IMEX America
Place your bets on IMEX in Vegas
NOOK PODS, LAUGHTER YOGA AND CRISIS TRAINING:
IMEX AMERICA TO REFLECT THE CHANGING FACE OF EVENTS
Working
on trust
CEO of the IMEX Group, Carina Bauer,
talks to CMW about an ever evolving
Vegas experience:
s IMEX America returns to
Las Vegas this September,
organisers say an expanded
show floor at the Sands
Expo and Convention Center at The
Venetian® | The Palazzo® will be home
to around 3,500 suppliers from 150
countries.
Organisers are predicting 4,000
qualified buyers will attend this year’s
show. Attendees can dive into all things
experiential at a new Discovery Zone,
dedicated to experimentation and
immersive activities. This forms part of
the show’s focus on Imagination, IMEX’s
Talking Point this year. Planners can also
get stuck into practical hands-on
workshops and experience immersive role
play with surprise sensory components.
opportunities over the entire show this
year – all free of charge and designed for
meetings and events industry
professionals at all levels, both buyers and
exhibitors.
Education sessions cover 10 tracks
including Business Skills, Creative
Learning, Personal Development,
Technology and Trends & Research.
She Means Business is one of the key
Smart Monday sessions and is designed to
drive the diversity debate at IMEX
America 2019.
The show keynote will be delivered by
Dr Mara Harvey, Head Global UHNW
Germany, Austria, Italy of UBS
Switzerland. The talk is titled, Gender
equality: less words and more action?
Dr Harvey will explore the root causes
of the gender pay gap and include stories
and tools for tackling the glass ceiling.
The agenda will also include
TED-style mini presentations about
women in business.
Laughter the best medicine
One immersive activity will be laughter
yoga at the new Laughter Lab. Part of the
Inspiration Hub, home to all show floor
education, the Laughter Lab hosts several
sessions on the power of laughter by Sarah
Routman from Laugh for the Health of It,
LLC. Laughter yoga encourages creative
play with prolonged voluntary giggles
that start intentionally and becomes
spontaneous, providing plenty of positive
health benefits.
Opportunities to relax and revive
during busy days at the show start with
the Be Well Lounge, while delegates can
rise early and run, jog or walk down the
Strip on the IMEXrun.
Attendees can learn how to weave
wellbeing into their own events by
following the education track and trying
out new ‘Nook Pods’. No doubt of interest
to many introverts, these pods provide a
private space to recharge or simply to
concentrate.
There are more than 180 learning
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CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
Below: Four Day
Weekend, a Fort
Worth-based comedy
Troupe will bring the
power of improvisation
in the workplace to
the MPI keynote at
IMEX America. Their
set ‘Yes, and’ aims
to embody all things
you’d want a business
What has been the response to bringing
the date forward for the 2019 show?
It’s business as usual. We announced the
September dates for 2019 and 2020 in
good time to allow people to plan. We
know that the autumn is a busy period.
Although the date on the calendar is
changing, the value of the show remains
the same (well, bigger actually).
to have: improved
teamwork, morale,
creativity, productivity,
problem-solving and
adaptability. The guys
say success in improv
is all about listening:
“We know that our
corporate clients are
looking to utilise our
skills for a different end
result, but the process
remains the same:
support, listening and
IMEX America takes place 10-12 ‘Yes, and’,” is the
September 2019, with Smart Monday word from Four Day
powered by MPI on 9 September. Weekend..
The reason for the date change and for
the move to Mandalay Bay from 2021?
Our move away from the Sands is because
we weren’t able to lock in the future dates
we felt would work best for our exhibitors.
In particular, because of the complexity of
many of the stand designs, remembering
that we don’t allow pipe and drape which
is ‘the norm’ in North America, we need
more build-up time than other shows.
Next year will mark 10 years of
working and enjoying a fantastic
relationship with the Las Vegas Sands
team. We look forward to having a really
successful working partnership with the
Mandalay Bay and MGM Resorts
International teams. It’s the end of an era
but also an exciting time.
Your appointment system coped with
74,000 meetings last year; what has
been tweaked in that technology for this
year and the hosted buyer obligations?
We’re actually in the process of a major
technology overall but we’re not ready to
go to market with that yet. In terms of
obligations, you might be surprised to
hear me say ‘THERE AREN’T ANY’.
When we first launched, we did insist on a
certain number of appointments per day
because we didn’t know if people would
honour the business imperative of the
show. It turns out in America planners
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ISSUE 102