Editor’ s Note
Take AI and data lessons for the future, but keep your existing customers close
he power of data to inform better decisionmaking is well illustrated in this edition.
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First, powerful new research from Explori:
CEO Mark Brewster delivered a summary and taster of the full results of the latest Channel Insights research on exhibitor satisfaction and sentiment at UFI’ s recent European Conference in Thessaloniki. Here we delve deeper into the big takeaway from that research – the importance of the ROI from meeting at a trade show with existing customers. The results are extrapolated from 3,245 exhibitions, and include interviews with senior industry stakeholders, so you can certainly take the conclusions to the bank. Check out the article in full on pages 13-15.
Another exhibition data guru, Mark Parsons, also shares the fruit of his latest events intelligence around applying AI. He gives his HuntEx start-up company as an example and illustrates how they turned raw exhibitor data into actionable clusters using AI. He also explains how the business has benefitted from code developed with a skilled AI co-pilot programmer. See pages 19-21 for Mark’ s‘ Meet your AI interns’ start-up playbook for data-led events.
Our cover story this time round reports on and celebrates the Women in Exhibitions World Summit held in London in July. Our own Gina Kay, one of the event’ s panelists and contributors, shares her inside line on the discussion and, importantly, key takeaways. We also have much to say on the burgeoning UAE-China trading relationship; celebrate UFI’ s major award winners; and report from Pet Show Asia with Stephanie Selesnick, who also examines the growing imprint of the big event attraction at the world’ s amusement parks.
Finally, congratulations to our colleagues at IELA on their 40th anniversary congress. You can read about that on page 28. EW
Paul Colston Editor X: @ ExhibitionWorld Instagram: @ ew _ magazine
Managing Editor: Paul Colston; Portfolio Director: Iain Stirling; International Reporter: Theo Reilly; International Marketing Executive: Jack Belcher.
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