Exhibit City News - January 2016

Exhibit City News

Giving Shouldn’t Hurt: Exhibition Industry Goes for Charity P. 34

JANUARY 2016 • VOL. 22 • ISSUE 1

[JANUARY] CES 2015 Considered ‘New World’s Fair’

[FEBRUARY] Las Vegas Convention Center to Expand Onto Famous Las Vegas Strip

CONVENTION CENTER ARCHITECTS

[APRIL] UFI Selects Winners of 2015 Sustainability Competition

November 2015 • Vol. 21 • Issue 6

[DECEMBER] IAEE’s Expo! Expo! Grows, Focuses

[ ALSO IN THIS ISSUE ]

What’s Happening Houston?

P. 54

US $6 CAN $8

Liverpool’s Exhibit Centre Sees the Light P. 72

Tracking Beacons at Events P. 66

EXHIBITCITYNEWS.COM

beMatrix

速

ar ter beSm Visit

USA

THE RENTAL SOLUTION

s

.u atrix .bem www r more fo ! ation inform

beDURABLE

beEASIER

beMODULAR

beFLEXIBLE ELECTRICAL

COST

ELECTRICAL ELECTRICAL

LABOR

LABOR LABOR DRAYAGE

DRAYAGE beMatrix

beMANAGEABLE

beCREATIVE

beMatrix速USA 4385 International Blvd | Norcross, GA 30093 USA T. +1 770 225 0552 | Toll free T. +1 855 605 1340 www.beMatrix.us

DRAYAGE Stick Extrusion

Custom

bePROFITABLE

beWIRED

DESIGNED AND PRODUCED BY

TRADESHOWS

PERMANENT INSTALLS

RETAIL INTERIORS

EVENTS

LABOR SERVICES

INSTALLATION DISMANTLE & SUPERVISION WWW.MOMENTUMMGT.COM 770.777.4100 CONTACT@MOMENTUMMGT.COM

• • •

• •

LED Armlights Our industry leading display Armlights offer a wide variety of lightweight, energy efficient LED units that are accepted in all major tradeshow venues. Whether you are interested in lighting artwork, a display board, shelving, or a pop-display in your store, LED Armlight’s are the brilliant choice.

120V Line Voltage (No Driver Necessary)

LED Lumastrip

Lumastrip LED Light Bar is an energy efficient, frameless, low profile lighting solution for your light box or graphic display. By simply placing these plug-n-play fixtures on the interior of any extrusion, Lumastrip will effectively showcase your graphic or product by evenly illuminating the entire display.

LED Ladder Lights The Ladder LED Backlight is our latest industry-leading backlighting technology. The Ladder is powerful, efficient and affordable. It is the most advanced and versatile lighting solution for illuminated signs, fabric displays, and general back-lighting applications. Contact us to find out how The Ladder LED is right for your project.

See us at the following shows:

Exhibit at EXHIBITORLIVE Feb. 29-Mar.2 2016 Mandalay Bay Convention Center Las Vegas, NV - Booth #1620 GLOBALSHOP Mar. 23-Mar. 25, 2016 Mandalay Bay Convention Center Las Vegas, NV - Booth #3951

800.822.8527 • 630 Terminal Way, Costa Mesa, CA 92627

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Exhibit City News

Giving Shouldn’t Hurt: Exhibition Industry Goes for Charity P. 34

54

JANUARY 2016 • VOL. 22 • ISSUE 1

[JANUARY] CES 2015 Considered ‘New World’s Fair’

Features

[FEBRUARY] Las Vegas Convention Center to Expand Onto Famous Las Vegas Strip

CONVENTION CENTER ARCHITECTS

22

EDPA Goes Global at ACCESS Association celebrates its 61st year [APRIL] UFI Selects Winners of 2015 Sustainability Competition

November 2015 • Vol. 21 • Issue 6

[DECEMBER] IAEE’s Expo! Expo! Grows, Focuses

28

[ ALSO IN THIS ISSUE ]

What’s Happening Houston?

P. 54

Liverpool’s Exhibit Centre Sees the Light P. 72

Tracking Beacons at Events

IAEE’s Expo! Expo!

Grows, Focuses

P. 66

EXHIBITCITYNEWS.COM

US $6 CAN $8

Show draws large international audience

Year in Review

30

40-53

ProExhibits Celebrates New Location and Future

A Look Back at 2015

Exhibit designer settles in Silicon Valley

Columns

34

12

Giving Shouldn’t Hurt Charities abound in tradeshow industry

As the Saw Turns Airline Pilots and Tradeshow Junkies

72

Liverpool’s Exhibition Centre Goes Green

13

The Green Piece

New UK facility adds solar panels

The Mother of Invention

14

Employment Strategy Corner Interviewing Style Can Be a Deal Breaker

In this issue 10 The Snapshot 76 People on the Move 89 Regional Show Calendar 96 Classified Ads 100 Service Guide

Corporate Profiles 80

Training Sets Chicago Regional Council Carpenters Apart From Competition

72

Contributing Writers 18

5 Budget Busting Habits Exhibitors Should Avoid

By Susan Ratliff

54

Houston’s Convention Upgrades Put Exhibition Attendees First

By Stephanie Annis

66

Beacon Technology Is Changing the Event Industry

By Panvista

78

Retail Experiences Are the New Client Cocktail Party

By Kara Walsh

6 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

ONE SOURCE

HUNDREDS OF DISPLAYS & SOLUTIONS 866.427.5717 | orbus.com

Banner Stands

Fabric Displays

Inline Exhibits

Outdoor Displays

Fabric Structures

Island Exhibits

Portable Displays

Hanging Structures

Unique Solutions

MASTHEAD

PUBLISHER’S WORDS

PUBLISHER Donald V. Svehla Jr. 702-309-8023 ext.102 dons@exhibitcitynews.com

Editorial MANAGING EDITOR Todd Peterson 702-309-8023 ext.111 toddp@exhibitcitynews.com

Greetings to readers everywhere!

A

s we look back at the highlights of 2015, and there were many, it is only natural to look to 2016 and ask the question: What does the New Year hold in store?

What important issues will surface?

Who will buy out whom? What new companies and events will be launched?

Will industry growth accelerate in 2016?

These are just a few of the thoughts we have as the clock pushes forward and waits for no one.

Future Trendsetters Over the last half-dozen years our industry has adjusted to the new norms that now dominate how tradeshow and event business is transacted. Although it’s still dominated by industry stalwarts, as more and more young people join our industry workforce (and bring with them

ART DIRECTOR Thomas Speak thomass@exhibitcitynews.com

new generational ideas), we can start to see a transition taking place. The younger generations are gradually taking the “industry reins” and whether they are aware of it or not, they are and will play increasingly more important roles that will determine what the industry looks like in 2020, 2025 and beyond.

Carriers of the Torch Although some of our industry associations offer formal mentoring programs… we can use more. Companies, large and small, formal and more often informal, are the ones grooming future generations of leaders and workers. They must continue to nurture and protect our industry to ensure our place in the future economy.

Many tens of thousands of families nationwide depend on the well-paying jobs and rewarding career paths our industry offers.

Until next issue be sure to keep up digitally at ExhibitCityNews.com.

Wishing everyone a healthy and prosperous New Year!

Don Svehla | Publisher

CSAL

CONVENTION SERVICES ASSOCIATION

AS VEGAS

8 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

COLUMNISTS Haley Freeman Phillip H. Kemper Jim Obermeyer CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AIPC Stephanie Annis Rod Cameron Andy Caruso Panvista Susan Ratliff Kara Walsh

Sales DIRECTOR OF SALES Kathy Anaya 702-309-8023 ext.105 kathya@exhibitcitynews.com CIRCULATION 702-309-8023 ext.100 kathya@exhibitcitynews.com

WE PRINT

7 DAYS

A WEEK. 6 LOCATIONS NATIONWIDE.

Your world is one that reflects who you are and what you stand for. We have earned a reputation for providing your world’s most life-like reproductions with uncompromising customer service.

Color Reflections Las Vegas gives the term “Full Service” a whole new meaning.

For more information +1-702-262-9300 or visit us at CRVegas.com

THE SNAPSHOT

Galveston Island Convention Center Photo courtesy of Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau Location:

Galveston, Texas Year opened:

2004 Square footage:

140,000 sq. ft.

Largest show to date:

Health Occupational Students Association (2,000 attendees, April 2013) Fun Fact:

The convention center overlooks the beautiful Gulf of Mexico and has a ballroom on the second floor.

PLUS! Where to eat, The view makes you feel like sleep and get wet you are on a cruise ship! near GICC on p. 74

Send in your Show Floor and Convention Center Snapshots to newsdesk@exhibitcitynews.com

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 11

COLUMN As the Saw Turns

Airline Pilots and Tradeshow Junkies

A

friend sent me an in just one winter season of article from Aviation operations in the NortheastWeek last month and ern U.S. Then, too, there are the title caught my interest. dozens of foggy nights in After reading it, I started which two or perhaps three thinking about it in terms of white lights masquerading as our industry. Here is the a runway beckon the pilot introduction: to land but allow a mere “Making timely and second to decide the correct decisions is fate of all on board. an important part of The real mystery many jobs, but few is how these pilots professions require seem to make these

By Jim Obermeyer this skill at the level split-second decisions of a pilot flying a large, transwithout all the necessary port category airplane. information in evidence.

“While it’s true that a sur“The typical business school geon’s decisions have a life and model of optimized decisiondeath weight to them, they are making requires a brainstormusually made dealing with one ing session during which life at a time and without the options—the more of them, split-second timing required the better—are developed and of a pilot during field takeoff considered. The evaluation and landing. Likewise, a police criteria are constructed so that officer may have to make a each option may be assessed, split-second decision, but prob- compared and prioritized. In ably only a few times throughthe end a solution is proposed out a decades-long career. that promises to be the best “By contrast, a pilot might possible choice after hours, face dozens of such decisions days or months of deliber-

12 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

ation. Pilots don’t have the luxury of such a process.”

And in many cases, neither do we in the tradeshow industry.

Sure, we start our tradeshow planning months ahead of the show. We work with our clients to set objectives, lay out plans and strategies for what will happen preshow, at-show and post-show, design an exhibit to fit the objectives, the show and the audience. We talk with all of our suppliers, train our client’s booth staff and assign our crew to be there. We advance order freight, labor, rigging, electrical, floral, furniture, audio-visual, catering.

And then we get to the show and all bets are off. Freight is stuck in the marshalling yard.

Electrical was laid in reverse to the plan. Labor shows up... but you didn’t say they needed to speak English. Furniture… what furniture order? Oh, and that big column right in front of your booth space that wasn’t on the floorplan…

Stuff happens. And just like when two or three white lights show up in the fog, it happens when you have no time to call in the brainstorming session and evaluate a dozen options and put it to committee vote.

You need to make it happen, and you need to make it happen right now.

Sure, there aren’t 150 passengers whose lives depend on the decision. But the reputation and success of your client, their company and your company are at stake. Not to mention your own career.

What causes people in these

situations to make the right decisions? A lot has to do with experience—either their own or that of others in their profession. And then there is the ability to “think on their feet”— to make quick “gut calls” based on the power of intuition.

Rather than deliberate over multiple options, a person with the necessary experience and intuition can immediately come up with a suitable course of action. It is most likely, quite literally, the first thing that comes to mind. Then the person need only evaluate the course of action with a simple question: Will it work? The article called it a “singular evaluation approach.”

You typically don’t have time for long evaluation, you need to solve the problem right now, because the client will be here later today and the show opens tomorrow morning. Call it “the sixth sense,” “the right stuff” or even ESP. Whatever you call it, intuitive decision-making with a singular evaluation approach —will it work?—is a valuable tool whether you are flying an airplane full of people or setting an exhibit that will soon be full of people. It is arguably the most important tool in your toolbox.

See you on the show floor!

Jim Obermeyer has been in the tradeshow industry over 30 years, both as a corporate tradeshow manager and exhibit house owner. He is currently a vice president at Hamilton Exhibits and can be reached at jobermeyer@ hamilton-exhibits.com.

The Green Piece COLUMN

The Mother of Invention

W

ho is more is often cited as one of innovative, best-known exama better ples of biomimicry. problem solver or And the product is kinder to the envicertainly a green one, ronment than Mother as it has a long life

By Haley Freeman Nature herself? When and can be reused it comes to designing countless times. products and formulating policies for industry applications, Solar there is no better teacher.

Numerous convention Biomimetics, or biomimicry, centers around the country is a term coined by biologist have implemented large-scale and author Janine Benyus to green improvement projects in describe a scientific discipline recent years, many of them imthat imitates the wisdom of plementing solar technology. nature to solve challenges in a The Orange County Convenworld of human construction. tion Center (OCCC) in OrlanLet’s consider a few indo is an LEED gold facility stances where the advances of and the first convention center biomimetics are touching the in the country to receive the meetings industry.

ISO:14001 Environmental Certification. The facility uses Velcro an astonishing amount of The next time you use electricity. As part of its ongohook-and-loop closures or ing efforts toward sustainabilconvention stands and displays ity, the OCCC installed a $7 covered in Velcro-receptive million, one-megawatt (1mW) fabric to set up your tradeshow solar roof array in 2009, the display, thank Mother Nature. largest rooftop photovoltaic This innovation was inspired system in the southeastern by the lowly burdock burr.

United States.

Burdock is a weed known for its The Anaheim Convention prickly burrs, which stick fast to Center (ACC), located in clothing and animal fur.

Orange County on the West In 1941, a Swiss engineer Coast and the region’s largest named George de Mestral convention center, recentwas out hunting with his dog. ly installed a 2.4 megawatt The dog came home covered roof-mounted solar array, in burdock burrs, promptowned by Anaheim Pubing de Mestral to take a look lic Utilities and the City of at the annoying hangers-on Anaheim. It is the largest under a microscope. He found city-owned, roof-mounted they attached by means of an array on a convention center elementary hook design, and in North America. spent the next decade perfectThe Oregon Convention ing a similar model for human Center in Portland is in the use. By 1952, he patented midst of installing one the Velcro. This simple invention largest solar arrays for any

convention center in the nation. The array is expected to produce 25 percent of the facility’s needed power.

The application of solar energy to these and other centers is helping to offset energy usage by these behemoth public structures. However, solar technology is still being perfected. Some of the challenges associated with solar technology are the initial cost of solar panels; their overall efficiency; the lifespan of panels and their diminishing output; and the use of lead acid batteries for off-grid systems.

A recent breakthrough in biomimetics may hold the answers to some of these challenges. Because light scatters when it hits solar panels, en-

ergy is lost. A team of students at MIT won the MADMEC competition in September 2015 for creating a cost-efficient coating for solar cells that helps to reduce reflection, thereby boosting efficiency.

This discovery was inspired by the team’s study of the glasswing butterfly. The glasswing has transparent wings, but the nanopillars that coat them diminish reflection, keeping the species safe from predators.

The MIT students found a way to mimic this coating, and since the process is relatively simple, it can likely be implemented in the marketplace quickly and with minimal cost.

These innovations simply underscore the truth of the old adage, “Mother knows best.”

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 13

COLUMN Employment Strategy Corner

Interviewing Style Can Be a Deal Breaker Here’s How Employers Can Improve

W

e all admire people who are focused and “grounded.” Alhave life goals—a vision though some may argue this way of their career objecof thinking doesn’t leave much tive, and the ability to stay firm room for the “creative” process on that target, allowing no disof forming a career, I still think traction. If these are the types of it’s the winning way. So, if you candidates you want to hire for

By Philip H. Kemper want to uncover these types of your team, I would like to give candidates in your interview you some tips to help you fine-tune your process, here are a few simple suggesinterview style to uncover these highly tions to incorporate into your interview: focused and ambitious candidates during your interviews.

Review the Résumé Chronologically I had one candidate tell me the other Start at the beginning. I like that—and day: “Everything I have done in my life I feel comfortable there. I tell the candihas prepared me well for the next thing date I’d like him to “walk me through his that I do. I am always working to make résumé” and give me a quick overview of myself better.” It was clear when this his career, starting right at the beginning. candidate spoke to me that he really I see how concise and clear (or rambling) felt he had a “path”—just like other suche can be. If he can’t present himself cessful people we read about and know effectively, we have a problem. personally. I like that!

While the candidate is giving me his The best candidates I have interhistory, I’m busy asking lots of “why” viewed think the same way. They have questions (in a conversational way, clear goals. They have a path. In their of course!). I even like to ask why he/ careers and jobs, they can give you a she chose the university or college he reason why they did what they did and did. That’s a great question! I had one where they think they are headed. They candidate tell me “Well, that’s the only 14 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

school that accepted me.” (Can you guess how long that interview lasted?) I had one candidate tell me he wanted to go to school in California because all of his family went to school in the Boston area and he wanted to “break the mold.” That adventuresome attribute was a plus for my client. (And, of course, the ones who got four-year scholarships go to the head of the class!)

You should get a clear idea during this chronological review if your candidate has been moving forward, sideways or backward. It’s that simple.

Some things to look for are:

»» Promotions and increasing responsibility »» Increasing quota size or territory »» Management of others »» Awards or accolades received.

Philip Kemper is Founder/President of KemperAssociates, a 38-year-old Chicago-based national executive search firm. Contact Phil with questions or comments at kemperassociates.org or kemperassoc@hotmail.com.

QA Question: Where can you find industry features, maps, insider information, shop talk and free stuff?

Answer: Exhibit City News, of course!

Sign up for six stunning, full-color issues of ECN and get a free I&D directory, our very Special 20th Anniversary, 52 weekly digital updates and free stuff to wear proudly!

Go to ExhibitCityNews.com/subscribe or Call 702.309.8023

KEEP CALM AND

TWEET ON Join the conversation

@ExhibitCityNews 16 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

POWER UP THE POSSIBILITIES.

Empower attendees at your next meeting or show with charging furniture from CORT and make searching for wall outlets history. Design EndlessTM powered sectionals, comfortable connected lounges, or communal charging stations with CORT’s complete line of powered soft seating, tables, and lighting. Charging AC and USB outlets are built right into the furniture and feature cord management to create a seamless powered solution that will electrify your next exhibit.

Call 1.855.ONE.CORT (663.2678) or visit us at cortevents.com to see our complete collections.

STAY CONNECTED

Š 2016 CORT. A Berkshire Hathaway Company.

BUSINESS PRACTICES

5 Budget Busting Habits Exhibitors Should Avoid

BY SUSAN RATLIFF

Habit #1: Neglecting to inventory exhibit properties before the show Believe me when I tell this. You don’t want to get to the show and find out that your counter is missing one leg, three lightbulbs are burned out or there’s a huge wine stain on your white carpet. Not setting up your exhibit before it ships to the show can cause huge headaches and trigger extra expenses when surprises are discovered during installation. Getting any help from the show decorator for last minute emergencies will cost you dearly.

Rushing around looking for a quick fix at the closest hardware store will not be cheap. By taking a critical look at your display, graphics and accessories a few months before the booth ships to the show, you will have plenty of time to or18 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

der what’s missing, fix what’s broken and clean what’s dirty.

Set up your display before the show and take a critical look at your graphics. Are the messages relevant and the products current? Get up to speed on the timelines required by your suppliers for creating new graphics. Waiting until the last minute to design and produce the new panels for your display or the banner for your retractable pull up stand can add expensive rush charges to the cost. It never fails that rushing to meet a tight deadline usually results in mistakes that you are unable to correct in time. Give your design team ample time to be creative and deliver quality ideas.

Don’t forget that you will need at least one extra day to review a proof by email and maybe two days if you want a test strip delivered to you for color matching. A good policy is to count backwards the number of days you need for design, proofing, production and shipping, add two more days, then give those deadline dates to your staff and service providers as a guide.

When is the last time you updated your display structure? It might be time to change up your exhibit and buy a new display. Creative advances have been made in display design and construction materials. Converting an aging structure to a more modern or sustainable option can reduce exhibiting costs substantially. The latest styles use lightweight extrusions, retractable panels and fabric graphics that can save you money in a variety of ways. New, innovative engineering allows for compact shipping.

The lighter shipping weight of the latest substrates, the collapsibility of the new designs and the small sized shipping containers combine to reduce costly freight and drayage fees. In addition, it takes less time

to install and dismantle these new exhibits, so your labor expenses could be cut in half.

Since we’re talking about cost cutting, have you ever considered reducing the size of your booth space? If you book a peninsula space instead of an island or take a 10x20 booth instead of a 10x30 you will save thousands of dollars. If you are concerned that your image may be tarnished if you scale down, try it every other show for half the savings. Put the money you save by reducing your booth size into a high profile sponsorship at the show. If you aren’t concerned with saving money, but would like to increase your visibility, consider spreading three 10x10 booths around the floor with three different themes to hit your targets three times instead of one.

Habit #2: Waiting until the last minute to order services Nothing will drive costs up or wreck your budget like forgetting to order services or shipping properties late. These common blunders can easily be eliminated by assigning someone to open and read the exhibit kit as soon as it is available. Convention decorators and show services companies are getting rich off your mistakes.

