Last month, I met with JoAnn Marshall (Executive Vice President), Mike Turnbull (Senior Vice President) and Rochelle Richardson (Vice President) at the IMC offices in Atlanta.
IMC’s acquisition of AMC continues to go well and is transparent. IMC has assumed and will continue the LIGHTFAIR management role previously held by AMC. It was the merger of two equals and the management teams are sharing best practices, which will help all of their 21 shows and markets staged in Atlanta, High Point, NC and Las Vegas, as well as in LIGHTFAIR’s annual east- and west-coast venues.
2019 will be LIGHTFAIR’s 30th anniversary and they have secured the Pennsylvania Convention Center—in which all space is committed exclusively to LIGHTFAIR over the event dates. Your humble editor has participated in 26 of those 30 LIGHTFAIRs and my advice is to start planning now. Those who begin planning in January will have a good show; those who start now will have a GREAT show.
Speakers’ interest in the LFI Conference continues to grow, so much so, that LIGHTFAIR extended the deadline by one week. LIGHTFAIR will offer a robust education and accredited 2019 conference program approved by the Management Committee for final release this Fall.
LIGHTFAIR Management tracks several metrics to forecast a show’s success and expects hotel reservations, exhibitor registration and attendee pre-registration to perform well. LFI Show Management encouraged me to spread the word to the industry to take full advantage of the opportunity to reserve your hotel now, as hotels will fill up quickly. Our experience shows that booking early can result in a hotel within close proximity of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Also, there are no major holidays or major events planned in Philadelphia known at this time that conflict with LIGHTFAIR 2019. The floor plan is filling up quickly, but there are some very good locations still available.
In addition, LIGHTFAIR is working closely with the convention management team as well as the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau and they expect friendly and efficient labor at the show. We heard great things in Chicago, where McCormick actually has an Exhibitor Bill of Rights. Stay tuned!
A few key dates to keep in mind for Philadelphia:
19/20 May: Pre-conference
20 MAY:
6:00 p.m. EdisonReport’s Lifetime Achievement Awards
21 MAY
8:00 a.m. LFI Innovation Awards
9:00 a.m. Show opens
22 MAY Best booth Awards Announced
23 MAY
3:00 p.m. Show ends
Plan now for a GREAT 2019 LIGHTFAIR!