Hello IAEE DC Chapter Members and Industry Colleagues,

With summer ending and the fall planning season upon us, I thought it was important to cover the valuable IAEE resource available to every member and industry organization -- Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR). 

I was recently asked about CEIR and why it’s important to our industry. CEIR exists to provide insights and actionable intelligence so organizations and companies can make important decisions about their events, measure success against industry benchmarks, take advantage of new opportunities and trends, and many other benefits. It is an established and trusted source for every exhibition industry professional.

Developed in collaboration with Oxford Economics, CEIR is most known for the CEIR Exhibition Index, business insights and forecasts for B2B exhibitions in North America, providing emerging trends, innovative data visualizations, and actionable insights to drive business growth and minimize risks.  

CEIR houses the world’s largest collection of primary, exhibition-related research studies. Hundreds of reports are available to help you better understand the world of face-to-face marketing. Many are FREE to download for CEIR Subscribers and IAEE Members!

CEIR reports are used in a number of ways, including onboarding junior-level employees and new hires, supplementing corporate and association board reports, understanding and planning around industry trends, developing and validating business strategies, identifying new business opportunities, justifying decisions and budgets, and providing a more in-depth understanding of the competitive marketplace and customers’ exhibitors, attendees, sponsors, and partners.

Here are just a few examples of the reports available from CEIR:

• Exhibit & Sponsorship Sales Approaches (4 Separate Reports)
• Attendee Acquisition Trends
• 100 Cost-Saving Tips and Tricks
• Exhibitor In-booth Tactics: People, Products, Learning and other Strategies

For more information regarding CEIR, please visit www.ceir.org.

At our chapter’s Annual Meeting and State of the Industry event on November 14, IAEE HQ will present recent findings from the CEIR PREDICT meeting in September. I hope you can attend to learn about the latest industry trends and outlook for 2025. 

Thank you for your continued support of our chapter and I hope to see you at one of our upcoming events, including the September education event on event security, Karaoke social event in October, or the DC Chapter Reception at Expo! Expo! in LA. Learn more about these events and others and register here.  

A very special THANK YOU to all our annual and event sponsors! We appreciate you!

Your IAEE DC Chapter Chair,

Mark Shadwick

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October





IAEE’s Karaoke Night

Get ready to belt out your favorite tunes at our popular social event at Rock It Grill! Or relax and listen to our Karaoke stars B Murphy of Fern and Brendon Winters of American AV!

brought to you by mdg, A Freeman Company

AI Gets Real — Fast

Events that don’t quickly find their way onto the AI adoption curve are destined to be out-innovated by the competition.

That was the message experts shared with a full house of event professionals during an AI-focused session hosted by mdg, A Freeman Company and SISO in conjunction with Lippman Connects’ Exhibition & Convention Executives Forum in Washington, D.C. From operations and design to marketing and personalization, AI solutions are impacting all areas of the industry — and the time to harness their potential is now.

Industry News You Can Use

Unexpected Chaos: My Experience During a Protest at our Event

When I was an AV tech for a company, my primary responsibility was to ensure that our events ran smoothly, managing everything from sound to visual presentations. However, not every event goes as planned. Although our show manager thought they had proper protocols and security measures in place, I found myself in the middle of a high-stakes situation when our event was overtaken by protesters.

The show manager mentioned there could be issues due to a Senator participating whose recent shift in legislative commitments had sparked public outrage. The event presentations began on time to an audience of nearly 200 people, but about an hour in, the situation escalated rapidly.

Around 30 individuals disguised as attendees rushed the stage, locked arms, and began shouting. The atmosphere shifted instantly from a business gathering to a chaotic scene. I was instructed to put up a ‘hold’ slide and play music to drown out the protesters' chants. However, it quickly became clear the protesters were not leaving and the audience started to depart in droves.  Despite our efforts to regain control, the protest continued for over 30 minutes until local police arrived. The event eventually continued, but the damage was already done, and the protest left a negative impression on our attendees. 

This was a stark reminder for our event team of the unpredictable nature of live events and the importance of having a solid security plan with contingencies in place. The entire experience underscored the critical role that security plays for every event and the importance of hiring the right firm or professional to better plan and effectively handle any unforeseen challenges.

Don’t let your event be disrupted by a security incident! Attend the September education event, “Got Security?” to learn how your organization can prevent issues and ensure your participants have a great experience. Register today!

Our chapter will be back at A Wider Circle on Saturday, November 16, to volunteer at their Silver Spring location to sort donations and prepare them for their store for their Essential Support program where they provide 10–15 families each day with beds, dressers, dining sets, couches, clothes, and much more — all free of charge.

Read more about their incredible work to help those in need in our local community. We hope to see you on November 16!

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