2024 Award Categories

Industry Icon 

• Criteria: Recognizes a leader with a long-standing, significant contribution to the trade show industry. Nominees must demonstrate visionary leadership, exceptional impact on industry innovation, and a legacy of mentoring and shaping the future of trade shows.  

• Considerations: Tenure in the industry, scope of influence, key milestones in career, advocacy for the industry, and contributions to industry growth and development. 

DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) Award 

• Criteria: Honors a trade show, company, or individual for outstanding efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. This includes promoting diverse representation, fostering inclusive practices, and ensuring equity in event programming and participation. 

• Considerations: Implementation of DEI initiatives, measurable impact on the community, leadership in addressing industry gaps, and successful strategies for making trade shows more inclusive. 

Sustainability Award 

• Criteria: Recognizes excellence in implementing sustainable practices in trade shows or events. Entries should show a commitment to reducing environmental impact and promoting eco-friendly solutions in areas such as waste management, energy use, and materials sourcing. 

• Considerations: Use of renewable resources, energy efficiency, carbon footprint reduction, waste reduction initiatives, and environmental impact tracking. 

Outstanding Show Pro of the Year (B2B & B2C) 

• Criteria: Celebrates an individual who has demonstrated exceptional professionalism, leadership, and innovation in managing business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) trade shows. They must exemplify operational excellence and successful event execution. One B2B and one B2C Outstanding Show Pro of the Year will be honored. 

• Considerations: Event performance metrics, attendee and exhibitor feedback, creative problem-solving, team leadership, and successful implementation of innovative solutions. 

Show of the Year (B2B & B2C) 

• Criteria: Honors the best B2B and B2C trade shows that have set a new standard for excellence in the industry. The winning shows should demonstrate exceptional attendee engagement, exhibitor satisfaction, and operational execution. One B2B and one B2C Show of the Year will be honored. 

• Considerations: Growth in attendance and exhibitor participation, overall experience, innovation in programming, measurable business outcomes, and feedback from stakeholders. 

Best Engagement 

• Criteria: Recognizes trade shows or events that have created outstanding engagement opportunities for attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors. This includes innovative use of technology, networking activities, and interactive experiences. 

• Considerations: Attendee interaction metrics, creative engagement tactics, quality and depth of networking opportunities, and use of engaging content and programming. 

Best Exhibitor Program 

• Criteria: Awards the most effective exhibitor program, recognizing efforts to enhance exhibitor experience, generate leads, and create value for participating companies. It should highlight creative exhibitor services, education, marketing, support, and engagement strategies. 

• Considerations: Exhibitor satisfaction, program ROI, service innovations, exhibitor retention, and the overall value provided to exhibitors. 

Best Use of Technology 

• Criteria: Recognizes a trade show that has utilized technology in groundbreaking or highly effective ways. This could include innovations in event apps, virtual experiences, data analytics, AI, and tech-based attendee interaction. 

• Considerations: Technological innovations, impact on event experience, attendee and exhibitor adoption, and creative integration of tech solutions. 

Best Design 

• Criteria: Honors the trade show with the most visually compelling and functional design. This includes layout, aesthetics, branding, and overall experience design that enhances the event atmosphere. 

• Considerations: Visual impact, creativity, branding integration, functionality, and the overall attendee and exhibitor experience. 

Giving Back 

• Criteria: Celebrates a trade show or organization that has made significant contributions to social good or charitable causes. This could include community engagement, fundraising efforts, or partnerships with non-profits. 

• Considerations: Impact on the community, scope and scale of charitable efforts, innovation in giving back programs, and long-term benefits to the cause supported. 

Best Marketing 

• Criteria: Recognizes excellence in event marketing strategy and execution. This includes creative campaigns, social media, email marketing, and overall efforts to attract attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors. 

• Considerations: Creativity, effectiveness in reaching target audience, metrics on campaign success (registrations, leads, awareness), and innovation in marketing channels and messaging. 

Best Community 

• Criteria: Honors the trade show or event that has built the most engaged, loyal, and vibrant community around its brand. This award highlights efforts to foster meaningful connections between attendees, exhibitors, and the broader industry. 

• Considerations: Community growth, engagement metrics, unique community-building activities, and ongoing interaction beyond the event itself.