Here are ways to avoid extra expenses.

»» Take advantage of all early-bird discounts and call to confirm fax orders were received. This will save you up to 15 percent. »» Don’t miss the notification requirements if you are hiring an outside contractor for I&D. Failing to file the necessary form 30 days prior to the set-up date will prevent your crew from working the show and require you to use the show labor at a much higher cost. »» Send a drawing of your electrical floor plan along with your electric order form for clarification. The electrical lines must be laid before the carpet

»» Photo illustration by Thomas Speak

It is an unfortunate fact that tradeshows are places of extreme excess.

Multiple resources, hundreds of man hours and millions of dollars are wasted on show floors across the country every day. You are paying for plenty of it.

Maybe it’s the pressure of too many deadlines, shrinking budgets or an overworked staff that causes exhibit marketing professionals to neglect or forget important processes and procedures that are required for a show to run smoothly and stay on budget. There certainly are an overwhelming number of tiny details to oversee before, during and after the show.

When multiple departments share in the planning and execution of the program there is ample room for error if good communication procedures are not practiced.

Below is a list of the most common budget busting habits, if immediately eliminated from your tradeshow program, could save you money and reduce waste.

»» Photo illustration by Thomas Speak

can go down, so if the electrical installation is delayed your labor will be standing around on the clock with nothing to do. »» Don’t forget to order the pad with the carpet. »» Consider buying plants locally, bringing your own portable vacuum and cleaning supplies, or buying carpet you can throw away after the show, because ordering these from show services is ridiculously expensive. »» Plan your shipping strategies well in advance to avoid last minute overnight rush charges. »» Ship all properties advance to the warehouse so your cases and crates will be in the booth ready to install. This allows you to pinpoint your labor start time for maximum efficiency. »» Confirm the weight of everything you ship. Without confirmation you have no leverage to dispute overcharges on your shipping and drayage bill. »» Don’t forget to budget for lift gates, forklifts, driver wait times and special delivery extras. »» Assign someone to file the bill of lading at the service desk before leaving the show and wait for acknowledgement that it was received and is

chicago

847.671.5494

|

correct. This oversight can trigger huge expenses when your freight is forced. Any mistakes on the paperwork will cause your shipper to be turned away and the decorator’s preferred Freight Company will ship your properties instead. You could even be stuck paying for the services of both shippers.

Habit #3: Not assigning someone to meet the installers at the booth before they begin This one omission in your exhibit plan can add thousands of dollars in extra fees to your labor bill. This real-life scenario illustrates how this vicious money wasting cycle unfolds.

Your installers arrive on time and unpacks your crates. They cannot find the set-up instructions. Every case is emptied, but no instructions, pictures or drawings are found to tell them how you want the display configured. There is no company representative in sight and no one answers the cell phone number they were given.

las vegas

702.798.6433

|

Four guys, each getting paid $75 an hour, stand around for 30 minutes waiting for instructions. The electrical lines are laid so they decide to install the carpet. No pad is listed on the work order and your representative is not there to notice that mistake. They begin erecting the display as best they can. They are not sure where the counters should go so they take a guess.

It’s too bad that your computer monitors will not reach the electric outlets.

There are multiple sets of graphics with no indication as to which set should be used for this particular show. They try the cell phone again. No luck. Four hours later, as the installers are putting the finishing touches on the booth your representative finally arrives. She proceeds to loudly complain that the display is set up wrong and the graphics are not correct. She demands that the graphics be changed and the display be taken apart and put up Continued on p. 20

www.anglesondesign.com

|

find us on facebook

furniture rental | tradeshows | meetings | events @ExhibitCityNews

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 19

BUSINESS PRACTICES Continued from p. 19 correctly. Too bad the empty crates were sent to the warehouse and this crew has another booth to erect elsewhere. Here is a recap outlining how this one oversight could cost your company an estimated $2,700 more than you budgeted for.

»» 30 minutes of labor time lost when four guys waited around for instructions.

»» Representative locates a set of instructions and pays to have them faxed to the show.

»» Labor must pull the carpet so the electrician can move the lines. »» The electrician is busy. One hour later he moves the lines. Cha-ching! »» The carpet pad, which was never ordered, is now purchased at the day-of-show pricing. »» Labor installs pad and retapes carpet. »» The display is disassembled, moved and reconfigured. »» The counters are moved and the monitors relocated. »» Another 4-hour minimum is required for the labor crew to make the changes. »» There will be another drayage fee to retrieve the crates containing the other set of graphics that were already taken back to the warehouse. »» It is now 5:15 so overtime pay kicks in. You are now charged time-and-a-half times four.

Reduce your stress and preserve your budget (and maybe your job) by assigning a representative to meet the foreman at the booth before your hired installation labor crew starts the job. Here are a few other tips for saving time and money.

»» Send a copy of the assembly instructions and floor plan to the installers two weeks ahead of the show.

»» Include photos showing exactly how the booth and graphics should look when installed.

»» Label your graphics clearly for easy retrieval. »» Put a duplicate copy of the assembly drawings and instructions in your crates.

Provide an additional copy to your representative to bring to the show. »» Put all your graphic artwork files on a disc and bring it to the show in case any graphics are lost or damaged so you can quickly get them reprinted at your location. »» Double check all booth service orders for errors a week before the show.

20 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

Habit #4: Not establishing rules of conduct for booth staff What would you do if your top salesperson arrived at the booth one hour after the show opened? Would you be upset if that person was drunk? Would it matter to you if the entire staff left the booth before the show closed even though customers were still on the floor? Unfortunately these scenarios can be witnessed every day at shows all across the country. These unacceptable behaviors inconvenience customers, frustrate prospects, cost you money and tarnish your company image.

When you send your staff off to an exciting city to work a show for three days, the nightlife is tempting, the boutiques are beckoning and the lure of the golf course is strong. It would be a good idea to outline some company policies for your team that cover behavior both during work hours and on personal time.

They are, after all, getting paid and representing you the entire time they are away, so reinforce their purpose by dictating specific work hours, adding a curfew and reminding them that their actions reflect back on the company.

A little bit of sales training wouldn’t hurt either. Give your staff a clear purpose for being there by establishing a list of goals to accomplish at the show. Inject a little competition into their duties and offer incentives for exceptional performance. Develop a concise sales presentation for each person to use. By scripting your marketing message and selling propositions you will guarantee that every attendee who enters your booth leaves with consistent information about your company, products and services.

Make lead generation a priority.

Habit #5: Bringing too many giveaways to the show It is difficult to calculate how many brochures, flyers, sales slicks and giveaways you should bring to the show.

Most exhibitors overestimate the number needed. When it comes to collateral it makes sense to create an inexpensive marketing flyer with a show special on

one-side and company contact information on the other and save your expensive full color brochures for hot prospects.

Two hundred pieces for every one thousand attendees is a good rule of thumb.

Increase that number if you’ve trained your staff to distribute the collateral to every prospect they engage, otherwise collateral will lay on the table until someone happens to pick it up.

This scenario is similar when dealing with giveaways. The sheer volume of T-shirts, pens, calculators, bags or Post-It notes is usually excessive. Stick with one memorable freebie. The other problem is that too often the distribution methods are faulty and wasteful. If you’ve ever seen enthusiastic salespeople mindlessly handing out trinkets at the edge of their booth without asking even one qualifying question, then you’ve experienced this phenomenon. Companies seem to have forgotten that the purpose of a premium gift is to reward the prospect for giving you something you want. When attendees give you a lead, watch a video, participate in a demonstration or take a survey the giveaway serves as a small token of thanks. Use them; don’t waste them.

In addition, boxes of literature and giveaways are expensive to ship, take up a lot of space in the booth and are often stacked unattractively in view of attendees. You could rent an accessible storage space which allows you to retrieve your supplies as you need them, but this will cost you $150-$200 per day. Here’s a great reason to scale back. It is not uncommon for booth staff to conveniently forget to ship back boxes full of color catalogs, company brochures and freebies, because they did not pass them out at the show and don’t want to bring home the telltale evidence. These items end up in the trash.

Susan Ratliff is The Exhibit Expert, published author, entertaining speaker, event producer and founder of an award-winning portable display company.

Contact Susan to speak to your group, to consult or for portable tradeshow display products: Susan@ SusanRatliff.com or www.SusanRatliffPresents.

. . . .

Brumark has the Total Flooring Solutions you need!

Proud member of:

TM

Largest selection of in-stock FlexFloor

Industry's best 10’ carpet value & selection!

Las Vegas, Atlanta & Dalton distribution centers Fast turnarounds and turnkey solutions nationwide

•

We're with you every step of the way!

Exhibits

Events

Auto

Contact us for free samples, quotes, and an expert consultation: 800-291-9606 • www.brumark.com @ExhibitCityNews

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 21

ASSOCIATIONS

EDPA Goes Global at ACCESS

Photography by Padgett and Company

BY EXHIBIT CITY NEWS

22 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

Photography by Padgett and Company

The Exhibit Designers and Producers Association wrapped its 61st annual ACCESS event, Dec. 2–4, in Las Vegas, and, as usual, this year’s roster of speakers and presenters wowed attendees with to-the-minute information about the latest topics, trends and best business practices for people in the exhibition and events industry. The theme of this year’s show was “A Global Landscape.”

The 2015 program was divided into three different tracks: “The Worldwide Track,” which examined the tradeshow industry through a global perspective; “Down to Business” focused on the operational side of the business; and “The Big Idea” explored ways in which professionals think about the exhibition and events industry.

The featured country of this year’s “Worldwide Track” was Mexico, and the panel hosted a lively discussion

about exhibition trends in Mexico and Latin America, as well as their thoughts about business practices and protocol in those regions.

The “Down to Business” sessions included “Disaster Recovery Plan,” a workshop that explored how businesses plan for and deal with calamities that result from hacking, computer viruses and hardware malfunction, and “VAT Recovery,” a session about maximizing business returns by recovering value-added tax, as well as the always popular “Annual Economic State of the Union.”

“The Big Idea” looked at the exhibition in new ways, including the “Using Storytelling and Empathy to Create Emotionally Engaging Experiences” session, which was led by Jackson Young of Centric Digital. The “Beyond Trade Shows” presentation posed riveting questions such as, “How can we stop competing

and start collaborating?”

Attendees also enjoyed the keynote speakers who weighed in on such topics as embracing uncertainty, the future and new tradeshow models.

As usual, there were abundant networking opportunities ranging from the fun and informal—golf, fishing, a poker workshop—to more structured sessions like an ACCESS first-timers’ meeting and a speed networking session.

EDPA is an internationally recognized national trade association with more than 300 members from 18 countries the design, manufacture, transport, installation and service of displays and exhibits primarily for the exhibition and event industry that works to provide education, leadership and networking opportunities for its members.

For more information visit EDPA.com.

The designer/builder’s first choice for multi-functional double decks, wall systems, and architectural elements.

@ExhibitCityNews

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 23

SHOW SERVICES

Not Just a Neighborhood Business Store WHY FACILITY PARTNERSHIPS WITH UPS STORES HAVE RISEN

BY KRISTAN OBENG

With more than 4,500 locations across the U.S., UPS Stores are a familiar sight in most neighborhoods. Since 1999, up to two UPS Stores have opened each year in convention centers as well. Oftentimes, these nontraditional UPS Stores represent the go-to in-house business center for meeting planners and exhibit managers.

UPS Stores are also partners to the facilities in which they are housed. They handle tasks or services that the convention center doesn’t offer, such as parcel management and tracking with a proprietary software and hardware system.

According to Chris Schappert, director of event services at Music City Center in Nashville, shipping and receiving is a highly requested service among meeting planners. The UPS Store has agreements with many major freight carriers.

“For most convention centers, we don’t receive client materials ourselves. The UPS Store provides this service for customers.

Before the show, [the UPS Store] can store materials. When on-site, the freight can be delivered to meeting rooms the meeting 24 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

planner is using, and, at the end, they can ship materials back home,” Schappert says.

When Music City Center opened in 2013, the on-site UPS Store co-owned by franchisees Les Jackson and Jim Thien unlocked its doors in tandem to cater to the tradeshows and events that booked the venue well in advance.

“The primary package management is appreciated by the convention center. The convention center’s staff doesn’t have to look for it. Everything is accounted for, and it brings structure to chaos,” Thien says.

Experienced UPS Store franchise owners with more than 20 years of experience, Jackson and Thien knew what it took to operate a successful store. Until Music City Center, they hadn’t yet operated from a convention center or hotel.

Gaining convention experience was easily taken care of with on-site training, and they also put in effort to mirror and complement the services the convention center offers, says Jackson.

“We created a business model based off what the convention center needs,”

Thien agrees.

This includes offering on-demand printing services, which, according to Schappert, saves money when exhibit managers and meeting planners print on-site rather than ship their marketing materials.

The business center also offers the usual office supplies, but its graphics and signage offerings are customized. Additionally, UPS Store Music City Center provides notary services and rental equipment.

Growing in popularity, Thien says, are copier and printer rentals for small and large tradeshows. The UPS Store keeps a range of this equipment on deck, and its staff can bring in more equipment as needed.

“The services we offer reflect what events want to see and want out of us,” says Jackson. He explained that this correlates with why the UPS Store operates from early morning until midnight. The store aims to be flexible and a constant support to exhibit managers and meeting planners.

“As the UPS Store team has learned more about the convention business, the event staff at the convention center has learned about all the services the UPS Store team can provide. Personally, I’ve seen more customers going into the store,” says Schappert.

Jackson and Thien have learned their target audience like the back of their hands, which has contributed to their success. They soon opened a UPS Store inside the Omni Hotel Nashville across the street from the convention center and another one in the Omni Hotel Dallas. These business centers complement their other neighborhood locations around Greater Nashville and contribute to Jackson and Thien’s proud feelings as native Nashville business owners.

UPS Store Music City Center represents one of a growing network of UPS Stores that can now share best practices about serving the exhibit and event industry and working with meeting and exhibition facility staff. This close collaboration among UPS Stores allows each one to better service their customers throughout each stage of an event, especially if stores have supported the same show.

Exhibit City News .com

Get the latest tradeshow industry news...on the go!

CORPORATE EVENTS

Jim Wetterling and Lenny Swimmer at Edlen’s 40th birthday

Edlen Celebrates 40 Years

BY EXHIBIT CITY NEWS

In 1975, Lenny Swimmer said, “Let there be light.” He may not have phrased it exactly like that, but his intent was clear. That was the year that Swimmer and Eddy Cimino launched Edlen, the nation’s leading independent temporary utility contractor to the tradeshow, convention and special event industry.

The company’s first office was located in Miami, but it didn’t take long for Edlen to establish itself as the go-to provider for electrical and lighting services for the exhibitor and convention industry.

At the time, Cimino was nearing re26 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

tirement and within a few years handed the reins to Swimmer, now Edlen’s CEO emeritus, who quickly propelled the company to the front of the pack by focusing on a couple key areas. First, he built state-of-the-art equipment designed exclusively for tradeshows and special events. This proprietary equipment made show site installation and removal quick, easy and, even more important, safe.

Secondly, Swimmer established a company mantra of providing customers with exceptional service, which remains a core tenet of Edlen’s business practices.

“Lenny’s belief in exceptional service to our customers is the foundation upon which Edlen has grown,” says Edlen president and CEO James Wetterling, who joined the company in 1987.

In 1995 the company moved its corporate headquarters to Las Vegas, while continuing to open regional offices nationwide. Today, Edlen has produced 76 of the nation’s Top 200 Trade Shows and has 16 offices across the country, including branches in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Antonio and Seattle, among other cities. The company provides utility

services for more than 5,000 events at 250-plus convention facilities each year, which explains why its big 4-0 celebration was more of a quiet affair than a blowout birthday bash.

Edlen hosted an open house in Las Vegas on Nov. 19, which drew about 100 people, including Swimmer, says Julie Pazina, director of sales. “It is always great to see Lenny, and he loves to stay involved.” But overall, she adds, most of the national staff was too busy to take any downtime.

“They were literally on the run with events around the country,” Pazina says.

This past year’s show calendar proved particularly busy for Edlen, with multiple large event overlaps, says Pazina. There are certainly worse problems to have, and Edlen’s role in the industry is a bright as it’s ever been. “We look forward to many more decades serving our customers,” Wetterling says.

Turning 40 never felt so good.

mpl

main place lighting

Edlen’s party featured live entertainment

Battery Solutions

Showcase Lighting

Barn Lights We are distributors of Quality Lighting Products from Manufacturers that are highly regarded in the lighting industry. Main Place Lighting offers wholesale pricing to the trade builder and installers.

Exhibit Lighting

At Main Place Lighting we believe in the highest in customer respect, service and responsiveness. So if you are looking for more in a company than just a buy and sell relationship, contact us. We partner with our customers to ensure their continued success.

mainplacelighting.com 12812 Valley View St. #16

@ExhibitCityNews

Garden Grove, Ca. 92845

562-676-7660

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 27

ASSOCIATIONS

IAEE’s Expo! Expo!

Grows, Focuses

BY EXHIBIT CITY NEWS

28 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

The International Association of Exhibitions and Events’ annual Expo! Expo! hit Baltimore Dec. 1-3, and all signs point to another rousing success. With more than 2,300 attendees, 60 new products and 269 exhibitors from 26 different countries—the show’s largest international representation to date—this year marked the largest Expo! yet.

The three-day event kicked off with

Left: 2015 IAEE chairperson Megan Tanel, left, passes gavel to 2016 chair Julia Smith. Top: Attendees wowed by new exhibit. Below: IAEE president and CEO David DuBois.

speeches from IAEE 2015 chairperson Megan Tanel and keynote speaker, author Wes Moore, as well as recognition of the 2015 Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM) graduating class.

Among the changes to Expo! Expo! was a revamped education program. The show featured about 70 education sessions this year, which was down slightly from previous years. But fewer options meant more focused courses of “more @ExhibitCityNews

variety and higher quality,” said IAEE president and CEO David DuBois. “One of the complaints we had from attendees was that there were too many offerings,” DuBois said.

One of the most popular educational offerings were the Campfire Sessions, at which attendees were coached about how to stay relevant and innovative as industry trends evolve. Some of the topics discussed at this year’s meetings addressed

topics like working in an economy in flux and incorporating new technologies into business practices.

Also new this year was the popular TechCenter Showcase, which provided tech companies with a forum to discuss new products while incorporating feedback about the “real-world advantages” of those products with testimonials from live consumers. The TechCenter proved to be one of the more popular booths on the floor.

This year’s joint session with IAEE and the Society of Independent Show Organizers focused on legal issues facing the tradeshow industry, including Wi-Fi service for convention centers, 1099 contractors vs. employees and hotel contracts.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake made an appearance at Expo! Expo! to declare the first week of December “Exhibitions Week” in Baltimore, and other speakers included incoming 2016 IAEE chairperson Julia Smith, who outlined her plans for the organization.

IAEE Expo! Expo! 2016 will be Dec. 6-8 in Anaheim, Calif.

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 29

EXHIBIT DESIGN

30 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

ProExhibits Celebrates New Location, Future

BY EXHIBIT CITY NEWS

In November, ProExhibits celebrated its move into a new state-of-the-art facility (pictured left) in Silicon Valley. The company’s new location features 65,000 square feet of manufacturing space, showroom and corporate headquarters, which triples ProExhibits’ manufacturing capabilities and doubles its showroom size.

In 2016, “ProExhibits will be designing many new and amazing custom event and tradeshow designs and builds, new ROI technology, 53-foot double expandable trailer designs and mobile tours, and many custom designed permanent installations,” says Dick Wheeler, president of ProExhibits.

While the new site affords ProExhibits increased manufacturing space and room for additional equipment, the move is more than a simple relocation to a larger space.

ProExhibits’ new facility was designed by Mitchell Mauk of Mauk Design, with an eye toward creating a combination showroom-warehouse-office space that accentuates the company’s reputation in the exhibition-building field.

“From the moment a client or prospective client approaches the two-story building, the unique vertical monument sign and the building sign attract the eye with the bold copy and the vibrant orange and black corporate colors,” says Wheeler. @ExhibitCityNews

The lobby, he adds, has a Silicon Valley feel, “with an extremely high-end look that incorporates industry materials such as plywood and polished concrete.”

Appearances matter, Wheeler agrees, for a company whose lifeblood depends on creating visually arresting exhibitions. With that thought in mind, ProExhibits turned to Mauk through one of its sales managers who had a previous relationship with the

renowned designer. Mauk also helped the company update its logo and marketing message.

Although ProExhibits’ opening gala wasn’t held until November, most of the move to the new location was complete

by July. Despite the upheaval implicit in such a move, ProExhibits experienced a 70 percent year-over-year growth in 2015 and expects to triple company revenue by December 2017, Wheeler says.

