Explori Blog

International Confex brings together one of the broadest cross-sections of the events industry each year, from organisers and associations through to corporate teams responsible for increasingly complex event programmes. This year, Explori will be there with a clear focus: how event data can better support strategic decision-making. Across the industry, events generate huge volumes of feedback and performance data. But too often, that data struggles to travel beyond operational reporting into something leaders can confidently use to prioritise investment, justify decisions, or change direction. Our presence at Confex is centred on closing that gap. Grab your free Confex ticket Turning Event Data into Decisions Leaders Can Stand Behind At Confex, we’ll be exploring a simple but critical question: How do event teams move from measuring activity to enabling decisions? That question sits at the heart of many of the conversations we’re having with event leaders today, particularly those operating at scale, under greater scrutiny, and with growing pressure to demonstrate value clearly and consistently. Panel Session: Measuring What Matters 📅 25 February (Day 1) ⏰. 3-3.45pm 📍Brand Experience Lab On Day 1 of International Confex, Explori will host a panel-led session featuring Jonathan Dewe (Moody’s Corporation) and Charlotte Mist (Elsevier), two senior corporate event leaders responsible for large-scale, global event programmes. The session focuses on how event data is used in practice to support strategic decision-making, accountability, and stakeholder confidence at the executive level. Rather than surface-level metrics or vanity reporting, the discussion will explore: What senior stakeholders actually expect from event data Where traditional measurement approaches fall short How teams are building insight leaders trust and act on What it takes to create measurement foundations that scale across portfolios and regions Grounded in real-world experience, the panel will share candid perspectives on what works, what doesn’t, and how event teams are evolving from reporting activity to influencing decisions. Charlotte Mist Director of Global Events & Strategic Partnerships | Elsevier Charlotte leads global events and strategic partnerships at Elsevier, where she has reshaped how events drive audience insight, strategic partnerships, and business impact across a complex, international organisation. Her perspective focuses on: Designing audience-centric event strategies aligned to business and product priorities Expanding events beyond delivery into strategic partnerships and thought leadership Using data, frameworks, and reporting to guide investment decisions across global and regional teams Charlotte’s contribution draws on over 20 years’ experience transforming global event programmes to deliver clearer accountability, stronger stakeholder confidence, and measurable commercial outcomes. Jonathan Dewe Global Head of Events | Moody's Corporation Jonathan leads global event strategy at Moody’s Corporation and has spent the last several years rebuilding how event data is captured, structured, and used to support senior decision-making across complex, enterprise-scale programmes. His perspective focuses on: Establishing a common data language across fragmented systems Moving event teams from feedback providers to trusted strategic advisors Building measurement foundations that support automation, AI, and long-term scalability Jonathan’s contribution draws on his widely respected work on event data maturity, governance, and real-world application at enterprise scale, helping organisations turn event activity into insight leaders can stand behind. Join the Conversation at Confex Alongside the panel, you’ll find Explori team members from across product, customer success, sales, marketing, and our executive team on the show floor at booth EN6 on the Exhibition Pavilion, available for informal conversations about measurement, insight, and decision-making. This isn’t about demos or product walkthroughs. It’s about open, practical discussions with event professionals facing similar challenges, from reporting to senior stakeholders and prioritising budgets, to making sense of fragmented data across systems. If you’re attending Confex and thinking about how measurement supports the bigger picture, we’d welcome the opportunity to connect. You’re welcome to book a meeting with us here. Why This Matters Now As events become more central to commercial, marketing, and brand strategies, the expectations placed on event teams continue to rise. Measurement can no longer be an afterthought or a compliance exercise, it needs to stand up in the boardroom. Confex provides a valuable opportunity to step back from delivery and engage in that broader conversation. We’re looking forward to being part of it. Explori at International Confex 2026 📍 ExCeL London 🗓️ 25–26 February 2026 If you’re attending, keep an eye on the conference agenda for our panel session, or stop by at booth EN26 to say hello. Grab your free ticket here.

Today, sees the launch of Maxbi, our brand-new tool designed to empower corporate event organizers and exhibit marketers with a holistic understanding of their performance and returns from their participation in trade shows. We’ve created Maxbi to revolutionize the way exhibit performance is measured and optimized. By combining Explori's deep understanding of the exhibitions industry with advanced data analytics and reporting capabilities, Maxbi empowers exhibit marketers with actionable insights to make informed decisions about strategy and spend to drive the success of their exhibit programs. In developing the product, our team have collaborated with a working group of representatives from numerous prolific exhibiting companies, which included the likes of Cummins, Verizon, Bradley Corp, Formulaction and The Exhibitor Advocate, an organization that represents exhibit and field marketers. These organizations, who invest heavily in exhibitions, recognised the compelling need for a product like Maxbi to deliver structured, comparable data to deliver new intelligence for events professionals. Our CEO Mark Brewster explains: "With Maxbi, we aim to solve one of the greatest challenges both the trade show industry, and exhibit marketers face - measurement." “Our recent research shows that exhibitors’ inability to demonstrate event ROI to senior leadership is the greatest internal challenge after budget pressures. Whilst many senior leaders view trade shows as a valuable marketing channel, 30% are now unconvinced that they are essential. There continues to be a real friction caused by rising exhibit costs and the absence of data. This puts exhibit marketing at a real disadvantage when competing for budget with other marketing channels, which are often perceived to be more measurable.” Find out more about what Maxbi can do for you and your exhibit programs.

