Informa’s Live Events Grow 7.6% Despite ME Event Rescheduling

Welcome to the latest edition of Snöcap.

Informa’s B2B Live Events division grew underlying revenue by 7.6% in the first five months of 2026, despite rescheduling more than 15 brand events because of conflict in parts of the Middle East. The company has reaffirmed its full-year earnings guidance.

In peer-to-peer marketing-related news, Snöball has released a library of 67 variables built to personalize event marketing referral campaigns across emails, landing pages and social shares. Scroll down for the full stories.

Here are the full headlines from this week’s roundup:

Get the full stories below:

Informa’s Live Events Division Delivers 7.6% Growth Despite Middle East Event Rescheduling

Informa’s B2B Live Events division reported underlying revenue growth of 7.6% in the first five months of 2026, even as the company rescheduled more than 15 brand events due to ongoing conflict in parts of the Middle East, according to a trading update published June 18 to coincide with the company’s annual general meeting.

Group-wide, Informa (LSE: INF.L) reported underlying revenue growth of 6.4% for the five months ended May 31, excluding non-recurring data access contracts, with both its Academic Markets and B2B Live Events businesses contributing to the gain.

Stephen A. Carter, Informa’s group chief executive, said: “The depth and breadth of Informa’s portfolio, both geographically and by market category, continues to deliver growth, international expansion and product and brand innovation.”

He added: “We have momentum in both our businesses, B2B Live Events and Academic Services, and are reconfirming full year earnings guidance.”

Key figures from the update:

• Group underlying revenue growth of 6.4% for the five months to May 31.
• B2B Live Events: underlying revenue growth of 7.6% over five months, with full year guidance of more than 7% and more than $1.5 billion traded to date.
• About 90% of the B2B Live Events portfolio, spanning the Americas, Greater China, ASEAN, Europe and parts of the Middle East and Africa region outside conflict zones, posted strong growth. The remaining 10%, tied to markets directly affected by conflict, is showing returning growth.
• More than 15 brands have been rescheduled within 2026, and Informa has deferred a number of new 2027 launches, including events in food, interior security, health technology and manufacturing.
• Full year group revenue visibility stands at more than $4bn, traded, booked or visible through subscriptions, recurring revenue and forward booked contracts.

Informa said it would provide a further update at its interim results on July 30, five weeks ahead of two major rescheduled 2026 events, LEAP in Riyadh and Middle East Energy in Dubai.

Snöball Unveils 67 Ways to Personalize Event Marketing Referral Campaigns

Snöball has introduced a library of 67 dynamic variables built to personalize event marketing referral campaigns across emails, landing pages, social shares and the company’s campaign widget.

The variables apply across every surface a speaker, exhibitor or attendee encounters during a campaign, extending personalization beyond the social share, which is where most referral platforms stop, according to the company. Snöball said campaigns built on the library convert at an average of 31.9% share-to-signup.

Inside the campaign widget, text fields, graphics and calls to action are personalized before a participant creates a share.

Each speaker, exhibitor or attendee can also receive a personal landing page featuring a headshot or logo, bio, booth number, session schedule and a recorded video. Exhibitors can add product or service descriptions and booth promotions to their page. Each page carries a registration link unique to that advocate, so signups trace back to the person who drove them.

Referral campaign emails sent to registrants include tracked links and custom fields tailored to each recipient. Share cards display names, sessions, booth numbers and codes formatted for the social channel where they are posted.

One variable lets organizers ask speakers and exhibitors an open question about their participation. Their answer becomes the opening line of every share they send.

Snöball said its team manages the variable library directly for clients, walking them through which variables apply to a given campaign and how the personalization layer connects to conversion tracking.

ELX and Augeo Experience Publish New Whitepaper on How Organizations Are Building Experience Ecosystems

Event Leaders Exchange (ELX) and Augeo Experience have published a new whitepaper, “From Events to Ecosystems: How Enterprise Organizations Are Navigating Scale, Strategy and Impact,” examining how enterprise organizations are restructuring event programs into coordinated systems rather than standalone activities.

The paper draws on a series of executive roundtables convened by ELX and Augeo Experience with experience leaders across industries. It includes perspectives from 12 named contributors and five additional leaders who took part anonymously.

One section looks at centralization, framing it as a source of credibility for event teams rather than simply a way to cut costs or duplicate effort.

