Group Hired to Recruit Asian Exhibitors
By Gary Tufel -- Tradeshow Week, 2/7/2005
H.A. Bruno has hired Pittsburgh-based Asia Pacific Group to co-market and promote Asian attendance at C3 EXPO — the computer show being launched in New York this summer as a replacement for the defunct CeBIT America and TECHXNY information technology shows.
C3 EXPO, short for Corporate & Channel Computing, is expected to draw nearly 400 exhibitors and more than 20,000 attendees during its June 28–30 run at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Organizers said they believe the cancellation of several other events in the industry created a need for a business-focused event to showcase the latest in technology.
The event is aimed at a qualified audience of technology buyers from a range of markets, including enterprise, channel and SMB (server message block, a protocol for sharing files, printers, serial ports and communications abstractions such as named pipes and mail slots between computers).
Mark Dineen, Bruno's vice president of business development, said that APG came with good references, including past partnerships with CMP Media, and good connections in the Chinese marketplace. The company has already signed up 15 exhibitors, including 10 that will be housed inside a Korean pavilion.
Dineen said APG, through its Chinese subsidiary, Hangzhou Asia Pacific Economic and Cultural Exchange, will also organize a Chinese pavilion for C3 EXPO, as well as promote attendance, produce news releases, host an industry reception, handle advertisements and set meetings with Chinese exhibitors and attendees.
Dineen noted that the Paramus, N.J.-based Bruno and APG are using a solid database of attendees who had requested an event that was broader than existing vertical technology events.
"We know that such events as COMDEX and PC Expo have been winding down and not finding strong exhibitors. Attendees wanted multiple technology solutions for corporate situations, and that prompted Bruno, which was the original owner of PC Expo in the 1980s, to get back in the game," he said.
C3 EXPO has also been selected by the U.S. Department of Commerce to participate in the Intl. Buyer Program for 2005 and 2006. This means the show will be promoted through U.S. embassies and commercial service offices in more than 200 countries. H.A. Bruno is working with the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to organize a delegation of buyers to attend C3 EXPO, promoting the event as a marketing and purchasing opportunity for Chinese government agencies, as well as state-owned and private enterprises.
