ECEF Presents New Ways of Thinking About Trade Shows

The sixth annual Exhibition and Convention Executives Forum (ECEF), held May 10 at the Washington Convention Center, gave 172 senior-level executives from associations and independents opportunities to rethink exhibitions and conventions. Keynote speaker Mick McManus, president and CEO, MAYA Design, set the tone with a revealing exploration of user-centered design. While McManus' background is exhibit design and he addressed the current challenges in the exhibition world, his case studies of redesign in other customer-focused areas - a post office, emergency room, and city library - provided lessons for the exhibitions industry. McManus encouraged attendees "to raise exhibitions to the level of full-on innovation campaigns for your customers;" to exploit the wisdom of the crowds; to shift away from a "per-foot mentality" to value and sell smart, user-centered service; to sense and measure everything; to "make the experience and the moment matter."

Among the six sessions in the education-packed day was a discussion of visas by federal government executives Helen Marano, director, U.S. Department of Commerce, Tony Edson, deputy assistant secretary of State Department, and Tara Riordan, business liaison director, Department of Homeland Security. As was pointed out at ECEF, Tradeshow Week research indicates that 31 percent of show producers find visa requirements to be a constraint on business. Ninety-four percent of organizers with events, which draw international attendees, exhibitors, and media, indicated that current visa regulations for entering the United States have a negative impact on event participation, according to an ECEF pre-event study. Participation drop-off is most noticed from China, India, Brazil, and South Korea. The visa problem is a facility problem, Edson said. The current facilities cannot support the number of applicants. Bringing applicants to those facilities has been a stumbling block, although he said there have not been restrictions in what it takes to qualify for a visa. In fact, the total visa issuance is up 8 percent worldwide and business/tourist visa issuance is up 12 percent, so he says the perception that it's more difficult to get a visa to attend a convention in the United States doesn't match reality.

Planned enhancements to the visa process over the next two years include:

• An all-electronic visa process
• A centralized visa appointment management system
• Remote data collection
• Pilot projects for interviews via digital videoconference
• 10-print finger scans will be collected from all applicants worldwide by the end of this year.

ECEF 2008 (www.eceforum.com) will be held on June 19 at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. See Did You Know (p. 104) for some more telling results from ECEF's pre-event survey on the exhibitions industry.

Planners Join the Redskins Football Team and "Bring It to the Beach"

Football players. Cheerleaders. Coaches. And thousands of fans. The Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau seized the opportunity and invited a group of meeting planners as well. Although the team may play in Washington, they have a huge fan base in the Virginia Beach area, hence, the Redskins Beach Blitz.

The planners had the opportunity to rub shoulders with players, coaches, and cheerleaders; run, pass, catch, and block in setups featuring targets and blocking dummies in the Virginia Beach Convention Center, where most of the action took place.

It all culminated with the second annual Redskins Beach Blitz Gala held in the center's state-of-the-art 31,000-square-foot ballroom. The new $202.5 million Virginia Beach Convention Center was completed this January. There is more than 500,000 square feet of flexible meeting space including the ballroom, as well as a 150,000-square-foot column-free exhibit hall, nearly 29,000 square feet of meeting rooms, and a soaring 147-foot observation tower filled with meeting and function space with spectacular views of Virginia Beach's oceanfront. Although on this particular weekend burgundy and gold (Redskins colors) were prevalent, the convention center favors a nautical theme throughout.

Virginia Beach promotes that it is a fun and sun beach destination which offers the excitement of a large metropolitan area. There are 11,000 hotel rooms with more on the way as the finishing touches are put on the 38-story, 236-room Westin Virginia Beach Town Center Hotel. The Sandler Center for Performing Arts, in the city's new downtown area, is going to make its debut this November. It will feature a 1,300-seat theater, an outdoor performance plaza, grand lobby, a studio theater, and rehearsal space.