Nov. 2 Business Show Will Put the Spotlight on Innovation

Countdown to the Expo

It’s a subtle name change, but a rather large adjustment in tone for what has become a fall tradition within the region’s business community.

Indeed, the annual show at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield is now known as the Business & Innovation Expo of Western Mass., and this change — the addition of that word ‘innovation’ on the marquee — speaks volumes about the business-to-business show’s new and expanded mission, said Kate Campiti, associate publisher of BusinessWest, which has managed the show since 2011.

“For more than 200 years now, this region has had an incredibly strong tradition of innovation in business,” said Campiti. “And that tradition has taken many forms, from new products to new processes to new ways of thinking about to how to meet the needs of a constantly changing society. That tradition continues today, and the Expo will make this abundantly clear.”

Elaborating, she said the Nov. 2 show, still very much in the planning stages, will be, in effect, a showcase of innovation and the many forms it takes in a changing, highly competitive business climate.

“Innovation isn’t just a theme for this event,” said Campiti. “It will be a compelling thread that runs through the programming, the educational seminars, the special presentations, and more. This will be a celebration of innovation in some ways, but, more importantly, it will be a powerful statement about how that tradition of innovation continues today.”

Once again presented by Comcast Business, the Expo has become a fall tradition in Western Mass., attracting more than 2,000 visitors and more than 150 exhibitors to the MassMutual Center.

As always, there will be a strong business-to-business component to the show, said Campiti, adding that the event provides opportunities for businesses to showcase their products and services, and for these businesses and attendees to make important connections.

But there will be an educational component as well, she said, and much of the focus will be on innovation and the many forms it takes.

“People tend to think of innovation as new-product development, and that’s a big part of it,” she noted. “But there is information in all aspects of business — from process improvement to how companies attract and retain talent; from the use of technology to make a business more productive and efficient to development of systems to not only generate ideas but cultivate them into advances; from how an emergency room handles peak traffic flows to how a bank safeguards its customers from fraud.

“Innovation is vital to the success of every sector of our economy, from education to healthcare to manufacturing,” she went on. “And the Expo will show innovation isn’t simply a watchword, but a philosophy, or attitude.”

In addition to Comcast Business as presenting sponsor, Inspired Marketing is the show partner, MGM Springfield is participating as corporate sponsor, the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst is the education sponsor, and the Better Business Bureau is a contributing sponsor. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available.

Details of the show will be presented in upcoming issues of BusinessWest and online HERE.

For more information on the show, to register, or to request information on becoming a sponsor, visit the website or call (413) 781-8600.