With approximately 4,500 exhibitors and 3,800 hosted buyers, this year was arguably the biggest IMEX to date.
Make Events continue to create events across Europe as well as in the UK and IMEX Frankfurt was a great opportunity for us to scope out what’s hot across the continent this year. It was also a chance to meet hotels, new suppliers and network.
Make Events Event Assistants, Rosie Harper and Allison Wilson both headed to Frankfurt. This is what they learnt…
1. Networking – When it comes to networking, men and women have different approaches. Although generalised, men are more likely to seamlessly mix business with friendship, and have a clear goal in mind. Women on the other hand often prefer to build long-term personal friendships and will help those who they have a deeper connection with.
Rachel Thomas, president of LeanIn.org, told Forbes: “I think men are socialised from the get-go to understand that mixing business and friendship is what you do to get ahead. We, as women, aren’t as comfortable doing that.”
At IMEX this year there was a lot of talk about how to women can develop their networking skills and integrate this into their everyday life. We attended several talks by strong business women, encouraging women to go and network more to help not only with their self-confidence but their career development.
2. Tech – We know that holograms are the future, but what we want to know is when we can start using them for our events! We met a company who is doing just this and can hologram a speaker into your event. This works perfectly if you want a specific person to attend your event but they can’t make it. See below how the company used this technology on a Pepsi can.
3. Sustainability – No longer a buzzword and something we all need to adopt in our everyday lives, IMEX had really thought about how they could cut back and reduce waste. They reused lanyards and encouraged guests to bring their own reusable water bottle.
4. Social Media – Everyone loves a good Instagram-able moment and here at Make Events we encourage them! IMEX had plenty of them dotted around the venue for guests to take pictures.
All in all, IMEX Frankfurt 2019 was a huge success and we came away with new supplier and new ideas. Let’s see what IMEX 2020 will bring!
See more about IMEX Frankfurt here.
