a few. One of our best known programs is our “Ask Me”© ® program. Our uniformed staffers stand out as high energy fast paced action staffers. They quickly start performing all necessary activities to partner with you the CUSTOMER!!

 

With meetings industry attendance starting to increase, it is time to be geared up and ready to spring into action to assist with crowd control. We team with show management onsite to ensure everything possible is in place to get your attendees and exhibitors through registration and on to the exhibit floor. Customization is central for each meeting this coming year; take the initiative to continue to strategize and reach for your goals each and every meeting.

 

Another leading trend for spring is staying green! Let’s spring into action this month to celebrate Earth Day. This increases our awareness and encourages us to take initiatives to develop “greening” practices, recycling goals and placing volunteers to assist with recycling needs at your next meeting! Here are a few tips to help stay green at your next meeting and while you’re traveling!!

 

1. Work with a hotel that has already committed to going “green”
2. If printing is necessary, use recycled paper and print double sided.
3. Arrange for collection of recyclables through a vendor or on-site event manager.
4. Seek out food service vendors who buy locally and recycle.
5. Donate excess food to charitable organizations.
6. Look for naturally lit sites to reduce the amount of energy used.
7. Offer shuttle services from mass transit sites and hotels..
8. Offer a shoe check at the convention center to encourage walking when possible.
9. Instead of distributing large numbers of handouts, allow attendees to order copies.
10. Encourage everyone to be accountable for their actions and contributions!!

 

So, embrace Spring and take action to energize your inner optimist, and your eager staff to achieve great things with your meeting this year and beyond!  Partner with suppliers who match your values and succeed with ease!

Customers Making a Difference

As people involved in making great meetings happen, we know what our customers need to pull off a great show because it is our job, but sometimes we lose focus of their impact in the world.  We hear all the big names: CES. ASM’s ICAAC, HIMSS, but there is much more behind these names and what they do.  Let’s take a closer look at what some of our customers accomplish and celebrate the customer!

Some of our clients fit into the scientific meetings category.  Often these meetings are international opportunities of knowledge sharing and cutting edge research in the various scientific fields.  One memorable event with one our scientific clients was concurrent with the international crisis, the H1N1 flu outbreak; the ICAAC/IDSA meeting had spectacular attendance and press as the leading experts in the world met to learn and share how to cope with the H1N1 flu.  Recently, HIMSS the Health Information Management Systems Society, posted record attendance and has continued to grow throughout the economic downturn.  HIMSS is the primary source for cutting edge health care IT systems, and in their way enriches our lives.

Another segment of our industry is the construction and home-building shows.  USGBC’s annual Greenbuild Expo is a standout in this category showcasing the latest green building products and technologies.  Greenbuild also holds the distinction of holding the “greenest” meeting in the U.S. and is BS 8901 certified to prove the point. More and more of the new building in the U.S. uses some of the sustainable materials and technologies shown at Greenbuild.  Green building has been on the rise as the sustainable materials and new technologies lessen the environmental impact and make economic sense.

Something all of our shows and meetings have in common is their impact on the U.S. economy. A study was done using 2009 data, a very low year in the meetings industry, which showed how the meetings and events industry stacks up against other large players in the U.S. economy.

“The Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy study reveals that the U.S. meetings industry directly supports 1.7 million jobs, $263 billion in spending, a $106 billion share of the GDP, $60 billion in labor revenue, $14.3 billion in federal tax revenue and $11.3 billion in state and local tax revenue each year.” 

That is a larger portion of the GDP than the US auto industry in 2009–something in which we take pride. More recently, for Las Vegas, the conventions taking place in 2011 were the drivers of the sluggish but sustained economic recovery in the #1 U.S. convention city!  Of course, one of the largest contributors to the US Meetings industry is CES (Consumer Electronics Show).

CES is notable for many things; every January, they set the pace for all shows to follow every year, and the economic impact of their record attendance of 155,000 this past January not only affects Las Vegas, but all meetings, and is the major player in the business of consumer electronics.  Many of the cutting edge items in our homes and our daily lives are showcased at CES.  Adding to that is the media hype the show generates with news stations around the U.S. touting the latest and greatest “cool” thing to be unveiled every year at CES.  This is quite a spectacular feat when you consider that CES has household recognition and is an industry only attended show.

There are many other meetings making impact on business and our lives.  They deserve to be celebrated as well for who they are and what they do.  Our lives are better for the information sharing and business conducted by our clients.  And of course as partners to these impactful customers, our very livelihoods depend on our successful customers so let’s all celebrate our customer!