The Trade Show Exhibitors Association has become the latest industry association to introduce a hosted-buyers meeting, announcing the launch of its new event, Face-to-Face Connections.
The event, which will be held January 6 to 8, 2010, at the Embassy Suites Dallas-Market Center, gives TSEA members an opportunity to meet in 30-minute private meetings with vendors who provide products and services to the exhibitions industry. The meetings will take place in hotel suites, not on the exhibit floor. TSEA will pay for the guests’ expenses—including airfare, hotel rooms, and meals. For a flat fee, the sellers will get a hotel suite in which to set up shop and meet with the buyers.
“The idea actually came from our members, who are exhibitors at trade shows,” says Dave Brull, director of marketing and membership at TSEA. “At industry trade shows, they typically do not walk the floor because they spend so much time on the trade show floor in day-to-day life. Their first two priorities are education and networking. So they needed another way to be able to meet with the suppliers in the industry.” Also, since they travel 100 to 200 days a year, they wanted something “short and concise that really gets down to business.”
TSEA is not the only industry association to introduce what is often called a hosted-buyer meeting. In recent months, IMEX, Reed Travel Exhibitions, and Meeting Professionals International have introduced hosted-buyer meetings. More.
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