A separate section addresses budget scrutiny, describing a shift among leaders toward portfolio level investment decisions instead of defending individual events. Fiona Richardson, senior manager of audience engagement and events at Siemens, said: “Events are probably one of the places [leaders] look to first when they want to cut costs… if you’ve got a center of excellence and a strategy… you can stand behind what you’re presenting.”

The report also addresses measurement, noting that the outcomes leaders find hardest to track, including relationship building and peer interaction, are often the ones tied most closely to long-term value. Martin Butler, senior director of enterprise events at T-Mobile, said: “What we’ve learned is that content doesn’t always move the needle. What moves the needle is our attendees, and their exposure to other attendees.”

On change management, the paper describes resistance to standardized systems even when the strategy behind them is sound. Amanda Gonzalez, vice president of events at Vista Equity Partners, said: “When [other stakeholders] were part of the process, I saw a shift. It felt less like I’m doing this to you and more like you’re doing this with me.”

The final section outlines what progress looks like as programs mature, pointing to portfolio visibility and calibrated guardrails over rigid mandates. Joan Wells, president of Augeo Experience, said: “There has been a lot of focus on visibility – and that’s still a big and important piece of the work.”

dmg events and Koelnmesse Join Forces to Launch New F&B Event in Africa

dmg events and Koelnmesse, the organizer of Anuga in Cologne, Germany, will launch Anuga Select South Africa, a trade event for the continent’s food and beverage industry, from June 22 to 24, 2027, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in Cape Town, South Africa.

The event grows out of the Africa Food Show, formerly known as Africa’s Big 7, and brings the Anuga brand to South Africa for the first time, organizers said.

Key figures behind the launch:

• Anuga Select South Africa runs June 22-24, 2027, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
• This year’s Africa Food Show saw visitor registration double from the prior edition.
• Participants came from more than 36 countries, including China, India, Germany, Brazil, Poland and Pakistan.
• Africa’s food and agribusiness market is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030, organizers said, citing population growth, urbanization and consumer demand.

The event will operate as a business-to-business platform, connecting international suppliers, regional manufacturers, distributors and retailers with hospitality buyers over three days of sourcing and networking across the food and beverage value chain.

Organizers said Cape Town’s retail networks and infrastructure make it a gateway for companies entering African markets. Buyers are expected from supermarkets, distributors, food service companies, hotels, restaurants, importers, exporters and e-commerce grocery platforms.

Exhibitors will represent sectors including fine food, dairy, meat and poultry, frozen food, fresh produce, bakery, beverages, ingredients, food technology, packaging and hospitality solutions.

DWTC Teams Up With -45db to Introduce Quieter, Private Meeting Spaces Across Its Venues

Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) and -45dB, a provider of sound-reduced modular structures, have announced a partnership to introduce meeting pods and private spaces across DWTC venues, including Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) and Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC).

The structures are designed to reduce sound by up to 45 decibels, according to the companies, allowing for private meetings, content production and business discussions inside exhibition and event settings.

The range spans compact meeting pods to modular structures that can be configured into conference rooms and breakout spaces. The installations are delivered as turnkey units requiring minimal on-site construction.

Under the agreement, -45dB will work directly with organizers and exhibitors to deliver and install the solutions. DWTC will support commercial promotion of the offering across its sales channels and event portfolio.

The companies said the modular design aligns with DWTC’s sustainability priorities, with materials and construction intended to reduce environmental impact.

Mahir Julfar, executive vice president at Dubai World Trade Centre, said: “As the scale and complexity of global events continues to evolve, the way we design and deliver event environments must evolve with it. The partnership with -45dB underscores DWTC’s commitment to elevating the quality of engagement within our venues, while embedding sustainability more meaningfully into the event lifecycle. Their modular technology enables our exhibitors and organizers to deliver high-performance meeting and conference environments that integrate into live exhibition settings. As we continue to expand the scale and ambition of our venues, we are focused on advancing more sustainable event infrastructure across the global MICE industry.”

The companies linked the partnership to the UAE’s Net Zero 2050 Strategy.

Who is hiring?

AVEVA | Senior Executive Engagement Manager

Disney Meetings & Events | Event Consultant

FIRST | VP, Account Management

Emirates Group| Events Specialist

Sierra | Producer, Events & Experiences

Gofundme | Senior Marketing Events Manager