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 31

BUSINESS PRACTICES

The Power of Stories

BY ROD CAMERON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JMIC

In the process of an intensive review of industry research, data and strategic communications issues taking place at the JMIC conference on the Value of Meetings, an interesting consensus emerged.

The conclusion: that the most powerful way to communicate the real impact of meetings, conventions and exhibitions may, in fact, be to simply provide good, compelling stories about how these kinds of events drive outcomes that benefit everyone from participants and host destinations to society as a whole.

This is more of a departure than it may seem. For many years, we’ve played the numbers game, using a range of mea32 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

surements from delegate spending and economic impacts to hotel room nights and incremental tax revenues. But in a world where pretty much everyone is constantly bombarded with big figures, it is the individual examples of how a specific gathering brought about professional advancements and positive change that seem to best capture people’s imaginations and demonstrate the real value of these events.

There’s no question the numbers are important—they provide the solid rationale for what are often big investment decisions that have to show measureable returns. But when it comes to illustrat-

ing what these events actually do in terms of delivering broadly desirable outcomes—everything from advancing organizational and societal objectives, driving economic and academic progress, and even profiling a destination in the way locals most want it to be seen—it is the specific examples that really seem to deliver the goods.

On reflection, it’s not hard to see why.

All those numbers have little emotional quality, and as emotional creatures, we respond best to messages we can relate to in terms of our own concerns and interests. At the same time, there is a lot more flexibility to be had from being able

The most powerful way to communicate the real impact of meetings, conventions and exhibitions may be to provide good, compelling stories about how these kinds of events drive outcomes that benefit everyone.” to identify and document a wider range of beneficial outcomes than simply the financial ones, particularly when the latter include everything from innovation and knowledge transfer to new investment and academic advancements that are hot topics today.

This realization has big implications for how we handle the value conversation from here on, as reflected in the overall recommendations arising from the conference. There was unanimous agreement on a need to focus on well-documented and creatively delivered case studies that can not only express the value of specific event achievements but at the same time imply what benefits are likely to be achieved by similar events in other subject areas.

This is particularly important when we realize that two of our most important audiences are communities and elected officials. As mentioned, the former typically most want to relate things in terms @ExhibitCityNews

of their own interests—so things like improved medical practices, inward investment, new job opportunities and overall economic prospects really resonate.

Politicians, on the other hand, can best relate to the ways in which events support their policy agendas, raise profile and generate nonresident tax revenues that help take the pressure off of locals.

At the same time, they know only too well the power of storytelling, as it is an important element of their own strategies—a way of demonstrating understanding and personal affinity with the electorate. So both groups are more likely to react positively to the industry story when it is put in terms of what meetings, conventions and exhibitions accomplish in growing community and economic value than if they are just presented with the hard numbers.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t some discipline required. In order to be credible, event accomplishments must be well researched and documented rather than just trotted out as anecdotes. And that’s where there’s a lot more work to be done.

Many suppliers and organizers aren’t even clear on what specific outcomes they expect from the events they support, let alone how to measure the extent to which those are actually delivered.

But in a world where accountability is increasingly required in return for the investment of time and resources that successful events demand, the ability to measure these kinds of factors more precisely is now more of an expectation than an option.

Finally, it’s clear that this is where all parts of the meetings equation need to work together to achieve the desired result. The distinctions between organizer and supplier are far less important than the overall goal of documenting and delivering the kind of value proposition that will ensure the ongoing relevance of meetings as a key element in driving global progress on many different fronts.

So let’s start working together to become better storytellers—and we’ll all benefit from the results.

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 33

Giving Shouldn’t Hurt Exhibitors, Industry Service-Providers and Tradeshow Attendees Support Charitable Causes

By Exhibit City News

W

ith the holiday season come and gone, it is tempting to look upon the last months of any year as our “charitable time.” This is the season when people are supposed to be filled with warmth and concern for the well-being of our fellow humans, Black Friday shopping and other contradictory evidence aside.

Thankfully, however, many people recognize that the needs of people and organizations depending on charitable donations do not start and stop with the turn of a calendar. This is especially true across the exhibitions and events industry.

Many associations, organizations and individuals work hard to prove charity is a year-round endeavor and provide some excellent models of charity at work.

If your company—or anyone in it—has ever asked, “What can we do?” look to these organizations as a role model.

34 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

Exhibit 4 Smiles Exhibit 4 Smiles began as a personal response to a need.

Costas Varkarotas, a tradeshow professional, saw his son facing a life-threatening illness.

While Varkarotas was with his son during a clinic visit, he saw many children suffering and watched the toll these illnesses took on these young patients and their families.

Varkarotas decided then that he was going to hold a holiday toy drive that year, and he presented a gift to one young girl in chronic pain. When he saw her smile light up despite the pain, Varkarotas was hooked. And so began the grassroots organization Exhibit 4 Smiles.

“We recognized … that providing a little smile to these children who deal with these life-threatening diseases makes a huge difference,” says Varkarotas.

Since its first year, E4S has continued to grow, and other organizations have noticed.

In March 2011, the Exhibit

Designers and Producers Association Foundation (EDPAF) lent its support to E4S and that summer it achieved nonprofit status and partnered with the children’s hospital at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Exhibit 4 Smiles depends on donations of $50 per child from individuals or groups, which it then uses to purchase a holiday gift for a recipient suffering from a life-threatening illness.

In doing so, E4S creates a oneon-one relationship between the giver and receiver.

To date, E4S has received donations from across the United States and countries around the world, including Dubai, Greece, Germany and Singapore.

“The simple gesture of taking part in E4S makes a big difference in these children’s lives,” Varkarotas says. “Even if the smile lasts just for a moment, the memory of your kindness will go a long way.”

Continued on p. 36 ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 35

Giving Shouldn’t Hurt Exhibitors, Industry Service-Providers and Tradeshow Attendees Support Charitable Causes

With the Chicago Auto Show set to kick off Feb. 13, the oldest and largest automobile show in the U.S. will again host one of the most charitable—and longest running—tradeshow events in the country with its First Look for Charity.

The annual fundraiser is a boon for 18 Chicago-area charities, which this year include the Illinois Spina Bifida Association, Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago and Turning Pointe Autism Foundation, among others.

Over the past 24 years, First Look has raised more than $42 million for local charities and

36 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

is widely considered Chicagoland’s largest single-day charitable event. Now, in its 25th year, First Look takes place on Feb. 12, the day before the show begins, and is expected to collect some $2 million in donations for its recipients.

Much of First Look’s success can be traced to the reputation the charity has built around itself.

The annual fundraiser gives attendees an opportunity to get a sneak peek at the cars on display for the Chicago Auto Show, while providing an evening of entertainment, black-tie extravagance and fine-dining sophistication.

Photography by Les @ The Photo Group

Chicago Auto Show’s First Look for Charity

The Expo Group

“As a company, we are fortunate to be in a position to help so many deserving organizations.”

Photography by Les @ The Photo Group

— Linda Pekowski, The Expo Group

The Expo Group, a general contractor headquartered in Irving, Texas, has made giving back a cornerstone of its business operations.

Over the years, the company has donated time and money to a variety of charitable organizations such as the USO and Family Promise of Irving. But the Expo Group has gone above and beyond that, developing its own in-house award shows for people in the industry.

The company rolled out the Show Manager of the Year (SMOTY) Awards in 2000, which were designed to acknowledge professionals who were making new and creative contributions to the industry but who hadn’t been recognized by other associations. In addition to their SMOTY trophy, winners are gifted a donation to the charity of their choice.

“We believe that it’s important to give back to the community,” says Linda Pekowski, who heads up the company’s philanthropic efforts. “I’m so pleased that, as a company, we are fortunate to be in a position to help so many deserving organizations.”

Similarly, in 2012, the company debuted its own abbreviated EMY Award, which is shorthand for Exhibit Manager of the Year. Like the SMOTYs, this prize also comes attached with a charitable donation made out in the recipient’s name.

So far, the Expo Group’s efforts have paid off. The company has been recognized as an Inc. “Fastest Growing Company,” and by other organizations for accolades as diverse as the Christian Business Leadership Award and the EXPO Magazine Supplier of the Year award.

Continued on p. 38

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 37

Giving Shouldn’t Hurt Exhibitors, Industry Service-Providers and Tradeshow Attendees Support Charitable Causes

HelmsBriscoe and Marcus Hotels & Resorts HelmsBriscoe, a leader in the meetings procurement business, is joining forces again with Marcus Hotels & Resorts for its HB Cares Classic, a networking and charity golf tournament that raised $50,000 in 2015. Each year HelmsBriscoe sponsors the annual event as a way to give back to give back to the community—one of HB’s core tenets of it corporate social responsibility platform.

This year’s tournament will be held Aug. 23-24 at the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Participants in the tournament will play Grand Geneva’s championship course, the Brute, and non-golfers will have plenty of opportunities to mix and mingle with other industry professionals. The main goal is to get people involved in charitable organizations.

“This event was started as a means of giving back to local charities committed to making a dif-

38 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

ference in their communities, while also providing a vehicle through which our associates could cultivate lasting relationships with colleagues, hoteliers and destinations around the world,” says HelmsBriscoe founder and CEO, Roger Helms.

Since HB’s inception 20 years ago, the company has lived by the mantra, “Doing well by doing good.” To that end, HelmsBriscoe has contributed to numerous charities, including local food banks and domestic violence and homeless shelters in its home state of Arizona.

In 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the company created the Helms Family Foundation, which purchased a furnished local home for a New Orleans family that was displaced by the storm. In 2009, the foundation allocated an annual donation to Habitat for Humanity to build one home each year in the Phoenix-Scottsdale area.

MEET IN A PLACE WHERE YOU MATTER.

KENDRA A. COOK Cobo Center Event Manager

A shining star! It was like Kendra was holding my hand across the phone.

COBO CENTER | CENTERED AROUND YOU

Welcome to a place where you can be part of something. Where a city and center are transforming. A place where you can actually feel good about a meeting. Where people go out of their way for you because that’s what we do. Because here, you matter.

LISA COX MICHIGAN EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION

What matters to you? Value? Service? Sustainability? Knowing there’s another person on the end of the phone, holding your hand? We get it.

We have reinvented this city and center for you.

COBOCENTER.COM

313.877.8214

DOWNTOWN DETROIT

an

managed facility

Cobo_ECN_halfpg.indd 1

11/30/15 10:01 AM

SHOW OFF your I&D challenges with GREAT Photography

Call to schedule your shoot 866.359.4493 or info@exposuresltd.com @ExhibitCityNews

Improve Your Image members of EDPA & HCEA

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 39

YEAR REVIE

EXHIBIT CITY NEWS

R IN IEW 2015

So long 2015!

This past year was an exciting one in the tradeshow, convention and exhibition industry. The first quarter of 2015 brought us big and predictable events like the Consumer Electronics Show in January; EXHIBITORLIVE!, the new iteration of EXHIBITOR magazine’s annual show; news of the expansion of Las Vegas’ convention center; and a dustup over state law. By April, spring was afoot and our attention turned toward award winners and new shows, like UFI’s sustainability competition, IAEE’s small-butgrowing Women’s Leadership Forum and the mammoth IMEX Frankfurt in May. The latter part of the summer brought resolution to Wi-Fi-jamming accusations for one convention-center service provider and crowded aisles to PACK EXPO’s 20th anniversary. And before we even knew it, we were gearing up for the holidays and events like EDPA’s ACCESS and IAEE’s Expo! Expo!

Now, with 2015 safely in the rearview mirror, take a minute to appreciate the past year, as we prepare for the glorious one that awaits us.

41

JANUARY MG MENTORS FIT STUDENTS CES 2015 CONSIDERED ‘NEW WORLD’S FAIR’ [SYNOPSIS] Each year the Consumer Electronics Show gets just a little bit larger.

In 2015, the international tradeshow proved it isn’t just for the big players, as more startup companies exhibited than ever before.

With more than 3,600 exhibitors in 2015, the International CES is the tradeshow’s tradeshow; it’s the annual event most likely to show up on the general public’s radar. Businesses, new and old, recognize this fact as they set out to make a splash at CES. Last year, more startups than ever rushed to CES to make themselves heard: 375 new businesses joined the lineup, compared with the 220 startups that exhibited at CES in 2014. In all, more than 170,000 industry professionals flocked to CES in early January, prompting one event attendee to dub CES the “new World’s Fair.”

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/ces-2015-considered-new-worlds-fair/

LACC praises first year of privatization [SYNOPSIS] The Los Angeles Convention Center’s first year as a privately run enterprise drew high praise for its efficiency and over-delivery of goals met.

In late 2013, the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) contracted to take over operations of the Los Angeles Convention Center starting in 2014, in a move that Bud Ovrom, the executive director of the Los Angeles Department of Tourism and Convention Development (CTD), called, “bold.”

By January 2015 reports were in on AEG’s first year of operations, and the privatization move seemed less bold than genius. AEG met or exceeded its projections, including improving operational efficiencies and enhancing facility functionality and aesthetics while reducing the environmental footprint by investing in sustainable products and technology.

The first-year report also indicated that AEG had completed significant building maintenance and enhanced-visitor-experience projects as well.

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/lacc-praises-first-year-privatization/

42

YEAR IN REVIEW 2015

Exhibit City News

[SYNOPSIS] Utilizing its company’s scholarships, MG Design reaches the next generation of exhibit design professionals at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

MG Design’s relationship with design programs at schools such as Bemidji State University in Minnesota and New York’s FIT give the brand-building company an opportunity to pay it forward to tomorrow’s crop of industry professionals.

The company’s Mike Grivas Senior Exhibit Design Excellence Scholarships not only provide financial assistance to promising students, but MG also uses its role as an industry leader to provide actual instruction— such as when Rob Majerowski, MG’s vice president of creative, led a workshop at FIT last January.

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/ mg-mentors-fit-students/

FEBRUARY

IAEE, PCMA, The Experience Institute partner on comprehensive attendance study [SYNOPSIS] In an effort to better understand and identify the behavior of convention, meeting and event visitors, three organizations pooled their resources to uncover the motivating factors behind attendees’ actions.

The International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and The Experience Institute (TEI) joined forces to conduct a multipart in-depth study that analyzes the behaviors of convention and show attendees.

Dubbed “The Decision to Attend Study,” the first phase of the report was unveiled last year. IAEE president and CEO David DuBois called the study “a powerful collaboration” between businesses that are dependent on understanding what affects conventions’ and events’ bottom line: return on investment. The study is now in its second phase.

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/iaee-pcma-experience-institute-partner-comprehensiveattendance-study/

LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER TO EXPAND ONTO FAMOUS LAS VEGAS STRIP [SYNOPSIS] In February 2015, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority voted to approve the purchase of the Riviera Hotel and Casino, a move that includes 26 acres of expansion for the Las Vegas Convention Center. The Riviera was shuttered in May, and when the expansion is complete LVCC facilities will extend onto the world-famous Las Vegas Strip.

Good-bye Riviera, hello new convention center space.

Early last year the LVCVA board of directors authorized a proposal to purchase the Riviera Hotel and Casino, which sits on a 26-acre site across the street from the LVCC. The parcel of land on which the Riviera sits extends from near the LVCC westward to Las Vegas Boulevard.

As part of the deal, the Riviera agreed to cease operations and closed its doors in May. The project, which comes with a $2.3 billion price tag, is the largest development initiative the LVCC has undertaken since its opening in the 1950s.

The expansion is projected to draw an additional 480,000 annual attendees and an estimated 20 new tradeshows and conventions each year. The expansion will encompass an additional 1.8-million square feet when finished.

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/ las-vegas-convention-center-expand-onto-famous-las-vegas-strip/

Exhibit City News YEAR IN REVIEW Exhibit City News

2015

43

MARCH

IAEE openly disapproves Religious Freedom Restoration Act [SYNOPSIS] When Indiana approved the Religious Freedom Restoration Act last March, the measure drew widespread criticism from many of those in the tradeshow, convention and events industry. The Indiana RFRA was modeled after a federal law of the same name, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993, but critics of Indiana’s act claimed the state law was substantially different from the federal stature, and many organizations and businesses condemned the law, with some going so far as to pull events from the state.

Among those critical of Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, known as Indiana Senate Bill 101, was the International Association of Exhibitions and Events. As implied by its name, the state measure claimed to protect businesses from infringements on those business’s religious beliefs. However, critics of the law like the IAEE said the ruling could lead to increased discrimination against certain individuals.

The IAEE penned an open letter to Indiana governor Mike Pence in which it requested corrective language be added to Senate Bill 101 that more clearly spell out the law’s role in forbidding discrimination of any kind.

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/iaee-openly-disapproves-religious-freedom-restoration-act/

EXHIBITOR SHOW REBRANDS TO EXHIBITORLIVE! [SYNOPSIS] The 27th iteration of the EXHIBITOR Show brought at least one major change to the self-described “Trade Show for Trade Show People.” The show, hosted

by Exhibitor Media Group, rebranded its event as EXHIBITORLIVE! For the 27th year, the annual EXHIBITOR Show landed in Las Vegas late last winter with a brand-new name: EXHIBITORLIVE! While the addition of the word “live” to the show’s name might not seem like a revolutionary change, the new name underscores the importance tradeshows

44

YEAR IN REVIEW 2015

Exhibit City News

play in the face-to-face interaction between industry insiders.

“It really says that tradeshows are a live human experience,” said John Pavek, chief marketing officer for EXHIBITORLIVE! “It’s all about saying that face-to-face meetings and events are more important today and for the future of events.”

The 2015 show, held at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, brought in more than 5,000 attendees, as well as 70 new exhibitors, and saw the unveiling of 43 new products.

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/ exhibitor-show-rebrands-exhibitorlive/

APRIL IAEE WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP FORUM BREAKS ATTENDANCE RECORDS [SYNOPSIS] The Women’s Leadership Forum, sponsored by the International Association of Exhibitions and Events, saw continuous success and growth in its third year. The forum seeks to provide knowledge and strategies for women in the events and exhibitions industry, regardless of what stage they may be at in their careers.

UFI SELECTS WINNERS OF 2015 SUSTAINABILITY COMPETITION

[SYNOPSIS] The 2015 theme of UFI’s annual Sustainable Development Award was “innovative cost-saving in the value chain,” a topic so strong it prompted the jury to recognize two winners—one in the “venue” category and another in the “organizer” category.

UFI, the global association representing the exhibition industry, decided “two winners were better than one” for its 2015 Sustainable Development Award.

The Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands (Singapore) was tapped as the venue winner for its efforts in reducing on-site chilled water energy consumption by 29 percent. Marina Bay Sands hosted more than 2,500 events in 2014 and focused on energy conservation as its primary key performance indicator for sustainability.

UBM EMEA, a leading B2B company that spearheads connectivity worldwide in the events and exhibitions industry, was named as the organizer winner for its series of intracompany senior management sustainability objectives.

IAEE’s 2015 Women’s Leadership Forum, held April 8 at the Washington Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C., drew 150 attendees and continued building on the framework the organization laid out at its inaugural event in 2013. Chief among that structure is the idea of empowering women in the events industry at every point of their careers.

The 2015 WLF event featured sessions on worklife balance, confidence and strategies for goal-achievement. The 2016 Women’s Leadership Forum is scheduled for April 26.

Read more here: Exhibit CityNews.com/iaee-womens-leadership-forum-breaksattendance-records/

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/ ufi-selects-winners-of-2015-sustainability-competition/ Exhibit City News

YEAR IN REVIEW 2015

45

MAY LARGEST-EVER IMEX FRANKFURT OPENS WITH SIZABLE STANDS

[SYNOPSIS] The largest IMEX in Frankfurt opened May 19, with 3,500 exhibiting companies representing more than 150 countries. Twenty percent of exhibitors booked larger stands over prior years.

The 2015 IMEX in Frankfurt was big. The international event added 55 new show stands, with companies from every continent and meeting market sector. Additionally, one-fifth of exhibitors from previous years opted to buy larger stands in 2016.

Many of the larger stands were purchased by companies from the Asia Pacific region, as well as China and Taiwan. Some American companies also chose to go larger last year.

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/largest-ever-imexfrankfurt-opens-with-sizeable-stands/

FIT MARKS MILESTONE FOR GRADUATE EXHIBITION DESIGN PROGRAM [SYNOPSIS] The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York offered some perspective on the 10th anniversary of its graduate program in exhibit design, which, following a rocky start, has gained momentum year after year.

Maybe it was an instance of right place, right time for the rollout of FIT’s Master’s program in exhibition design, but that didn’t seem to be the case when the New York university began offering the new curriculum in 2004. Back then, FIT sought the help of the Exhibit Design and Producers Association, which had experienced its own difficulties in seeing a graduate-level program in this field launched.

Owing to the complexity of exhibition design and questions as to how in-depth the coursework should go, it took a couple years for the FIT program to hit its stride. But, with the support of EDPA, the Fashion Institute’s program has quickly become an important player in preparing up-and-coming exhibition design professionals for their role in the industry.

