SCHILLER PARK, Ill. — The recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing by Encore® did something rare: It turned one of the trade show industry’s most persistent complaints — the rising cost and rigidity of in-house event production — into a public-market business model.
The filing showed rising revenue per event as the company prepares to go public. Suddenly, planners were not just swapping stories about coffee prices, rising AV estimates or service fees.
They were reading investor-facing language about pricing power, venue partnerships, capture rates and revenue growth.
When production costs climb and outside options narrow, something important can get lost before the show floor ever opens.
Angie Smith, CEO of Invision, calls it creative ambition.
“When AV costs are locked in at a premium and budgets aren’t elastic, the cuts don’t show up on a line item. They happen in the ideation phase, before a single concept is presented. You stop designing toward the best possible experience and start designing around what’s left,” Smith said.
“Preferred” Shouldn’t Mean “You’ve Been Captured”
The real issue is control. Who controls vendor choice, pricing and infrastructure access? Who benefits from the commission?
And when an organizer wants to bring in an outside production company, who gets to say no?
“‘Preferred’ and ‘exclusive’ are not the same thing, but they get used interchangeably, and that’s where organizers lose ground,” Smith said. “Preferred means there’s a commercial relationship in place. Exclusive means your options may be significantly more limited than you realize.”
Before signing, Smith said organizers should ask direct questions: What happens if I bring an outside vendor? What fees apply? Is the venue receiving a commission or revenue share from this provider?
“That last question matters most,” Smith said. “Because if the answer is yes, you’re no longer evaluating AV on merit. You’re navigating someone else’s financial arrangement.”
If the Venue Gets a Cut, You Deserve to Know
Encore’s filing has also intensified a quieter industry conversation: When in-house AV providers share revenue with venues, are organizers seeing the true cost of production, or the cost of production plus the economics of the venue partnership?
Smith said one question should be treated as essential before signing anything: “What are the venue’s AV exclusivity terms, and what fees apply if we work with an outside production partner?”
According to Smith, this one question reveals the cost structure, the restrictions and the venue’s willingness to be transparent about it.
“If the answer is vague or slow to come, that tells you something too,” she said.
The Encore filing did not create the AV exclusivity debate. It made the economics harder to ignore.
For trade show executives, the takeaway is not to avoid in-house providers. Many are capable, professional and deeply familiar with their buildings. The takeaway is to stop treating in-house AV as inevitable.
Because the future of trade show production is not just about better screens or brighter lights. It is about who gets to choose how those experiences are built — and who gets the bill when the lights come up.
Featured Photo Credit: Amy Tolbert for Invision Inc.
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