CONTENTS July 2012 Volume 26, Issue 7

COVER STORY AND CMP SERIES

Exhibit Hall to Exhibit Mall

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‘I don’t know if trade shows are learning from retailers, or retailers are learning from events, but they are all trying to be experiential marketers.’

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In a selling environment saturated with messages, trade-show exhibitors can stand out by acting more like successful retailers — who recognize that consumers are looking for more than something to buy. They want to be drawn into an experience. Barbara Palmer

Features

Corporate Speak In an exclusive roundtable conversation, five veteran cor- porate planners compare notes on the evolution of event marketing, the growing importance of strategic meetings management, and the endless appeal of a job where “there is never a boring day.” Christopher Durso

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Cover illustration by Lorenzo Petrantoni

2 PCMA CONVENE JULY 2012 PCMA.ORG

Same Venue, New Menu How do you make sure an event that’s always held at the same time in the same place stays fresh? The National Restaurant Association mixes things up to keep its nearly century-old trade show from getting stale. Molly Brennan