Competitive Advantages: Be Nimble, Be Quick

By Heidi Genoist -- Tradeshow Week, 3/26/2007

Running a 10-person operation with annual sales of less than $1 million in an industry dominated by multinational, multibillion-dollar conglomerates might seem daunting.

Or, as is the case with many of the tradeshow industry's small to midsized independent organizers, it might open the door to a wealth of opportunities the big guys miss.

In fact, while there's no shortage of entrepreneurs looking for a corner office in one of the top business-to-business media firms, there's an equal number who say they're not interested in ever being part of a large corporation.

How do they stay small and competitive at the same time? By leveraging their strength.

Many small operators say that if they knew then what they know now, they might not have taken the risks they did. Although it would be difficult to have too much market intelligence, sometimes what you don't know about tradeshows can keep you from being too scared to even try.

That was the case for Kristin Petrovich, founder and CEO of High Def Expo in Burbank, Calif. Petrovich is an example of those who come to show management through their experience in the industry their show serves, rather than through their expertise in producing shows.

Before HD Expo, as it's called, Petrovich produced and ran editing facilities, the companies that work with television networks, film makers and producers to add effects, sound and so on.

"I was always interested in technology, and there was a huge amount of confusion around high-def," she said. One of her clients asked her to produce an educational seminar on the technology, and 400 people showed up. The now thrice-yearly show grew organically from there.

"We started HD Expo before the industry transition (from analog to high definition) started, and we really took a stand. We're passionate about how this technology is implemented," Petrovich said. "People thought I was nuts. They said, 'High def? That's not going to happen.' Now, a lot of other organizations are using it as a buzzword."

Similarly, Howard Britt, president of Winter Springs, Fla.-based Premiere Shows, and his former partners (whom he bought out in 1994) were blissfully unaware that a huge corporate giant like Advanstar Communications could have squashed them like bugs.

They started, with 300 people and two tabletop displays, what today is Premiere Orlando with 750 exhibitors in nearly 250,000 net square feet. Advanstar Communications, one of the country's top tradeshow-managing B-to-B media firms, was already producing Intl. Beauty Show New York (now owned by Questex Media), the beauty industry's 300-pound gorilla.

In 2006, IBS filled 175,000 net sq. ft. with 622 exhibiting companies, according to Tradeshow Week research.

How did Premiere surpass its once much larger predecessor?

"It was a combination of several things: right location, no other existing show in the region, and because we're small, we were able to do a lot they couldn't do," Britt said. "We could try new things and didn't have to run them through a committee or board of directors. If they didn't work, we'd react quickly and try something else. It's no fault of theirs. It's just a different type of organization."

Petrovich said HD Expo would never be Intl. CES or NAB, two mega-tradeshows whose industries (computer electronics and broadcasting, respectively) are strongly affected by the changeover to high definition. But she doesn't consider herself their competitor anyway.

"We're much more community-based, and those are professional organizations," she said. "Our first tagline was 'Defining the community,' and we're three-pronged with events, education and online. It's really about being a resource."

Instead of CES or NAB, it's the small startups trying to produce conferences similar to HD Expo that Petrovich keeps her eye on.

Like Britt, she believes the advantage her company has is its ability to "move and transition and evolve incredibly quickly. Right now, we're streaming high-def content off our site. Nobody else is doing that."

Everyone involved in producing HD Expo is entrenched in the world of high-def, Petrovich added. From the exhibit sales people, to the Web site designers, to the marketing team, everyone has experience with the technology in the field. Because of that, she said, "We've been able to build good relationships and strategic alliances that have a huge impact in this environment."

Wendy Tonkin, executive vice president of San Francisco-based Western Exhibitors, agreed that relationships are a big part of a small company's success. A mom-and-pop operation offers more personal contact than large corporations, whose staff turnover and multi-limbed management trees can alienate customers. When somebody calls Western Exhibitors, she said, they're as likely to get her or the company president on the phone as they are to get an account representative.

"If an exhibitor worked with us 10 years ago, they'll probably find the same sales person still working here," she said. "Our average staff member has been here 15 years. There are disadvantages to that too, but in this environment, it can make a big (positive) difference."

Tonkin explained that, particularly in the gift industry, where Western Exhibitors got its start, there is a high number of shows. Meanwhile, consolidation among retail outlets, buyers' access to online ordering, year-round production and other economic factors have thinned the number of buyers at the traditional semiannual shows and made them pickier. Whereas gift shows used to sell out and have wait lists, that's rarely the case today.

"There are lots of options," Tonkin said. "It's a great way of doing business, probably one of the most financially sound ways of doing a tradeshow. You see the largest number of buyers per dollar you put out."

But by the same token, if a show doesn't pay close attention to its exhibitors' and buyers' needs — even on the little things like meals and accommodations — they're likely to try one of the many other shows.

"That's where the relationships come in," Tonkin said.

But it hasn't all been friendly phone calls. The evolution of the gift industry has been hard on Western Exhibitors too.

In 2005, the company sold its three main gift shows to dmg world media, and now manages the shows for the larger company. Western Exhibitors scaled down, a difficult decision for a small operation, and began outsourcing marketing, information services, registration and some other processes.

"We've had to take a close look at our operations and run some of those things much more leanly than we used to," Tonkin said. "We've had to partner more closely with facilities, and with our subcontractors."

The company has weathered the storm well. It now owns and operates the Toronto Intl. Art Fair, the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show, two Intl. New Age Trade Shows (one East and one West) and eight Harvest Festivals, for original arts and crafts (throughout the Southwestern and Western United States). In addition to the three semiannual gift shows — in San Francisco, Portland and Seattle — it also manages three cash-and-carry shows for dmg.

Getting more involved in public shows has been an important part of Western Exhibitors' strategy. Another part, according to Tonkin, is show consolidation. The company is thinking of expanding the existing collocation of INATS with the Orlando Gift Show, produced by New Age Gift & Ventures.

"I think partnerships are smart," Tonkin said, pointing to the successful collaboration of George Little Management's Gourmet Housewares Show and Reed Exhibitions' Natl. Hardware Show and Lawn and Garden World.

As trends like these emerge, the little guys will continue to be on the cutting edge of them. And as they grow and succeed, they'll look for new frontiers to conquer.

"We're getting a lot of attention, and we're getting it from organizations and publications way outside the mainstream of HD. It's a great time for us," Petrovich said. "We will transition to the next technologies — 2k, 4k — and so will the content we deliver."

Likewise, Britt said he is also "looking for other opportunities. What we look to do is partner with other distributors and manufacturers to create other events in new markets."

Still, in both good times and bad, sources said, there's nothing like running your own show.