IFES and IAPCO Expand Collaboration Around Sustainability and Workforce Development

Welcome to the latest edition of Snöcap.

SPOTLIGHT: Two of the exhibition industry’s trade bodies are betting that the sector’s biggest challenges, sustainability and a thinning pipeline of talent, are better solved together than apart.

IFES and IAPCO have renewed and expanded the Memorandum of Understanding they first signed, moving past a pilot phase into a partnership built around sharing content, speakers and research across their memberships. The logic is straightforward: IFES sees the exhibition floor, IAPCO sees the organizer and client side, and neither view is complete without the other. “Sustainability and talent development are challenges and opportunities that affect our entire industry,” said IFES Executive Director Gregor Bischkopf. Read the full story below.

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IFES and IAPCO Expand Collaboration Around Sustainability and Workforce Development

The International Federation of Exhibition and Event Services (IFES) and the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) have renewed their partnership, expanding it to include sustainability, education and next-generation talent development.

The renewal follows a review of the associations’ original Memorandum of Understanding. IFES and IAPCO will now contribute to each other’s annual programs and share sustainability knowledge across the event delivery chain, with IFES bringing exhibition production expertise, including initiatives such as Better Stands, and IAPCO contributing the organizer and client perspective.

The associations will also exchange experience on developing next-generation leaders, share speakers and expertise, and pursue joint initiatives. Both plan to share market intelligence and industry research to broaden their members’ perspectives across the events sector.

Gregor Bischkopf, executive director of IFES, said: “Our partnership with IAPCO has already clearly demonstrated the value of connecting different parts of our industry and learning from one another. This next phase will give us the opportunity to make that exchange even more practical. Sustainability and talent development are challenges and opportunities that affect our entire industry. By sharing the experience, knowledge and perspectives within our respective communities, we can avoid working in silos and create greater value for both our members and the wider events sector.”

Martin Boyle, CEO of IAPCO, said: “Partnerships are most valuable when they continue to evolve. Our relationship with IFES gives our communities an opportunity to understand more clearly the priorities, expertise and challenges that exist across different stages of event delivery. By strengthening our exchange around education, sustainability, research and future talent, we can bring together complementary knowledge and create useful opportunities for professionals across both associations to learn from each other.”

IFES and IAPCO said the expanded partnership reflects their belief that issues shaping the future of international events require collaboration across sectors, and that it builds on their established relationship to create value for their members and the wider industry.

Inside MeasureUp 2026: The Ideas Shaping the Future of Event Marketing

Event marketers gathered at MeasureUp 2026, Bear Analytics’ one-day conference on event data, held Sept. 2 at the National Housing Center in Washington. Snöball attended as a partner, with CEO Rachel Stephan joining a morning panel and running an afternoon workshop with Ian Davis, the company’s VP of marketing.

Megan Martin closed the morning’s ROI panel by previewing the afternoon session. “This was all foundational conversations. And then we’re going to apply all that in the afternoon with our learning labs,” Megan said.

The day opened with a panel called Show Floor Show Down, featuring David T. Stevens of Olympian Meetings, Carly Heideger of RX and Megan. The panel addressed a disconnect between how exhibitors evaluate booth purchases and how organizers structure rebooking conversations.

Joe Colangelo and Sean Wargo of Apogee Insights followed with a discussion on which data is worth collecting and how AI changes its value. Brian Scott, Michael Weisenburg and Scott Lock then addressed AI infrastructure, including security and permissioning requirements.

During the ROI panel, Megan said content remains underused as a measurement tool. She said increased AI-generated content online raises the value of authentic material, noting that “LinkedIn itself has the AI slop button now.”

Erin Lee, SVP of marketing strategy and growth at AdvaMed, described a campaign that began with the organization’s own staff rather than outside influencers. When a group of expected speakers became unavailable, Erin said the team turned to internal talent. “And I was like, who do we have? We have staff,” Erin said.

The resulting campaign, AdvaMed in Action, used Gather Voices to capture video and Snöball to distribute and track it. Erin said the campaign became AdvaMed’s second most successful, though she declined to attribute the results to any single factor. “There’s not one silver bullet,” Erin said.

Michael Hoffman of Gather Voices argued for peer-driven promotion over reach-based influencer marketing. “I don’t need Kim Kardashian to tell me to go to The MedTech Conference,” Michael said. He said asking someone to explain why they support an event changes their relationship to it: “When somebody articulates why they care about something, it changes how they care about it.”

