WASHINGTON, D.C. — Questex projects a year-over-year growth of more than 13% in 2024.
The company attributes this in part to Q Activate, their proprietary, first-party data platform, which was launched in 2022. It combines event and content intelligence into one database to predict trending topics and behaviors, and activates vertical marketing expertise to engage audiences year-round.
According to Questex, Q Activate helped raise their net promotor score to industry-leading levels. In 2023, it won the UFI Digital Innovation Award.
“We decided that the best way to enhance our events’ performance for our customers, both attendees and exhibitor-sponsors, was to make them more intelligent,” Questex CEO Paul Miller said. “I strongly believe that for live events, at this current moment in their history, the fight really isn’t for dollars or attention. The fight is for people’s time … for us, it really is using this data, using this platform, [and] using the content to drive better outcomes and better uses of time.”
Miller shared that Q Activate helped drive success at the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, which Questex acquired in 2023. The event saw more than 29% revenue growth, and 60% of its attendees were new, in 2024.
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Data-Driven Launches
Q Activate also informed The Hospitality Show, which Questex created with the American Hotel & Lodging Association and launched last year in Las Vegas.
“On our hotel management content website, we were seeing lots of searches, lots of stories being read on increasing profitability of hotels … [and] we found that hotel owners were given the opportunity to go to a tech event for hotels, or a furniture event for hotels or a design event for hotels, but they were saying ‘look, that’s all important, but we need one place where it’s all together,’” Miller shared.
The event’s 2024 edition will be held in San Antonio, and is forecasting 32% growth. In response to market trends analyzed using Q Activate, it will be co-located with the new Bar & Restaurant Expo Texas, and, according to Questex, be the largest American trade show launch this year.
Questex is also introducing the International Hospitality Investment Forum Asia this year due to demand for an event in the region.
Reorganization
Questex is reorganizing into four umbrella communities — Hospitality (which includes the International Hospitality Investment Forum, The Hospitality Show and Bar & Restaurant Expo), Life Sciences (which includes Fierce Pharma, Fierce Biotech and Digital Pharma East), Wellness (which includes the International Beauty Show and the International Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa Conference) and Technology (which includes Fierce Network, LDI and StreamTV Show) — to position its events for further success.
“You reach a certain level, and then you have to reassess: ‘hey, what have we done well? What, frankly, could we get better at and where are we missing some elements?’ … We’ve done that work, and part of that work was ‘we’ve got to organize ourselves into bigger groups to get that bigger growth,’” Miller explained.
Questex has recruited and promoted staff as part of this reorganization. Jess Tyler, CEM was hired as Vice President and Market Leader of the Wellness Portfolio.
Additionally, Allison Cohen joined the company as Senior Event Director, and will lead the push to give every event a one-to-one component. Steve Johnston was also hired as Vice President of Technology.
Questex has grown by more than 40% since the COVID-19 pandemic. Miller expects it to keep expanding through 2025 and beyond, both organically and by acquisitions.
“It’s been a great story for our people but also for the industries we serve,” Miller said. “We don’t see that stopping. We’ve got terrific growth this year … and I think we’re going to see 2025 as a real acceleration of that.”
Learn more about Questex here.
