Young Professionals IAEE Weblog

By: Julie Holzer ( IAEE YP’s Newest Committee Member and 2008 Future Leader Alumni)

To explain my vision for the future of the exhibition and events industry, it is important to first understand the background and events that have shaped my perceptions. Though relatively new to the exhibition industry, I have been immersed in hospitality and events since 2001.

My first job in the industry wasn’t on solid ground, but on cruise ships. A fertile training ground in the events business, I planned, promoted and hosted events for crowds of one to 1,000 and that is where I truly learned that events are only as good as the people who attend them. Whether hosting a trivia contest or a main stage performance, I discovered that the key to success in any event lies in its appeal to the audience.

Before each cruise, a list of passengers with age range and nationality was available and it was this list that determined the events and activities scheduled for the upcoming cruise. Each itinerary and season brought different passengers and different challenges and we adapted to each set of guests coming aboard.

The trade shows and meetings that take place each day in the exhibition and events industry remind me of different cruises and itineraries. It is very easy to continue to use the same promotional materials, schedules and venues year after year, but I believe the biggest change coming to the industry will be when show organizers adapt to the changing demographic of their exhibitors and attendees.

Member of Generations X and Y are emerging and taking the reigns in the business world and their needs are different from those that have shaped the exhibition industry in past years.

Meeting planners are starting to capitalize on Generations X and Y and this is a shift from past practices. Time has become a premium for these generations and longer meetings have become replaced with shorter, more intensive meetings.

Another way this change has become evident is in the move to the web as a tool for trade show information. Exhibitor service manuals, pertinent trade show guidelines, surveys and even social networking are moving online for the ease and speed of consumers. Printed materials are becoming rarer as the web, e-mail and voice mail blasts become more prevalent.

The next generation of trade show and industry leaders will have to appeal to the next generation of people coming up in the business world. The future of the exhibition industry depends on appealing to its audience, an emerging audience that is younger each year.

CEIR and IAEE have recognized the need for this change and are starting to research the best way to appeal to this younger generation of industry leaders and decision-makers through research and surveys (IAEE e-mail titled “IAEE: CEIR Announces Call for Volunteers” and dated 4/30.) With an estimated 112 million people from the X and Y generation (according to William J. Schroer of the Social Librarian web site,) this is a huge audience that the event and exhibition industry is beginning to tackle and must make continued efforts to understand in order for continued success.

Shaping the future of the industry is an exciting endeavor and will not only affect how show organizers market to an emerging audience but also how suppliers do the same in a changing environment.

As a supplier, it is my job to find and utilize the means to change not only on a superficial but a real level the experience of the people we service. Whether it is online ordering or a user-friendly operating system, it is my hope to influence how we market to a new generation. It is about making life simpler and more time-effective.

Listening to employees and rewarding them for their feedback is an important step to finding out what our customers want. Generations X and Y make up a good deal of the work force of show organizers, service contractors and facilities. Realizing and understanding the needs of our own employees is the first step to understanding and marketing to the needs of our customers.

Every day more members of Generations X and Y are entering the work force and more Baby Boomers are retiring, and this is an important time for the industry. It is each of our responsibilities to adjust and do our best to influence a changing demographic. Whether we use our online tools or the people we have working with us, we can shape the future of the industry.

My experience aboard cruise ships trained me to always listen to my audience and never lose sight of a customer’s needs. This is a lesson I have taken with me and is an important one for the exhibition industry as new generations emerge and the industry’s dynamics change and evolve.

Jeanavive Janssen Chair of IAEE Young Professionals and IAEE Secretary Nora Johnson will both be participating in a Live Webinar on June 30th about Planning Meetings and Events that Appeal to the Next Generation of Executives/Attendees.  Here is our Power Point Presentation from the Webinar (we had a fancier version but it doesn’t print well)

For more information visit: Meeting News

Three Parts: ON SUCCESS, ON BUSINESS, ON THE PROFESSIONAL

PART II: ON BUSINESS

By: Nora Johnson

During the first weekend of May, I attended my first-ever Shareholder meeting: the 2008 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. From a meeting perspective, it was fascinating. From a business perspective, it was brilliant.

The only General Session, per se, took place on Saturday, May 3. The format was simple, yet very effective: sit, watch a clever cartoon and listen to general Q&A for the remainder of the day. I cannot speak about the specifics of the featured cartoon, but I must say that if you ever get the chance to attend one of their Annual Meetings, this was a treasure. Lessons and laughter; that’s all there is to it.

The Q&A session was unlike others I had seen. The questions were not previewed and selected prior to the meeting. In other words, the entire meeting was not scripted and staged. It was refreshing. People from across the world, across different age groups and with different motivations for attending stepped forth to ask their questions. Whether it was a question from a 12 year old boy or an international investor, all questions were treated with the same respect. Open and oftentimes humorously honest answers were given. The effect was one that bred confidence and ease.

Regarding business, I had been curious about the events that would take place around the main session. Why did I consider the business aspect of this meeting brilliant? Simple. Show the value of what you represent and offer by turning your Shareholders into your consumers. The major functions either took place at Borsheim’s (a jewlery store) that was adjacent to other store chains that fell under the Berkshire Hathaway umbrella or at the famous Nebraska Furniture Mart.

One not only became more invested in the various aspects of the company because they got to see and experience the brands and products beyond the exhibit booth, but because THEY invested IN Berkshire Hathaway as they kept the sales teams on their feet and the registers rolling throughout the entire weekend.

