CHICAGO — Exhibitor advisory councils are often avoided by show organizers, but when organized correctly, can be a valuable source of honest feedback without devolving into a beef session.
No one knows this better than Jessica Sibila, CMP, CTSM, Executive Director of The Exhibitor Advocate. “I have been an exhibitor for over 20 years, and I was actually on an exhibitor advisory council way back when, when I first started in this industry,” she said. “It was clear to me then how critical exhibitor advisory councils were and still are today. It was the one opportunity I felt like I had to talk to the right people in my show management team to express both the positives and the negatives.”
She recalled a time when an outdoor plaza set up for an event had to be quickly disassembled because of weather. “The way that that team responded was incredible, they were so fast, and they ensured that everyone was safe and got the equipment inside in seconds. It was at the exhibitor advisory council meeting where I had the opportunity to give them some accolades and share with them the appreciation for what it took for them to deal with that incredibly difficult challenge. I think that when we talk about advisory councils, sometimes people think it’s only for complaints, but it’s not.”
During a webinar led by Jessica, Dan Cole, Senior Director, Exposition Sales at AVIXA, the organizer of InfoComm (which was just held June 8-14 in Las Vegas), spoke of the professionalism of his organization’s advisory council. “It’s quite amazing. We meet three times a year, twice online and once in person at the site where the show is going to be held (it switches between Las Vegas and Orlando). There is an event the night before, then an all-day session the next day that is strategic in nature, so it is not necessarily just a forum for feedback on logistical things, and there are breakout sessions with our members and activities all day long.”
This year, since the show held its opening night event at the Sphere, organizers arranged for a group tour.
Related. InfoComm 2024 Starts Off with a Blast at Sphere
Council members serve three-year terms and become both advocates for the show as well as friends, he said. “They know that we take their feedback very seriously because they are actually helping to strategize about the show, and we implement the ideas that come out of that meeting.”
The Exhibitor Advocate’s website publishes a variety of resources, including the following best practices for creating an exhibitor advisory council: Include a wide range of sponsors, from startups to established companies; Create a purpose statement that defines the role and boundaries of the council; Keep membership consistent and make members’ contact information accessible to exhibitors looking to provide feedback; Hold regular meetings, especially during critical planning phases; and Make sure that feedback on action items includes analytics, then communicate that to all the exhibitors.
Reach Jessica Sibila at jessica@jsibs.com; Dan Cole at dcole@avixa.org
