Telecom Groups Talk Up Their Shows

SUPERCOMM fades out, exhibitors and attendees wonder which way to go

By Margo McCall -- Tradeshow Week, 6/20/2005

Chicago—Now that SUPERCOMM is history, exhibitors and attendees are scratching their heads about which replacement show to support next year: the Telecommunications Industry Assn.'s GLOBALCOMM or the U.S. Telecom Assn.'s TelecomNEXT.

"That is the million-dollar question," said Reggie Allred, director of sales for North Carolina-based Newton Instrument, an exhibitor at the final SUPERCOMM, held June 6–9 at McCormick Place.

But even as the sun set on SUPERCOMM, some exhibitors and attendees were unaware that USTA, which represents carriers, and TIA, which serves equipment vendors, were parting ways after nearly two decades of jointly sponsoring the Tradeshow Week 200 event.

Those exhibitors and attendees apparently overlooked USTA's splashy ads for TelecomNEXT, set for March 19–23 at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Featuring such slogans as "It's Where the Buyers Are" and "Think of It As the Communications Candy Store," the USTA posters were highly visible both at McCormick and on buses and at bus stops during SUPERCOMM. One ad — picturing a teenager wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with "Ultra GlobalWorld," accompanied by the slogan "My Dad Went to Five Telecom Tradeshows and All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt" — seemed to particularly target the TIA's GLOBALCOMM.

"If we're going to do something, we're going to do it right," said USTA President Walter McCormick, adding that 60 percent of TelecomNEXT's more than 300,000 net square feet is already sold. "We have every reason to expect we'll succeed."

TIA President Matthew Flanigan said his association — which bears the show management duties — has been preoccupied with producing the last SUPERCOMM. Nonetheless, TIA did come out with one poster that urged telecom industry members to "Step Beyond What's Next" and attend GLOBALCOMM, set for next June 5–8 at McCormick Place.

Flanigan said putting on a successful final SUPERCOMM was the best way his team could prove they were up to the task of launching a new show. Some 80 percent of GLOBALCOMM's 200,000 net sq. ft. of floor space is already sold.

And indeed, with 670 exhibitors spanning 309,000 net sq. ft., this year's SUPERCOMM was a little larger than last year's 302,820 net sq. ft. event with 691 exhibitors. The show had shrunk during the 2002 and 2003 industry downturn.

Audited attendance figures were still being compiled. But according to preliminary information, Chicago-area attendance was up by 46 percent and international attendance by 20 percent over 2004, said TIA spokeswoman Sharon Grace.

Both associations took advantage of the final SUPERCOMM to spread the word about their respective events, with media and exhibitor breakfasts, lunches and receptions. And both were signing up exhibitors during the show. As in years past, the USTA and TIA booths were side by side. However, in a sign of the acrimony between the two groups, round-the-clock security was posted outside the USTA booth.

The two groups are also waging a collocation battle. The TIA has drawn support from Questex Media's Sensors Expo & Conference, held alongside SUPERCOMM this year, and Practical Communications' OSP Expo, which usually attracts 250 exhibitors and 4,000 attendees. Flanigan said more collocations are to come.

In comparison, USTA has secured conference partnerships with the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions standards group and the analyst firm, Legg Mason Wood Walker, and a long list of telecom executive keynotes, mostly from USTA member companies.

USTA has also assembled a team of tradeshow veterans, led by John Abel, senior vice president of membership, marketing and business development. Abel managed to quadruple attendance at NAB during his 12 years with the Natl. Assn. of Broadcasters. The team's growth of its Las Vegas-based "boutique show" TELECOM led to it being named the TSW Fastest 50's overall fastest-growing show in 2004.

TIA also has an NAB veteran — Gene Sanders, vice president of sales and business development — among its more than a dozen SUPERCOMM staff members. "It's the same team that's been doing SUPERCOMM for years," Flanigan said.

McCormick said his association's members, who together spend more than $36 billion on telecom equipment annually, are supportive of TelecomNEXT. But Flanigan said rather than carriers, the TIA — whose board unanimously backs GLOBALCOMM — plans to reach out to enterprise buyers, who spend five times that amount.

The dueling shows also pit two of the country's biggest tradeshow destinations against each other. While shows held in Las Vegas typically are popular with tradeshow attendees, Flanigan said holding GLOBALCOMM in Chicago will enable the association to draw from both the East and West coasts. SUPERCOMM moved from Atlanta to Chicago in 2004.

"They'd love for us to stay here," said Flanigan, adding that a decision hadn't been made on that yet.

McCormick said he expects to "quickly sell out" the 2006 TelecomNEXT and will be looking for expanded space in 2007.

Meanwhile, exhibitors are wondering exactly how the new shows will differ. McCormick said TelecomNEXT will reflect "the new world of communications" (a variation on SUPERCOMM representing "the whole world of communications.") The TIA describes GLOBALCOMM as "the ultimate worldwide sales platform and a 'must exhibit' event for providers of information and communications technology."