IMEX predicts 2013 future trends

IMEX Group, organiser of meetings tradeshows IMEX in Frankfurt and IMEX America, has compiled its top 10 predictions for the year ahead.
 
Face-to-face – Despite years of scaremongering to the contrary, live meetings, live events and face-to-face meetings are on the rise.
 
Attendance is Ascending – There’s no expected let-up in exhibition attendance for 2013.
 
Fun and Games Mean Business – In 2011 and 2012 gamification started to really heat-up as a new idea to engage, educate and excite. With the continued explosion of smart phones and tablets, gamification looks set to explode in 2013.
 
Destination Brands Get Personal – Personification anyone? The multi-sensory, creative opportunities provided by social media platforms and new gadgets are causing a leap in brand personification.
 
Event Apps Go “Money” – With mobile device use expanding by the nano-second it’s no surprise that event and meeting apps are becoming a business essential.
 
Calls to Political Action Grow Louder – With the US elections completed and 20,000 miles clocked on the US Travel Association’s Vote Travel Bus, 2013 will see even more momentum and urgency behind political advocacy efforts.
 
Green Meetings Will Keep Sprouting – The green meetings ‘movement’ is now developing a unity and identity all of its own, especially among a new generation of younger planners for whom caring for the environment is second nature.
 
Pictures Will Say More than 1000 Words – Expect increased use of animation and visual story-telling techniques including video, interactive charts, graphics and ‘3D-like’ pictures all of which take the pressure of words in an email-heavy world and break through remaining language barriers.
 
CSR Gets More Hands Dirty – In 2013 expect planners and participants to go beyond today’s local community support efforts to include more direct, hands-on involvement prior, during and after big events.
 
Authenticity, Credibility, Accountability- Call it what you will ‘trust’ will be a big watchword for 2013. Those companies, in all industries, that can successfully demonstrate openness and transparency will win greater loyalty from their customers.
 
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