In this episode of Event Marketer’s Toolbox, hosts Chris Dunn and Dana Esposito sit down with Lee Ali, Founder of ExpoStars, to unpack one of the most overlooked drivers of trade show success: your people.

Companies spend thousands—sometimes hundreds of thousands—on booth design, technology, and giveaways. But as Lee makes clear, most are missing the one factor that determines whether that investment actually pays off.

👉 It’s not the booth.
👉 It’s the team inside it.

Drawing from nearly two decades of experience and global insight, Lee breaks down how exhibitors can rethink their strategy—from the ground up—by focusing on human connection, structured engagement, and intentional team design.

1. Your Booth Team Drives 85% of Your Success

2. Start with the Audience, Not the Booth

3. Not All Booth Staff Are Created Equal

4. Trade Shows Are a Performance—Train Like One

5. Vanity Metrics Are Killing ROI

6. The Real Skill Isn’t Selling—It’s Connecting

There’s a tendency in our industry to chase the visible: bigger booths, better tech, more traffic.

But this conversation is a reminder that real impact happens in the invisible moments—the conversations, the connections, the way your team shows up.

If you want better ROI from your events, don’t just upgrade your booth.

👉 Upgrade your approach to people.

👉🏼 Join us for more insightful discussions like this by tuning into 'Event Marketer's Toolbox,' where industry leaders share the tools, tactics, and trends driving success in the event world.

This Show is sponsored by Blue Hive

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In this episode of Event Marketer’s Toolbox, hosts Chris Dunn and Brendon Hamlin sit down with John Dubil, Chief Strategy Officer at Ice 9 Productions, for a deep, real conversation about what actually makes live experiences work.

This isn’t about gear. It’s not about bigger screens. It’s about how message, environment, and technology come together as one.

From 35+ years in the industry — spanning supplier, agency, and client-side — John breaks down what’s changed, what hasn’t, and where most teams still get it wrong.

1. The Medium Isn’t Supporting the Message — It Is the Message

The biggest shift isn’t technological — it’s conceptual.

Too often, teams treat creative, production, and tech as separate pieces. But the reality is:

• The environment is the communication
• The booth isn’t a backdrop — it becomes the brand
• Technology shouldn’t overpower the message, it should complete it

2. Late Collaboration Is the Most Expensive Mistake

One of the strongest points in the episode:

Bringing partners in late doesn’t save money — it does the opposite.

• Costs go up
• Risk increases
• Quality drops

Early collaboration allows:

• Better planning
• Smarter design decisions
• Fewer last-minute fixes

3. The Industry Moves in Cycles — But Relationships Win Every Time

John walks through the pattern the industry keeps repeating:

• Fragmentation → Consolidation → Fragmentation again

But regardless of the cycle:

• Talent follows culture
• Clients follow trust
• Great work comes from strong partnerships

4. Technology Has Become More Powerful — and More Efficient

There’s a common perception that AV and production are getting more expensive.

The reality is more nuanced:

• Technology has become more capable and more efficient
• The impact per dollar has increased significantly
• The real cost drivers are often venue fees, labor, and logistics

5. Live Experiences Still Win — Because They’re Human

Despite digital overload, live events continue to grow.

Why?

• Shared experiences increase emotional impact
• Human interaction drives memory and retention
• Energy and spontaneity can’t be replicated

6. Measurement Can’t Be an Afterthought

One of the most practical takeaways:

If you’re not measuring outcomes, you’re missing half the value.

• What actions did attendees take?
• What business results came from the experience?
• What should change next time?

👉 Great experiences happen when people, process, and purpose are aligned.

Not in silos. Not at the last minute. Not driven by tools alone.

👉🏼 Join us for more insightful discussions like this by tuning into 'Event Marketer's Toolbox,' where industry leaders share the tools, tactics, and trends driving success in the event world.

This Show is sponsored by Blue Hive

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In this episode of Event Marketer’s Toolbox, Chris Dunn and Brendon Hamlin sit down with David T. Stevens to explore a topic that is often misunderstood in the events industry: wellness.

But this conversation is not about surface-level perks.

It’s not about adding a massage chair to a lounge, offering goat yoga because it looks good on Instagram, or checking the “wellness” box because it feels trendy.

Instead, David makes the case that wellness is a business strategy—one that directly affects learning, engagement, retention, belonging, and ultimately, performance. From agenda design and nutrition to social connection and sleep, he explains how events can produce better outcomes when they are built around the way people actually function.

David, who calls himself a “20-year recovering corporate event marketer and planner,” now leads Olympian Meeting, which he describes as the world’s first wellness-first events agency. Their philosophy is simple but powerful: they do not produce “wellness events.” They produce corporate meetings, conferences, sales kickoffs, and incentive programs—while using wellness as the lens that drives stronger business outcomes.

What makes this episode especially valuable is that David brings science, practicality, and event experience together in a way that feels immediately usable. He breaks down how things like overpacked agendas, poor food choices, lack of recovery time, and weak networking design can work against the very goals event professionals are trying to achieve.

The result is one of the more thought-provoking EMT conversations to date—especially for planners, marketers, and brand leaders who want their events to do more than just look good on paper.

If you’re designing conferences, trade shows, sales meetings, or any kind of live experience, this episode is worth your time.

Listen to the full conversation, share it with your team, and ask yourself one simple question before your next event:

What is the real intention behind this experience — and are we designing it with purpose?

Follow Event Marketer’s Toolbox for more conversations with the people shaping the future of events.

👉🏼 Join us for more insightful discussions like this by tuning into 'Event Marketer's Toolbox,' where industry leaders share the tools, tactics, and trends driving success in the event world.

This Show is sponsored by Blue Hive

📅 Join us LIVE every Thursday at 12 PM ET on LinkedIn

Follow Us on LinkedIn and YouTube

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