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/fit-to-lead/

CIC names 2015 Hall of Leaders and Pacesetter Award recipients [SYNOPSIS] The Convention Industry Council’s Hall of Leaders inductees and Pacesetter Award winners for 2015 included long-term professionals as well as rising trendsetters working to shape the industry.

In May, the Convention Industry Council announced the winners of its Pacesetter Award, established in 2012, a prize presented to emerging industry professionals who are impacting the industry right now, and the council’s nominees for its Hall of Leaders, which recognizes lifetime achievement.

The nominees and award winners were formally recognized Oct. 13 at IMEX America in Las Vegas. For more information about past Hall of Leader inductees, visit www.conventionindustry.org/vhol.

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/cic-names-2015-hall-of-leaders-and-pacesetter-award-recipients/

46

YEAR IN REVIEW 2015

Exhibit City News

JUNE

71.3 BILLION (Amount contributed to the U.S. GDP by the exhibition industry)

SECOND ANNUAL EXHIBITIONS DAY BREAKS RECORDS [SYNOPSIS] Exhibitions Mean Business, a coalition organized in 2011 to advocate for the exhibitions and events industry, held its second Exhibitions Day on June 9 in Washington, D.C. Attendees gathered on Capitol Hill for face-to-face meetings with congressional leaders about issues affecting the industry.

Exhibitions Day is a now-annual event at which representatives from the events and exhibitions industry gather on Capitol Hill to make their case for the positive impact the industry has on the economy.

Last year the event celebrated its second anniversary, as 112 participants traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress and policymakers regarding industry issues, and hundreds more raised awareness and support through social media posts, which reached an estimated 4 million people. For more information, visit www.exhibitionsmeanbusiness.com/.

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/second-annual-exhibitions-day-breaks-records/

Exhibit City News YEAR IN REVIEW Exhibit City News

2015

47

JULY CEIR REVEALS LANDMARK STUDY ON EXHIBITOR ROI AND METRICS [SYNOPSIS] The Center for Exhibition Industry Research released an in-depth study last summer detailing the metrics exhibitors use to evaluate their return on investment for shows.

OREGON CONVENTION CENTER TO INSTALL LARGE ROOFTOP SOLAR ARRAY

[SYNOPSIS] In August, the Oregon Convention Center in Portland began installing the first of 6,500 rooftop solar panels to the top of its facility. When the panels are in place, they are expected to generate about 25 percent of the center’s electricity, enough to power approximately 184 Portland homes for a year.

The Oregon Convention Center has a reputation for being one of the greenest meeting facilities in the country. In 2004, OCC was the first convention center to earn the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings certification, and by 2014 the facility was certified LEED Platinum—the highest ranking for a building.

OCC continued its commitment to sustainability last year as it began installing its solar panels. When complete, the rooftop panels won’t create any emissions or pollution. “This is the future of energy,” says Kip Barrett, senior project development manager for SolarCity, the company responsible for installing and operating the panels.

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/oregon-convention-center-toinstall-largest-rooftop-solar-array/

48

YEAR IN REVIEW 2015

Exhibit City News

CEIR’s study “2015 Exhibitor and Performance Metrics Practices” offered a comprehensive look at the types of processes and metrics exhibitors use to measure the results of exhibitions. The study also evaluated where exhibitions perform best and how these performances measure against other methods designed to market products and services.

Among the key findings from the report is the news that 62 percent of exhibitors use ROI metrics to derive the value of exhibiting, with the most popular measurement being sales revenue or sales potential to the cost of exhibiting.

The report can be downloaded at www.ceir.org/ research.

Read more here: Exhibit CityNews.com/ceir-revealslandmark-study-on-exhibitorroi-and-metrics/

AUGUST 2015 Best in Show winners named by PCMA Convene [SYNOPSIS] Convene magazine announced the winners of its fourth annual Best in Show competition in August. Published by the Professional Convention Management Association, Convene recognizes excellence in 10 different categories.

PCMA publication Convene revealed the winners of its 2015 Best in Show competition in its August issue. Five winners were chosen in the following categories: Best Technology Tools, Best Social Media, Best Meeting Apps, Best CSR Initiatives, Best Room Sets, Best Food and Beverage, Best HighTech Venues, Best Off-Site Venues, Best Places for Small Meetings and Best Destination Videos.

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/2015-best-in-showwinners-named-by-pcma-convene/ Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa

FCC FINES SMART CITY $750K FOR ILLEGAL WI-FI JAMMING [SYNOPSIS] Smart City Holdings, LLC agreed to a $750,000 settlement with the Federal Communications Commission over charges that the company illegally blocked Wi-Fi access for convention attendees who did not use Smart City’s Internet access plan. The company provides Internet and telecommunications for conventions, meeting centers and hotels around the country. Attendees that opted to rely on their own cellular plans, rather than pay the $80 daily fee charged by Smart City, were illegally blocked from accessing the Internet at all.

Smart City reportedly adopted a “my way or the highway” approach for convention attendees wishing to access the Internet wirelessly. The company, which handles Internet connectivity and telecommunications at exhibition and event centers around the country, charged guests and exhibitors a flat fee—up to $80 per day—to access the Internet through its services.

Visitors who tried to access Wi-Fi through their own phone carriers were blocked by Smart City from doing so at convention centers in Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Orlando, Phoenix and Columbus, Ohio. According to the settlement, Smart City agreed to stop blocking Wi-Fi connections at the centers it serves, in addition to paying the $750,000 fine.

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/fcc-fines-smart-city-750k-for-illegal-wi-fi-jamming/

Exhibit City News YEAR IN REVIEW Exhibit City News

2015

49

SEPTEMBER

“

With more than 40 vertical markets represented, PACK EXPO and Pharma EXPO advance innovations and the cross pollination of ideas.

”

PACK EXPO LAS VEGAS RECORDS NEW HIGHS DURING 20TH YEAR [SYNOPSIS] PACK EXPO Las Vegas, the annual show by the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (PMMI), saw an uptick in attendees at its 20th anniversary in 2015. More than 28,000 people visited PACK EXPO, which is held conjunctively with the Pharma EXPO. That marked a 4 percent increase in attendees over the previous best record set in 2013. Of the 2,006 companies that exhibited in 2015, 75 percent have already secured their spots for the 2016 September show.

PACK EXPO packed them again in 2015. The processing and packaging tradeshow drew a record number of attendees to last year’s show and posted a 4-point gain over the 2013 event, which was the best in the show’s history.

The event saw double-digit gains in some categories: International attendance was up 11 percent, the number of exhibiting companies was 12 percent higher than the previous best, and the show’s net square footage shot up 17 percent.

Together, PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Pharma EXPO represent more than 40 different vertical markets.

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/pack-expo-las-vegas-records-new-highs-during-20th-year/

50

YEAR IN REVIEW 2015

Exhibit City News

OCTOBER

THE EXPO GROUP NAMES 2015 SMOTY WINNERS [SYNOPSIS] Winners of the Expo Group’s annual Show Managers of the Year (SMOTY) Awards were unveiled in October. Launched in 2000, the SMOTY Awards recognize the efforts of show organizers in contributing to any and all aspects of improving exhibition experiences for all attendees.

The five SMOTY winners are selected according to the size of the shows they run, from representatives of 150 booths or less to those in charge of more than 1,500 booths. Winners receive the classic SMOTY trophy as well as a donation on their behalf to a charity of their choice.

Nominations for future SMOTY winners can be made here: http://theexpogroup.com/e/AboutUs/SMOTY_Nominate.aspx.

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/the-expo-group-names-2015-smoty-winners/

Hill & Partners celebrates 20 years [SYNOPSIS] From the company’s humble beginnings in a small office in Quincy, Mass., in 1995, Hill & Partners has grown into one of the premiere branding experts in the exhibits, event and meetings industry.

This fall, the company celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Over the past two decades, Hill & Partners has been responsible for more than 3,800 tradeshow designs and displays, worked for more than 665 clients, won more than 30 industry awards and exhibited more than 1.7 million square feet of tradeshow space.

Launched by Susan Hill and Michael McMahon in 1995, Hill & Partners has been run by McMahon since 2008. In 2011, the company refreshed its image and made a major play for new business. Within four years its staff doubled and revenue was up by 72 percent, owing in part to the personalized experience Hill & Partners’ team members try to create for the company’s clients.

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/hill-partners-celebrates-20-years/

Exhibit City News YEAR IN REVIEW Exhibit City News

2015

51

NOVEMBER

“

IAEE NAMES TOP PUBLIC EVENTS WINNER FOR 2015

[SYNOPSIS] Los Angeles Abilities Expo 2015 was named Top Public Events winner by the International Association of Exhibitions and Events.

The Top Public Events award is presented to the best consumer show in the nation. Nominees are judged on several criteria, including business practices, stability, customer service, and how the event serves the community and industry. The Abilities Expo connects disabled individuals with live and online resources and was recognized at IAEE’s Expo! Expo! in Baltimore, Dec. 1-3.

Abilities Expo connects disabled individuals, families, senior citizens, caregivers and other health care professionals with companies that create new technologies, solutions and opportunities.

“This is a wonderful award,” said Lew Shomer, owner, Abilities Expo, “not only for those that make Abilities Expo possible, but for the millions of people who live with disabilities every day and who exhibit tenacity and a positive attitude that all things are positive as long as you think they are.”

Read more here: ExhibitCityNews.com/iaeenames-top-public-events-winner-for-2015/

52

YEAR IN REVIEW 2015

Exhibit City News

This is a wonderful award not only for those that make Abilities Expo possible, but for the millions of people who live with disabilities every day and who exhibit tenacity and a positive attitude that all things are positive as long as you think they are.

”

–Lew Shomer, owner, Abilities Expo

DECEMBER

IAEE’s Expo! Expo! grows, focuses

[SYNOPSIS] The year wound down with the International Association of Exhibitions and Events’ annual Expo! Expo!, held this year in Baltimore on Dec. 1-3. This year’s event proved the largest in the show’s history, drawing more international exhibitors than ever.

Expo! Expo! 2015 grew in some areas, but elsewhere the experience was trimmed back and focused, notably in the education seminars offered at the show. IAEE president and CEO David DuBois said the show was opting for courses with “more variety and higher quality.”

A new booth, the TechCenter Showcase, provided a crowd-pleasing platform for tech companies to unveil their new advances, and a joint session between IAEE and the Society of Independent Show Organizers tackled legal issues facing the exhibition and events industry.

Exhibit City News YEAR IN REVIEW Exhibit City News

2015

53

NATIONAL

54 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

Houston’s Convention Upgrades Put Exhibition Attendees First

By Stephanie Annis

Changes to the George R. Brown Convention Center, a new hotel and an inviting park attract visitors

T

he Houston convention industry has captured the essence of a conventioneer’s dream environment.

Exhibitors and attendees are met with luxurious settings and exciting events, all found within—or within steps of— the George R. Brown Convention Center. In fact, ongoing renovations to George R. Brown, combined with the convention center’s proximity to local attractions as well as convenient and upscale hotels, make for a meeting space with a dash of restaurants, arts and outdoor getaways.

And Houston’s efforts at redevelopment are eliminating congestion while expanding to meet demand.

The many changes taking place in Houston begin at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Renovations to the convention center’s main entry will give George R. Brown a new look, additional space and more pedestrian-friendly vibe—one of the recurring

@ExhibitCityNews

goals of the project.

“We’re extending the front door about 400 feet to give the convention center a

Renovations to the convention center’s main entry will give George R. Brown a new look, additional space and more pedestrianfriendly vibe. central grand entrance,” says Luther Villagomez, chief operating officer of the convention center. Inside, the entrance

will feature new artwork, as well as 100,000 square feet of space on the ground level that will be repurposed into registration and concourse areas. “This will allow for one connection point the entire length of the building,” Villagomez says. “The new concourse improves attendee access to the lobby space on the ground level.”

More balcony and flex space are being added to the mezzanine level as well, but one of the tastiest developments on the horizon is the addition of 25,000 square feet of restaurants, currently under construction.

The changes aren’t confined to George R. Brown’s interior, either. Avenida de las Americas (ADLA), the street that runs in front of the convention center, is being reduced from eight lanes to three, turning the former street into ADLA Plaza. That will allow greater accessibility for those travelContinued on p. 56 ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 55

NATIONAL

Continued from p. 55 ing on foot, Villagomez says.

Likewise, ADLA offers an area for outdoor events and provides an entry to the adjacent 12-acre Discovery Green Park, one of the city’s major attractions, which is just steps away across ADLA. The park is home to walking paths, restaurants, a model boat basin, artwork, a playground, a small lake and a dog park.

Discovery Green was built more than seven years ago with the idea that visitors 56 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

would be “able to have a park where you can show up at any time and there will be something for you to do,” says park president Barry Mandel, and the park’s popularity quickly outstripped its projections.

“What was estimated to be an annual attendance of half a million people has turned into about 1.2 million people on an annual basis,” Mandel says.

Houston’s weather is also a contributing factor. The climate allows for outdoor activities about 10 months of

the year, meaning that not only does Discovery Green offer added value to Houston conventioneers, but also that the park’s attendance will benefit from the convention center’s expansion. The park and convention center naturally work together “to give conventions and visitors a unique indoor/outdoor experience,” says Mandel.

The landscaping to the exterior of the convention center will prove inviting as well, Villagomez says. Among

the changes directly outside the facility will be improved landscaping and new attractions, including a special-events deck called “the Wharf” and a fountain with an art installation.

While these upgrades will prove inviting to Houston-bound convention goers, the question then becomes where to house all the new exhibitors and attendees that will be flocking to the city. It turns out Houston has that Continued on p. 58

KEEP CALM AND

TWEET ON Join the conversation

@ExhibitCityNews

NATIONAL

Continued from p. 56

Discovery Green Park in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center

58 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

question answered too.

Construction continues for the Marriott Marquis Houston, which sits on the north side of Discovery Green. The Marquis, which is slated to open in October 2016, is a 1,000-room hotel with 100,000 square feet of meeting space, says Jay Marsella, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing. “As much as 70 percent of our projected clientele will be groups,” he says.

The hotel’s grand ballroom will be the largest in Houston, meaning that in addition to conventions and meetings the Marquis will also be able to attract large galas, Marsella says.

Convention attendees staying at the Marquis may enjoy their downtime almost as much as they enjoy the show. The new hotel will offer amenities such a full-service spa and fitness center, as well as restaurants, a wine bar and a two-story sports bar. On hot days—a frequent occurrence in Houston—guests can hit the rooftop infinity pool or lazy river, shaped like the state of Texas, naturally.

The addition of the Marriott Marquis Houston will complement the nearby Hilton Americas-Houston, located on the south side of Discovery Green, offering more convenient options for exhibition and events professionals. But, this being Texas, bigger is better. So the Hilton has made some changes of its own, including an on-site 4,000-square-foot renovation that houses the state’s largest Starbucks.

Exhibit City News .com

Get the latest tradeshow industry news...on the go!

Trade Shows from One Country to the Next A new book written by past IFES & EDPA President

Larry Kulchawik

REDUCE YOUR LABOR EXPENSES EXPAND YOUR NATIONAL REACH From City to City, Employco has you covered.

Whether you set up one booth or an entire show, anywhere in the country, we can reduce your labor expenses.

SAVE TIME, SAVE MONEY International trade shows requires a recalculation of thinking when exhibiting globally.

This book provides A review of the venues, rules, regulations, exhibit styles, labor issues, and cultural differences for exhibiting in 45 countries.

There is no right way, there is no wrong way, there is only a different way.

Respect and understand what is different to avoid surprises and ensure exhibit success.

Available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or direct through Exhibit City News.

www.LarryKulchawik.com

60 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

Payroll and Tax Management Union Fringe Calculations Access to Union Agreements Discounted Workers’ Comp Rates Human Resource Outsourcing Employee Benefits for Non Union Employees

We help manage your administrative functions so you can focus on expanding your reach.

Contact Rob Wilson, President 630.286.7345 robwilson@employco.com www.employco.com

Employco USA is the official payroll service provider of the E2MA

Installing and Dismantling Exhibits Throughout California

Signs

Tradeshows

DisplayWorks

Retail

Event Outfitters USA

Museums

Hwalin Design

Events

MC 2

www.onsiteexhibitorservice.com | 707 258 8980

Thank You to All of Our Partners and Friends for a Wonderful 40 Years!

We Look Forward to Many More Years Together. – The Edlen Family

Photo by

Edlen.com @ExhibitCityNews

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 61

NATIONAL

Finding the Right Hire Is Only the First Step

By Andy Caruso

62 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

I

read a recent article by Philip Kemper of Kemper Associates, a successful search firm located here in Chicago. In the article, Philip gave some tremendous insight into his interview style and technique, designed to help any business choose the best and brightest talent out there.

His words couldn’t have come at a better time as we continue to see the pool of qualified candidates shrink further and further amid a job market that is hungering both locally and nationally. If candidate selection is the appetizer for a business, talent retention should be its main course.

Successfully retaining these prized new hires begins with an onboarding process.

You just landed a great new employee. Now what?

Finding that next heavy hitter for your organization is only the first step in a long process of driving your business forward. @ExhibitCityNews

Unfortunately, this is where many companies stop. A recent study indicates that 34 percent of companies have no formal onboarding process, and 53 percent of companies that have onboarding processes only started them within the last year. While this means more companies are starting to take onboarding seriously, there are still countless companies out there that have not made this a priority at all. Given the success of onboarding programs, it’s hard to see why.

Companies with formal onboarding programs experience higher returns on their employees, a more tenured workforce with lower turnover and higher client retention.

They also see increased profits over their competition. In fact, companies with formal and “best in class” onboarding programs enjoy 60 percent year-over-year improvement in revenue per full-time employee and exceed 12-month performance milestones by 30 percent over companies with poor onboarding programs.

So why isn’t all of this being taken more seriously? I would argue that the problem is a simple lack of understanding of what makes an onboarding program great. Many companies focus the first day of a new hire’s employment on a few key areas that do very little to align the employee with the goals of the company or that do not adequately set new employee standards and performance expectations. The fact is, the more you do to make your new employee aware of the culture, mission, vision and expectations of the company, the better the chance that this

employee will remain a devoted member of your team.

Keys to employee onboarding that drive retention and success

»» Celebrate your new employee’s first day. For most people, starting a new job is a big deal. This employee may be about to spend the next 10 years at your company.

Begin by assuming that’s the case, and celebrate his or her first day any way that you can. »» Introduce your new employee to his or her mentor. Mentorship programs are one of the easiest and fastest ways to acclimate new employees—and it won’t cost you a penny. As an added benefit, you can use the mentor program as a reward to high-performing employees in the form of a “management training device.” »» Manager interviews. Whether the direct supervisor of the new employee was involved in the interview process or not, that manager should spend an hour getting to know his or her new employee. This conversation should be used to talk about personal goals, expectations and

the importance of the individual within the organization. »» Lay out a performance plan. It is hard to ask an employee to meet critical business goals within their first year if they are unaware of what those goals are. Have the manager of the new employee take time to explain what first year goals are, how to meet them, and when follow-up will be done on each of the goals.

While instituting an onboarding process is not the definitive answer to turnover issues— having one might not stop you from losing a great employee, for example—it is fair to say that paving the way for success with a new employee is a great steppingstone in the process of valuing your people.

Andy has spent the last 12 years in human resource consulting, most recently as the director of business development for Employco USA. Employco acts as an HR outsourcing and consulting firm, delivering basic HR functions alongside progressive ones to enhance the productivity of companies across the U.S. For more information visit www.employco.com.

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 63

NATIONAL

New changes to Aria’s convention space include media walls that can be used for meeting updates, conference signage or sponsorship advertising.”

Inside the convention center at Aria Resort & Casino

Aria Doubles Down on Convention Space in Las Vegas

By Exhibit City News

T

he Aria Resort & Casino is growing—to meet the needs of exhibitors and conventioneers, that is. The upscale hotel in Las Vegas’ City Center recently announced plans to nearly double its convention center

by February 2018. The expansion will include an additional 64 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

200,000 square feet of meeting space, bringing the total available area to more than 500,000 square feet.

The future space will be spread over four floors, with an open ballroom and indoor/ outdoor breakout rooms on the first level, meeting rooms on the second level, another

ballroom and access to the existing center on the third level, and a patio capable of holding 2,000 guests overlooking the still-under-construction Las Vegas Arena on the top floor.

“Convention business at Aria is booming, and demand is currently exceeding the space we have available,” says Bobby

Baldwin, Aria’s president and COO. Large meetings and conventions are a core part of Aria’s business, Baldwin says. “As our clients’ needs grow, we are committed to grow with them.”

The expansion is coming right on the heels on Aria’s convention center freshen up, which was completed in late 2015. Those changes included charging stations, high-tech furniture that accommodates more people and media walls that can be used for meeting updates, conference signage or sponsorship advertising.

“This refresh with these special new touches allows us to further improve our attendees’ experience,” said Tony Yousfi, vice president of sales for Aria.

