IMEX America
IMEX America designing to meet confidence levels at a five-year high
CMW LOOKS FORWARD TO THE 2026 IMEX AMERICA SHOW WITH THE HELP OF IMEX GROUP CEO CARINA BAUER
What is the main theme of the show, set to run 13-15 October this year, and how did you arrive at that? Design Matters is our Talking Point for this year and the next. We chose it because design has become one of the most powerful, yet often overlooked, drivers of business success and human connection. For example, a five-year McKinsey study of 300 publicly-listed companies found that top-quartile design performers outpaced industry peers by 32 percentage points in revenue growth and 56 percentage points in total shareholder returns.
As our recent Design Matters report highlights, good design isn’ t simply about aesthetics; it’ s the invisible force shaping how people feel, behave and make decisions.
We arrived at this theme by observing what’ s happening across the broader events, sports and marketing landscapes. And you only need to look at recent‘ mega events’ to see how they design in impactful IRL moments: whether it ' s the fan-first experiences created around July’ s FIFA World Cup tournament, the immersive brand activations seen at Cannes Lions, or the growing focus on experiential marketing from global brands. The common thread here is intentional design.
The most successful events are no longer simply delivering content; they’ re curating environments that solve human needs and create emotional resonance. That’ s why Design Matters is reflected across our show: we’ ve introduced five new design-led education tracks and
Carina Bauer
there’ ll also be immersive exhibitor activations and some surprising show floor experiences.
What show features are new and what has been introduced as a result of attendee / exhibitor feedback? One of the clearest messages we heard from IMEX Frankfurt in May was that face-to-face connection has never been more valuable. Attendees told us that networking with both new and existing
“ The most successful events are no longer simply delivering content; they ' re curating environments that solve human needs and create emotional resonance”
“ Networking with both new and existing contacts, alongside sourcing new suppliers, are given by show participants as the primary reasons for attending” contacts, alongside sourcing new suppliers, were their primary reasons for attending. And we were encouraged to see 86 % of attendees( Explori survey IMEX Frankfurt 2026) rated our networking opportunities as‘ good’ or‘ excellent’. Likewise, the majority( three quarters) of new attendees who took part in our dedicated sessions for first timers felt it was an important part of their show experience.
Building on that feedback, we’ re creating even more opportunities for meaningful connection at IMEX America, both on and off the show floor. Alongside the meetings and conversations happening on the exhibitor booths, attendees can take part in a wide range of networking events in different settings across our host city of Las Vegas. One new addition this year is a special dinner on 11 October to mark the launch of the Brian D. Stevens Hospitality Educational Fund, creating another opportunity to connect around a shared purpose.
For first-time attendees, we’ re enhancing our dedicated orientation sessions, with the IMEX team sharing practical advice on navigating the show and making the most of the experience, alongside facilitated networking activities led by our speakers.
We’ ve also reimagined our Hosted Buyer Lounge, expanding and relocating it to a larger space above the show floor to create a more comfortable environment for informal networking and catching up on work.
Altogether, these enhancements are designed to make the attendee and exhibitor experience more intuitive and rewarding from start to finish.
Given that this edition of CMW is focused on the US, how do you now view the current state and future potential of the North American international business events market? Overall, I ' m very optimistic about both the current state and long-term potential of it. While there are undoubtedly
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