Society of Independent Show Organizers - SISO

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Society of Independent Show Organizers - SISO The voice of the for-profit show organizer We hold 2 conferences annually, the SISO CEO Summit in Spring and the SISO Summer Conference held in August.

21/05/2026

A Note From the CEO

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! I hope you all have something special planned, even if it might be to “do nothing”, which is also an admirable pursuit.

Registration for the Leadership Conference opened this week, and we’ve already seen a couple of members sign up multiple team members.
The conference was built after significant discussions and feedback from several members.

Some quick thoughts about the conference—

Multi-disciplinary approach—sessions that will appeal regardless of one’s organizational role

Planned serendipity—our breaks will divide between “white space” and more directed/structured networking

Update on the market as a whole—the $3billion that’s been spent over the last couple of weeks has people asking what’s next—we’ll provide some perspective.

Cost does matter—and it matters a lot—and it’s only getting worse—we’ll have a session focused on cost-containment approaches.
Political uncertainty and its impact on international attendance
A look at organic growth—not launches, not acquisitions, but true organic growth.

Why trends in consumer shows resonate for B-to-B events
AI from a variety of angles, as well as sessions on emergency preparedness, and lots on marketing expertise.

I’ll cover a lot more over these next few weeks. I wanted to share our approach. I think of our challenges to optimize events in three ways: Planning/Design, the Campaign, and the Delivery of superior results. Our Leadership Conference hits on all these.

I often say the purpose of planning is not to produce plans but to produce results. That’s my take on the Leadership Conference.

Contact [email protected] to get your registration credentials, and [email protected] to sponsor. Remember, the first member attends for free as a member benefit.

Regional Member meetups are planned in London on June 10th and New York City during Fanatics Fest (member event) on July 16th. We’ll likely announce another at the San Diego Food & Wine Festival (member event) in November.

Our Founders calls were postponed at the request of a few participants who had very busy event schedules these last two weeks. Expect an invite to be sent next week.

Legislative Action Day immediately follows next week’s ECEF in Washington, D.C. I hope to see many of you at both—please come find me.

Bye for now,
Vinnie
[email protected]

18/04/2026

A Note from our CEO

Greetings from the Hot Zone of the Northeast!

I was in DC lobbying as part of US Travel this week, and returned home to Manhattan, where the temperature was about 10 degrees cooler at 85.

Some of you may have already downloaded the joint SISO, AEO, Collingwood benchmarking report; if you haven’t, you can do so here: http://go.pardot.com/e/1007212/026-events-benchmarking-report/4bbwj/740134359/h/0DtepxaMY06vJ4UqBxr_XlLP43rklEJy48BF7FPhX7s. There is a lot of interesting information, so please download it now.

I did hear from some of you, but we are restarting “owners calls”, the first one is scheduled for noon eastern on May 8. An official invite will be sent out soon, but do feel free to contact me if you would like to be included.

I’ve had several calls with organizers interested in helping frame the 2026 SISO Leadership Conference and offering great suggestions. I will have some larger group calls next week. There is still some flexibility and room for a compelling session idea. All the exchanges will have an opportunity as well.

Fastest 50 in Baltimore is up next. I will be interviewing an executive from one of our members, Angela Harar of Clarion. Still time to attend!

The focus of this week’s lobbying was to ask for assistance in making it easier for international delegates to visit the USA. I do expect our Legislative Action Day to have some similar and some enhanced requests. Do register if you have not already.

I can announce our first regional gathering. Thanks to Lance Fensterman, we will gather in New York during Fanatics Fest. The date will either be July 16 or July 17th. We will meet, Lance will give us a walk-through, and help us experience the event. If you recall, Mike Armstrong presented at last year’s Leadership Conference, and it will be interesting to experience Year 3!

More to follow soon, please reach out to [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected] should you need anything from us.

Are you ready for the digital marketing shifts that will define event growth in 2026?The landscape has changed: algorith...
26/11/2025

Are you ready for the digital marketing shifts that will define event growth in 2026?

The landscape has changed: algorithms are broad, attention is scarce and creative, commercial, and AI-led strategies are reshaping how events acquire and convert audiences.

