From instinct-led planning to decision-grade event intelligence

When Gary Coombs joined IMEX as COO, the organisation was already collecting post-event survey data. The problem wasn't absence of data, it was reliability.

The data hadn't been captured in a structured or consistent way. There was no methodology that could be relied upon to connect a change made to the show with an outcome in the numbers. Reports were built reactively, when someone asked for them, rather than available continuously as a planning tool.

Internally, the technology stack had accumulated workarounds upon workarounds. People were working inefficiently, and the systems that were supposed to enable the team were instead blocking them.

The result: a high-performing show operating without the data infrastructure to understand why it was performing, or to confidently act on what could be improved.

"When I looked historically, I couldn't trust the data. It wasn't done in a structured way that I could rely on to say: I make this change, it's going to have this effect."

Gary Coombs · COO, IMEX

IMEX had been working with Explori for a number of years before Gary joined. What changed under his tenure was how the partnership was used.

Rather than treating Explori's post-show surveys as a reporting exercise, something delivered after the event and filed, IMEX began actively aligning the survey design to the specific initiatives they were working on. Questions were built around goals, not just general sentiment.

The shift meant the data stopped being retrospective and became part of the planning cycle. When IMEX wanted to test a theory, they put the question into the survey first. When they made a change, they built in the measurement to track its impact.

Explori's role evolved from supplier to planning partner. A distinction Gary draws clearly.

"We've reinvented the process. We've aligned the feedback to the goals of the things we've been working on, so then it becomes even more valuable."

Gary Coombs · COO, IMEX

The most significant change wasn't a single decision. It was the shift from reactive reporting to continuous visibility.

IMEX moved from building reports when people asked for them to live dashboards, refreshed throughout the day, accessible to everyone across the business. The philosophy was explicit: no one should be waiting for a Friday report to understand how numbers are performing.

That transparency changed how the organisation worked. Teams could see the same data. Decisions could be made faster. And when Explori's post-show findings came in, they were presented not to a small team but to as many people as could attend, because the insight belonged to the whole business.

The data layer also changed how IMEX communicates value to its own customers. IMEX now produces detailed analytics for exhibitors, combining movement data, meeting volume, and engagement signals, to help partners understand the return on their presence at the show. A direct response to what survey data showed exhibitors needed most.

That commitment to transparency extends beyond the IMEX team. Following each show, IMEX publishes a public-facing round-up of what the data showed, what changed as a result, and what they are continuing to work on. The Explori benchmark sits at the centre of that narrative, cited by name, with findings shared directly with the exhibitor and attendee community. It is a practice that drives consistently high response rates, because respondents can see that their feedback produces visible change.

Explori has measured experience and outcomes at IMEX Frankfurt and IMEX America across multiple show cycles, running post-event surveys across attendees and exhibiting partners, aligned to IMEX's specific strategic goals for each show. The managed service covers the full project: survey design, question architecture, data collection, analysis, and structured debrief. Findings are presented directly to the IMEX leadership team and fed into the annual planning cycle.

"Everyone has access to the same insights. We shouldn't be waiting for a report to tell you how the numbers are performing."

Gary Coombs · COO, IMEX

IMEX enters the next phase of its data strategy with something most organisations don't have: years of consistent, comparable data that can actually be interrogated.

The focus is shifting from collection to activation. How do you bring together Explori survey data, registration data, movement data, and meetings data, and ask the right questions of it? How do you give exhibitors better insight into what the show did for them?

AI sits at the centre of that next phase, not to replace the human relationships that define IMEX's shows, but to enhance them. To help attendees find the right people. To help the team ask better questions of data they've spent years collecting properly.

The partnership with Explori continues into the next show cycle, with survey design already underway for the upcoming IMEX America.