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.

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

PART I: ON SUCCESS

On May 3, 2008, I sat in a large arena; just one individual of more than 31,000 individuals who traveled to Omaha to listen to the words of wisdom of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. The net worth of the individuals in the arena was staggering, particularly with both Warren Buffett and Bill Gates present at the front of the arena. However, what stood out the most was that these successful individuals, by most standards, were indeed individuals: living, breathing, talking, thinking individuals.

They seemed to wear their success easily, yet one knows that it is not always easy to carry such success. As individuals, the people in the arena had grown up, worked hard and accomplished many feats, both “big” and “small.” Impressions from looking and listening included: success, humility, goodwill, determination, fun and conviction. It was inspiring, special and humbling.

During the Q&A session, which extended from the morning into the afternoon, individuals from all over the world stepped up to the microphones to ask questions that were burning in their minds. Most of these individuals came early to sit in designated areas just for the chance to ask their one question. As this was a shareholder meeting, I had anticipated that the questions and discussion would flow towards Berkshire Hathaway and the state of the economy. I was pleasantly surprised.

While questions were asked about the company and economy, many more were asked about life. Both Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger were so well respected that people tapped into their perspectives on life, careers, politics, economics, giving and much more.

These two men were more than their company. One could argue that respect for these two men stemmed from the success of their company, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t a better understanding of the bottom line that people sought, but a better understanding of how to live and how to approach all that is around us.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to realize and remember that we are more than our jobs, tasks and performance; that we are people who are living, working, thinking and growing together? When we remember who we are, what we believe in and what we’re working for, the rest falls into place. In so many words, one recurring theme throughout the day was that if you can do what you love, do what you’re good at, work toward what you believe in and have fun, you are well on your way to being successful.

IAEE Focus Groups for Young Professionals

At the beginning of the year IAEE conducted focus groups with Young Professionals in these cities

Washington D.C. . Austin . New York City

Objective:

What will motivate people in their 20s and 30s to join and engage in IAEE?

“Education opportunities, networking with others, having the opportunity to communicate with others who share the same job and career challenges; discovering new ways to do things; having access to research and information.”

“IAEE is an association of attraction. They look to IAEE for making contacts and networking, learning from one another, and continuing education.”

We we will continue to share additional feedback from these focus groups.

IAEE Event Promotion Campaign -

Promote the Exhibition & Event Industry

How would you promote Events to the world?….

As a Young Professional you should really consider attending the Future Leaders Institute. I attended in 2007.  It was a great learning and networking opportunity. The Institute led me to my current role of being the Chair of the IAEE Young Professionals Committee - Jeanavive Janssen - Event Productions Inc. 2007 Future Leader Institute Alumni

An intimate learning experience, the IAEE Robert L. Krakoff Future Leaders Institute, Sponsored by ICAT Logistics, Inc. brings together 30 individuals interested in learning more about themselves so they can be effective strategists, team contributors, group facilitators, innovators, learners, coaches and much more. A highly interactive curriculum integrates theory and practice to ensure Institute participants leave capable of both thinking better and doing better.

Through your active participation gain a greater understanding of:

• Your personal and professional values and how they affect the choices you make.
• Your own leadership/work style and how to leverage your strengths and manage around your weaknesses.
• How effective teams and work groups form, what inhibits groups from achieving synergy, and what desirable interventions leaders make to enhance group effectiveness.
• What is required to “mobilize others to want to struggle for shared aspirations” (The Leadership Challenge definition of leadership) and how well you currently engage in the behaviors most associated with leadership effectiveness.
• Processes and tools for increasing your strategic understanding of needs, trends, issues and how to create and manage processes and solutions that deliver the greatest value.

Does any of this sound familiar?

◊ Yes ◊ No
1) What once started out as a job for you has now turned into your career and you want to become a better contributor to this profession that now is an important part of your identity.

◊ Yes ◊ No
2) The quick fix solutions and top ten list ideas that once served you well are no longer adequate for the challenges and opportunities you face in your work.

◊ Yes ◊ No
3) You have been around long enough that you know it is helpful to shake things up, to step away from your natural comfort zone, and to stretch your thinking about what you do and how you do it.

