CEO DATELINE - AEM creates task force to guide future of its trade shows
CEO DATELINE - AEM creates task force to guide future of its trade shows
- May 18, 2020 |
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Walt Williams
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers is forming a task force to reexamine the future of industry trade shows and what role the association itself will have in that future.
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AEM's Exhibitions Strategic Task Force will be comprised ofinclude association members, trade show attendees and thought leaders, the industry group said in a statement Monday. Task force members will examine several emerging trends and disruptions to help shape AEM's future trade shows.
AEM was one of the few associations that escaped canceling its biggest major industry trade show— because CONEXPO-CON/AGG—held every three years in Las Vegas—because the event took place in March was held before most restrictions on travel and large gatherings were enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The task force will examine the impacts of the pandemic on events moving forward, but AEM noted that advances in technology were already changing how manufacturers operate and how people interact.
"As these changes evolve, we recognize the need to adapt the exhibitions function at AEM to maintain and improve its value to the membership and the industries they serve— - both now and in the future," AEM Senior Vice President of Exhibitions and Marketing Nicole Hallada said in a statement.
Trends and disruptions the team will examine include:
- The short-term and long-term outlooks for exhibitions and events
- Where AEM exhibitions are positioned today
- Data and trends from current AEM trade shows
- Behavioral trends pertinent to events
- Marketing trends
- Drivers of change in end- user segments
- Drivers of change in the manufacturing industry
After studying these trends, the task force will craft recommendations for the AEM Board of Directors regarding the vision for what a "first-class, defensible event" needs to be in order to maximize exhibitor and attendee return on investment.
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