How simply wonderful it is to contribute to the success of your investment. Better than exhibits and traditional giveaways, attendees experienced the products and services, chose what they would take home with them to remember Berkshire Hathaway and became financially invested themselves (as they paid for what they chose to bring home with them!). Ultimately, they are bonded tighter to Berkshire Hathaway than they had been before. The best part: they are eagerly looking forward to do it all over again next year.

Over the past several years there has been a true push in the industry to begin to understand the incoming professionals within our industry. What may have begun as concern or trepidation has turned into quite the wave of enthusiasm and open-minded curiosity. Questions emerging include:

- How do we track talented young professionals?
- How do we tap into their skill sets?
- How do we develop and work with them?
- How do we best bridge the generations within our organization in order to maximize the strengths and contributions each individual brings to the table?
- WHAT MOTIVATES THEM?

Please feel free to share your thoughts or even your own questions here, no matter what generation you are a part of. Enjoy the future!

Nora Johnson, YP IAEE Secretary

An observation from Nora Johnson, YP IAEE (Secretary):

Just this morning, I was reading a recap of perspectives and
discussion topics brought up at Expo! Expo! Two documents were sent
my way, including a recap from this year and the recap from last
year. In both, there is a glaring similarity where the younger
generations were discussed: the inevitable connection of younger
generations and newer technologies.

Granted, younger generations are using newer technology, and they are
doing so more easily and efficiently than others. However, this has
always been and will always be the case, from the time that fire and
steam engines became the way of the day to the first transition from
typewriters to computers.

One of the challenges we will face as a committee is to get people to
see beyond the technology. Why are younger professionals using
technology? How, when and where are they using it? Technology is a
tool. What the younger generations consider “valuable” extends beyond
the tools.

Example. As a committee, we’ve already touched on this by looking at
the need to change the “speaking-head” format of session programming.
Some may be quick to say that we need blogs and live polling - via
technology offerings or text messages. We need to get people past
that. We need to have people look at what is no longer favorable
about the past structure and what can be changed based on those
findings. It may be seating arrangements, the length of the sessions,
the depth (not breadth) of information covered, etc.

If we only stop at technology, our industry will miss the boat. This
is more an opinionated-musing/blog/post. Please let me know if this
is what we are okay with as a committee, or if we’re looking to keep
this forum business-task oriented around our meetings. Either way
works for me.

Thank you,
Nora

There has been a lot of great groundwork laid by various Industry Associations and I am happy to be a part of the launching of the new IAEE Young Professionals Committee. I am looking forward to having the opportunity to collaborate with other Association leaders such as PCMA and MPI who have been working on this generational question for years. Jeanavive Marie Janssen - YP IAEE Chair

Check out this PCMA article from 2001 -

The Generation Gap - Nancy Mann Jackson
Convene Magazine PCMA December 2001 Read the Full Article, lots of great info.

(Jackson) ” Optimum learning occurs when generational differences are understood, appreciated, honored, and shared.”

(Jackson) “One of the trademarks of Xers, Wyess noted, is their willingness to speak up against the status quo. Now that younger attendees are willing to voice their displeasure about instruction that doesn’t meet their needs, other groups are also reaping the advantages.

What is most remarkable about training Generation Xers is that the training approaches that work well with them make sense for almost everyone, regardless of age, Shari Caudron wrote in Training and Development. Some of the Xer preferences she suggested that seem to work for every age group include focusing on end results, placing learners in control, providing flexibility and a choice of ways to learn, and emphasizing eye-catching visuals.”

(Janssen) I think that this is an excellent point, that enhanced programs developed for Young Professionals will not exclude other generations but will make programs attractive to multi-generations - this is a win-win for everyone involved.

From 2001 to the Present:

PCMA Students Speak: The Future Is In Their Hands

Heidi Genoist — Tradeshow Week, 1/14/2008

“With an aging population at the helm, all the convention and exhibition industry’s trade associations – not just the Professional Convention Management Assn. – are working to cultivate a pool of viable future leaders.”

Meet, Nancy Johnson (Gen X) sub-committee head for “developing and attracting new talent” to the industry.

“I would love to work more with high schools and even college departments to get information on our industry out there. I had such a hard time when I went back to school for my certificate. They only taught meeting planning and special events classes. I knew I wanted to do trade show mgmt right off the bat, but I was discouraged from pursuing that avenue. I’m very glad that I kept at it because I’m now doing what I love to do. My motto is “I don’t care about the size of the muffin”, which is why I’d never want to be a meeting planner.”

Read Nancy’s Letter to her Mentors and Teachers:

(more…)

Based on our first meeting these were the Young Professional Committee, 4 Key Goals:

1. Develop Mentor Programs
2. Create better events and educational programs
3. Recognize people as they come into the industry
4. Develop and attract new talent to the industry

2008 Proposed Programs

- The Young Professional Review: a program where our YP members
review conferences in their area for ‘attractiveness’. Also, to
review new Technologies/Programming being used in Conferences.

- Inside Young Professionals: an opportunity for YP to share their
case studies & Career experience featured on our Blog & IAEE News.

- Young Professionals Linkedin Group - Launched Jan 2008.

- Lunch Time YP Program -

- IAEE Conference Areas/Lounges at Conferences for YP - “a place to be
you”, lounges and activities developed and set aside specifically for
YP’s at IAEE events.

- Mentor Program for High School students, bringing in the YP’s to
High Schools perhaps teaming up with the unions or other companies who
want to attract young talent.

- Mentor Program for the YP - Identify ‘movers and shakers’ in the
industry who would allow YP’s behind the scenes & offer Mentorship.

Steven Hacker wrote: