IMEX America, a trade show for the meetings and events industry that took place on Oct. 7-9 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, set a new record with more than 17,000 participants and more than 90,000 scheduled meetings. EM was on the ground to bring you the latest thinking and activations inspo to inform your trade show program.
Breakthroughs and Hands-on Over Flash
Attendees who experience a “peak moment”—a standout, goal-aligned experience—are 85 percent more likely to return. Yet only 40 percent say they’ve had one, according to Freeman Company’s new report, “Unpacking XLNC: Bringing the X factor to attendee experiences.” What they want is a breakthrough, not flashy—and expensive—entertainment.
“The X factor isn’t about creating a moment that looks good on Instagram,” says Ken Holsinger, svp-strategy at Freeman. “It’s about helping attendees walk away saying, ‘That was worth it.’”
Also, hands-on beats high-gloss as 61 percent of attendees define immersive experiences as hands-on product interaction. Organizers often over-invest in multisensory environments and underdeliver on practical engagement.
Transportive Activations
Experiential is finally making serious inroads into trade shows, and IMEX was a prime example. Encore invited attendees on a train trip, dubbed Our Journey of Discovery, to showcase its lighting, immersive audio and interactive technology capabilities, brought to life by Hargrove. While waiting to board the Encore Express, attendees co-created a song with AI, and each other, instantly building a micro-community in a fun and memorable way. Once on board, the trip felt like a different world, and attendees walked away with new strategies and inspiration.
Step-ins are gaining ground. Part of a multi-touch strategy, a bright-red orb by Toronto invited attendees into what felt like a kaleidoscope for a unique experience and a photo op, enticing them to stop by the destination’s booth on the show floor. Peru’s booth stopped aisle traffic and dropped them into the Andes and colorful street markets.
ImpactXM brought a sense of play to conversions about designing experiences with impact by using Lego bricks to get hands-on and translate concepts to outcomes.
Singapore invited attendees to “have a smell” and transported them across the ocean with its “First Light” scent, an aromatic tribute to the iconic local breakfast kaya jam, complete with creamy coconut, roasted coffee, and nutmeg.
Nth Degree brought out the sweet side of events with jelly beans—trade shows and conferences are green—and invited attendees to build their own colorful cocktail as delicious as their events program.
In the age of AI, who knew that a Viewfinder, a retro stereoscope with a custom reel, would be such a hit? A perfect antidote to VR, a little red box got attendees to flip through 3D scenes of Baltimore and feel transported.
Overhead Design as Engagement Tool
Exhibitors flipped the script on overhead signs and took full advantage of the aerial real estate with headers that went way beyond navigational beacons. Margaritaville made upside-down margarita glasses a perfect centerpiece with their three-tiered overhead sign that was impossible to miss. Visit Anaheim’s exhibit had projected imagery splashed across an overhead screen, while Japan’s exhibit featured traditional paper lanterns and awnings that added authenticity and visual appeal. Hello! dmc took complete ownership of the overhead space and built a ceiling with floating fabric elements, instrumental to setting the mood in its exhibit.
Related:
- How Mars Veterinary Health is Making Green Sponsorship at VMX Grow
- Expo 2025 Osaka, Part One: Experience Design Ideas from the Pavilions
Resilience Room
Wellness activations may or may not fit with individual shows, but introducing—and sponsoring—a room where attendees can take a breather from the overstimulation of the show floor has got to become an industry norm. IMEX introduced a Resilience Room, a sponsored activation with soft deep-amber lighting, a chill soundscape, and comfortable seating positioned for introspection, not conversations. It was a perfect space to recalibrate. Connections are key at trade shows, but taking a moment to reset and connect with yourself fuels sustainable engagement.
Rethinking Giveaways for Experience Longevity
The IMEX People & Planet Pledge explicitly required exhibitors to “only offer sustainable gifts or giveaways,” but exhibitors are finding ways to take the next step and leave attendees with something with real staying power. In the past, Visit Seattle offered posters and desk calendars with art by local artists, and this year it introduced a vending machine where attendee could pick their own swag, ranging from Seattle puzzles and building blocks to Mocca Shots energy gummies.
AI offers a new frontier in extending the trade show experience: Snapsight delivered real-time session summarization and instant takeaways, which is very helpful if you’re trying to be everywhere at once. Exhibitors that hosted sessions in their booths extended the engagement with this custom content. Encore’s AI-generated downloadable soundtrack captured the spirit of the journey, creating a personalized audio memento that went on to live on playlists long after the final stop and inspiring new event adventures.
Photo credit: Anna Huddleston
