SISO Update
Produced in collaboration with Mercer, this key survey will collect market data from industry organizations including base pay rates, sales incentives, benefits offerings and STI and LTI information. Survey results will be available to participants at no cost and will contain data and information that will allow you to effectively navigate compensation during this rapidly changing market. All data collected will be kept strictly confidential and no organization's data will be identifiable in the results.
Please know that survey results will only be available to those who participate!
An email invitation from Mercer with the link to participate in the survey has been sent to all primary contacts of SISO and HR SIG members. Be sure to “whitelist” these email addresses: na.products.analytics@mercer.com and miranda.castle@mercer.com. Please contact your SISO team or the Mercer team or miranda.castle@mercer.com with any questions or if you have not received your link to participate.
Thank you in advance for your participation in this important survey!
SISO Activities
Asia CEO Summit
Mark your calendar and plan to attend the inaugural Asia CEO Summit, set for Oct. 5-7 at the Fullerton Hotel in Singapore.
Organized jointly by AEO - Association of Event Organisers, SACEOS, SISO - Society of Independent Show Organisers, UFI,The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry and supported by Singapore Tourism Board, the Asia CEO Summit will set the stage for the revival and reimagination of the exhibitions industry in the region.
This invite-only event is for the CEOs of invited business event organizers, based all over the world, with an interest in Asia and the regional market. With the mantra “Pathways for Growth,” the collective knowledge is huge, and the need to forge new and deeper relationships across all corners of the globe has never been more important.
Find out more about the Asia CEO Summit here. Interested in being part of event? Reach out to Anna@SISO.org.
Here's a sneak peek of one of the incredibly insightful and informative thought leadership panels you can expect at the Summit:
In the session “Global View From the Top,” global CEOs of the world's largest event organizers will share their thoughts and vision on what has had the biggest impact on their businesses and the global sector in recent times, together with their hopes and ambitions for the future.
Jo-Anne Kelleway, International Industry Ambassador, Freeman Company; Lisa Hannant, Group Managing Director and Incoming CEO, Clarion Events; Charlie McCurdy, President and CEO, Informa Markets; Hervé Sedky, President and CEO, Emerald; and Renaud Hamaide, Chairman, Comexposium, will discuss key topics such as:
- The different pace of the transition from “pandemic to endemic” across the world and how this is impacting their customers and visitors
- What digital engagement strategies will stick and what were a miss
- What they see as the mid- and long-term impacts of both the conflict in Ukraine and the geopolitical shift in China
SISO Summer Conference 2022
This year's SISO's Summer Conference, held August 9-11 in Oklahoma City, OK, was a successful gathering of 160 trade show organizer and supplier attendees. Couldn't make the SISO Summer Conference? View the photo gallery and view the video to hear what our attendees had to say.
Next year, look forward to attending the SISO Summer Conference, taking place Aug. 22-24, 2023, in Salt Lake City, UT. You won't want to miss this incredibly valuable SISO event!
2023 CEO Summit
It's not too early to mark your calendar for the 2023 SISO CEO Summit, taking place March 20-23 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas. Go here to register your interest.
Special Interest Groups
Small Business SIG
The Small Business SIG will host its next Small Business Roundtable on Monday, Sept. 26 at 11 a.m. ET. More information to follow – stay tuned!
Alliances
Exhibitions and Conferences Alliance (ECA)
With Congress returning from its August recess, ECA is ready for the start of a busy fall season on Capitol Hill. Here are the top issues that ECA will be focusing on in Washington, DC between now and the end of the year:
Small business relief: ECA will be working to get the new Hardest-Hit Small Business COVID Relief Act, which would reallocate all Small Business Administration COVID program balances (around $6 billion) for a new program that would provide grants to hard-hit small businesses, included as part of any must-pass legislation before Congress before the end of the year.
Q4 2021 ETRC restoration: ECA continues to work with nearly 100 other trade associations to restore the Q4 2021 ERTC tax benefit for employers that Congress took away last fall. In the coming weeks, ECA and its coalition will be lobbying to get the bipartisan ERTC Reinstatement Act included in Congress' year-end package of business tax provisions as it comes together.
Pandemic risk insurance: Work continues in the Senate on a new bipartisan bill that would help restore communicable disease coverage within event cancellation insurance. ECA anticipates a bill coming forward later this fall. Additionally, ECA will be supporting efforts to find a new champion for the Pandemic Risk Insurance Act in the House of Representatives (The current sponsor, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, lost her primary and will not return to Congress in 2023.).
Visa processing: ECA remains frustrated by the ongoing visa interview and processing delays at U.S. embassies and consulates around the world. This fall, ECA will continue to work with industry stakeholders to ramp up pressure on the State Department to restore system-wide visa interview and processing capacity to pre-pandemic levels as soon as possible.
Friends of McCormick Place
ECA continues to support SISO's efforts to ensure that the next management company at McCormick Place in Chicago is not allowed to introduce new anti-customer and anti-choice measures including:
- Organizing their own conferences and trade shows that might compete with existing customers' events currently scheduled to take place at McCormick Place
- Making additional exhibitor and customer services exclusive in-house services, which removes the ability of event organizers to choose their own providers and encourage competitive pricing at McCormick Place
As part of this effort, ECA has helped establish the Friends of McCormick Place (FOMP) coalition, which includes 16 organizations that support maintaining freedom of choice when it comes to vendors, encouraging competitive pricing and protecting existing shows at the convention center. Any SISO members interested in joining FOMP should contact David Audrain or Tommy Goodwin to learn more.
Support for the ECA
So far this year, several companies have once again provided underwriting to fund SISO's annual $250,000 commitment to the ECA. They have helped us raise $160,000 but we need a broader level of funding to underwrite the SISO commitment. Please consider lending your financial support to this incredibly important organization and the vital work it does to advocate for the face-to-face business events industry!
We'd like to thank the following companies for their ECA support:
- Access Intelligence
- Clarion Events
- Diversified Communications
- Emerald
- IMEX
- Informa Markets
- International Market Centers
- Map Your Show
- Northstar Travel Media
- Questex
- RX
- Tarsus Group
U.S. Travel
U.S. Travel has opened registration for its signature “Future of Travel Mobility” conference, set for Sept. 20 at the historic Union Station in Washington, DC. To learn more and to register for this future-shaping event, go here.
Moving Forward Updates
Despite a few bumps in the road, the exhibitions industry is moving forward toward recovery and renewal. Check out some of the latest industry news below, including new leadership announcements and the return of established shows that hosted successful face-to-face editions recently!
- Embrace the Digital In-Person Events – Interview With Cassandra Farrington, Chair of SISO by Overseas Exhibitions/China International Conference and Exhibition Magazine (9/5)
- Clarion Appoints New CEO by Exhibition News (9/5)
- OFFPRICE Show Continues to Build Post-Pandemic Momentum by TSNN (8/29)
- Informa Markets Makes MAGIC in Las Vegas by Trade Show Executive (8/26)
- Destinations International Launches Industry's First Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Assessment Tool by TSNN (8/26)
- Ungerboeck Software Co-founder Dieter Ungerboeck Passes Away by Trade Show Executive (8/19)
- Society of Independent Show Organizers Names Vinnie Polito its Next CEO by TSNN (8/14)
Q&A
Join your community online via SISO's social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Have a question about SISO or want to get more involved? Email info@siso.org.
Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay strong. Stay connected!