Real and virtual communities meet at September 25 show
Steven Rosato, director of BookExpo America – one of the largest and most important publishing exhibitions in the world – takes the stage at the 4th Exhibitionist
Milan, 24 September 2013 –Steven Rosato will be the main personality at the upcoming Exhibitionist, a cycle of meetings for exhibition and event innovators open to trade people and organized by Fondazione Fiera Milano jointly with Lombardy Regional Government, Milan Chamber of Commerce and Meet The Media Guru. With an innovative format, Exhibitionist aims to share innovative practices and thinking and look into winning models, share know-how and diversified expertise. The date is 25 September at 7.00 pm at MiCo, Milano Congressi, in the Green Room, with entrance from Via Gattamelata, 5.
Steven Rosato has been the director of BookExpo America since January 2010: over recent years, as he stated himself, “We have taken the exhibition contents to create active communities 365 days a year and have introduced BookExpo to a new public, which is essential for its future”.
Steven Rosato’s skills lie in his being able to grasp all the ins and outs of the publishing sector and to identify and involve new people and influencers who didn’t even exist until a few years ago, but which the publishing industry and a premier showcase cannot ignore these days. The ability to adapt to change is essential and applies universally, not just to book fairs.
BookExpo’s initiatives aim to aggregate real communities in a physical place. Examples are the publishing industry which has always met at exhibitions, and communities, that started out as virtual, which are given the opportunity to meet and talk in a real context. The cross fertilization of these seemingly distant worlds creates new opportunities for exhibitions and for the production sector that lies behind them.
A first example here is the acquisition of the Book Blogger Convention: launched in 2010 as an independent event, in 2011 it was held at the same exhibition complex that hosts BookExpo and in 2012 was purchased by Reed Exhibitions, the organizer of BookExpo, which included it in the exhibition program. In order to increase the appeal of the exhibition, a working partnership was set up with the International Digital Publisher’s Forum, which is also hosted inside the exhibition.
A new initiative this year is the first Publishing Hackathon: a creative marathon for young software developers, designers and entrepreneurs who worked on coming up with digital solutions for the dissemination and accessibility of books: after 36 hours of creative ferment, the finalists were selected to present their projects at BookExpo. The winners received a $10,000 check and a lunch meeting with a venture capitalist.
The last appointment in this first cycle of Exhibitionist will be on 27 November when the Exhibitionist Award 2013 will be awarded to the best stand installation for the year. A worthy tribute to the companies that continue to make exhibitions beautiful with their multimedia, traditional, large or small, and sustainable installations. The contestants can be fitters, exhibitors and exhibition organizers who have set up a stand at an Italian exhibition complex between 1 January 2012 and 30 June 2013; the award is divided into three categories: small stands measuring up to 32 sq.m, average ones measuring up to 112 sq.m and large spaces of more than 112 sq.m. The first three in each category will be selected. The winners of the Best Exhibitionist Award 2013 will be announced at an awards ceremony during the BEA, Best Event Award for the best event which has reached its 10th session and is organized by the ADC Group. Those wishing to take part in the Exhibitionist Award competition should enroll in the Events Annual, complete the technical form and return it no later than 30 September 2013.
For further information:
u.stampa@fondazionefiera.it
www.fondazionefieramilano.it