This year’s CEIR Predict conference brought together forward-thinking leaders to provide critical insights on global trends, AI innovation and strategic planning. The event brought together leading AI innovators, economists, business intelligence specialists and policy analysts who collaborated with industry experts to provide a comprehensive vision of the future of the exhibition industry.
Economic and geopolitical insights
Adam Sacks, President of Tourism Economics at Oxford Economics Company, delivered a compelling analysis of the CEIR index and its implications for different market sectors. His presentation explained how the exhibition industry could leverage CEIR data to make strategic decisions, while providing valuable insights into current economic conditions and their impact on exhibitions.
“Up to 75% recovered in 2022, 89% in 2023, and for the first half of this year we gained a few more percentage points, or about 91% recovered,” Sacks pointed out. “Once again, the value proposition of the exhibition sector, face-to-face business and commerce gatherings, is more essential than ever.
Dane Chamorro, partner at Control Risks and head of global risk analysis and business intelligence for the Americas, provided an in-depth look at the complex risks facing U.S. businesses. His session explored how political tensions, economic uncertainties and technological disruption have affected the exhibition industry, focusing on supply chain challenges, regulatory changes and market volatility.
“The pandemic didn’t really create new trends, but it accelerated trends that were already happening,” Chamorro said. “It’s not a revolution, it’s not that fast and it’s not an evolution, it’s not that slow – it’s somewhere in between. And from a business perspective, that means all of these things are happening at the same time.
Risk assessment and future planning
Matt Carmichael, senior vice president at Ipsos Global Trends & Foresight and editor-in-chief of What the Future, presented a comprehensive framework for understanding and preparing for industry risks. His session equipped participants with practical tools and methodologies used by futurists to create planning scenarios and assess potential risks, while addressing the importance of branding and reputation management.
“You have to know your audience,” Carmichael explained. “The way you talk about research with an innovation team is different than the way you talk about it with a creative team or a marketing team. This is different from how you talk about it with your “C-suite.” These people all have different concerns and need a slightly different story. The baseline may be similar, but it’s important to know how to focus it to really connect with the people you’re trying to present your research in front of and you need to do that work.
AI Innovation and Implementation
The conference featured two important sessions on artificial intelligence. Noelle Russell, Founder and Director of AI at the AI Leadership Institute, showed how AI is transforming the exhibition and events industry. His presentation highlighted more than a dozen AI models that could improve business operations and drive growth, while addressing ethical considerations and highlighting AI’s role in supporting creativity human.
Russell emphasized: “A model does not know the truth. He doesn’t know humanity. He only knows how to create a good answer that you’ll look at and say, “Well, that’s pretty good,” but he doesn’t know if it’s truthful – you know if it’s truthful. This is called human feedback, reinforcement learning with human feedback. “Machine learning” is a term, but it means that you – meaning you and the teams who work for you – are essential to the process.
Sean Watson, futurist and senior vice president of special projects at Trend Hunter, provided a detailed analysis of the ongoing AI revolution. His keynote examined real-world applications of AI and their impact across various industries, providing attendees with practical insights on leveraging the technology to maintain competitiveness in the digital age.
“The evolution of AI is outpacing legacy technology, presenting vast transformative potential across all industries,” Watson noted. “Today, 59% of CEOs are investing in digital/automated workflows as their #1 strategy. 51% are now investing in AI, well ahead of robotics (which was a booming technology). Nearly all CEOs and decision makers (97%) say they believe AI will play an important role in their future operations.
Political landscape and electoral impact
Chris Jackson, senior vice president of U.S. public affairs and public polling at Ipsos, delivered a timely analysis of the global political landscape, with a particular focus on the upcoming U.S. presidential election. His presentation included detailed forecasts on various election outcomes and their potential impact on the trade show industry, providing organizers with valuable information for strategic planning.
Detailing Ipsos research on consumer sentiment, Jackson noted, “Americans are increasingly turning to the public sector to solve their problems. Most Americans don’t use their values to determine who they will do business with, but there is a clear difference based on income or education level: the more educated and wealthy people are, the more likely they are to have a consumer behavior focused on their values. It matters when it comes to who you’re talking to and what you’re trying to emphasize.
He continued: “You’re going to start getting pressure to do things that may not be your core missions because people are looking to the private sector to solve problems. However, when we ask people if they want to see brands explicitly engage in political behavior, most Americans say “no.” So it’s that delicate balance that you have to fight for, where you’re pushed to take a stand and take action to solve society’s problems, but you can’t be too political.
The conference concluded with a thought-provoking keynote address from Dr. Sam Potolicchio, president of the Preparing Global Leaders Forum and founding executive director of the Center for Global Leadership at American Councils. His presentation covered a wide range of global issues, from political and social developments to environmental challenges. He also reviewed his forecasts from the previous year, analyzing which ones came true and which ones took an unexpected turn.
“Expressing probabilities does two things,” Potolicchio commented. “First, you demonstrate intellectual humility, but second, you continue to research and update your probabilities trying to get more information or more data. And that’s one of the reasons why I think CEIR (Predict) is such an effective event: to give you this hard data, this empirical data, and to make this annual pilgrimage to update your models and think about the direction things are taking.
Save the date
CEIR’s Predict 2024 conference successfully provided attendees with actionable insights and strategic insights to help them navigate a rapidly evolving business landscape. The event demonstrated the exhibition industry’s commitment to embracing innovation, understanding global trends and preparing for future challenges and opportunities.
The Predict 2025 conference will take place September 11-12 at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Stay tuned for more details here.
Main image: Marsha Flanagan, President and CEO of the IAEE, speaking to Predict. Photos courtesy of Oscar & Associates.
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