TIA, USTelecom Kiss and Make Up
Former SUPERCOMM organizers agree to try joint show one more time
By Rachel Wimberly -- Tradeshow Week, 10/16/2006
Breaking up is hard to do.
That's what the Telecommunications Industry Assn. and the U.S. Telecom Assn. learned. The two organizations are reuniting for a brand new show, NXTcomm, next year at Chicago's McCormick Place June 18–21.
Just last year, after jointly producing the telecom mega-show SUPERCOMM for nearly two decades, the groups went their separate ways, each producing its own show: TIA's GLOBALCOMM and USTelecom's TelecomNEXT. But, it seems, they just couldn't stand to be apart.
USTelecom President and CEO Walter McCormick and TIA President Matthew Flanigan made the reunion announcement during a joint web conference Oct. 3.
"NXTcomm is a perfect marriage of the two shows," McCormick said. "It will be the place to see the latest and greatest of what's coming in the future."
For legal reasons, the SUPERCOMM name will not be resurrected, McCormick added. GLOBALCOMM and TelecomNEXT will be completely scrapped and replaced by the new show, which is music to the ears of exhibitors who weren't too happy about the divorce in the first place.
"When they split, our reaction was that it was a big mistake because the SUPERCOMM brand had a great deal of recognition in the industry," said Don McCollough, vice president of marketing for Entrisphere, a fiber optic telephone manufacturer. "We wanted one big show instead of two lesser shows."
Entrisphere had booths at GLOBALCOMM and TelecomNEXT and, even though both shows had value, McCollough said, he noted the lack of attendees. Beyond that, he added, going to two shows instead of one put a strain on Entrisphere's marketing budget.
McCoullough said he told salespeople from both shows his company wanted just one again. "Getting back together is the right decision," he said.
When asked whether it was a mistake to abandon SUPERCOMM and stage separate shows, McCormick said, "Both were successful shows. We're just taking one plus one and now it will equal more than two."
But exhibitors' concerns did have an impact on the decision to reunite. "Our organizations' members want one premier show. GLOBALCOMM and TelecomNEXT exhibitors want one premier show. The industry wants one premier show," Flanigan said.
The actual reason for the SUPERCOMM breakup in 2005 remains murky, though McCormick said at the time, "Neither party was willing to extend the contract pursuant to its current terms, and therefore the time had come for some decisions to be made."
The decision was for the associations to dissolve SUPERCOMM, with neither being allowed to use its name at that time also, and each to strike out on its own.
Both associations claimed success in 2006. GLOBALCOMM was held June 4–8 at McCormick Place and attracted more than 18,000 attendees and 502 exhibitors to a 203,000 net square foot showfloor. TelecomNEXT, which took place March 21–23 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, drew 10,000 attendees and 270 exhibitors to a 215,000 net sq. ft. showfloor.
By comparison, the 2005 SUPERCOMM had 25,000 attendees and 670 exhibitors spread over 309,000 net sq. ft.
New shows can be expected to have some problems, and neither GLOBALCOMM nor TelecomNEXT was immune to exhibitor complaints.
GLOBALCOMM started on a Monday and ran through Thursday, though SUPERCOMM had always started on a Tuesday, which led to a dearth of attendees on the first day of the show.
TelecomNEXT also had attendance issues, taking place just two weeks before another telecom event, CTIA Wireless, which ran April 5–7 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Overall, exhibitors pined for the good old days.
"We were concerned when SUPERCOMM split," said Steve Manuel, director of corporate marketing for Bay Microsystems. "As a smaller company, we thought it would be a challenge on our resources."
Bay Microsystems decided to roll the dice this year and have a booth at GLOBALCOMM and attend TelecomNEXT. Manuel said it would have been difficult to choose between the two next year because both offered business opportunities for his company, so the plan was to exhibit at both, even if it was a financial strain and attendance wasn't that strong.
Needless to say, he was happy to hear the associations had resolved their differences and his company would only have to go to NXTcomm next year. "We think it's more economical for us to have a stronger attendance at one show and reach our target audience," Manuel said.
NXTcomm will be a 50-50 venture between TIA and USTelecom with senior executives from each organization equally represented on the board. The new show will take GLOBALCOMM's dates in Chicago next year with a move to Las Vegas possible in 2008 to cover the dates of the canceled TelecomNEXT.
A USTelecom spokesperson said of the space booked at the Sands Expo & Convention Center/Venetian Resort Hotel Casino March 18–21, 2007, "We haven't canceled the dates. We're looking to book it (for NXTcomm) in 2008. Las Vegas is a great place to hold a show."
Staff from each association will contact exhibitors who have already booked booth space at the now-defunct GLOBALCOMM and TelecomNEXT 2007 shows, McCormick said.
Even though Manuel says he's looking forward to going to one show, because his company is small, he said, the prospect of trying to book space made him nervous.
"Good space is going to be more difficult to secure," he said. "There will be a lot more competition for space."
High-profile speakers, such as the heads of NBC Universal, AT&T, Motorola and Viacom, who intended to be at TelecomNEXT, have also committed to NXTcomm, according to McCormick.
Whether NXTcomm will one day match the success of SUPERCOMM remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: if and when it does, Flanigan will be watching from the sidelines. He's set to retire Dec. 31; TIA Executive Vice President Grant Seiffert will succeed him.
"It's a great way to ride off into the sunset," Flanigan said of the two shows getting back together before he left TIA. "I couldn't have asked for anything better."
