Sophomore Year of KnowledgeFest Long Beach Brings Pressure to Advance

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Sophomore Year of KnowledgeFest Long Beach Brings Pressure to Advance

With an increased media presence, a bigger exhibit hall and education sessions added in Spanish or with translators, the second year of KnowledgeFest Long Beach is projected to be even more successful—with the goal of making it an international event.

WORDS BY ROSA SOPHIA

The first KnowledgeFest Long Beach took place in 2018, attracting over 1,100 attendees, and the second is scheduled for February 23 to 25, 2019. It is anticipated to have roughly the same amount of manufacturer trainings—60 hours— along with 30 to 40 hours of educational sessions.

Chris Cook, president of the Mobile Electronics Association, stated that he anticipates a significant growth in retailer attendance along with more interaction in education sessions. “Our first year was great, and our second year should be even better,” he said. Because more exhibitors are expected, the conference will be taking place in a much larger hall.

“We sold out the space last year,” Cook said, adding that it made sense to choose a larger hall in the Long Beach Convention Center for the 2019 event. “The hall

we’re moving into is about 65 percent larger than the hall we used last year,” he noted.

With the completion of the first event came lessons learned, which will be applied to the second Long Beach conference. Also expected is an increased media presence, to help raise public awareness of the event and what it means for consumers of mobile electronics products.

Classes in Spanish and Increased Media Presence Intended to Expand Reach

While the class categories will be about the same, with 18 education sessions and three tracks, something new will be offered—some classes will be available either in Spanish, or interpreted into Spanish. “We will still have owner/manager, sales/marketing and tech/fabricator classes,” Cook said, “but there are a lot of

Spanish-speaking folks in Southern California and surrounding areas.”

The number of international attendees from Central and South America, as well as Mexico, have increased. As a result, Cook stated, “We look forward to attracting them to what we feel will be a great international event.”

With so many innovative products on display, it became clear that it was time to reach beyond the immediate industry to outside mainstream media, in order to further raise awareness of what KnowledgeFest has to offer. “We’re reaching out to local media in Southern California to let them know about the technologies and new products that are being displayed— things they would find interesting, specifically driver safety,” Cook explained. “This year as opposed to last year, there will be media, and we’re looking for a specific time for the media to come in prior to show opening on Saturday.”

Andy Wehmeyer of Audiofrog stated that he saw a number of people at the first KnowledgeFest Long Beach that he doesn’t usually see at other KnowledgeFest events. “I saw lots of light bulbs go on for people out here who’ve never been to a KnowledgeFest before,” he said. “They came up to me and told me, ‘I had no idea what I was missing out on.’”

It is anticipated that classes offered in Spanish in the second year will increase educational opportunities, and make the event truly international, according to Cook.

Jason Kranitz of Kingpin University shared a similar experience. “My classes were very well-attended,” he said. “The event brought out a lot of new blood, and it was a new market [for me].”

Wehmeyer said that he brought his own demo vehicle and had a booth in the back of the hall. “A bunch of dealers out here were exposed to integration, and how to do better audio,” he added. “I was encouraged by the responses to the seminars I taught.” Both Kingpin University and Audiofrog had booths on the showroom floor.

However, the first Long Beach event revealed certain idiosyncrasies in the local market. It was discovered that many retailers in the area are closed on Sundays. “Last year, our show ended early on Sunday,” Cook said. “As we were closing the show floor, we had a line of retailers looking to get in because it was their first opportunity. In the future, we’re going to accommodate the local market at a time that’s convenient for them.”

KnowledgeFest is the “LightBulb” to EncourageSkill-Building

The goal with strategically placing KnowledgeFest events in key cities is to ensure as many people in the industry as possible get the opportunity to attend an event, Cook said.

Wehmeyer stated that he feels KnowledgeFest is meant to turn on a “light bulb” in the minds of attendees—to get people to realize that if they work hard with the goal of understanding new skills

and techniques, they’ll be able to do a better job, have happier customers and get paid more.

“I think there’s a small misunderstanding about what these events are really for in terms of skill building,” he added. “You don’t leave knowing everything you need to know about testing wires, integration, how to tune a car, and all those kinds of things. Trade shows with an education track are opportunities to be introduced to things you need to learn.”

Students need to stick with it beyond the scope of attending an event, Wehmeyer said. “You don’t build skills by sitting in an auditorium or sitting in a classroom.” Rather, sitting in that classroom is a chance to be introduced to skills you need to implement, practice and keep working on until you get better at them, he explained.

Chris Cope of Certified Autosound and Security in British Columbia, Canada stated that he witnessed a completely different perspective at the inaugural event, due to the many new faces he’d never seen at other KnowledgeFests.

“I taught a joint class with Jason Kranitz, Chris McNulty, Elias Ventura and Ethan Blau,” Cope said. “That was my first experience speaking at any KnowledgeFest. It was a great class and it ignited my passion for helping this industry, which led to teaching full classes at other events. I will be teaching my two dealer classes and my branding class this year, which I am very excited about.”

Cope got a chance to talk to a lot of locals who told him it was their first time at KnowledgeFest. “A lot of the feedback I got was that they were either a one- or two-man shop, and any other KnowledgeFest, they can’t afford to shut down the shop for a few days and travel. Long Beach made it feasible to attend without a huge financial burden.”

Kranitz echoed Cope’s comment. “I got to meet a lot of new people,” he said. “People want to learn and they want to be better. Obviously, we see that at KnowledgeFest a lot anyway, but I saw a growing crowd of that in Long Beach, more than I do at typical KnowledgeFests.”

Wehmeyer added that he’s always encouraged when attendees in his classes

follow up after a presentation via email, phone, or Facebook. “I try to see how I can turn the 20 to 25 hours a week I spend answering these questions into dealers who recognize that the answers to those questions, and the help in building skills, is valuable.”

Wehmeyer usually teaches a class about tuning and another about how to communicate the value of labor charges

in a different way, “so you can get paid for what you know rather than the amount of time you spend on a job.”

For Kranitz, the biggest impression was that the Long Beach show seemed as if it had been going on forever. It didn’t seem like an inaugural event, he said. “And obviously it opens up bigger business opportunities for me as a manufacturer,” he added.

KnowledgeFest Soon to Add a Fourth Event for Coast-to- Coast Coverage

For the 2019 event, the timing has been shifted to ensure everyone will get a chance to attend. It will take place Saturday, Sunday and Monday. With an accommodation for more space, a shift in timing, inviting the media and ensuring Spanish-speaking attendees get the most out of the conference, greater attendance is anticipated, Cook said.

“It was enlightening that there were so many people who wanted to learn so many things. As a manufacturer the negatives were the fees [due to the area],” Kranitz added.

Soon to come is a fourth Knowledge- Fest event. “In 2020, we’re adding a new event in Orlando, Florida at Orange County Convention Center,” Cook said. “That will give us complete coast-to-coast coverage and everyone will have an opportunity to get to KnowledgeFest.”

Additionally, new for this year will be a general education session to kick off KnowledgeFest Long Beach. The subject of the session has yet to be determined, but the content will offer information and inspiration for all attendees.

“Dallas is our national event, which attracts the highest attendance because of the awards,” Cook said. “Our west coast event will offer a stronger international appeal. With those four KnowledgeFest events, it’s really one show in four places.”