(508) 870-1844

Trade Shows / Exhibits / Events

> Skilled Installation & Dismantle Labor > General Contracting & Event Decorating > Furniture, Carpet, & A/V Rentals

(508) 366-8594

info@corp-eventsne.com

@ExhibitCityNews

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 65

NATIONAL

Beacon Technology Is Changing the Event Industry

By Panvista

T

here’s no argument about the tremendous value of truly understanding your customers, and the time is now for the event space to start taking advantage.

Today, most people are familiar with the concept of Web analytics, at least at a very basic level. The idea that websites can track which pages are visited most frequently and how much time is spent on each of 66 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

them, as well as where traffic came from prior and went to after their visit, is an understood and scientific way to measure visitors’ engagement.

With this kind of data, marketers can assess website performance and address any issues on the pages that are not achieving their desired goals, thereby improving the overall experience for their customers and, ultimately, making better

business decisions.

So what about events, conferences and tradeshows?

Wouldn’t it be great to have the ability to apply the same kind of scientific approach to measure engagement at your event without resorting to guesswork and less-than-perfect data that has been cobbled together from grabbing people’s badges and scanning them? Well, now you can with beacon technology.

Tradeshow Analytics— How Does Beacon Technology Work?

Event attendees receive a beacon, usually clipped to their badge, that they carry with them throughout the event as they visit workshops, exhibitor booths or even the food court. Beacons are small, battery-powered wireless devices that communicate with sensors placed throughout a show space. The most efficient way for beacons to achieve this is by sending signals over a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connection. These beacons are then used to monitor attend-

ees’ movements throughout the event and provide aggregated analysis in the form of traffic flow trends, heat maps and other useful stats.

Measure Attendee Engagement With Beacons By tracking attendee traffic, we can get information about the time a visitor arrived at a given booth and how long they stayed there. Analyzing attendee behavior allows for accurate assessment of their engagement, clearly identifying what works and what doesn’t. Event organizers employing a beacon system enjoy precise data on attendance, average length-of-stay per visitor, traffic information by booth, aisle and cross-section, as well as time spent in sponsored or trade areas. This kind of proof-of-engagement helps event organizers reduce exhibitor churn, boost sales and improve sponsorship revenues. Additionally, this data is often analyzed for improved operational insight such as

@ExhibitCityNews

Wouldn’t it be great to have the ability to measure event engagement without resorting to data cobbled together from scanning people’s badges?” identifying high traffic areas or traffic flow issues. As far as exhibitors are concerned, the benefits are even greater.

Without the need to intrusively gather business cards or

scan badges—depending on the nature of the event—exhibitors can receive contact information of qualified leads, as well as any other data attendees choose to provide.

In terms of aggregated booth traffic analysis, exhibitors effortlessly gain access to accurate and insightful information that includes:

»» The number of visitors that came to their booth

»» The number of times visitors returned to their booth »» The amount of time visitors spent at their booth »» Overall booth traffic trends by time-of-day and over the course of the event A Time Before Beacons Up until this point, the most common attendee behavior measurement tool was the use of barcode scanners. The manual practice of scanning a barcode found on each visitor’s badge at every booth they visit can be quite a cumbersome process. This

normally results in partial data, as not all visitors get scanned, not to mention the even-less-likely scan of returning visitors. When it comes to more specific data, such as exact time of visit or the duration of their stay, these, in most cases, are obviously not recorded.

Besides, who really likes having their badge manually scanned anyway?

Make Your Event Better If you, like all event organizers, are looking for innovative ways to take your event to the next level, there is no better way to start than by implementing beacon technology to help you understand your clients better. Not only will you and your exhibitors get unbeatable analytics about the physical behavior of attendees, you will also enjoy the valuable insights that it brings, which will help you make better decisions, improve your event and make it more profitable.

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 67

INTERNATIONAL COLUMN The Venue Management Opinion

Centers and Organizers: Better Together!

Q&A with Geoff Donaghy, president, AIPC

C

enters are emerging from the challenges of the recent global economic slump with some valuable new lessons in business operations. But none is more important than a realization of how both facilities and organizers need to work more effectively together in order to maximize the all-important delegate experience in a time when everyone needs new justification for participating in business events. AIPC President Geoff Donaghy responds to the question of how these two groups can collaborate more effectively in the areas that matter.

What is the driving force behind this new need for center/client collaboration?

I’d say that the top driver is the rapid evolution in event content and formats, brought about by factors ranging from newly available technologies and changing delegate expectations to shifts in program requirements and an increasing engagement by participants in shaping the event structure itself.

These shifts can require a significant investment of effort by all concerned— often with little time in which to do it— but there’s a lot at stake for everyone.

Organizers know the importance of responding to changing expectations if they are to retain attendance, and those expectations are changing daily. Many features that were considered luxuries even a year or so ago—like sustainability programs or available connectivity—are now simply expectations, while others such as multiple media and remote technologies are moving rapidly in that direction. And this is all coming at a time when event finances are still challenged from years of global economic recession.

68 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

How are centers responding?

Centers have some unique challenges; it’s a lot easier to change a program on paper than it is to reconfigure a building which may have been designed and built to meet different conditions. Also, many of the new services now in demand are costly to support, and organizers are not always willing to pay the extra expenses. However, the center product is itself constantly evolving, and that creates new opportunities to revisit how changing event requirements can be supported.

What about the organizer interface?

I think there are two factors for success in this respect: the first is creativity and the second is transparency.

In the creativity department, the need is to anticipate new program demands as far in advance as possible. This means an ongoing dialogue between the planner and the center during the period between booking and delivery in order to take full advantage of new services and program options that may be developed in the interim. It’s often possible to address new requirements very cost effectively through programs already in place at the venues, provided everyone knows about them. So in areas like sustainability or space configurations, creative solutions can often be found easily if there is advance information that lets the venue look more widely at available options.

As far as transparency, again it makes sense to get all the expectations on the table and keep updating these as conditions evolve so there are no surprises on either side. By keeping this conversation active and updated the surprise factor can be mini-

mized—and in the meantime, everyone can be on the lookout for greater savings and efficiencies.

Why does all this matter?

In the end, only one thing really matters for both parties—and that is to ensure the delegate has the best possible experience and comes away from the event feeling they got a good return on their investment of both time and money. So it makes sense that, more than ever, centers and planners should be collaborating on how to deliver that experience as powerfully and cost effectively as possible.

Geoff Donaghy is the president of AIPC. For more information, contact marianne.de.raay@aipc.org or visit aipc.org.

• • • • • • •

No External Power Supply Pure White Bright Light Extra Wide Beam Spread 25 W = 250 W (halogen) Link up to 6 Lights Adjustable Light Deflector Removable Warm Light Filter

• • • • • • •

Portable Power in a Box Lightweight with Carry Handle Quick Charge Technology Easy to Use Control Panel Multiple LED Light Options USB Charging Adapter Gold Standard Lithium-ion Battery

• • • • • • •

Light and Power in One 1 Light Lasts 16 hrs 6 W LED Light = 700 Lumens Sealed LED Light Fixture Bright White Wall Wash Lightweight Battery Pack Take Anywhere Portability

www.TradeshowLights.com 1-866-620-1380

INTERNATIONAL

IFES World Summit to Bridge Cultural Gaps

IFES World Summit 2015 in Vienna

By Exhibit City News

T

he International Federation of Exhibition and Event Services (IFES) is gearing up for its summer World Summit 2016 in Istanbul, June 2–4. The theme of this year’s summit is “Building Bridges to the Future.” Istanbul was selected as the site of this year’s summit because of the Turkish city’s central location between the Eastern and Western hemispheres, a city where “Orient meets Occident,” according to IFES, and a bridge between two cultures. “[Istanbul] is between Asia and Europe,” says IFES president Voicu Sferdianu.

70 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

Since its creation in 1984, IFES’ mission has been to facilitate relationships between international companies and to open lines of communication between potential and existing partners. IFES realizes these goals by serving as a platform on which businesses interested in working together can meet. The organization also advises on exhibition marketing and acts as an industry representative on the global stage. “If you want to work international— act international” is the IFES motto.

IFES World Summit 2015 was held in Vienna and drew participants from 37

countries. While the annual event offers a robust series of lectures and discussions, one of the summit’s primary draws is the ability to connect these potential partners face-to-face. “People do business with people that they know,” says Justin Hawes, IFES treasurer. Hawes says that being an active participant in IFES and attending events like the World Summit are crucial for companies that want to work on an international level.

For more information on World Summit 2016 or to book a space now, visit www.IFESnet.com.

exhibit & event services

EXPERIENCE the ENERGY

OVER 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

UNIVERSITY TRAINING PROGRAM

Experience you can count on

Experts you can trust

NATIONWIDE EXHIBIT & EVENT SERVICES

DEDICATED PROJECT MANAGERS

We have you covered

We are here to support your project

PRICELESS INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS

ONLINE PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The resources to deliver

Real-time, anytime, anywhere

5 STAR CUSTOMER SERVICE PROGRAM Attention to every last detail

www.willworkinc.com | 508-230-3170 | info@willworkinc.com

INTERNATIONAL

Liverpool’s Exhibition Centre Goes Green

By Exhibit City News

T

he newly built Exhibition Centre Liverpool recently finished installation of 925 solar panels on its roof, panels that will allow the facility to generate its own renewable energy for the next 20 years.

The rooftop energy collectors, which were installed by energy company E.ON, are expected to produce about 250,000 kilowatt hours of energy each year— enough to power 78 average-size U.K. homes—and reduce the building’s carbon footprint by 130 metric tons annually.

Exhibition Centre Liverpool (ECL) is owned and operated by the ACC Liverpool Group, who also operates the nearby Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool, which includes the Echo Arena and BT Convention Centre.

The ACC Liverpool Group has demonstrated its commitment to sustainable energy through the creation of its own environmental task force, which helped fast-track ECL to a “zero to landfill” status.

“This demonstrates the ACC Liverpool Group’s commitment to the environment,” says Liverpool mayor Joe

72 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

Left: The Exhibition Centre Liverpool opened in September. Top: The solar panels atop the new ECL facility will generate enough energy annually to power 78 average-size U.K. homes. Below: The view from inside ECL.

Anderson. It’s also “part of my pledge to make Liverpool a cleaner, greener city,” he adds.

“Whether it’s about using less energy in the first place, managing consumption in a smarter way or even generating that power yourself, the work we’ve done with the ACC Liverpool Group is a great example of what solutions are available to help businesses to cut costs and improve their environmental credentials,” says Brian Gladwin, an account manager for E.ON. @ExhibitCityNews

Exhibition Centre Liverpool, which opened in September, hosts trade and consumer exhibitions, conferences, banquets, concerts and sporting events.

The facility has already hosted a number of events, including RenewableUK and the Telegraph Cruise Show, and has others, such as MCM Comic Con, scheduled. The convention center consists of three main halls, an atrium, meeting rooms and a box office. An adjacent hotel, Pullman Liverpool, is slated to open in February.

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 73

CONVENTION CENTER SPOTLIGHT

EAT Among the most difficult choices facing Galveston’s visitors is where to dine—not because there are too few places, but because the choices are so many. At 104 years old, Gaido’s Seafood Restaurant is an island dining tradition, with the best pecan pie in Texas. Number 13 is an upscale steak and seafood establishment, with sweeping waterfront views. For less formal meals or quick bites to go, head to Sunflower Bakery & Café in Galveston’s East End historical district, or sample the eclectic menu at Farley Girls Café or the authentic Greek cuisine at Olympia Grill Pier 21.

SLEEP

Galveston Island Convention Center

I

Dress accordingly.

Galveston Island offers temperate weather year-round, averaging 57° in the winter months and 81° in the summer months.

By Exhibit City News

t’s island time in Galveston, and mixing business with pleasure has never been easier. The exhibit hall at Galveston Island Convention Center features more than 43,000 square feet of dividable open space, with a total of 140,000 square feet when the grand ballroom and meeting rooms are included—all of it serviced with complimentary Wi-Fi. The GICC overlooks the water in this tropical paradise that is rife with beaches and beautiful Victorian architecture. Located just 50 miles south of Houston, this small island possesses all the charm of a historic beach town while offering all the modern amenities necessary for a successful exhibition or event.

74 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

GET WET Galveston is an island, so during downtime water attractions are a natural part of the fun. With 32 miles of beaches, Galveston offers ample opportunities to swim, fish, surf or sail. For people who prefer to view the sea from a distance, take a stroll around the city’s seawall and adjacent sidewalk, which is reportedly the world’s longest continuous sidewalk. Other options include a visit to the aquarium at Moody Gardens, where guests can swim in a 1.5-million-gallon tank or a ride on the Colonel Paddlewheel Boat, a replica of an 1880’s paddlewheel.

Photo courtesy of Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau

TRAVELER TIP:

Luxury or history? The two aren’t mutually exclusive as far as Galveston’s sleeping accommodations are concerned. The Tremont House, in downtown Galveston, is located in the historic Leon & H. Blum Building and features period rooms and a rooftop bar with gorgeous sunset views. The San Luis Resort, Conference Center and Spa offers upscale rooms with Gulf views, fine restaurants and a top-notch spa—and the adjacent convention center. The Hotel Galvez & Spa has been pleasing guests from around the world for more than 100 years. Elegant décor, luxurious service, scenic Gulf Coast event space and a majestic location across from the water make this an attractive option for exhibitors and attendees. Hotel Galvez is also the only historic beachfront hotel on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Sign Up For Our Weekly Email Newsblasts! visit www.ExhibitCityNews.com/Subscribe Each week, you will receive relevant, trending updates on the tradeshow industry.

Headliner Newsblast, International Newsblast, Mid-month Newsblast and People on the Move Newsblast.

SUBSCRIBE TO EXHIBIT CITY NEWS Keep up on the industry trends and the latest news from the show floor!

Subscribe to the nation’s only tradeshow industry newspaper, so you can stay informed, educated and connected to what’s important.

To Subscribe Online, go to www.ExhibitCityNews.com/Subscribe or Fax This Form to 702-309-8027 or Place Subscription By Phone at 702-309-8023 Name: _______________________________________________________ Title: _________________________________________________________ Company: ____________________________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________ City: ________________________ State: _______ Zip: _______________

1 YEAR

2 YEARS

6 editions

12 editions

Email: ______________________________________________________

ONLY $42.00

ONLY $70.00

Date: _______________________________________________________

Daytime Phone: ________________ Fax: ___________________________

Credit Card # ______________________Exp. Date:_________________ Card Holder’s Name:__________________________________________

CREATING SUCCESS BEHIND THE SCENES Nolan Advisory Services will improve your company’s overall performance.

Our solution based services are developed for your specific goals and culture.

We work confidentially behind the scenes to create success.

OVER 20 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN THE EXHIBIT INDUSTRY: • Strategic and Financial Planning • Performance Improvements

Dan Greene is Managing Director at NolanAdvisory Services.

• Transaction Advisory - Buy & Sell Representation • Guiding companies in areas of Profitability, Cash Flow, Risk Management and Productivity

708.650.3343

Email: dgreene@nolanadvisory.com www.nolanadvisory.com

@ExhibitCityNews

• COO/CFO Positions in Trade Shows • Licensed/Registered Business Broker • Former EDPA Board Member & Chapter President

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 75

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

People on the Move

C

hampion Logistics Group announced the addition of David Breen as general manager over its Nashville and Boston offices. Breen will be responsible for achieving company growth goals at the company’s Boston office and overseeing staff growth and development throughout the New England and middle Tennessee locations.

Gloria Collins joined CORT Trade Show & Event Furnishings, the nation’s leading furniture, lighting and accessories rental company, as an exhibit house account executive in Hanover, Maryland.

She will serve CORT clients in the northeast United States.

Elevation Exhibits & Events recently announced the addition of account executive Sam Burnstein to its team. He comes to Elevation with a background in the exhibit industry and expertise in sales and account management.

Bruce Mau, cofounder of the Massive Change Network, joins Freeman in the new role of chief design officer. Freeman 76 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

From left to right: Sam Burnstein, Wendy Gibson, Bruce Mau and Kelly Voss

By Exhibit City News

created the position to drive innovation in the events industry.

Global Experience Specialists (GES) made a couple recent changes. Jeff Youngs joined the company’s Corporate Events team as vice president of production and operations, while Mark Thomas was promoted to senior vice president of business development for GES Corporate Events. GES also announced that Wendy Gibson has joined GES as executive vice president of global marketing.

Hill & Partners named Tony Patete, who brings 20 years of sales and sales management experience, as sales manager, expanding the company’s award-winning team of branded environment specialists.

Bonnie Cordobes-Frisbie has joined the San Francisco team at MG as a senior account director, and the company hired two new account managers, Christie Zander and Marisa Goldberg, as well.

Momentum Management promoted Amy Reaume to account manager

from her previous position as account coordinator.

Martha Murray joins Highmark TechSystems as controller. In this position, she will manage the company’s finance, accounting and human resources.

Nimlok Chicago announced that Michael Benson has recently joined its team as general manager. He will be responsible for leading the activities of teams within sales, marketing, estimating, design, production and warehouse.

The San Diego Convention Center Corporation’s board of directors has appointed Joe Davis as an interim general manager of the San Diego Convention Center. Davis will serve until a full-time replacement is hired.

TradeTec Skyline recently announced Kelly Voss has joined as senior exhibit consultant. Voss’ primary role is to partner with clients and guide them through the exhibit-planning process while focusing on their goals, budget and time lines.

SW_STM_9x5_Ad_01-2015.pdf 1 1/19/2015 11:23:51 AM

"Our business experience with your facility has been fantastic and has saved us thousands of dollars.

Our ability to ship literature and supplies to your office has truly made STORAGEWEST an extension of our corporate offices In NH. We would not be able to manage our trade show business nearly as effectively if we did not have STORAGE WEST as a business partner in Las Vegas.”

NG O VI

R

SER

VE

35

Turn-off: Getting picked up Toy: Big blue bone Turn-on: Squirrels Meal: Salami Pastime: Chasing squirrels, watching TV

Turn-on: Sticks & branches Toy: Squeaky beaver Meal: Yogurt Phrase: “Why are you so cute?”

Feat: Carrying branches 5x my size

Dan Greene, Chicago, IL

Teryn Blais, Springfield, VA

Molly Nolan Advisory Services

Heidi Nomadic Display

Feature Your Dog

Irie The Design Factory @ExhibitCityNews

www.tradeshowdogs.com

Turn-on: Rubbing his belly Toy: Rubber bone Meal: Greenies Pastime: Lying on the couch Phrase: “He’s so cute”

Meal: Blue Buffalo Spot: Casa de Burkette Pastime: Hanging out in the sun Phrase: “Up you go” Feat: Being rescued

Glenn Thompson, Las Vegas, NV

Jay Burkette, Tampa, FL

Scooter ExpoDisplays ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 77

BUSINESS PRACTICES

Retail Experiences Are the New Client Cocktail Party

By Kara Walsh, CMO, Kapow

W

hen you think of throwing a client entertainment event, a traditional dinner, cocktail party or box seat tickets to the big game usually comes to mind. And while these types of events will never go out of style, more and more companies are getting creative with different types of corporate events. One type of new event experience we’re seeing become more and more popular is events at retail stores.

With retail events, companies rent out a brick-andmortar location and give guests a gift card to shop for

78 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

the perfect item—be it shoes, sunglasses, a pair of jeans or another great item.

During the event, guests are able to try on merchandise and consult with stylists or other experts on their purchases. And more often than not, the drinks and apps are included to help foster conversation and keep the party going even after the retail therapy is over.

At Kapow, we’ve seen a spike in popularity of retail event bookings. Since January 2014 when we first began offering these types of experiences, more than 500 have been purchased, and

we only expect that number to continue to grow. In fact, Kapow has seen an average of 35 percent growth in the demand for retail experiences quarter over quarter.

So what exactly is it that makes a retail experience so popular?

“We’ve found that these retail experiences help us stand out with our partners, clients and customers,” said David Becker, senior Dell brand manager at CDW. “Not only do retail experiences offer an interactive atmosphere where we can engage our attendees in conversation, but they get

to walk away with a tangible gift—a physical reminder of their experience with us that they can use long after the event is over.”

A cocktail party gives hosts an opportunity to gain valuable face-to-face time with their clients, but the impression of a retail experience lasts long after all the guests have gone home. Every time they wear or use their new product, you’ll be top of mind.

Instead of putting another traditional cocktail party on your clients’ calendar, entice them with a unique event, like a retail experience, that they won’t be able to turn down.

CORPORATE PROFILE: Special Advertising Section

Training Sets Chicago Regional Council Carpenters Apart

W

ith the economic recession thankfully becoming more of a distant memory and as the Chicagoland construction market has picked up steam, the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters (CRCC) has been one step ahead in preparation for current and projected growth. With each passing day the Carpenter Training Center is producing new and advanced skilled tradespeople who are ready, willing and able to meet not only construction industry labor demands, but the needs of the communities in which we all live. Here is why.

