Emerald’s new magazine Sightline partners with Snöball for marketing

Happy Friday everyone! We are back with Snöcap – a lot of event stories for this week. Let’s see which ones made the waves!

Big news: Emerald’s new magazine Sightline has partnered with Snöball to help amplify its content across the experiential marketing community. Sightline, which launched in September last year, is dedicated to face-to-face marketers and brand experience creators – and now readers will be able to share articles, podcasts, and insights directly through Snöball’s peer-to-peer marketing tools.

This partnership is a perfect example of how publications are embracing P2P to build authentic communities around their content. Speaking of which…

In the latest edition of Trade Show Executive Magazine, peer-to-peer marketing – and Snöball as one of the leading P2P vendors – has been highlighted among the top event technology trends for 2026. Read more about both stories below.

Meanwhile, here are all the headlines from our weekly recap:

Get the full stories below:

Emerald’s new magazine Sightline partners with Snöball for marketing

Emerald has partnered with Snöball to promote its new magazine Sightline, which launched in September targeting face-to-face marketing professionals and brand experience creators.

The partnership will enable Sightline to distribute its content through Snöball’s peer-to-peer marketing solutions, allowing readers to amplify articles, podcasts and other magazine content across multiple social media channels.

Sightline serves as both a publication for experiential marketers and a tool for advertising Emerald’s services to clients in its ecosystem. The event organizer runs brands including MJBizDaily, Hospitality Design and Shop Eat Surf Outdoor, and hosts events ranging from Pizza Today and International Fastener Expo to luxury fashion show Couture.

The quarterly magazine is distributed primarily as an e-magazine through email, with a 48-page print version available at select Emerald events. The publication takes its name from line-of-sight rules enforced at trade shows that prevent exhibitors from blocking neighbors’ visibility.

Sightline features interviews with industry leaders, case studies and marketing playbooks contributed by experts in experiential marketing.

Peer-to-peer marketing and Snöball highlighted among 2026 event tech trends by Trade Show Executive Magazine

Trade Show Executive Magazine has featured Snöball as a leading peer-to-peer marketing platform in its 2026 Technology Trends article, highlighting how the solution helps event organizers transform stakeholders into brand ambassadors.

The article highlights how peer-to-peer marketing is emerging as a driver of attendee acquisition and community building as the events industry adopts technology that enables organic content sharing among participants.

“We leverage everybody who’s part of the event and help them become ambassadors. Immediately after you register, you’re going to see a social sharing widget that gives you an opportunity to post it to whatever channel you want to share it to,” said Rachel Stephan, CEO and Founder at Snöball. “We’re one of the only platforms that gives the audience an option of 17 different social channels they can pick from. Although they’re not going to share to all of them, it’s essential because depending on the region and depending on the event, people tend to use different social channels.”

The magazine noted that peer-to-peer sharing creates communities where stakeholders see value in their participation and are more likely to spread the word while building their own brands as event ambassadors.

Trade Show Executive reported that peer-to-peer social sharing drives measurable increases in traffic to event websites and registration pages. The publication cited how social toolkits, sample invites and ready-made graphics reduce friction for exhibitors, speakers and attendees who want to share event information with their networks.

AEO partners with uptakeAI to deliver AI training for event professionals

The Association of Event Organisers (AEO) has partnered with uptakeAI to provide AI training for event professionals throughout 2026, the organization announced last week at the AEO Forums 2026 at the Business Design Centre in London.

The partnership aims to give event organisers support to explore how AI can enhance their work while maintaining the human judgment required for events.

uptakeAI delivered training sessions across the sales and operations streams at the AEO Forums on Friday, Jan. 30. The sessions focused on building confidence using AI tools in ways that reflect the challenges of event delivery.

AEO members will have access to a program of AI training delivered by uptakeAI, including half-day workshops, editorial content and case studies based on event scenarios. The program will be supported by SUSY, uptakeAI’s AI learning and capability-building platform, designed to help event professionals build AI use in their roles.

SUSY supports teams across operations, marketing, sales and leadership. The platform enables organisers to apply AI to tasks from planning and logistics to content, commercial activity and performance analysis without requiring technical expertise.

Anna Golden, chief executive of the Association of Event Organisers, said: “Launching this partnership at the AEO Forums felt like the right place to start -focusing on how AI can be used in practice. uptakeAI understands the pressures organisers are under and brings a grounded, thoughtful approach to AI training. I’m confident this will deliver real value for our members.”

Lucy Pitt, co-founder and head of client services at uptakeAI, added: “I’m really excited to be working in partnership with the AEO, who are at the forefront of supporting and shaping the events sector. Through our work with organisations across multiple industries, we’ve seen that one of the biggest challenges isn’t experimenting with AI – it’s scaling responsible and effective use in a way that genuinely supports people’s day-to-day work. That’s exactly why we developed SUSY: to make sure AI empowers event professionals, rather than overwhelming them, as the industry continues to evolve.”

