Show Managers Enlisted to Help Boost TS2
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 3/21/2005
A new program designed to draw more attendees to TS2 — The Trade Show About Trade Shows gives incentives to show managers who encourage their exhibitors to go to the event for exhibition education.
The preferred partner program, developed by Natl. Trade Productions, which acquired TS2 from the Trade Show Exhibitors Assn. last November, offers show managers cash in exchange for getting their exhibitors to register for the show and offers attendees registration discounts. NTP will give show organizers $100 for each verified conference attendee and $25 for each verified expo-only attendee from their shows. Exhibitors who attend the TS2 conference via the program get a $100 discount.
Steve Greenspan, executive director of TS2, said the program should make attendance at the show more accessible for exhibitors. He said 83 shows, including 32 listed on the Tradeshow Week 200, are involved. Among them are Intl. CES, NAB, The Natl. Assn. of Convenience Stores Show, SUPERCOMM, InfoComm Intl. and PACK EXPO Las Vegas. In addition, Reed Exhibitions will hold its proprietary education program, Reed University, at the same time as TS2, so exhibitors from the show management company's shows can easily attend both.
The program is part of TS2's effort to reach out to managers of the largest shows. Greenspan said there is a need for exhibitor education, and show organizers know that better-educated exhibitors mean more successful shows.
Dan Cole, vice president of sales for the Consumer Electronics Assn., producer of Intl. CES, said programs such as this "help educate our exhibitors about the various aspects of their jobs."