The depth and breadth of training courses offered to members empowers them to seize a career and bring the requisite standard of excellence to Chicagoland projects and job sites.

“In the 30-plus years that I’ve been in the trade show industry as a labor contractor, show organizer and association manager I have long known that our industry couldn’t exist without the service and support of a standby workforce to move our shows in and out of the nation’s convention centers,” said Executive Director Jim Wurm of the Exhibit & Event Marketers Association.

“I’ve also been highly aware that one of the great challenges our industry has is the competency and levels of service excellence vary greatly from venue to venue and city to city. It is clear to me and to most experienced trade show professionals that the carpenters in Chicago are the cream of the crop. Their attitude, work ethic and skill sets clearly are the best in our business. The EAC members of the E2MA frequently tell me that their ability to serve their customers would be greatly enhanced, if all trade show locals were as professional and proficient as the Chicago 80 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

carpenters. In my view the combination of a world class venue (McCormick Place) and the industry’s best workforce clearly make Chicago the top choice for our industry’s premier events.”

“Our extensive training program and apprenticeship program are what sets union carpenters apart from nonunion carpenters,” said Regional Council Training Director Vince Sticca. “Our members have access to incredible training and continuing education that keeps their skills sharp and their minds equally sharp to be able to successfully operate and manage the latest technology and materials on project sites. There is no similar program or facility for nonunion carpenters.”

Ultimately, it is the commitment and investment from the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters and President Frank Libby, the CRCC’s trustees and signatory contractors, and the school’s dedicated instructors and staff who form the bedrock of this program’s success for now and the future.

To be a carpenter means to be identified with one of the oldest and most respected trades. While the public often thinks of a carpenter as a man or woman who focuses solely on working with wood, this is far from a complete definition. The Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters (CRCC) provides the construction, trade show and maintenance industries with productive, competitive, certified professionals to meet a broad range of societal needs and bring ease and efficiency to our everyday lives.

The CRCC’s carpenters and millwrights possess the versatility and skill to build

critical transportation infrastructure (roads, bridges, rail, sea walls, deep tunnel projects and pump stations); construct both major residential and commercial projects from the concrete to the finished trim work, locks and closures; address the sustainability and energy market through Building Renewable Resource Projects sm; install and maintain machinery and equipment within industrial plants throughout our jurisdiction; erect Chicago’s high-rises and skylines to the region’s municipal buildings and service facilities; and much more. The CRCC puts its diverse skills to work across the Midwest on: houses, apartments and condos; skyscrapers, schools and office buildings; health care facilities, assisted living centers and houses of worship; bridges, railways, tunnels and highways; trade shows at McCormick Place, the Rosemont Convention Center, Navy Pier, hotels and conference centers; generators, electrical and wind turbines, nuclear power plants and refineries; floorcovering including carpet, wood and vinyl products; mill cabinet industry; charitable endeavors like home renovations for the needy and aid in times of community crises.

The professional construction industry overall generally recognizes that skilled union tradespeople are more productive, effective and efficient than those who have not been union trained, translating to increased profitability for the firms that hire them.

“I have been in the trade show industry for 33 years and have worked with every local labor force around the country” said Owner/President Steve Johnson of Renaissance Management. “In my opinion the Chicago Carpenters are the best of the best. Working in McCormick Place and in the greater Chicago area has always been a pleasure due to the tremendous attitude, work ethic and skill of these people. When I broke into the business in the early ’80s we used to refer to our crew as “The lunch pail gang,” as they came to work every day ready to give a strong eight hours of work

for the pay they would receive. Recent changes in the work rules have enabled this group to offer higher levels of service and efficiency to exhibitors which allows Chicago to continue to attract the highest quality events in the nation.”

In fact, a series of studies conducted by Steven G. Allen, professor of economics at North Carolina State University, supported this fact when it found that contractors that use organized labor are 35 to 50 percent more productive than those that don’t.

While a small group of builders and developers within the construction industry like to claim that there are not enough skilled carpenters and tradespeople to go around, this claim is misleading and made at the expense of the working class, driving down worker wages, debilitating families and destabilizing communities.

“An educated, productive, motivated workforce will more than counterbalance the higher labor costs associated with a union partnership,” explained Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters President/Executive Secretary-Treasurer Frank Libby.

“The net effect is that a company that hires union labor can improve its bottom line and it can improve its employee productivity with less employee turnover.

Employees who are paid a fair wage and have insurance benefits, access to continuing education and can retire with dignity are people who have chosen to make a career in this industry. The most qualified tradespeople tend to migrate toward the best benefits, seeking the highest level of security, job-site safety and wages.”

“Within our partnership we can provide this at a cost that no firm can ever match on its own,” Libby continued. “Partnering with us allows companies to retain the most productive and efficient workforce, get the best value for their money, reduce health care and pension costs through hour multiemployer programs and reduce the incidence of job-site accidents (which, in turn, reduces worker compensation and liability insurance costs and minimizes Occupational Safety and Health Administration [OSHA] citations).“ The CRCC has the most efficient safety @ExhibitCityNews

program of any council in the brotherhood,” Libby added. “This safety program was founded in 1979 and has been designed to assist in protecting our members from sustaining job-site fatalities and injuries and also help our contractors to comply with state and federal OSHA standards.

The standards to which CRCC members hold themselves to, not only keep them safe on the job site, but ensure that all structures are safe, as well.

“Having worked with our clients in most, if not all, major convention centers across the United States my experience tells me that the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters has always been up to the task,” said John “Jack” Patronski, Executive Vice President-Industry Development, Global Experience Specialists. “Whether it is a top 10 exhibition or a smaller event in a hotel facility they understand how to get the job completed. With the more flexible “exhibitor rights” that were agreed to in the fall of 2011 the Carpenters have been very cooperative in making this labor legislation a success and allowing exhibitors to do work they wish to perform on their own. In addition I have had the opportunity to serve on the MPEA Management Labor Council with Business Representative Kevin McLaughlin, and he is very active in working to identify additional ways to improve customer service for both show organizers and exhibitors.”

The CRCC recently launched the eXcellence in Training Recognition Award (XTRAtm) initiative, an incentive program designed to recognize and reward carpenters who take advantage of the training, continuing education and certification classes that are offered at Carpenter Training Centers. “I cannot emphasize enough the importance of skill training and certifications for our journey-people,” said CRCC President Frank Libby. “The awards of this program are symbolic of effort and commitment, but the true benefit will be realized

by the journeyperson on the job site, when he or she arrives for work and brings a new level of self-confidence to the project and added benefit to the employer,” Libby said.

The CRCC has also partnered with select Chicago and suburban junior colleges on a program that recognizes and rewards apprentice training by granting college credit hours, enabling accredited carpenters to earn an associate’s degree and opening the door to higher education for many who felt that a college degree was time or cost prohibitive.

Carpenter work is very physical and challenging,” Sticca continued. “You are generally working in the weather extremes of the Midwest, and you are often carrying heavy materials and working on scaffolds.

Work also involves math, dexterity and hand-eye coordination. So you have to be willing and able to do all of that.

“While students are with us at the training centers we make sure that they are well-rounded, well-educated and safe. When you are a carpenter, in order to advance your career you need to know how to do many things, from trim work to foundations to constructing interior systems using metal studs, so we teach all of that and more,” Sticca stated. “And we stress teamwork.

Carpenters need to be able to work as part of a team. They also need to be able to use the latest technology and install the newest materials, so that is why we emphasize continuing education to our journeyperson members.”

It is society as a whole that stands to win when proficiency, experience and productivity merge with commitment and desire. That defines the working class of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters—A Positive Force in Building CommunitiesTM. For more information about the CRCC training programs, visit www.chicap.org or call 847-640-7373.

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 81

INDUSTRY EVENTS

A Toast to ProExhibit’s New Facility

Photo by

The official unveiling of ProExhibit’s new state-of-the-art facility in Silicon Valley was held in November. The guests and highprofile staff makes one think this was a gathering of the industry’s who’s who list.

This new building—and the crowd who celebrated it—features a combination manufacturing-showroom-office space, as the company is on track to triple its business over the next couple years.

82 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

Classifieds

HIRING ADDITIONAL STAFF? Need an administrative clerk, project manager, CAD detailer, account executives? Exhibit City News Classifieds can help fill your positions with our popular digital and print postings.

CALL OR EMAIL TODAY TO RESERVE SPACE! Kathy Anaya | 702-309-8023 | KathyA@ExhibitCityNews.com

Recognizing and celebrating the exhibit & event industry’s workers through our “Good Works” programs.

The success of 2015 promises an even brighter 2016.

We would like to share a few excerpts from our Chairman’s 2015 letter addressed to our Grantors.

This year’s accomplishments included; Increasing our Grantor program to include 43 Industry companies; the Grantor program has now delivered over $240,000 towards the Foundation’s efforts. $50,000 was given to the Randy Smith Memorial Golfing Outing charitable giving. A total of 11 recipients received both emotional and financial support as a result of this effort.

20 students from industry families received scholarship dollars during the year to help with tuition costs. The foundation also provided scholarship support to each of our two Partner Schools.

As of 9/30/15 the EDPAF Endowment fund had increased to $330,000 providing stability for our “good works” programs in the years to come.

Form all of us on the board. A sincere thanks to all who helped in our success in 2015.

@ExhibitCityNews

Recognizing those that give.

Mike Davis, Executive VP Cort

What motivated you to become a founding Grantor? The opportunity to support values we believe in. We have received so much from our industry we felt this program was a great way to give back to our community.

Has someone you know ever benefited from the EDAF’s efforts? Yes, we had an individual who was going through a very tough life event and was supported through the good works program. We also had another employee who was the beneficiary of the scholarship program.

What did you get back from your personal involvement? Aside from supporting programs I believe are critical to our future It has strengthened our relationships and provided insight and perspectives we may not have been exposed to through the normal course of business. It is also an investment that provides our entire team a since of pride.

If you would like to become a part of this industry-wide effort please reach out to us by contacting:

EDPA Foundation Headquarters 10 Norden Place | Norwalk, CT 06855 Attn: Melissa Nemitz ( mnemitz@edpa.com ) 203-852-5698

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 83

SHH! CUT OF THE WEEK

WE’RE LETTING YOU IN ON A LITTLE SECRET. EACH WEEK, CHEF STEVE BLANDINO HAND SELECTS A UNIQUE CUT OF MEAT PAIRED WITH SEASONAL INGREDIENTS AND PRESENTS IT WITH "BOTTOMLESS WINE PAIRINGS" FOR JUST $48. ASK YOUR SERVER FOR THE MENU. VIEW MENUS AT CHARLIEPALMER.COM. Four Seasons Hotel

3960 Las Vegas Blvd South

Charlie Palmer Steak Las Vegas, NV 702.632.5120

charliepalmer.com

@CPSteakLV

@ExhibitCityNews

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 85

EXHIBIT CITY PUZZLER

ACROSS

1. Platform for objects moved by forklift 3. Device used to join custom components (hyph) 9. Half a laugh 11. Street cousin 12. Vehicles used to load, unload and transport heavy items: Tow ______ 13. Purchase placed at the show (3 wds) 17. Baseball pos.

18. Short for General Practitioner 19. Structural element for the purpose of hanging lighting equipment 22. Hurried 24. Poetic contraction 26. Afternoon getaway with a basket 27. Network of electrical conduits, for example (2 wds) 30. Military person (abbr) 31. Who’ll ___ the office while you’re at the show?

32. Good sign, perhaps 34. Request 35. Temporary post to support the weight of an overhead structure: ____ Man 37. Accidently omit 39. Short for phase or phone 40. Break quickly 42. Coffee container 44. Xenon symbol 45. Precedes Vegas 47. Another name for 1 across 48. Trade show 50. Copy panel 52. Fine 53. ___ eyes were so blue 54. Opposite NW 57. Comes before system or logical 59. Springfield state (abbr) 60. ____ high to low 63. Smoke partners 66. Apiece (abbr) 68. Swag bag 69. Cool __ __ cucumber 86 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

70. Symbol for krypton 71. French friend 73. Therefore 75. And so on (abbr) 77. They can be Special 78. Transportation line for moving freight 81. Exhibit built ahead of time and ready for installation 82. Face-to-face promotional experiences: _____ Marketing 83. Dynamite initials

A Custom Crossword by Gail Beckman CustomCrosswords.com

DOWN

1. Picture-taker for the show 2. 56, Roman style 3. Double-sided and used to keep the rug down: ______ tape 4. Also 5. Encounter in person 6. Meditation word 7. Person who sends freight 8. Short for kiloton or karat 9. Time periods (abbr) 10. The A in AP 11. Company symbols 14. Process used to seal materials in transparent plastic: ______ Wrap 15. ______ Fabric Graphics 16. Train syst.

20. Panel support, sometimes: Pop - __ 21. Sch. subject 23. Paid notice of products and services 25. Between do and mi 28. Scurry 29. It’s constructed with interchangeable components: _______ Exhibit 33. Falls between D and G 35. Short for data processing or double play 36. Morning initials 38. Ways out 40. Ashtray stand

41. Needed to reproduce your business cards and stationery 43. Space; opening 46. Specific range of hours 47. Electric cart to transport people and materials 49. Purchase order, shortened 50. Particular alphabet run 51. Permission slip to remove materials from an exhibition: _______ Form 55. Send to other countries 56. Certain platform 58. Short for company 61. Royal Observatory, for short 62. Earn 63. Pa’s wife 64. What’s the going ____?

65. No place to sit initials

67. Amplitude modulation, shortened 72. The rocks 74. Short for gender or general 76. Californium symbol 79. What merchant and standard have in common 80. Short for right or route

September 2015 Answer Key

Champion Logistics Group has a transportation divison specializing in the coordination of trade shows and special events. Champion provides the most reliable and flexible trade show transportation in the industry.

@ExhibitCityNews

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 87

Trade Show Calendar US CENTRAL

Att = Attendance | CC=Convention Center | Exh = Exhibitors | Nsf = Net Square Feet

Show Texas Computer Education Association - TCEA The ASI Show!

ProGreen Expo Agribusiness Association of Iowa - AAI Topsides, Platforms & Hulls Conference & Exhibition NAPE Summit - North American Prospect Expo Texas Music Educators Assoc. Clinic/Convention - TMEA American College of Foot & Ankle Surgeons - ACFAS Franchise Expo South - IFA International Erosion Control Association - Environmental Connection Convention International Franchise Assoc. Annual Convention - IFA Design-2-Part Show Western Farm Show Grain Elevator & Processing Society - GEAPS Hawkeye Farm Show CAMEX - National Association of College Stores INFO*FLEX - Flexographic Technical Association Research Chefs Association Culinology Expo Nebraska Lumber Dealers Convention Triumph of Ag Expo SXSW Trade Show American Dental Education Association - ADEA Halloween & Attractions Show Uniformed Services Academy of Family Physicians - USAFP NSC Texas Safety Conference & Expo Subsea Tieback Forum & Exhibition - SSTB Self Storage Assoc. - SSA Spring Conf. & Trade Show American Organization of Nurse Executives - AONE American Animal Hospital Association - AAHA

Start 02/01 02/09 02/09 02/09 02/09 02/10 02/10 02/11 02/11 02/16 02/20 02/24 02/26 02/27 03/01 03/04 03/07 03/08 03/09 03/09 03/11 03/12 03/17 03/18 03/20 03/22 03/30 03/30 03/31

View Complete Calendar Online

End 02/05 02/11 02/12 02/10 02/11 02/12 02/13 02/14 02/13 02/19 02/23 02/25 02/28 03/01 03/03 03/08 03/08 03/11 03/10 03/10 03/20 03/15 03/20 03/22 03/22 03/24 04/01 04/02 04/03

All Information Is Subject to Change*

Venue Austin CC Kay Bailey Hutchison CC Colorado CC Iowa State Fairgrounds Moody Gardens Hotel & CC George R. Brown CC Henry B. Gonzalez CC Austin CC NRG Center San Antonio CC Not Available Gaylord Texan Not Available Austin CC UNI Dome George R. Brown CC Ft. Worth CC Not Available Ramada Plaza CC CenturyLink Center Not Available Not Available America’s Center Sheraton Denver Downtown Henry B. Gonzalez CC Henry B. Gonzalez CC Not Available Ft. Worth CC Austin CC

City Austin Dallas Denver Des Moines Galveston Houston San Antonio Austin Houston San Antonio San Antonio Grapevine Kansas City Austin Cedar Falls Houston Ft. Worth Denver Omaha Omaha Austin Denver St. Louis Denver San Antonio San Antonio Dallas Ft. Worth Austin

St TX TX CO IA TX TX TX TX TX TX TX TX MO TX IA TX TX CO NE NE TX CO MO CO TX TX TX TX TX

Att 10.3K 4500 6500 853 1503 17K 25K 1200 10K 1500 3100 1700 20K 3215

Exh 469 580 400 99 109 1K 500 150 300 150 300 200 500 350 200 6613 728 2000 260 1300 160 500 55 18.5K 1K 18K 145 2000 150 700 440 81 175 2500 150 2000 80 3000 200 3691 250

Nsf 100K 80K 65K 70K

Industry Computers Advertising & Marketing Landscape & Garden Agriculture & Farming Petroleum, Oil & Plastics Energy 114K Education Medical & Healthcare Business Building & Construction Business 20K Manufacturing 175K Agriculture & Farming Agriculture & Farming 38K Agriculture & Farming 150K Stores & Store Fittings Printing 16K Food & Beverage 4000 Building & Construction 200K Agriculture & Farming Art, Music, Culture 20K 7500 Dental Ent. & Gaming 6400 Medical & Healthcare Safety Petroleum, Oil & Plastics 40K & Construction Exhibit CityBuilding News’ best-read section!

Nursing 25K Veterinary

SEE YOUR AD HERE! Sponsor your region in the Trade Show Calendar.

ExhibitCityNews.com/Tradeshow-Calendar Exhibit City News’ best-read section! @ExhibitCityNews

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 89

Trade Show Calendar US MIDWEST

Att = Attendance | CC=Convention Center | Exh = Exhibitors | Nsf = Net Square Feet

Show Cam Expo iLandscape - Horticultural Trade Show Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association - MVMA Mid-West Truck Show National Reading Recovery & K-6 Classroom Literacy Association of Teacher Educators Annual Meeting - ATE Chicago Auto Show Illinois Pork Expo WWETT - Water & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment & Transport Show Chicago Dental Midwinter - CDS Midwest Veterinary Conference - MVC LMT Lab Day Chicago The Work Truck Show - NTEA National Association for Bilingual Education - NABE Ohio Assoc. of Plumbing-Heating-Cooling - PHCC/ACCA International Home + Housewares Show Midwest Foodservice Expo Frame Building Expo - NFBA American Academy of Hospice & Palliative Medicine - AAHPM Ohio Safety Congress & Expo America’s Beauty Show National Assoc. of Student Personnel Admin - NASPA Midwest Poultry Federation Convention National Art Education Association - NAEA North American Farm & Power Show Innovations Conf. - League for Innovation in the Community College M-PACT - Midwest Petroleum & Convenience Trade Show Midwest Podiatry Conference Dermatology Nurses’ Association Annual Meeting - DNA

Start 02/03 02/03 02/04 02/05 02/06 02/13 02/13 02/16 02/17 02/25 02/25 02/26 03/01 03/02 03/02 03/05 03/07 03/08 03/09 03/09 03/12 03/12 03/15 03/17 03/17 03/20 03/22 03/31 03/31

End 02/03 02/05 02/06 02/06 02/09 02/16 02/21 02/17 02/20 02/27 02/28 02/27 03/04 03/05 03/04 03/08 03/09 03/11 03/12 03/11 03/14 03/16 03/17 03/19 03/19 03/23 03/24 04/03 04/03

Venue MotorCity Casino Hotel The Renaissance Schaumburg Minneapolis Hilton Hotel Peoria Civic Center Not Available Chicago Hilton McCormick Place Prairie Capital CC Indiana CC McCormick Place Not Available Hyatt Regency Chicago Not Available Not Available Great Wolf Lodge McCormick Place Wisconsin Center Indiana CC Not Available Greater Columbus CC McCormick Place Not Available St. Paul RiverCentre McCormick Place Not Available Sheraton Chicago Indiana CC Hyatt Regency Chicago JW Marriott

All Information Is Subject to Change*

City Detroit Schaumburg Minneapolis Peoria Columbus Chicago Chicago Springfield Indianapolis Chicago Columbus Chicago Indianapolis Chicago Cincinnati Chicago Milwaukee Indianapolis Chicago Columbus Chicago Indianapolis St. Paul Chicago Owatonna Chicago Indianapolis Chicago Indianapolis

St MI IL MN IL OH IL IL IL IN IL OH IL IN IL OH IL WI IN IL OH IL IN MN IL MN IL IN IL IN

Att

Exh Nsf 200

12.2K 100 7K 200 2000 65 1200 20 150 1400 130 12K 501 28K 664 6160 250 3016 200 10K 563 2000 250 400 90 58K 2.1K 193 2000 150 2000 85 6000 216 65K 414 8000 150 2500 190 4000 115 32.5K 275 220 100 3500 361 2200 275 1000

10000 130K 12600 2000 900K 13K 277K 168K 17K 235K 25K 9000 760K 30K 8900 25K 180K 64000 30000 20400 99000 12000 53000

Industry Building & Construction Landscape & Garden Veterinary Automotive & Trucking Education Education Automotive & Trucking Agriculture & Farming Pollution Control Dental Veterinary Dental Automotive & Trucking Education Building & Construction Housewares Food & Beverage Building & Construction Medical & Healthcare Medical & Healthcare Beauty & Healthcare Education Agriculture & Farming Education Agriculture & Farming Education Stores & Store Fittings Medical & Healthcare Medical & Healthcare

Where Can You Find Industry Features, Maps, Insider Information, Shop Talk And Free Stuff?

