International Association of Exhibitions & Events brought more than 1,700 event professionals together in Houston, Texas, this week for IAEE Expo! Expo! Annual Meeting and Exhibition 2025. Tech Evangelist Dahlia El Gazzar and TikTok sensation Kyle Scheele shared their expertise with the event’s attendees.
Planning major trade shows is an epic undertaking. That is why International Association of Exhibitions & Events brought more than 1,700 event professionals together in Houston, Texas, this week for IAEE Expo! Expo! Annual Meeting and Exhibition 2025. George R. Brown Convention Center was filled with discussions about how to rethink sponsorships to drive value and engagement, how Gen Z is shaping the future of tradeshows and AI that wows.
A wellness Lounge boasted BodyWorks massages, a quiet place to rest and refresh. A Sustainability Sanctuary set the stage for greener events with experts on plant-forward menus, zero-waste catering ideas, and tips for cutting travel emissions. Attendees were encouraged to purchase $5 carbon offsets for a positive net effect.
The Learning Zone was filled with event technology innovators sharing strategies for AI-powered registration, marketing and even creating a personalized theme song in minutes. “Tech should create awe, not anxiety,” said Tech Evangelist Dahlia El Gazzar, DES. She shared tips for building a tech stack that creates invisible magic and amplifies human connection.
Smart Meetings was in attendance and brought back these Texas-sized action items.
Start with a Crazy Idea
TikTok sensation Kyle Scheele made a name for himself by printing cheesy T-shirts, planning a viral marathon where no one ran and encouraged everyone he meets to pursue their crazy ideas. “Every person on this planet is born with gifts to give the world,” he said. That is until other people try to kill those crazy ideas. Don’t let them.
You also don’t need to blow up or even think outside the box to be creative. In fact, the box is a vital part of the process. “Constraints are vital.”
Read More: Unleashing Imagination: 5 Essential Steps to Transform Creative Event Design
Why? When you don’t have the team or resources or time, you are forced to find new ways to break through the noise and achieve a task. Many found they were stronger than they believed during Covid when they learned how to work from home overnight because they had no other choice.
In fact, being endowed with too many resources can lead to scope creep. Constraints facilitate focus and require resourcefulness. A lean team may find inspiration to foster collaboration with partners who can help fulfill the goal. “Creativity is a team sport,” Scheele said.
Because you don’t have time or budget to do everything at your citywide, you might dedicate an evening to local food at a ballpark to represent all the fabulous cuisine and venues in a destination. The singular particular experience contains the universal and will resonate more than a tour of five venues with meals at each one.
“Your job is to figure out what the real constraints are, which are constructive and which are constructive. Get rid of ones that don’t make the project better,” Scheele said.
Better often means original and in Scheele’s case, downright crazy. A minotaur bike for two that looks like a horse on wheels, a suitcase full of T-shirts mailed to a product buyer—anything that will surprise and delight.
A savvy meeting professional is always looking for the gaps—the Goldilocks solution that is between the extremes of too many emails and not enough information. Find the sweet spot.
