IMEX America Sets New Records

i By December 2, 2018 No Comments

This year IMEX America reached two new milestones in its development.

Held October 16-18, 2018 at the Sands® Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, the eighth edition of the show marked its expansion into an additional hall, creating space for more than 3,500 exhibitors representing 150 countries. It also drew a record-breaking 13,588 participants, including more
than 3,327 hosted buyers from 63 countries and 1,102 buyer attendees from 37 countries. The expansion of the show floor was due to the arrival of more than 60 new booths and 81 returning booths taking larger spaces. Carina Bauer, CEO, IMEX Group, said that extending into the third hall benefited the show in many ways. “It’s allowed the investment made by exhibitors in colourful, creative booths to shine through. Many have chosen to immerse IMEX America attendees in their culture, legacy and values,” she explained.

STATS REVEALED

Not only did IMEX America have a record number of hosted buyers and buyer attendees, but IMEX Group’s statistics show these buyers have significant seniority and buying power. The show saw a seven percent increase in supplier/buyer meetings, with well over 70,000 appointments made, including 64,500 individual appointments and booth presentations. Seventy percent of appointments had RFPs attached.

Other statistics released include:

  • 67.5% of hosted buyers have 11 to 20+ years experience
  • 63.5% of buyer attendees (not hosted) have 11 to 20+ years experience
  • 47.5% of hosted buyers were at chairman, CEO, MD, director or senior manager level
  • 65% of hosted buyers and 60% of buyer attendees manage budgets between $1m-$10m
  • 58% of hosted buyers were from the incentive house/agency sector; 24% from the corporate
    sector; and 10% from the association/government sector
  • Buyer attendee mix was 38% corporate clients, 31% incentive house/agencies and 12%
    associations

Buyers came from around the world, but the majority came from the US (hosted buyers-70%; buyer attendees-86%). Other countries in the top five were Canada (hosted buyers-4.5%; buyer attendees-3.5%), Mexico (hosted buyers-3%; buyer attendees-2.5%), Brazil (hosted buyers-3.5%; buyer attendees-1%), and the United Kingdom (hosted buyers-3%; buyer attendees-2%). On the exhibitor side, booth space by region or type was topped by the US and Canada (26.6%), followed by Hotels (23.3%), Europe (12%), Private Sector (9%), Asia-Pacific (8.5%), Latin America (8%), Caribbean (4.7%), Incentive Products (3%), Africa and the Middle East (2.5%) and Technology (2.4%).

UPCOMING DATES

IMEX Frankfurt 2019 will take place at May 21-23, 2019 at Messe Frankfurt. EduMonday, its pre-show day of learning and insights, will take place on Monday, May 20th.
IMEX America 2019 will move to September dates, taking place September 10-12, 2019 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center at The Venetian® | The Palazzo®. It will be preceded by Smart Monday on September 9, 2019.