Are Association Shows Feeling the Squeeze from Private Events?

Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 8/9/2004

Do organizers of association shows feel threatened by the strength of private corporate events? Have they lost exhibitors to corporate events? And what are they doing to combat the competition? Contributing Editor Gary Tufel asked a few of them.

"Corporate events have played a role in the pet products industry for many years. Much of the sales to independent retailers are done through distributors who hold annual open houses. These are among the few opportunities that our exhibitors have to write orders at a show.

"The big-box retailers also hold private events that are important public relations opportunities for our exhibitors. Because most buying is done on a corporate level, these events are seen as ways to show product to the managers and staff who work in the individual stores. Many of our exhibitors participate in these kinds of events.

"APPMA has an all-inclusive buyer base. We work closely with the mass-market retailers to ensure their buyers attend our show. Special programs have been put in place specifically for distributors, independent retailers and international buyers to encourage their attendance. Exhibitors who want access to a comprehensive national and international audience feel they have to participate in our show."

Andrew Darmohraj, Vice president and deputy managing director, American Pet Products, Manufacturers Assn.

"Intl. CES has lost a company or two to its own corporate event, but we have been able to keep exhibitors by ensuring that we can deliver value beyond what they can get at their own corporate event. Intl. CES attracts the who's who of the consumer electronics industry. In addition to retail buyers, we continually attract international attendees, financial and market analysts, media and a contingent of government guests.

"These attendee groups are valuable to exhibitors and are not often able to travel to corporate-type events. We also continue to deliver strong branding opportunities and international media exposure. This is something that corporate events may have a tougher time attracting."

Karen Chupka, Vice president, events and conferences, Consumer Electronics Assn.

"Reed's food service and hospitality events serve four very strong markets. Each event, unique to the idiosyncrasies of its market, is affected by a variety of external factors, one of which is the corporate event. However, these external factors also include the economy and a highly fragmented distribution process. While we are certainly mindful of corporate events, they play a much smaller role than the ups and downs of the industry and the economy as a whole."

Steven J. Kalman, Industry vice president, Reed Exhibitions

"I certainly categorize corporate events as a threat. We see the impact on both sides of the equation — exhibitor and attendee. For us the impact has been greater on the attendee side, where we compete with large-scale general management and sales meetings staged by some of our key member/attendee companies. The top management at these companies would rather have their people attending these meetings because they can control the message and don't have to worry about their best people being recruited.

"To combat the impact, we have in some cases worked directly with the company to either avoid date conflicts or, if possible, create a tie-in to our event. But the best way to combat the threat is to build and sell the value of our own event.

"We have lost one or two exhibitors, but the impact has not been significant, at least not to this point. In those couple of cases where we have lost a major player we have taken the consultative approach; first gaining a better understanding of their objectives, then coming back with alternative approaches for participating in our show — things like meeting room participation, advertising or sponsorships. Generally, the exhibitor appreciates the flexibility and is willing to maintain some presence, which opens the way for us to bring them back in fully at a later time."

Chris Brown, Senior vice president, conventions and expo, Natl. Assn. of Broadcasters

"The buzz about corporate events as a threat to tradeshows needs to be put into realistic perspective. Over the last couple of years, most exhibitors have cut their tradeshow budgets. We hear 'budget cuts' or 'We didn't get a good return on our investment or objectives last year' much more often than 'We're doing a corporate event instead of tradeshows.'

"Corporate events have their place in marketing and do compete for tradeshow marketing dollars. It's just another method used to market a brand. But usually the audience is limited to a select group and is generally pre-qualified. These may be existing customers and/or prospective customers known to have an interest in the company's product or service, making for a very captive audience.

"It is always more cost-effective to retain an existing customer than to pursue a new one, which contributes to the success of corporate events. But ultimately you need new customers, and trade-shows provide the means to get them.

"Exhibitors make those new contacts and meet face to face with them. The cost is significantly low if they can be converted to a sale. Most attendees prefer the opportunity to see and compare products of several suppliers all at once. Not all want to be in a controlled, captive environment. Trade-shows provide the comfort of anonymity to some degree, which is more difficult to do at a corporate event. Each type of event has value but produces different results because the objectives are somewhat different."

Carol Fojtik, Senior vice president, Hall-Erickson