Illuminate at NeoCon Opens the Door to a Broader Audience
CHICAGO — When was the last time you attended a lighting event, looked around the room, and realized you did not know most of the people there?
Better yet, when did that make you feel good?
That was my experience at Illuminate at NeoCon.
I recognized nearly all of the exhibitors, speakers, and educators. However, most of the attendees I encountered were strangers. For the lighting industry, that may have been the most encouraging sign of all.
Breaking Out of the Echo Chamber
For decades, our industry has wrestled with the same challenge: How do we reach a broader audience?
I can remember sitting in IES strategic planning sessions decades ago and discussing ways to expand our reach. We often talked about finding new audiences and engaging people beyond the lighting community.
Yet many lighting events still attract the same familiar faces.
Illuminate at NeoCon takes a different approach.
By bringing lighting manufacturers, designers, and educators directly to interior designers, architects, facility professionals, and workplace decision-makers, the event opens the door to a much larger audience. While that audience may be less technical than a traditional lighting crowd, it represents many of the people who influence specification decisions every day.
In short, the industry spent less time talking to itself and more time talking to customers.
Exhibitors Report Strong Value
Almost every exhibitor I spoke with expressed satisfaction with the event. Mike Merritt and Brian Maite of ALW told EdisonReport they have already decided to return in 2027.
“This show is actually less expensive than many agent shows we attend, and the return has been very valuable,” Brian said. The conversation soon turned to one of the show’s biggest advantages: access to people who do not typically attend lighting-specific events.
“Illuminate at NeoCon helps us see the other 85% of people that specify our products that you don’t normally have access to,” Mike said.
That comment may capture the show’s value better than any attendance statistic.
A Different Kind of Trade Show Experience
Not everyone found the transition easy.
Several longtime lighting exhibitors admitted the show pushed them outside their comfort zone.
At a traditional lighting event, attendees often arrive looking for specific manufacturers and products. At NeoCon, exhibitors had to work harder to start conversations. As people walked by, they needed to engage them and explain why lighting mattered to their projects.
One industry friend said the experience made them feel like a rookie attending their first tradeshow.
That challenge may have been uncomfortable for some, but it was also refreshing. It forced exhibitors to communicate with a broader audience and explain the value of lighting in simple, relatable terms.
National Media Takes Notice
The energy extended beyond the show floor.
The press room stayed busy throughout the event. Four journalists from Wirecutter attended, along with contributors from Forbes, Inc., Time, the Chicago Sun-Times, and Crain’s Chicago Business.
That level of media interest is significant. It exposes lighting and design conversations to audiences well beyond the industry’s traditional publications.
A Promising Beginning
Every new event faces questions about attendance, relevance, and long-term viability. Based on the conversations I had throughout the week, Illuminate at NeoCon answered many of those questions.
The event introduced lighting manufacturers to new audiences. It encouraged exhibitors to engage with specifiers they rarely meet. It generated interest from mainstream media. Most importantly, it created conversations that would not have happened at a traditional lighting show.
For a new “show within a show,” Illuminate at NeoCon delivered a remarkably strong debut.
And perhaps its greatest achievement was simple: it brought many new people into the conversation: strangers who became friends!
Go Deeper:
More Than Illumination: ArtLifting Explores Light, Art and the Brain
Avi Mor: Why Great Lighting Design Intent Fails