Event Leaders Exchange, an Explori-backed initiative, has announced the latest upcoming in-person event, ELX @ IMEX Frankfurt, May 22 - 23, 2023, where ELX members will reconvene to tackle pressing matters faced by the event industry and for immediate actionable measures to enhance their event programs. Corporate leaders will come together on Monday, May 22, from 1pm, for a half day of in-person discussion groups and collaborative learning sessions. Followed by an evening experience for the event leaders to relax and be inspired. And reconvene on the opening morning for more content rounding off at 1pm giving ELX members plenty of time to enjoy IMEX Frankfurt and connect with the wider industry. Founders and members of Event Leaders Exchange are calling for leading global event professionals to join them at ELX @ IMEX Frankfurt to unleash your event programs' potential through thought-provoking conversations and collective intelligence. Learn more about ELX@IMEX Frankfurt.

Industry-leading organisations come together to fuel new, invitation-only, global community of event leaders from the world’s largest brands Event Leaders Exchange (ELX), an Explori-backed initiative and The Opus Group, a powerhouse global agency network and partner for the world’s most influential brands, announced a new sponsorship deal that will provide ELX members with an agency perspective on experience design and strategy. ELX, an invitation-only community of global event leaders, strives to evolve and drive positive change within the industry. Facilitated by veterans Kimberly Meyer, David Kliman, Chloe Richardson, and Mark Brewster, the network is experiencing significant growth. The group consists of more than 60 c-suite global heads of events from such companies as Allianz, Cisco, Google, Siemens, T-Mobile and Walmart, who come together to share ideas, receive industry insights, solve problems, and engage in strategic, actionable conversations. The Opus Group will consult and collaborate with the ELX community throughout 2023. “We’re thrilled to be part of this community of global event leaders,” comments Kim Kopetz, President and Chief Operating Officer of The Opus Group. “Our agency network is built for the modern era of marketing, in which brands are looking to inspire action and drive change through events and experiences. ELX is composed of like-minded professionals, and we are eager to share and gain insights with this community.” The Opus Group will host a group discussion at the inaugural ELX Annual Congress, which takes place February 1-3, 2023, in Chicago, and, throughout the partnership, will engage with peers and share thought leadership in the ELX community platform. Chloe Richardson, Managing Director of ELX, adds, “When we launched ELX, it was the dream of the steering committee to partner with industry leaders. We’re thrilled to join forces with The Opus Group. Its team brings a wealth of experience and a positive reputation within the events industry. By having leading event partners on board, such as The Opus Group, we’re able to offer the community opportunities like never before to grow and support event leaders, continue to share insights, and ultimately look to better event programs across the world.” About The Opus Group The Opus Group is a purpose-built network with a shared mission: creating experiences that drive action for the world’s most influential brands. Across three industry-renowned, highly-awarded agencies, Opus Agency, MAS, and TENCUE, The Opus Group is a trusted partner for over 70 global companies, including the world’s most influential brands. To see the results our teams drive for Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, and many other global leaders, visit theopusgroup.com. *** Find out more about ELX - eventleaders.com

BPA Worldwide, a leading global assurance provider of media, technology, events and sustainability standards compliance today announced the acquisition of VSef, the global data format for the digital events industry. VSef was launched in early 2021, as a response to the rising uptake of digital event platforms and the increase in virtual event experiences. Its goal of creating a global standardized data format for digital events received backing from many world-leading organizers and platforms, including Informa Markets, Reed Exhibitions, Tarsus Group, Emerald Expositions, Clarion Events, Grip, Balluun, Notified, Swapcard, Accelevents, ExpoPlatform, and many more. Within a short time, VSef recruited the support of the event industry’s leading strategic partners, including the Events Industry Council (EIC), UFI, Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO) and International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), which were keen to assist in expanding the global reach of the initiative. The lack of data standardization was an issue simultaneously identified by BPA, which launched the Reporting Standards for Digital Events (RSDE) initiative with the support of its own working group. Over the next nine months, BPA and VSef began a collaboration with the goal of creating a single industry standard for digital events. Richard Murphy, President and CEO of BPA Worldwide, commented, “Digital events and digital components of in-person events are important elements of an event organizer’s portfolio. After levelling off after pandemic highs, we expect the digital channel to grow. The ability to gather, process, and share data efficiently is critical to achieving scale.” Murphy continued, “We want to recognize the excellent work of Explori and the VSef team to mobilize industry support and develop this data format. We are excited to take the lead and continue the journey. We will work with the industry associations and industry leaders to increase awareness, adoption and advancement of digital events, and digital events data solutions.” Mark Brewster, Founder and CEO of Explori and VSef, added, “The pandemic saw the formidable emergence of digital events and the positive effect that this has had on the digitization of the events industry both in-person and online. The platform market has developed more rapidly than it has ever done in the past. It became clear that a data standard for digital events was essential in enabling event organizers to have consistent data and insights across the plethora of digital event technologies used. “It has been a pleasure to work on such a progressive initiative for the industry,” Brewster continued. “Data is key to the evolution of the events industry and to ensure the betterment of our sector. Under Explori’s leadership, the VSef initiative was launched and now we believe that BPA is the perfect party to continue with this work into the future, drive awareness and increase adoption of common data standards.” David Audrain, CEO of ExpoDavCo and SISO, commented, “Data standardization is an incredibly valuable resource for all of the industry as it provides efficiencies, time and cost savings to both providers and users, as well as better quality data, which is the ultimate goal of all. The industry has been well served by the efforts of Explori in creating VSef, and we look forward to further success under BPA.” Next steps will be announced by BPA in the coming months, including a licensing opportunity for audit bodies to offer certification to the standard. To find out more about VSef visit www.VSef.io. To learn more about RSDE, please visit www.RSDEGlobal.org.