Pulvermedia Expands Into Financial Events
By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 8/28/2006
Pulvermedia, a firm that predominantly operates voice over Internet protocol shows, has branched out into the banking and financial services industry with its purchase of Foreword Financial.
The newly combined entity will maintain the pulvermedia name, while the financial services events will continue to use the Foreword Financial brand.
Since 2003, Foreword has created and managed conventions, tradeshows, conferences and client meetings for financial services professionals.
The first Foreword event that pulvermedia will be involved with is the fourth annual Bank Card Conference, Oct. 11–13, at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate, Fla.
Pulvermedia CEO Jason Chudnofsky, a former COMDEX executive who joined the firm last year, said Foreword "truly fits our model of diversification. ... This fits our model very very well in a different industry."
He added, "This move expands our portfolio of events into a sector that, like IP communications, is experiencing rapid change and disruption."
Paul Agranat, Foreword's director of business development, said pulvermedia's growth strategy "matched up nicely with things we wanted to do."
He added, "(The acquisition) made a lot of sense for both companies."
Foreword, formerly based in Lauderdale by the Sea, Fla., will retain its key personnel. The parties did not disclose its purchase price.
Chudnofsky and Agranat worked together at Key3Media on COMDEX and became reacquainted at industry meetings, including those organized by the Society of Independent Show Organizers and Intl. Assn. for Exhibition Management.
"It just makes it so easy (to make deals) at these face-to-face gatherings," Chudnofsky said. "We have to drink our Kool-Aid once in a while."
In the third quarter of next year, six Foreword events will collocate for the first time, including the Bank Card Conference, four other existing events (Operations Conference, Bank Technology Convention, Outsourcing Forum and Security Forum) and a new conference, Securities Brokerage and Asset Management Operations & Technology Conference. The events, scheduled to take place in New York, will maintain their separate programming and networking functions.
Chudnofsky said these events are "very focused, not huge events," a 180-degree turn from his COMDEX days.
"We're an organization that does not launch huge tradeshows," he said, adding that there are "very few events out there like (Intl.) CES" that have the power to maintain a horizontal market.
Chudnofsky pointed to the downsizing of E3/Electronic Entertainment Expo which, based on the video game industry's demands, is transforming itself from a massive tradeshow to an invitation-only meeting.
"E 3is a true example of an (industry) that is doing a rebirth," he said. "What happened to E 3could happen to CES, could happen to the housewares industry, to the hardware industry ..."
Pulvermedia, founded by Jeff Pulver, is based in Melville, N.Y., with an additional office in Boston.
The company's arsenal of VoIP events includes Fall VON (Voice On the Net) and Spring VON. The shows, scheduled for September in Boston and March in San Jose, Calif., respectively, both are 2006 Tradeshow Week Fastest 50 winners.
The company also organizes Video On the Net (collocated with Fall VON); VON Europe Autumn, scheduled for November in Berlin; VON Europe Spring, June in Stockholm, Sweden; VON Italy, October in Rome; VON Mexico, February in Mexico City; and several other events. The first VON event was launched in New York in 1996.
VoIP competitors include CMP Media's VoiceCon Fall, which took place last week in San Francisco, and VoiceCon Spring, scheduled for March in Kissimmee, Fla. The shows were formerly operated by MediaLive Intl.
TMC produces the Internet Telephony Conference & Expo West and East, scheduled for October in San Diego and January in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., respectively. Among other events, TMC also organizes the VoIP Developer Conference, next scheduled for May in Santa Clara, Calif.