UFI opens 2026 awards, deadline May 1 2026

UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, has opened entries for the 2026 UFI Awards, inviting exhibition organisers, venue operators and service providers worldwide to submit their work for recognition.

The deadline to submit an entry is May 1, 2026.

This year’s six award categories were chosen by industry experts from the UFI Working Groups.

The 2026 award topics include:

• Digital Innovation Award: Creating Better Event Experiences through Digital Innovation
• People & Culture Award: Strengthening Internal Relationships and Collaboration
• Industry Partners Award: The Biggest Lesson Learnt: From Zero to Hero
• Marketing Award: Excellence in AI-Driven Marketing
• Operations & Services Award: Operational Excellence Under Pressure
• Sustainable Development Award: Best Carbon Reduction Initiative

The UFI Awards programme has been recognising practices and achievements in the exhibition industry since 2011.

The competition is free to enter and open to all exhibition professionals, whether or not they are UFI members. Organisations can apply in multiple categories, but the same project or show cannot be submitted for more than one category.

Chris Skeith OBE, UFI CEO and managing director, said: “The UFI Awards celebrate the powerful ideas, initiatives, and innovations from our global community. By showcasing these best practices, they encourage the exhibition industry to keep evolving, adapting, and building a more resilient future. They provide a unique collaborative platform, where members share their successes & approaches which inspire others to evolve, helping to future-proof their businesses and our industry.”

IAEE’s Expo!Expo! achieves EIC’s gold level certification for sustainability

Expo! Expo! IAEE’s Annual Meeting & Exhibition 2025 has achieved Gold Level Certification to the Events Industry Council’s Sustainable Event Standards, the International Association of Exhibitions and Events announced.

Expo! Expo! previously achieved Silver Level Certification for its 2024 and 2023 events and Bronze Level Certification for its 2022 event.

Marsha Flanagan, M.Ed., CEM, IAEE president and CEO, said: “Achieving Gold Level Certification reflects IAEE’s long-term commitment to continuous improvement and to embedding sustainability into every aspect of our event strategy. This milestone represents years of intentional progress and disciplined execution, guided by the EIC Sustainable Event Standards. As the exhibitions and events industry continues to evolve, we believe responsible, transparent practices are essential to delivering value for our members, partners and the broader community.”

The EIC Sustainable Event Standards were created through a process with participation from subject matter experts in all sectors. They provide a framework for collaboration and a focus on guidance and metrics so that event professionals at all stages of their sustainability journey have the support needed to implement and measure practices.

The standards specify performance criteria in the areas of organizational management; marketing; communications and engagement; climate action; water management; materials and circularity; supply chain management; diversity, equity and inclusion; accessibility; and social impact. To date, more than 300 professionals have participated in the review of the standards. The event organizer standard is one of several standards for events.

Amy Calvert, EIC president and CEO, congratulated Expo! Expo! on its accomplishment and said: “IAEE’s achievement reflects the power of sustained commitment to the EIC Sustainable Event Standards. Their continued progress over multiple years demonstrates how organizations can use the standards to drive meaningful environmental and social impact while delivering high-quality, impactful events.”

The Alliance for Audited Media, a not-for-profit auditing organization, performed the independent third-party certification of the event’s compliance with the Event Organizer standard.

ECA Legislative Action Day to be held on May 28, 2026

The Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA) will hold its annual Legislative Action Day on Thursday, May 28, 2026, in Washington, D.C., the organization announced.

ECA Legislative Action Day 2026 will bring industry leaders and advocates from across the U.S. and around the world to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress and congressional staff in support of ECA’s 2026 public policy priorities.

Last year, 170 industry stakeholders from 30 states joined ECA for a day of advocacy, engagement with federal policymakers and networking opportunities.

Fernando Fischer, chair of the ECA Board of Directors and president, Americas for RX, said: “ECA Legislative Action Day is more than a day on Capitol Hill — it’s a live demonstration of the power of in-person events and what can be achieved when our industry comes together with a shared purpose. Exhibitions and conferences fuel economic growth, support millions of jobs, and strengthen small businesses nationwide — and when we bring our industry to Washington, D.C., we’re not just telling that story, we’re showing it. This event gives us a powerful opportunity to bring that story directly to our elected officials and help inform the policies that will shape our future.”

ECA Legislative Action Day will be held in conjunction with Lippman Connects’ Exhibition and Convention Executives Forum, which will take place on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. For 25 years, ECEF has convened association and independent event executives for insights, relationship-building and technology demonstrations.

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