Exhibit City News, of Course!

Sign up for a years subscription to get six stunning, full-color issues of ECN and recieve our Special 20th Anniversary book and free stuff to wear proudly!

GO TO EXHIBITCITYNEWS.COM/SUBSCRIBE OR CALL 702.309.8023

90 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

See complete listing of shows online at ExhibitCityNews.com/tradeshow-calendar

Att = Attendance | CC=Convention Center | Exh = Exhibitors | Nsf = Net Square Feet

US NORTHEAST Show LegalTech New York Mid-Atlantic Congress Great American Outdoor Show New York Water Environment Assoc. Annual - NYWEA Vegetable Growers Association of New Jersey LBM Expo - NRLA LumberNation New England Boat Show American International Toy Fair - TIA Boston Globe Travel Show Integrative Healthcare Symposium EMS Today Conference & Expo Seafood Expo N. America & Seafood Processing N. America Int. Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York & PMQ’s NY Pizza Show Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association - HMRA Tri-State Camp Conference Northeast Sustainable Energy Assoc. - NESEA BuildingEnergy New England Food Show - NEFS JA International Jewelry Show Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America - MJSA Expo East Trade Show Imprinted Sportswear Atlantic City - ISS New England Made Giftware & Specialty Food Shows Association of Fundraising Professionals - AFP National Facilities Management & Technology - NMF&T New York International Auto Show Atlantic Builders Conference - ABC American Society for Laser Medicine & Sugery Annual Conf.

Pennsylvania Music Educators Association - PMEA New England Water Works Assoc. - NEWWA Spring Conf.

All Information Is Subject to Change*

Start 02/02 02/04 02/06 02/08 02/09 02/10 02/13 02/13 02/19 02/24 02/25 03/06 03/06 03/06 03/07 03/08 03/13 03/13 03/13 03/16 03/17 03/19 03/20 03/22 03/25 03/29 03/30 03/30 03/30

End 02/04 02/06 02/14 02/10 02/11 02/12 02/21 02/16 02/21 02/27 02/27 03/08 03/08 03/07 03/10 03/10 03/15 03/15 03/15 03/19 03/19 03/21 03/22 02/24 04/03 03/31 04/03 04/01 03/31

Venue Hilton New York Baltimore Hilton Hotel Pennsylvania Farm Show Comp.

Marriott Marquis Harrahs’s Waterfront Rhode Island CC Boston CC Javits Center Seaport World Trade Center New York Hilton Midtown Baltimore CC Boston CC Javits Center Ocean City CC Atlantic City CC Seaport World Trade Center Boston CC Javits Center Javits Center Atlantic City CC Atlantic City CC Portland Sports Complex Boston CC Baltimore CC Javits Center Atlantic City CC Not Available Hershey Lodge & CC DCU Center

City New York Baltimore Harrisburg New York Atlantic City Providence Boston New York Boston New York Baltimore Boston New York Ocean City Atlantic City Boston Boston New York New York Atlantic City Atlantic City Portland Boston Baltimore New York Atlantic City Boston Hershey Worcester

St NY MD PA NY NJ RI MA NY MA NY MD MA NY MD NJ MA MA NY NY NJ NJ ME MA MD NY NJ MA PA MA

Att 13K

1200 7000 50K 26K 24K 950 500 20K 16K 4000 3000 2679 8996 9000 5000 7558 2000 4000 9301 1M 6800 3000 3120

Exh Nsf 300

Industry Financial & Legal Religious Sporting & Rec. Water Agriculture & Farming Building & Construction Boats Toys & Hobbies Travel Industry Medical & Healthcare Fire & Fire Prot.

Food & Beverage Restaurants & Food Serv.

Hotels & Resorts Sporting & Rec. Renewable Energy Food & Beverage Jewelry Jewelry Advertising & Marketing Apparel Gifts Financial & Legal Building & Construction Automotive & Trucking Building & Construction Medical & Healthcare Art, Music & Culture

1.2K 150 14K 11.8K 300 500 1.1K 414K 250 60K 120 9600 285 78K 1K 182K 367 64K 300 40K 300 86.3K 110 530 45K 250 900 208 250 250 456

40K 122K 44.6K 30K 30K 65.2K

400 75K 120 20K 230

Fife

Williston

NEW YORK Bronx Carlin

Trenton Chicago

ILLINOIS

San Francisco

Richmond San Jose

Hobbs

Lake Charles

@ExhibitCityNews

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 91

Trade Show Calendar US NORTHWEST

Att = Attendance | CC=Convention Center | Exh = Exhibitors | Nsf = Net Square Feet

Show Spokane Ag Expo Western Assoc. of Chamber Executives - W.A.C.E. Annual Conf.

Washington Assoc. of Wine Grape Growers Annual Meeting & Trade Show Meeting Planners Int’l - MPINCC Annual Conf. & Expo California Association for Music Education - CMEA Photonics West & BiOS - SPIE Association of Academic Psychiatrists - AAP American Contract Manufacturers Association - AmCon California League of Food Processors Expo - CLFP Northwest Aviation Conference & Trade Show - WAA SPIE Advanced Lithography National Association of Independent Schools - NAIS Oregon Logging Conference & Equipment Show North American Handmade Bicycle Show - NAHBS California Academy of Physician Assistants - CAPA Annual Dialysis Conference RSA Conference SMX West - Search Marketing Expo The LED Show & Strategies in Light Bay Area Travel & Adventure Show Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference - CHI Northern California Human Resource Assn - HR West Assoc. for Applied Psychophysiology/Biofeedback - AAPB American Council on Education - ACE United States & Canadian Academy of Pathology - USCAP Central Valley Facilities Expo Northwest Foodservice Show Association of American Geographers - AAG Association for Asian Studies - AAS

Start 02/02 02/03 02/09 02/10 02/11 02/13 02/15 02/16 02/17 02/20 02/21 02/24 02/25 02/26 02/27 02/27 02/29 03/01 03/01 03/05 03/06 03/07 03/09 03/12 03/12 03/16 03/20 03/29 03/31

End 02/04 02/05 02/11 02/10 02/14 02/18 02/20 02/17 02/18 02/21 02/25 02/26 02/27 02/28 02/27 03/01 03/04 03/03 03/03 03/06 03/11 03/09 03/12 03/15 03/18 03/17 03/21 04/02 04/03

Venue Spokane CC SF Airport Marriott Three Rivers CC Moscone Center San Jose CC Moscone Center Hyatt Regency Maydenbauer Center Sacramento CC Wash. State Fair Events Center San Jose CC Not Available Lane County CC Sacramento CC Napa Valley Marriott Not Available Moscone Center San Jose CC Santa Clara CC Santa Clara CC Moscone Center Oakland CC Marriott Waterfront Marriott Marquis Washinton State CC Modesto Centre Plaza Washington State CC Not Available Washington State CC

All Information Is Subject to Change*

City Spokane San Francisco Kennewick San Francisco San Jose San Francisco Sacramento Bellevue Sacramento Puyallup San Jose San Francisco Eugene Sacramento Napa Seattle San Francisco San Jose Santa Clara Santa Clara San Francisco Oakland Seattle San Francisco Seattle Modesto Seattle San Francisco Seattle

St WA CA WA CA CA CA CA WA CA WA CA CA OR CA CA WA CA CA CA CA CA CA WA CA WA CA WA CA WA

Att 6000

Exh Nsf 250

2500 3000 20K

100 10000 1.2K 116K

1900 12K 4000 4000 6000 7000 200 2114 16K 2000

200 350 65000 100 16000

3000 600 425 1700 3500 1900 5000 7500 3419

200 25 35 60 105 225 400 65 100

248 390K 150 15000 20 1500 386 98000 60

2500 5000 4800 20000 23500 8500 11200

Industry Agriculture & Farming Government Agriculture & Farming Exhibition & Meetings Education Medical & Healthcare Medical & Healthcare Manufacturing Food & Beverage Aerospace & Aviation Printing Education Agriculture & Farming Sporting & Rec. Medical & Healthcare Medical & Healthcare Computers Computers Lighting Travel Industry Pharmaceuticals Business Medical & Healthcare Education Medical & Healthcare Plant Eng. & Operations Food & Beverage Science Associations

PUT YOUR BUSINESS ON THE MAP! Showcase your regional services with a calendar sponsorship.

Contact Sales@ExhibitCityNews.com For Rates and Details. (Design Services Available) 92 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

See complete listing of shows online at ExhibitCityNews.com/tradeshow-calendar

Att = Attendance | CC=Convention Center | Exh = Exhibitors | Nsf = Net Square Feet

US SOUTHEAST Show INFORMEX DistribuTECH National Farm Machinery Show Mobile Air Conditioning Society Worldwide - MACS Orlando Gift Show TechAdvantage International Roofing Expo - IRE - NRCA Graphics of the Americas Washington DC Travel & Adventure Show The Rental Show - ARA National Religious Broadcasters - NRB SECO International - Southern Council of Optometrists Heli-Expo International Disaster Conference & Expo - IDCE American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons - AAOS Commodity Classic American Academy of Dermatology - AAD Pittcon - Conf. On Analytical Chemistry & Applied Spectroscopy Imaging Technology Education & Exhibition - ITEX Satellite Cruise Shipping Miami AUSA ILW Global Force Symposium & Exposition - Assoc. of the US Army Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Expo - HPBA Global Pet Expo - APPMA Thomas P. Hinman Dental Meeting International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Assoc. - IHRSA World of Asphalt Mid-America Trucking Show - MATS National Science Teachers Association - Annual - NSTA

All Information Is Subject to Change*

Start 02/02 02/09 02/10 02/11 02/13 02/15 02/17 02/18 02/20 02/21 02/23 02/24 02/29 03/01 03/01 03/03 03/04 03/06 03/07 03/07 03/14 03/15 03/16 03/16 03/17 03/21 03/22 03/31 03/31

End 02/04 02/11 02/13 02/13 02/15 02/18 02/19 02/20 02/21 02/24 02/26 02/28 03/03 03/03 03/05 03/05 03/08 03/10 03/09 03/10 03/17 03/17 03/19 03/18 03/19 03/24 03/24 04/02 04/03

Venue Morial CC Orange County CC Kentucky Exposition Center Caribe Royale All Suite Hotel Orange County CC Morial CC Orange County CC Miami Beach CC Walter E. Washington CC Georgia World Congress Center Gaylord Opryland Georgia World Congress Center Not Available Morial CC Orange County CC Morial CC Walter E. Washington CC Georgia World Congress Center Broward County CC Gaylord National Broward County CCÂ Von Braun Center Morial CC Orange County CC Georgia World Congress Center Orange County CC Music City Center Kentucky Expo Center Music City Center

City New Orleans Orlando Louisville Orlando Orlando New Orleans Orlando Miami Washington Atlanta Nashville Atlanta Louisville New Orleans Orlando New Orleans Washington Atlanta Ft. Lauderdale Washington Ft. Lauderdale Huntsville New Orleans Orlando Atlanta Orlando Nashville Louisville Nashville

St LA FL KY FL FL LA FL FL DC GA TN GA KY LA FL LA DC GA FL DC FL AL LA FL GA FL TN KY TN

Att 3675 6500 300K 2000 5000 10K 9337 9765 14K 9262 6000 4762 19K 4000 32K 7325 19.3K 15.7K 3000 9000 10.1K 6400 6710 4910 21K 10K 7600 92K 14K

Exh 489 360 850 135 300 275 465 230 250 676 300 255 714 150 517 301 449 948 240 280 983 230 326 896 400 316 450 1.1K 500

Nsf 69.4K 110K 750K 22.3K 50K 55K 118K 250K 35K 248K 50K 58K 307K 31K 221K 126K 174K 195K 106K 59K 152K 99K 120K 249K 85K 200K 135K 826K 120K

Industry Chemical Energy Agriculture & Farming Automotive & Trucking Gifts Computers Building & Construction Printing Travel Industry Building & Construction Communications Optometry & Eyewear Aerospace & Aviation Building & Construction Medical & Healthcare Financial & Legal Medical & Healthcare Science Computers Communications Travel Industry Military Building & Construction Veterinary Dental Sporting Goods & Rec. Building & Construction Automotive & Trucking Education

KEEP CALM Question: Where Can You Find Industry Features, Maps, Insider Information, Shop Talk And Free Stuff?

Answer: Exhibit City News, of course!

Sign up for a years subscription to get six stunning, full-color issues of ECN and recieve our Special 20th Anniversary book and free stuff to wear proudly!

GO TO EXHIBITCITYNEWS.COM/SUBSCRIBE OR CALL 702.309.8023

@ExhibitCityNews

AND

TWEET ON Join the conversation

@ExhibitCityNews

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 93

Trade Show Calendar US SOUTHWEST

Att = Attendance | CC=Convention Center | Exh = Exhibitors | Nsf = Net Square Feet

Show World of Concrete World AG Expo MD&M West, WestPack, AEROCON, ATX, Pacific Design & Mfg, Green Mfg, PLASTEC, Electronics West MAGIC Marketweek - February Western Petroleum Marketers Association - WPMA American Physical Therapy Association (CSM) - APTA WEST - U.S. Naval Instutute & AFCEA Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration - SME American Academy of Forensic Sciences - AAFS Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show ASD Las Vegas EXHIBITORLIVE! Medtrade Spring Healthcare Information & Management Systems - HIMSS Awards & Recognition Association - ARA Ace Hardware Spring Convention & Exhibition International Pizza Expo Nightclub & Bar Show Travel Goods Show Natural Products Expo West/SupplyExpo American Chemical Society Spring - ACS Digital Signage Expo - DSE Amusement Expo - AAMA IPC APEX EXPO Tobacco Plus Expo - TPE International Wireless Communications Expo - IWCE Optical Fiber Communication - OFC/NFOEC Global Shop National Automobile Dealers Association - NADA

All Information Is Subject to Change*

Start 02/02 02/09 02/09

End 02/05 02/11 02/11

Venue Las Vegas CC Int. Agri-Center Anaheim CC

City Las Vegas Tulare Anaheim

St NV CA CA

ATT 52.1K 100K 48.6K

EXH 1.3K 1.6K 2K

NSF 630K 2.6M 362K

Industry Building & Construction Agriculture & Farming Aerospace & Aviation

02/16 02/16 02/17 02/17 02/21 02/22 02/27 02/28 02/28 02/29 02/29 03/01 03/03 03/07 03/07 03/08 03/09 03/13 03/15 03/15 03/15 03/16 03/21 03/22 03/23 03/31

02/18 02/18 02/20 02/19 02/24 02/27 02/28 03/02 03/03 03/02 03/04 03/04 03/05 03/10 03/09 03/10 03/13 03/17 03/18 03/17 03/17 03/18 03/25 03/24 03/25 04/03

Las Vegas CC & Mandalay Bay Mirage Hotel & Casino Anaheim CC San Diego CC Phoenix CC Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino Long Beach CC Las Vegas CC Mandalay Bay Mandalay Bay Sands Expo & CC Not Available Mandalay Bay Las Vegas CC Las Vegas CC Las Vegas CC Anaheim CC Not Available Las Vegas CC Las Vegas CC Las Vegas CC Las Vegas CC Las Vegas CC Anaheim CC Mandalay Bay Las Vegas CC

Las Vegas Las Vegas Anaheim San Diego Phoenix Las Vegas Long Beach Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Anaheim San Diego Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Anaheim Las Vegas Las Vegas

NV NV CA CA AZ NV CA NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV CA CA NV NV NV NV NV CA NV NV

62.2K 3500 11.3K 12.9K 7000 3600 26K 43.7K 6000 4630 36.5K 5000 11.1K 10.8K 37K 4800 60.5K 17K 5173 6000 8963 4286 7500 12K 12K 22K

3.8K 267 436 420 400 200 550 2.8K 242 314 1.1K 250 1.1K 422 662 200 2.2K 320 204 201 407 274 342 560 760 504

813K 44000 66082 83K 80000 23400 60000 675K 52260 56800 524K 55000 253K 93300 196K 80000 370K 50000 59260 48500 123K 50000

Apparel Petroleum, Oil & Plastics Medical & Healthcare Military Mining Science Travel Industry Gifts Exhibition & Meeting Medical & Healthcare Medical & Healthcare Business Hardware Food & Beverage Gaming & Entertainment Travel Industry Food & Beverage Chemical Electrical & Electronics Gaming & Entertainment Electrical & Electronics Stores & Store Fittings Communications Telecommunications Stores & Store Fittings Automotive & Trucking

Fife

178K 215K 259K

Williston

NEW YORK Bronx Carlin

Trenton Chicago

ILLINOIS

San Francisco

Richmond San Jose

Hobbs

Lake Charles

94 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

See complete listing of shows online at ExhibitCityNews.com/tradeshow-calendar

Att = Attendance | CC=Convention Center | Exh = Exhibitors | Nsf = Net Square Feet

CANADA Show Campus Stores Canada - BiiG The Franchise Show - CFA Canadian International AutoShow - CIAS Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers - CAAR The Franchise Show - CFA Alberta Gift Show - Winter Ag Expo Buildex, Construct & Design Northwest The Resturants Canada Show Allied Beauty Association - ABA Esthetic & Spa Trade Show Quebec Auto Show Atlantic Building Materials Show - ABSDA Globe 2016 The National Franchise & Business Opportunities Show Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada - PDAC The Profile Show - OFE Corrosion - NACE Recovery - Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists - CSPG/CSEG Ottawa Valley Farm Show The Convenience U CARWACS Show CMPX - Canadian Mechanical & Plumbing Exhibition Ottawa Gatineau International Auto Show Pacific Dental Conference Montreal Gift Show - March

All Information Is Subject to Change*

Start 02/03 02/06 02/12 02/16 02/20 02/21 02/24 02/24 02/28 02/28 02/28 03/01 03/02 03/02 03/05 03/06 03/06 03/06 03/07 03/08 03/08 03/16 03/17 03/17 03/20

End 02/07 02/07 02/21 02/18 02/21 02/24 02/26 02/25 03/01 02/29 02/29 03/06 03/03 03/04 03/06 03/09 03/09 03/10 03/11 03/10 03/09 03/18 03/20 03/19 03/23

Venue International Plaza Hotel Stampede Park Metro Toronto CC TCU Place Toronto Congress Centre Edmonton Expo Centre Exhibition Park Vancouver CC Enercare Centre Not Available Vancouver CC Centre des Foires Not Available Not Available RBC CC Metro Toronto CC Not Available Vancouver CC Not Available EY Centre The International Centre Metro Toronto CC Shaw Centre Not Available Place Bonaventure

City Toronto Calgary Toronto Saskatoon Toronto Edmonton Lethbridge Vancouver Toronto Toronto Vancouver Quebec City Moncton Vancouver Winnipeg Toronto Toronto Vancouver Calgary Ottawa Toronto Toronto Ottawa Vancouver Montreal

St ON AB ON SK ON AB AB BC ON ON BC QC NB BC MB ON ON BC AB ON ON ON ON BC QC

Att

Exh 87

Nsf 11K

Industry Stores & Store Fittings Business 300K 300 500K Automotive & Trucking Agriculture & Farming 1000 36 4000 80 Business 16K 740 190K Gifts Agriculture & Farming 23k 13.5K 330 57.5K Building & Construction 12K 700 Food & Beverage 15K 115 155K Beauty & Healthcare Beauty & Healthcare 4015 352 Automotive & Trucking Building & Construction 11.2K 400 Pollution Control Business 30.1K 1K 260K Mining 2969 198 69.7K Apparel 6000 400 Science 4000 100 Science Agriculture & Farming 5500 300 42.5K Stores & Store Fittings 15K 500 100K Building & Construction Automotive & Trucking 12.1K 300 51.7K Dental 15K 400 Gifts

*DISCLAIMER: Please note that tradeshow information is provided as a resource only. All show information is subject to change. Please check show dates and venues with official show organizers and producers. For updated show and event listings, visit www.exhibitcitynews.com/tradeshow-calendar.