Rachel discussed how shareable, trackable assets reveal referral patterns, including which channels drive the most engagement. She said dark social, including email, WhatsApp, Teams and private communities, ranks as the highest-attributing channel after LinkedIn. “That’s where they’re most trusted, because it’s in the close circle,” Rachel said. She added: “People are the number one growth channel after your website. Consider your people a distribution channel.”

In the afternoon session, roughly 40 marketers worked through what activating existing advocates would require at their own organizations. Participants said advocates consistently asked event teams to prepare finished assets rather than raw requests. Time was cited as an obstacle at every table, though further discussion pointed to a lack of clear incentive rather than time itself.

Attendees said advocates responded more to status and access, including expo passes and speaking opportunities, than to monetary incentives. One proposal, that exhibitors driving the most registrations get first choice of booth placement the following year, drew broad support and came from a table that included both an exhibitor and an event organizer.

On measurement, one table wrote a single question that summarized a common challenge: “Was the promotion because of the guide.” Written on a card, the note reflected difficulty in tracing whether promotional materials the team provided speakers had influenced their posts.

When asked where AI could help address the challenges they identified, no table said they wanted it to write social posts. Participants instead pointed to using AI to prompt advocates, turn event data into shareable recaps, and analyze results after the fact. Rachel had made a related point during the morning panel: “It’s all about trust. It’s all about people. And we’re here to amplify their voices.”

RX Names Design Leader Kýnan Antos as Global Head of UX

RX has appointed Kýnan Antos as its global head of UX, the company announced.

Kýnan will join RX on Sept. 16, 2026, and report to Alison Powell, RX’s global chief marketing officer.

Kýnan has spent 26 years in design leadership roles at companies including Microsoft, Amazon, Outreach and Medely. His work has centered on building customer-focused digital experiences and design systems that scale across organizations.

In his new role, Kýnan will oversee the customer experience and design of RX’s global websites. The position builds on RX’s ongoing investment in digital tools aimed at creating consistent and effective customer journeys worldwide. Kýnan will also develop solutions that can be applied globally while addressing the specific needs of individual events and their customers.

“Kýnan brings deep UX expertise and a strong track record of designing customer experiences at scale,” Alison said. “His appointment is part of our broader plan to make marketing more effective, valuable and faster across RX. Building on our recent progress, Kynan will help us create more connected and intuitive digital experiences, enabling customers to discover our events, understand the value they offer and engage with them more easily.”

“RX has a real opportunity to build on its digital capabilities and deliver even greater value for customers,” Kýnan said. “I’ve been impressed with the energy and ambition of the business. I am looking forward to working with teams around the world to better understand what customers need and make it easier for more people to discover and engage with our events.”

Informa CMO Jill Dougan on How AI and Audience Data Are Reshaping Event Marketing (TSNN Interview)

Jill Dougan, Group CMO at Informa, discussed how artificial intelligence and audience data are changing event marketing during an interview with Danica Tormohlen, VP of Group Content for Trade Show News Network, at the TSNN News Desk during Connect Marketplace. The conversation centered on Informa’s One Informa transformation program and how the company is bringing its brands, data and capabilities together.

Jill said marketing is entering a period of significant change driven by AI. “Marketing’s really changing. We talk a lot about AI, and I think marketing is really going to be impacted by AI,” Jill said.

Asked about the tools available to her team, Jill said the focus is not on adding more tools but on identifying the right ones. She said her goal is to streamline the technology that drives growth so marketers can engage audiences more effectively.

Jill also discussed the One Informa initiative, which is designed to integrate capabilities across the organization and improve the experience for exhibitors and attendees. “One Informa is really about how do we take all of those assets and really focus in on taking those to the next level,” Jill said.

On measuring success, Jill said commercial results alone do not tell the full story. She said KPIs need to capture customer satisfaction and value delivered, not just revenue. “If they don’t see value in it, they won’t come back,” Jill said.

New APEX Event Network Launches to Support Experienced Events Professionals

A new member-based organization, the APEX Event Network, has launched to serve experienced professionals in the events industry, reports the Trade Show Executive Magazine.

APEX targets professionals with at least 20 years of experience across events, meetings, exhibitions and experiential industries, along with service providers, destinations, venues and media serving the market.

The organization will offer career development and business-building resources, peer connections, mentoring, specialized education and pathways to new work opportunities.

Tim McGuinness, managing director of Sterling Advisory Group and chair of APEX, said: “Experienced professionals have spent decades developing knowledge, relationships, and leadership skills that are enormously valuable to our industry. APEX was created to make sure that experience continues to be valued and leveraged — whether through a new career opportunity, consulting, entrepreneurship, mentoring or another way of contributing.”

Additional details about APEX are expected to follow.

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