◊ Yes ◊ No
4) You see the integral value that events and exhibitions offer to your organization’s stakeholders and you want to develop your ability to be more strategic and generate more innovation.

◊ Yes ◊ No
5) While you have developed an expansive list of people you can call if you need someone else’s take on a situation, you are more interested in developing more meaningful relationships with a group of colleagues that can be a source of community for you now and in the years ahead.

If you answered “Yes” to one or more of these descriptions, then you should apply to attend the IAEE Robert L. Krakoff Future Leaders Institute, sponsored by ICAT Logistics, Inc.!

Most Gen X and younger are aware of their generational ‘title’. Gen X being the 1st to be named by Marketeers across the country looking to define this demographic.

Wikipedia Definition: Gen X

“Generation X is a term used to describe generations in many countries around the world born from 1965 to around 1982.^[1] The term has been used in demography, the social sciences, and marketing, though it is most often used in popular culture.”

Wikipedia Definition: Gen Y

“ Generation Y, also known as the ‘Millennial Generation’, refers to a specific cohort of individuals born from about 1980 through and including the year 1994. However this is disputed by demographers and varies across countries; so the years 1988-2008 is also somewhat widely used.^[1] “Generation Y” alludes to a succession from Generation X, a term which was originally coined as a pejorative label by the Canadian fiction writer Douglas Coupland in 1991.^[2] Generation Y are primarily children of the Baby boomers and Generation Jones (US only), though some are children of older Gen X adults.”

Meet the Millennials (Who are These People?) - FROM Association Meetings Article

“While the Silent Generation (ages 63 to 81) is still a vital force, baby boomers (ages 44 to 62) have been the lifeblood of associations for decades. Along comes Generation X (ages 27 to 43) — a smaller group (about 59 million compared to 80 million boomers) — and everything else being equal, the pool of potential conference attendees drops precipitously. That’s why the Millennials (ages 26 and under) — all 80 million of them — are vital for an association’s survival. And, like their parents, the boomers, they are prone to join, yet they are not afraid to blaze new trails if they are not getting what they want. In fact, they already are….”Complete Article

MORE FROM WIKIPEDIA

* The Lost Generation was a term originally used to identify a group of American literary expatriates living in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s; it is now used more generally to describe the generation of young people who came of age in the United States during and shortly after World War I.
* The Greatest Generation is the worldwide generation of Allies that served in World War II. This group overlaps with the G.I. Generation, the generation of veterans that fought and won World War II, later to become the Establishment, and the parents of children who would later become the Baby Boomers.
* The Silent Generation was the generation born between the two World Wars, who were too young to join the service when World War II started. Many had fathers who served in World War I. (1925-1945)
* (born 1944-1960) The Baby Boomers were the generation born just after World War II, a time that included a 14-year increase in birthrate worldwide. Baby Boomers in their teen and college years were characteristically part of the 1960s counterculture, but later became more conservative, eventually gave birth to Generations X and Y. Most academic and demographic literature uses 1946 and 1960 as the cutoff years of the Baby Boom generation.[1]
* Tweener, also known as Generation Jones, is the generation born between the Baby Boomers and Generation X. Tweeners are primarily the offspring of the Silent Generation; mostly they were children in the 1960s, and teens in the 1970s.
* (born 1960-1979) Generation X is the generation born between approximately 1964 to 1981. Other names used interchangeably with Generation X are 13th Generation and Baby Busters. Most of this generation are children of The Baby Boomers and The Silent Generation. They tended to grow up with video games and MTV, and those born before 1973 spent most of their teen years in the 1980s.[2]
* (born 1975-1986) XY Cusp, also known as the MTV Generation, was caught between the end of Generation X and start of Generation Y, mainly living out their childhood through the 80s and teen years in the mid-90s. This generation was influenced by the launch of MTV, and the popularization of Web technology after 1995. Their peak is usually given as (1975-1986). This is also sometimes referred to as the Boomerang Generation.
* (born 1980-2001) Generation Y, also known as the Echo Boom although Millennials is becoming the more common parlance for this generation. They grew up with many world-changing events including the rise of mass communication, the Internet, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Y Generation is known as a Culture War “battleground” with growing disagreements between conservative and progressive perspectives. 1981-2001 is the widest possible definition commonly cited, but generally speaking is the generation that was born in the 1980s.
* (after 1990) Generation Z, New Silent Generation or Homelander Generation is the youngest of generations thus far. These are the people that are born in the 1990s.
* (born after 1993) Generation I, is the generation born after the internet became mainstream (year 1993). This generation has also been referred to as “digital natives.”[3] as well as the “Net Generation.” They can come to be known as the Next-Net Generation or N2 Generation, having grown up in an era where the web/internet pervaded every aspect of their lives. These are generally the people that will be coming of age in the 2010s and the 2020s.

