Episode description

What’s trending among association and independent executives of exhibitions and conventions in Q2 2023? Our guest on this episode is event producer Sam Lippman, president of Lippman Connects, who provides an inside look at the 2023 Exhibition and Convention Executives Forum (ECEF), held May 30-31 at the Grand Hyatt Washington.

Lippman produced the 22nd edition of ECEF with record attendance in 2023. In this episode, he shared the origin story of ECEF when it launched in 2002.

ECEF is one of nine events founded and produced by Lippman Connects. His most recent launch, the Midsize Show Roundtable, will be held for the second time later this year in Pittsburgh. 

We take a deeper dive into the takeaways from ECEF with Lippman, offering actionable insights and best practices to improve your business. Plus, he shared his biggest challenge — attendee acquisition — and what’s working now to overcome this obstacle.

Lippman has three decades of industry experience, and he earned the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) Merit Award. Find out what excites him most about working in the events industry after all these years.

Tormohlen also shared the top headlines and new stories from Trade Show News Network and Corporate Event News that were published in early June 2023.

Quotable by Sam Lippman: “We have to educate our first-time points of contact on the value of lead nurturing. In today's world of deep fakes and ChatGPT, people don't know what's real anymore. So when you are at a trade show, when you're at a convention and you're face-to-face with people. Whether it's one day or six days, these are impressions, in-person impressions that can be favorable for your company, for your  brand, and a favorable impression can turn into a prospect. A prospect can turn into a lead. And a lead can turn into a customer.”