Year Two for Big Five

By Heidi Genoist -- Tradeshow Week, 5/16/2005

Chicago—In its second year, the collocation of five food-industry tradeshows under the Supermarket Industry Convention & Education Exposition banner bears signs of lessons learned. While show managers still have some challenges to overcome, participants — for the most part — want them to do what it takes to keep the chemistry alive.

The five shows taking place together for the second time at McCormick Place May 1–3 included: the Food Marketing Institute's FMI Show; the Natl. Assn. for the Specialty Food Trade's Intl. Fancy Food & Confection Show; the U.S. Food Export Showcase, owned by FMI, sponsored by the Natl. Assn. of State Departments of Agriculture and managed by Convention Management Group; the United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Assn.'s Produce Expo & Conference; and Diversified Business Communications' All Things Organic Conference & Trade Show, sponsored by the Organic Trade Assn. According to FMI, the combined shows drew 30,000 professional attendees to visit 2,000 exhibits.

Just about anyone who has managed a tradeshow for an association acknowledges that it can be a juggling act. So, has putting all these food shows together created five times the headache?

"You would think that after four years of this, we'd get better at it, and we have," said Chris Nemchek, NASFT vice president of exhibition management. Nemchek was referring to the fact that NASFT and FMI started collocating in Chicago in 2002, then brought all five shows under one roof for the first time in 2004.

For one thing, the five show managers don't deal directly with their (or others') boards of directors. Instead, an upper-management committee, with individuals acting as liaisons to their respective boards, makes strategic decisions. Mid-level staff is divided into three management groups that handle marketing, registration and operations.

This freed senior executives to focus on strategy without getting bogged down in the details. And they needed that freedom to surmount the challenges of pouring five different cultures into one mold. The upper management committee spent a good part of last year meeting at one another's headquarters to hammer out a plan.

"The first year was the process of introducing ourselves," said Brian Tully, senior vice president of FMI. "There are differences on a variety of issues ... We had to go down the list and address each one."

By all accounts this wasn't always an easy process. But, noted Thomas Stenzel, president and CEO of the UFFVA, "We've had good spirit, good planning. Things like signage, the competitive factor — on some you just agree to disagree."

For instance, the groups have stuck with their preferred general contractors, meaning that Freeman and GES Exposition Services work together on the shows.

Still, the ongoing discussions led to a more coherent collocation in 2005, symbolized by the tag line, "The Power of Five," used on common signs and marketing materials to tie together the individual shows' brands. Visitors were greeted by one registration area and press room, rather than the separate areas they had to hunt down last year. And this year, one badge got everybody into every show everyday.

Some issues will require further attention.

One sticking point has been registration fees. NASFT and FMI, in particular, have different contingencies, strategies and revenue structures that created a large gap (from $35 to $150) in the amounts they charge attendees.

Although the two struck a compromise and came up with one rate for all this year, Tully said the challenge of registration fees isn't over. "We need to bring everyone together and continue to examine that," he said. But he sees the exercise of getting together and asking why things are done certain ways as a healthy one.

Other issues that could be revisited include pre-registration — FMI and UFFVA use a common Web site, while NASFT and Diversified have yet to join — and space. With the collocation attracting larger crowds of exhibitors and attendees, Stenzel said the question now is: "Where do we grow?"

That question is most important to All Things Organic, which found itself alone in Hall C, one level below halls A and B of McCormick Place's North-South Building.

To avoid the appearance of second-class status for All Things Organic, organizers hung ample signage directing visitors to the lower level, and put the registration area and shuttle stops near the entrance to Hall C. Diversified also enlisted 30 volunteers to don T-shirts reading "Get down with organics," and pass out promotional materials.

"We like our location," said Bob Callahan, director of All Things Organic for Diversified. "Generally, we're happy."

Who wouldn't be, if his show went from 200 booths two years ago to 460 this year, as was the case with the organics show? Callahan noted: "We've gained access to a bigger audience. And it's good for everyone else too, because all the products complement each other."

In fact, all the organizers said they believe the advantages of the collocation far outweigh the challenges.

"It's worth it for us, because having the other groups around gives us a niche," Nemchek said. "We weren't established in Chicago like in San Francisco and New York."

Stenzel said his exhibitors didn't know what to expect last year, but they must have liked what they got, because the Produce Expo showfloor grew by 15 percent this year.

Most show participants also seemed aware of the collocation's value. "You get to see a whole range of people you don't usually deal with," said John Given, procurement manager for Foxy Foods, which exhibited in Produce Expo. "We usually only see produce buyers, but FMI draws CEOs that are responsible for buying everything in a store."

Fancy Food's makers of exotic and gourmet fare and All Things Organic's makers of natural products said they were happy with the exposure to mainstream chains. Meanwhile, distributors of specialty foods drawn by those two shows said they were pleased at the chance to interact with large food companies at FMI.

In fact, most skepticism about the collocation came from FMI's own exhibitors.

Ron Dallara, vice president of sales for Epicurean Intl. (makers of Thai Kitchen, among other things), said he thought the collocation was "a joke. It just spreads people out." Although the company has exhibited in Fancy Food for years, it was its first time in the larger show.

Organizers acknowledged that the expansive FMI showfloor was tougher to fill than the more compact shows.

On the other hand, some FMI exhibitors seemed unaware of the four shows taking place alongside them.