By Mary Tucker, Sr. PR/Communications Manager
Jennifer Hoff has spent her career producing trade shows and conferences since 1990. She launched a full-service event management company in 2014, Taffy Event Strategies. Prior to that, she worked with VP International and NTP to manage and launch new events in a variety of market segments. During her trade show industry career, she has received several industry awards and accolades.
Jennifer has chaired the IAEE Washington, D.C. Chapter and MATSO in addition to holding various IAEE national positions including on the IAEE Board of Directors and Education Committee. She has instructed the Introduction to Exposition Management course at NOVA Community College. Jennifer currently serves on IAEE’s CEM Faculty and the CEIR Research Council.
Jennifer has a degree from Virginia Tech in Production and Operations Management. Here, she shares how she and Taffy Event Strategies apply CEIR research to help meet their business objectives.
CEIR: Do you collect data at/from your shows and, if so, how extensive is your process? What do you hope to gain from it and/or how do you use the data?
Jennifer: We collect pretty extensive post-show data around the value of the event to the attendee and exhibitor, how much business is done, how much time is spent on the show floor and key KPIs such as NPS. We use the data to fine tune the event YOY. It helps us focus on what we need to.
CEIR: Which CEIR reports have you used to support your organizer client needs? For which purposes and how have they been used?
Jennifer: Definitely the CEIR Index Report information and attending CEIR Predict.
CEIR: When you are on the hunt for launching new events or acquiring existing properties, what CEIR research has helped guide these efforts?
Jennifer: CEIR data has helped us home in on markets that are projected to grow vs. remain flat, of course we want to target the former in acquisitions.
CEIR: Do you use other CEIR tools such as the Event Performance Analyzer or the Forecasting Subscription Service? If so, how has it helped?
Jennifer: We do use the Event Performance Analyzer as a gut check on how our shows are stacking up compared to others in the industry. Many of the association clients we serve really value that data for their board meetings.
CEIR: Where does the industry need to focus research efforts and/or to apply research available more effectively?
Jennifer: I think any insights we can gain on the changing needs and wants of our attendees and exhibitors are always important. How the value of a show is measured by our exhibitors post-pandemic.
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