In this fast-paced session, we’ll break down the digital trends that matter most for event marketers in 2026, including:

🔥 Memorable, Performance Creative That Wins
How bold, high-volume creative testing is outperforming traditional campaign approaches.
🔥 Commercial Marketing as the New Growth Engine
Everyone needs to be a commercial marketer with goals directly to revenue
🔥 Zero-Click Content That Drives Demand
LLM visibility builds attention, trust, and conversion in a zero-click world
🔥 Next-Gen AI in Digital Marketing
AI you can use today to scale personalisation, accelerate production and unlock new audience strategies

If you want to stay ahead of the curve and build smarter, more resilient digital marketing strategies for 2026, this session is essential.

📅 Tuesday, Dec. 16 | 11:00 AM EST
🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/g6vmFrWv

30/10/2025

A Note from the CEO on the CEO Summit

Over the next week or so, registration for the CEO Summit will open. The Summit is in Kiawah and begins on March 9th. Despite enduring “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”, in 2025, for most of us, it has been a very good year. In just the last month, I have been to several member events, IMEX America (https://imexamerica.com/newfron), and Trade Show Executive Gold 100, and this weekend I visited the New York City Jewelry & Watch Show by Palm Beach Show Group (https://palmbeachshowgroup.com/), where I was impressed by the energy of buyers and exhibitors. I also attended A Media Operator’s Summit (https://www.amediaoperator.com/amo-summit-2025/) and Bright Tower’s BrightFORWARD event (https://brighttower.com/). Everything I experienced convinces me that 2026 will be an exciting year on many fronts.

For SISO, this has helped frame the 2026 CEO Summit.

We are embracing and extending last year’s Innovation Imperative to this year’s Innovation in Action:

Reimagining Connection, Engagement, and Growth in the Events Industry

At the 2026 SISO CEO Summit, Innovation in Action will explore:

• Customer success - how face-to-face events are the leading trusted medium for our customers and how we are integral in helping them grow their business.

• Visionary organizers are using AI, data, and design thinking to elevate attendee and exhibitor value.

• Leading brands are activating their communities year-round through content, connection, and technology.

• Collaborative ecosystems — venues, suppliers, tech partners, and stakeholders — are redefining the event experience together.

Through keynotes, case studies, and engaging discussions, attendees will see innovation in motion — and leave with Actionable insights to turn creative ideas into scalable, repeatable success and be inspired to apply it immediately in their own events and organizations. Because in the B2B events world, the future doesn’t just belong to the most creative — it belongs to those who put innovation into action.

Expect to hear from the highest-rated speakers from previous years, as well as a significant number of first-time SISO speakers who are doing incredible things. I’ll resume weekly or near-weekly short staccato messaging, highlighting various industry issues and the CEO Summit, as well as some exciting new pieces at SISO to provide enhanced value to our members and sponsors.

The balance of 2025 still has many member events, and I hope to see you at the UFI - The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry Global Congress and at International Association of Exhibitions & Events - IAEE’s Expo Expo. At Expo Expo, Michelle Metter (https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-metter-89b7a25/) and I are sorting out a SISO meetup; details to follow.

As always, if you have attendee-related questions, [email protected] is your best source. If you haven't yet sponsored the 2026 version, you can contact [email protected]. I’m always interested in feedback and suggestions on how best to serve, [email protected].

Bye for now,
Vinnie

10/09/2025

Thanks to everyone who joined yesterday’s webinar on Surround Sound Marketing — and a special thank you to Heather Holst-Knudsen, CEO of H2K Labs, for her insightful presentation, and to Liz Irving, CEO of Clarion Events, for sharing her time and expertise!

Surround Sound Marketing: Engage Buyers Consistently
🎯 Still relying on one-off events to reach customers?

Enter surround sound marketing — a year-round, data-driven strategy that delivers the right message to the right audience at the right time and channel.

✅ Engage buyers early, often, and consistently.
This approach turns sporadic interactions into a seamless, multi-touchpoint experience.

Ready to amplify your impact and boost satisfaction?

10/09/2025

Thanks to everyone who joined yesterday’s webinar on Surround Sound Marketing — and a special thank you to Heather Holst-Knudsen, CEO of H2K Labs, for her insightful presentation, and to Liz Irving, CEO of Clarion Events North America, for sharing her time and expertise!

