Freeman-Zenus Wins the 2024 UFI Operations & Services Award

UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, has named Freeman-Zenus as the winner of the 2024 UFI Operations & Services Award.

The topic this year was: “Customer expectations & needs in 2024: Leveraging strategic partnerships or digital solutions to enhance customer experience.” It sought to recognise and celebrate innovative approaches to customer service that either fostered close cooperation with strategic partners and/or harnessed the power of digital solutions. In an era defined by rapid technological advancements and shifting customer preferences, this award aimed to highlight the initiatives and strategies that anticipate and fulfil customer needs proactively.

Stefan Eckert, Senior Vice President Services at Koelnmesse GmbH and Chair of the UFI Operations & Services Working Group declares: “On behalf of the whole Working Group, congratulations to Freeman and Zenus who shared with us their impressive idea to measure visitor sentiments. To better understand visitor behaviour and visitor expectations will be of essential value for the industry. With less visitors attending the shows, we need to focus on visitor quality and serve these high-value customers accordingly. To understand their behaviour creates the analytical basis for improvements.

"The Zenus and Freeman teams have been working collaboratively for the past few years, so we are excited and honoured by this distinction. This award will only reinforce and strengthen our partnership. Event organisers are under more pressure than ever to provide clear ROI to their exhibitors and sponsors. They can benefit tremendously from the actionable insights our ethical behaviour mapping technology provides," said Panos Moutafis, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO of Zenus.

“We are honoured to be recognised with a UFI Award for a digital partnership that helps event organisers understand attendee behaviour and exhibitor impact. By working side-by-side with Zenus, Freeman clients can measure their live events the same way they measure their digital marketing channels — total impressions, dwell time, and how show floors convert to key activities,” said Janet Dell, Freeman, CEO.

The jury also acknowledges the finalists for the quality of their projects: FFAIR for its project “Redefining the Exhibitor Experience: How a Revolution in Ops Tech Has Changed the Game for Exhibitors and Exhibition Operations Teams,” and RX for its “RX Compliance Shared Service Centre”.

The winner entry is available to view here on the UFI website.

The UFI Operations & Services Award, part of UFI’s annual Awards, recognises outstanding initiatives in the exhibition industry. These awards celebrate excellence across various categories, including human resources, industry partners, marketing, sustainability, digital innovation, and operations & services. 

The 2024 UFI Award winners will present their projects at the 91st UFI Global Congress from 20-23 November 2024 in Cologne, Germany.

Click here to learn more about the UFI Global Congress