Making YOU Stand Out exposystems.com

1.800.263.3976

E x poS y s tem s is a L eading Modular S y s tem s Manuf ac tur er

Continued on p.98

@ExhibitCityNews

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 95

Classifieds

Project/Production Manager DESCRIPTION/JOB SUMMARY As Project/Production Manager, you will be responsible for managing the production process including the development and management of the budget from project inception through project closure. You will also be responsible for ensuring that the project is produced on time and within budget while achieving the creative objectives of the proposal, meeting Hargrove’s financial objectives and maintaining Hargrove’s quality standards.

Additionally, you will participate in the structured project team approach consisting of sales, design, engineering and production.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES • Identify the costs of producing the job, develop the budgets and submit costs to sales for job pricing. Involve necessary departments (production, graphics, project management, and design) in determining the appropriate costs. Review all adjustments to the project design with sales and the designer to make sure that the job remains cost effective while maintaining the quality standards of the company, the objectives of the client and the integrity of the proposal and design. Manage costs to ensure budget goals are met while achieving the client’s expectations.

• Analyze the creative proposal to establish fabrication and production techniques based on design objectives and budgetary constraints in conjunction with the production staff and the project designer. Involve project management as necessary during this stage to ensure what is fabricated can be effectively installed.

• Work with the CAD engineering department

to ensure all necessary CAD drawings are correct, complete and properly distributed to the correct departments.

• Produce and distribute to appropriate departments all orders relating to the fabrication of custom scenic elements.

• Work with fabrication during the production process and periodically review the status of work to maintain proposal, design and budgetary objectives.

• Convey information to the fabrication department to process purchase orders for fabrication subcontractors and specialty materials called out in either the estimate or the design.

• Performs other duties as assigned and deemed necessary under the direction of the Department Supervisor.

• Occasional travel as needed.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE • 10+ years’ experience in exhibits or special event, production or project management.

• Experience in fabrication of trade show exhibits, permanent display installations or scenery.

• Experience with exhibit systems such as Agam or Octonorm.

• Ability to read and understand technical drawings.

• Demonstrate a working knowledge of current codes, production procedures and materials and installation methods unique to our business units.

• Excellent working knowledge of Windows-based computer systems and software including Microsoft Office, AutoCAD (or Vectorworks). Experience with estimating and project management software a plus.

Send Resumes to humanresources@hargroveinc.com

Trade Show Shipping / Account Executive WORK FROM ANYWHERE! National Exhibit Transportation company is seeking high energy individuals to generate new business. We have been in business for over 25 years. Our core competency is in trade show shipping services. We are interested in hiring experienced sales reps with a background in trade show shipping sales. Work from home office fully connected to our corporate office.

Strong telemarketing skills needed. Competitive salary and commission program.

Please send resume in confidence to jimh@elitexpo.com

96 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

Director of Design and Graphic Services – Fern Exposition & Events Fern Exposition and Events Services is a leading national service contractor serving more than 1,100 expositions and events held annually throughout the US and Canada for more than 100 years. Fern is seeking a talented designer with management experience to join the team.

This position will manage and coordinate all design services enterprise-wide including workflow management, quality standards, SOP development and creative development.

Fern is looking for a candidate with a minimum of 5 years experience as a designer preferably in the trade show industry as well as at least 2 years management experience.

A bachelor’s degree in a design related field is preferred. Candidate must have excellent skills in AutoCAD, 3D StudioMax, and Adobe Creative Cloud.

Please email Neil McMullin, VP of Shared Services, with a resume if interested at nmcmullin@fernexpo.com

Classifieds

Outside Sales Account Representative Orbus, a leading and highly successful manufacturer and trade distributor of products and services to the tradeshow and display industries selling Business to Business headquartered in Illinois, is seeking an Outside Sales Account Representative. We are looking for a “hunter” that is driven, self-motivated, goal-oriented, and willing to receive guidance and direction, as you will be the primary link to our current and prospective clients on the west coast.

You will be responsible for maintaining, prospecting and calling on businesses within your territory. You will be in the business of meeting owners and decision makers and introducing them to our tradeshow/display products and services. You will be part of a Team Environment and play a part in the Sales Team Success. Your main focus will be selling our services/ products to tradeshow/display businesses and assist them in identifying product strengths and weaknesses and then recommend ways to eliminate those problems by offering our services and products to increase sales growth.

Our sales professionals are responsible for helping our clients increase their exhibit/ display presence in the tradeshow industry. If you are a hungry, resilient, organized, sales quota buster and a risk-taker who has the ability and desire to be a successful sales person, then we want to hear from you. We are looking for self starters with a @ExhibitCityNews

high energy personality. This is a tremendous opportunity for the right candidate who is willing to work hard and put in the effort. Travel is over 50%

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: • 3+yrs outside sales experience, intangible product sale success a plus • Positive, high energy sales-oriented personality • Must have experience in prospecting, cold calling, then qualify prospects and motivating them to purchase from you • Highest degree of honesty, integrity and professionalism • Ability to accomplish monthly, quarterly sales targets and goals independently • Excellent presentation, communication and interpersonal skills • Ability to manage multiple projects with tight deadlines • Consistent attention to detail and strong organizational skills • Keen desire to learn, improve and succeed • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience We have been on an aggressive growth path and are continuing to look to expand our Field Sales coverage throughout the US market. Compensation will be commensurate with experience, plus a comprehensive health and benefits package. Please include salary requirements when applying online or mail your resume to Orbus Inc. 9033 Murphy Rd., Woodridge, IL 60517

SALES MANAGER WEST COAST ALUVISION Inc. develops and manufactures a modular aluminum system for the international exhibition and event industry, as well as for store and showroom fittings. Our high-end frame system allows a quick, efficient and ecological installation of every project. We are searching for a SALES MANAGER WEST COAST.

RESPONSIBILITIES: • Preserve and foster relations with existing clients.

• Prospecting and adequate follow-up to develop new business.

• Travel to visit trade shows.

• Prepare and give product presentations and trainings to potential and existing customers.

• Cold calling and face-to-face visits.

• Achieve established targets.

• Report directly to upper management.

REQUIREMENTS: • Outstanding written and oral communications skills.

• Strong people interaction skills.

• Effective time management skills with strong organization abilities.

• Ability to travel on a regular basis.

• A positive, can-do attitude to continually improve performance.

• Trade show or event industry experience preferred.

Visit us at www.aluvision.com. To apply, email your resume to annelies@aluvision.com.

Post Your Classified Here!

To place a classified ad, contact Kathy Anaya:

Call (702) 309-8023 or Email KathyA@ExhibitCityNews.com

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 97

Classifieds ARE YOU A SALES MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL WHO THRIVES ON EXCEEDING SALES GOALS AS WELL AS MANAGING, MENTORING AND COACHING A SALES TEAM? If so, BA Exhibits is looking for a Director of Sales – Trade Show Exhibits and Graphics who will be responsible for achieving sales/financial goals that include building business opportunities and market share, retaining and increasing customer base and expanding sales opportunities to realize substantial growth in revenue and business base.

You will also be responsible for hiring, mentoring, and motivating a team of sales professionals; developing and implementing sales plans; managing the sales process; strategizing approaches to sales proposals; creating bidding opportunities; cultivating industry contacts and client relationships to maximize business opportunities and to ensure top performance by sales professionals.

The successful candidate will also have experience developing and implementing sales administration processes and systems to ensure a proactive sales environment and efficient sales prospecting.

tunities and manage target prospects • Develop and manage lead distribution and tracking systems • Develop and implement sales plans and budgets in conjunction with the ownership • Develop one year and three year strategic plans and goals; specific activities and action plans/road map for one year plan • Establish business/client targets and develop strategic plans to achieve targets.

• Create sales processes and procedures and manage the proposal process • Manage participation in trade shows and event to drive sales • Recruit, select, train, manage and motivate sales professionals. Make appropriate sales assignments and develop/manage individual sales goals and plans • With ownership, develop marketing plans/activities to support sales plans and goals – i.e. mailings to Salesforce database; unique selling positioning, sales proposals and templates, industry marketing events, advertisements and editorial coverage in industry publications, etc.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Drive sales and financial goals established for the sales team • Develop and manage the sales processes • Develop and maintain sales forecasts • Develop system to identify sales oppor-

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications or related degree from an accredited university • Three (3) to Five (5)+ years experience working in a sales role in the trade show, audio visual or event industry

• Two (2) years of prior management experience • Proficient in the Microsoft Office Suite of products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) as well as Salesforce.com • Detail-oriented, possessing exceptional organizational skills • Must be willing to work both independently and participate as a team player for achieving departmental and company goals • Must have ability to multi-task and work in a fast-paced environment, competently handling demanding deadlines • Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively interface with clients • Excellent written and verbal communications skills • Ability to analyze and interpret general business contracts, as well as proficiently write reports, proposals, and other business correspondence • Resourcefulness and possess innovative problem-solving and decision-making skills.

• Experience managing budgets, the ability to participate in budget meetings and the ability to discuss and communicate changes that impact the bottom line for the client and BAE • Strong leadership skills, work ethic, and possessing an enthusiastic and positive attitude • Previous consistent sales volume required of $750K or more annually.

Competitive Wage and benefits offered.

Stevens Exhibits EXPERIENCED EXHIBIT & SERVICES ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Want to get fired up? Tired of the same old, same old?

Need a new outlook? Need to exhibit your talents? Hate your boss? Bored with your current condition? Think you are too old to get hired? Think again! We love “SEASONED” professionals to bring experience and good old-fashioned “know how” to our organization. Negotiable compensation 98 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

packages and great benefits offered. We also hire AE’s with at least 5 years exhibit sales experience. We are a 48-yearold, family-owned company and we are looking for some new family members. Located in Chicago, IL, just minutes from McCormick Place. Interested applicants should email their resumes to juliem@stevensexhibits.com.

Classifieds

Atlanta, Georgia TRADE SHOW DISPLAY PROJECT MANAGER Moose Exhibits, a fullservice trade show and events exhibit house located in Norcross, Georgia, has an immediate opening for an Trade Show Display Project Manager.

Our ideal candidate will have a min of 3 yrs. experience in project managing trade show exhibit fabrication for purchase and rental and be familiar with most major domestic venues and their union regulations.

Qualifications include the ability to manage a project in all facets from concept to completion.

The ideal candidate should be organized, exhibit strong leadership and team management traits, possess excellent communication skills - both verbal and written - as well as being adept in customer service.

With our busy schedule, the candidate should be able to manage multiple projects simultaneously and must be proficient in Word and Excel. The ability to review CAD and various graphics and AV file formats is a definite plus.

has an immediate opening for an Trade Show Warehouse Manager to join our growing team.

Our ideal candidate will have a minimum of 3 years’ experience in managing personnel dedicated to the fabrication of exhibit properties for purchase and rental, the overall organization and maintenance of the warehouse inventory and to direct the pull, prep, assembly and pack of exhibit componentry within budgeted cost and timeframe limits.

Eagle Management Group, a national labor management company, is seeking talented sales professionals to join our team as full-time Account Executives. Working remotely, this position entails new business development & outside sales of our skilled labor services for tradeshows/conventions, permanent, private events & retail installations.

QUALIFICATIONS: Qualifications include the ability to dictate and manage a schedule, outlining the flow of projects from concept to completion and all phases in between.

The ideal candidate should be organized, exhibit strong leadership and team management traits, possess excellent communication skills - both verbal and written - as well as being adept in the interpretation of working drawings and the use of various work order, cost and time management modules.

TRADE SHOW WAREHOUSE MANAGER

With our busy schedule, the candidate should be able to manage multiple projects simultaneously and must be proficient in Word and Excel. This job may require the candidate to work weekends and engage in limited travel.

Moose Exhibits, a full service, trade show and events exhibit house located in Norcross, Georgia,

Please send your resume and salary requirements to: Lydia@mooseexhibits.com

@ExhibitCityNews

Eagle Management Group, Inc. Sales Position

• Minimum 3 years sales/tradeshow industry experience.

• Bachelor’s Degree a plus.

• Ability to problem solve & make presentations.

• Possess strong communication & interpersonal skills.

• Independent & team worker.

• Travel required.

Please send resume in confidence to info@eaglemg.com www.eaglemg.com

Exhibitrac is Hiring Exhibitrac needs new show guides for database, and will pay $10 - $20 per accepted guide. If you are an industry supplier, exhibitor, union or other employee who regularly attends or works at shows in major convention cities such as Las Vegas, Chicago, Boston, Orlando etc.

Please contact us for details: klandrum@exhibitrac.com or call 702-824-9651 ext. 700

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 99

Industry Service Guide

Photographika

Photographika, Inc. is a Las Vegas based Corporate Event Photography & Video Production Company. Established by a 15 year Corporate Event Photographer Sammy Vassilev and Iva Vassilev with experience in wide range of corporate event photography and video production in Europe and USA, Photographika, Inc. specializes in Corporate Event Photography and Video. Photographika, Inc. provides general event coverage, awards, green screen, on-site printing, booth photography, general sessions, keynote speakers, red carpets, step & repeat, expo, convention, sales meetings, private corporate events photography and video. Our video production services range from general event coverage & video production to LIVE event LIVE web or TV broadcasts.

Consulting

Exhibits

Trade Shows from One Country to the Next A new book written by past IFES & EDPA PresidentLarry Kulchawik Trade Shows from One Country to the Next...

A guide to recalculating your thinking when marketing in multiple countries “Trade Shows from One Country to the Next� delves into international marketing, with a focus specifically on global trade show differences and distinctions. Rather than concentrate on details about marketing per se, this book focuses on the needed adjustments-mental, physically and otherwise-when marketing a product/service through tradeshows from one country to the next. Although dedicated to trade show exhibit architecture and behavior, much of the information contained in this book also speaks to effective communication skills required when spending a week or less marketing a product in a foreign country. After forty-three years in the international trade show arena, the author shares his thoughts and the comments obtained from world-wide experts in the countries outlined. No one person or company is the expert everywhere in the world. There is no right way or wrong way-there is only a different way.

This book will appeal to not only exhibit managers, show organizers, venues, and exhibit suppliers, but to those who market anything on a global scale. Effective communication is key! $17.95

International trade show marketing requires a recalculation of thinking when exhibiting globally.

This book points out the country differences for exhibiting abroad.

A review of the venues, rules, regulations, exhibit styles, labor issues, and cultural differences for exhibiting in 45 countries.

Whether you are organizing an international trade show or working it, your awareness of cultural differences can make or break your success at global trade shows.

There is no right way, there is no wrong way, there is only a different way.

Respect and understand what is different to avoid surprises and ensure exhibit success.

Available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or direct through Exhibit City News. www.larrykulchawik.com

Exhibits

100 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

Exhibits & Events

Industry Service Guide Freelance Design Services • Design Consultants on-site design service available

YOR Design Group Our Mission: to create trade show exhibits and environments that convey your brands cohesive image. Freelance Design, Design Consultations, On-Site Services, Over 20 years experience in local and national markets.

‘Got Design? We Got YORS!’ www.YorDesignGroup.com

10 YEARS STRONG established 2005

Contact Dean Pappas 20+ Years Exhibit Design Experience

1-708-598-8100 www.yordesigngroup.com

YOR Design Group World Headquarters • Burbank, IL

Exhibit Production

Exhibit Software

Upstate NY

Montpelier, VT

Concord, NH

Boston, MA Worcester, MA Springfield, MA

Hartford, CT

(508) 366-8594 info@corp-eventsne.com

Providence, RI

Event Management

Furniture

Exhibit / Trade Show Displays | Event Planning | Sporting Event Décor

@ExhibitCityNews

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 101

Industry Service Guide

Corey Johnson Photography

Corey Johnson Photography is a Las Vegas based company that specializes in a wide variety of event coverage. This includes photojournalistic event, corporate event, head shots, group/team photos, keynote speakers, awards, trade show, exposition, convention, booth, architectural, publication photography, and so much more. Corey Johnson Photography stands out from the competition by not only capturing your vision, but providing creative solutions and developing the comprehensive experience that your event needs.

exhibit and event experience photography

10% OFF

www.cjphotog.com

ECN10

Las Vegas, Nevada 218 - 209 - 1466 corey@cjphotog.com

PROMO CODE

For booking information, call 218-209-1466, or visit www.CJPhotoG.com

Graphics

Hardware/Supplies

Hotel

Logistics Champion Logistics Group has a transportation division specializing in the coordination of trade shows and special events. Champion provides the most reliable and flexible trade show transportation in the industry.

Chicago | Atlanta | Boston | Dallas | Las Vegas | Los Angeles | New Jersey

800.323.5401 | info@champlog.com | www.champlog.com

102 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

Industry Service Guide

Main Place Lighting Main Place Lighting offers diverse lighting solutions, distributing for major Lighting Manufacturers. We specialize in L.E.D. lighting, including but not limited to, under counter, over head, arm lights and custom lighting solutions. We are also proud to be the West Coast Distributor of ShowBattery™.

Bringing an Industry first: Fully contained, Rechargeable Battery Units for LED Lighting.

Nail Salon

Security

Tradeshow List

Your Category Here

BOOK BUSINESS WITH YOUR AD HERE Contact sales for details: 702-309-8023 ext. 105 Sales@exhibitcitynews.com

@ExhibitCityNews

ExhibitCityNews.com JANUARY 2016 103

ADVERTISER INDEX

Advertiser Index A-Z 253 Inc. 79

Freshwata 88

4 Productions 59

Group Delphi 106

Aluvision 108

Grupo Omega 67

Angles on Design 19

Highmark 23

beMatrix 2

Hill & Partners 13

Brumark 21

Joe’s New York Pizza 85

Champion Logistics 87

King & I 85

Charlie Palmer 84

Larry Kulchawik Consulting 60

Cobo Center 39

Main Place Lighting 27

Color Reflections 9

Momentum Management 3

Consumer Electronics Show 105

Nolan Advisory 75

Corporate Communications 65

Octanorm 31

Corp Events 65

Onsite Exhibitor Service 61, 77

CORT 17

Orbus 7

D.E. McNabb 107

Prism Lighting 69

Dolomite 85

Rosemont Exposition Services 12

Duo Display 16

SRS Fabrication 21

Edlen Electric 61

Step 1 Dezigns 5

EDPA 83

Storage West 77

Employco 60

Sunset Transportation 4

Expolinc 87

Super Bright 33

Exposures 39

Willwork Inc. 71

FOR ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES Contact sales: 702-309-8023 ext. 105 sales@exhibitcitynews.com 104 JANUARY 2016 Exhibit City News

SAVE THE DATE CES 2017 | January 5-8, 2017 | Las Vegas, NV | CES.tech

With the help and support of our dedicated venues and vendors and the extraordinary city of Las Vegas, CES 2016 allowed chance encounters to yield inspiring innovations and small-scale meetings to make a worldwide impact.

Freeman Las Vegas Convention and World Trade Center Sands Expo The Venetian/The Palazzo Agility Fairs & Events Aramark ARIA/Vdara Century Trade Show Services Communication Accessing Network COP Security The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas COX Business DTA Security Services FedEx Office Freeman Audio Visual Solutions

Guardian Elite Medical Services IATSE, Local 720 IBEW, Local 357 ITN International Judy Venn & Associates Las Vegas Metro Police Mandalay Bay Convention Center Oscar & Associates Oscar Einzig Photography Pavilion Event Services Priority Networks

ProShow Pro-Tect Security Renaissance Las Vegas Rhode Planning & Management Solutions SOA Security SES Productions Spring Valley Floral Teamsters, Local 631 Westgate Las Vegas Wynn/Encore Las Vegas And all participating CES hotels

We continue to grow the consumer technology industry and hold strong as the global stage for innovation because of your support.

Thank you, Las Vegas, for once again being a monumental asset to the CES team and helping to make the 2016 show a grand success!

D. E. McNabb Co. Flooring Providing You Flooring For Over 60 Years!

The Donald E. McNabb Company prides itself on providing:  Exceptional, Unsurpassed AwardWinning Service  Quality Products tailored to your specifications and budget

QUALITY ASSURANCE PROMISE

ALL FLOORING STYLES

 Outstanding Employees working in collaboration with you  Multiple locations and access to over 20 top mills

BEST PRICING

SAME DAY QUOTES

Contact Us Today: (248) 437-8146 Additional Services Include:  Largest Selection of Styles & Colors  Wide Variety of Padding  Raised Floors  Specialty Surfaces Custom Dyeing  Custom Logos & Borders

www.McNabbExhibitFlooring.com

fa Ne cil w ity p in rod Du uc lu tio th n ,G A

Omni-55





Trade show exhibits

Permanent installs

Display lighting

Aluvision Inc. > 1620 Satellite Boulevard, Suite C

Free standing displays

Hanging signs

LED modules

Customer support

> Duluth > GA 30005 > T: (646) 736 7317 > info@aluvision.com > www.aluvision.com