Surround Sound Marketing: Engage Buyers Consistently
🎯 Still relying on one-off events to reach customers?

Enter surround sound marketing — a year-round, data-driven strategy that delivers the right message to the right audience at the right time and channel.

✅ Engage buyers early, often, and consistently.
This approach turns sporadic interactions into a seamless, multi-touchpoint experience.

Ready to amplify your impact and boost satisfaction?

Mark your calendars and secure your spot early—space is limited!Join us for an event designed for industry leaders to co...
09/09/2025

Mark your calendars and secure your spot early—space is limited!

Join us for an event designed for industry leaders to connect, share insights, and shape the future of events. Expect powerful networking, actionable strategies, and thought leadership you won’t find anywhere else.

📅 Save the Date: March 9 -12, 2026
📍 Location: The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, South Carolina

07/08/2025

Update from SISO CEO Vinnie Polito which includes an apology

Hi—we are less than two weeks away and I must apologize for one thing. I think you all know I love white space at events and quite honestly, we don’t have enough of it in the program. I’d advise you to arrive early (change your flight) and/or stay up late to compensate.

We debated about looking to cut content and quite honestly the story arc of the conference would be impacted by losing any of the sessions. The good news is that you can earn 9.5 hours toward CEM recertification. You’ll see some of our highest-rated speakers back on stage (some even more than once), but equally importantly, you’ll be hearing from new speakers with a lot of interesting data and perspectives.

I keep returning to the Thursday content, which is remarkable. Michael Barnett InGo will make a compelling, data-driven case about the value of tradeshows, helping you drive revenue as early as August 22. That’s just one of several highlights.

M&A activity continues virtually unabated, but we’ll hear lessons from two very significant launches. Dana Teague and Michael Armstrong will share some fascinating insights around a launch (Dana) and a second-year event (Mike) that are quite instructive.

Absorbing an acquisition or being the absorbed acquisition is something many of us have experienced. Beth Cowperthwaite and Jo Dickson will share some of the good and the bad and provide some best practice ideas for you, regardless of the side of the acquisition that pertains to you.

Couple of my Wednesday highlights

Are you aware of the Annabelle Project? You will be. SISO Chair Miller FCIM and Warwick Davies have an interesting and inspiring session. You’ll want to sign up to be part of the Annabelle Project after the session for sure.

How about the session Why Inclusion is Good Business? Listen to leaders of the newly minted (renamed) Social Inclusion & Business Impact SIG giving you the business case that we all need. Don Pietranczyk, Melissa K Montes, and Raymond Rhodes are driving this successfully in their orgs, and you will learn how to do the same.

I’ll cover this in my next note, but Wednesday is also a big sales day regarding the acquisition of new revenue streams and using AI to drive revenue.

Safety and Security/Emergency Preparedness is also increasingly critical. Mike Carlucci has assembled a powerhouse panel to discuss.

I just checked the flights, and fares are still reasonable, and Indy is drivable from several cities (Chicago, Cincinnati, Louisville, to name three). This will be a great investment of your time, I promise. And if you need more white space while you are with us, I’ll stay up late to compensate.

Bye for now,
Vinnie

[email protected]

SISO—Society of Independent Show Organizers Members—From Risk to Readiness: Building Event Security That Holds Under Pre...
09/04/2025

SISO—Society of Independent Show Organizers Members—From Risk to Readiness: Building Event Security That Holds Under Pressure

Join us for an insightful webinar featuring top exhibition executives: Mike Carlucci, COO of Events Inc. - North America Events; Grant, SVP Operations at RX Global; Dan Donovan, Founder & Managing Partner of Statoscope/Ingressotek/Stratos K9; and Freddie Peterson, GM of Miami Convention Center. Don't miss the first SISO Security and Safety SIG webinar on Thursday, April 24, at 10:30 AM ET.

Registration is free, but please register in advance. Once registered, you'll receive a confirmation email with details on how to join the meeting.

Save your spot now here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/c5oma5q_SOOjfnG_aWTJHQ and invite your teams!

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Monday 09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 17:00
Thursday 09:00 - 17:00
Friday 09:00 - 17:00

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