##

What ever generation you are we invite you to participate in THE SHIFT!

Jeanavive Marie Janssen - 415-254-0732 c.

Chair - IAEE Young Professionals http://www.ypiaee.com
Director of Sales - Event Productions Inc. (GSC) http://www.eventproductions.com

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

Cross-Post from : Young Professionals Discussion Group:
http://groups.google.com/group/young-professionalsee

There is a lot of talk about the next generation of events, related to Green and CSR…on top of that though I have been thinking about Sales and the way its always been done….

Here are some stereotypes that come to mind related to Sales People:
“The Widget Sales Person” doesn’t matter what it is the person can sell ice to an Eskimo
“The Brown Shoe/Brown Briefcase” been pedaling wares since the 70’s and you can spot them coming a mile away so you hide
“The Elevator Pitch” sounds like a wind up doll so practiced so rehearsed you can’t wait for the ride to be over
“Card Dropping Street Pounder” Ok, we know we don’t like them when they pop up when you least expect it and want to play the card trade game

To me these are old school practices which I hope will retire with the work force. As a Young Professional, who does Sales this method ‘bums me out” and over time has kept me down because management believed in only these methods. Sales is a word I personally would like removed from my title/and our cultures vocabulary. I hope going forward that our culture/generation can bring a higher calling to this portion of business and define a new term.

I look at this as relationship building, giving people what they want not brainwashing them that they need this “thing” - why does there have to be 100 different widgets competing against each other, there certainly shouldn’t be a monopoly on “things” but I do see two viable avenues in the future - the one-stop kings, who thru partnerships/collaboration can provide you everything you need at competitive prices and those who cater to very specific needs and personalities.

I think this should apply to booth sales too, it shouldn’t be about just filling space it should be about bringing the right people in. I went to the WonderCon event in San Francisco and I think it should be a model for all event planners - it was very simple, the exhibitors “would buy what they are selling” there was a mutual love. You could feel the energy from the attendees and the exhibitors. They weren’t in your face selling. Mind you this is a comic book event but why can’t that ‘love’ for what you do extend to all industries. Which goes back to get away from sales tactics, focus on people and give them what they desire. I have been to many events were there is very few attendees on the exhibit floor and the exhibitors are upset but as an attendee why do I want to walk thru a sea of generic pitches…

Well that’s my two cents. Was wondering if there is any other Young Professionals out there in sales and what you think about the traditional sales images…

Jeanavive Janssen
Chair
IAEE Young Professionals
http://www.ypiaee.com

An excellent comment I wanted to include it in the body of this post:

1. Nora Johnson | April 4, 2008 at 10:05 am

While reading through the stereotypes, I couldn’t help but chuckle. The stereotypes exist, and while it may be painful to some who feel they personally relate to one of the groups mentioned, what can we do but acknowledge that they exist and find the humor in it?

I fully agree with your comment regarding relationship building. Every agreement stems from a working partnership - a relationship - one that will be more successful with understanding, trust, communication and a common goal or purpose. If people see beyond the widget and beyond the immediate signed contract to the heart of the matter, be it what truly motivates the buyer or what the organization’s aspirations are, a goal can be set. Then, together, both parties can work towards the common goal, naturally filling in the smaller details. At the end of the day, each brings the other a peace of mind.

On another note, people can sense when a product or service solely translates to a dollar figure in someone’s mind. Positive word of mouth is the most powerful, and oftentimes credible, marketing tool. When a person truly believes in what they are selling - what they are sharing - the true enthusiasm and credibility comes through. Anymore, words are words and pictures are pictures. Technology enables both to rise to a level of professionalism regardless of whether the products or services match that level of professionalism and promise. It is the real conviction of the person sharing their products or the services that may often mean the most.