Industry Interview: Chief Has Confidence in Shows

Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 6/21/2004

Todd Jameson is halfway through his two-year term as president of the Natl. Assn. of Consumer Shows. He is president of HSI Show Productions in Indianapolis, produces the Christmas Gift & Hobby Show and the Indiana Flower & Patio Show, and is keenly aware of the challenges that public shows face. Contributing Editor Gary Tufel spoke with Jameson about those challenges and the current state of the industry.

Question: What is the hot consumer show segment this year?

Answer: Without question, home-related shows are doing well. Baby boomers can now turn their full attention to their homes and are spending more time in them, and Home & Garden TV has had a huge effect. It lets people know what they can do to improve their homes, and that they need contractors and installers to do it. There was some concern among us about HGTV initially, but now there's no doubt that people want to see the products and services at a show, face-to-face.

Q: Where, then, is the weakness in the consumer show industry?

A: There are pockets of unemployment in certain cities. People in those cities may still come to consumer shows, but they may not feel they can buy anything. Any weaknesses are a function of the economy in each city.

Q: What is the most significant challenge the industry faces today?

A: The fight for the entertainment dollar. Even though consumer shows are face-to-face marketing opportunities, they are also very much entertainment opportunities. We call them "cabin fever relievers." In winter, home and garden shows have a leg up on other shows, because they sell springtime.

Q: After Sept. 11, the conventional wisdom was that the consumer show industry benefited from a "nesting" phenomenon since many people were reluctant to travel and looked for diversions closer to home. Is that still the case?

A: That's still having a very positive effect, combined with very low refinancing and mortgage interest rates. In our region, many who had winter homes in Florida have sold them and used the money to turn their Midwestern homes into castles. Our flower and garden show exhibitors are reporting their best sales in the past five or six years.

Q: Date protection — the practice of a convention center bumping a consumer show if a more lucrative tradeshow comes along — has been a major issue in the past. Is it still?

A: That depends on the market. In many cities, we're getting more attention than we used to because of the downturn in the tradeshow industry. There may still be inequities in some markets, but the oversupply of space in convention centers is causing them to re-address this issue.

Q: What are your goals for NACS in the second half of your term as president?

A: Some facilities want to produce their own in-house consumer shows. It's a constant threat, but it negatively affects buildings in the long run. It's a shortsighted strategy that can kill the goose that laid the golden egg. Other show producers tend to stay away from those buildings. We've started a dialogue between those facilities and our members.

NACS' focus is on the health and growth of the industry. Education is vital. This year's meeting in St. Louis is our first stand-alone meeting in several years. It was a positive experience to meet (collocate) with such associations as the Intl. Assn. for Exhibition Management, but we started to lose our identity. This meeting will allow us to better tackle issues specific to our industry.

Q: Where is the next opportunity for consumer shows?

A: The core group of traditional, successful shows are the home and garden, boat, and travel and adventure shows, but as the population changes and ages, and the ethnicity of the country changes, there will be great opportunities for us to expand. For instance, public equestrian shows barely existed 10 years ago; now some have added as many as 1,000 exhibit booths to their livestock components.

The growth of the Hispanic population also provides an opportunity for us to be inclusive and create events that meet Hispanics' wants and needs. There are three events in Indianapolis for Hispanics; seven years ago, there were none. The opportunities are there — the challenge is to see and address them.

Q: And what must show producers do to take advantage of these opportunities?

A: We need to be acutely aware of our marketplaces, and surveying at shows is an excellent way to do that. Surveys should not just ask where attendees live, their incomes and their ages; they should find out about their lifestyles and their interests. For instance, at our Christmas show, we found that a major future purchase by attendees would be furniture, so we now cross-promote our show that features furniture. Knowing your audience and marketplace is absolutely key.