Show Data: Associations Have Half the Biz
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 6/11/2007
Quantifying the number of association tradeshows out there is tougher than you might think.
After all, what makes a show an association show? Association-managed? -owned? -sponsored? Just think of all the possible configurations of cooperation between association and for-profit entities in the world of tradeshow production.
And that's not even getting into the question of what constitutes an association. Not every nonprofit is recognizable by its name, and not all of them accurately report their status when asked.
Even bearing in mind this margin for error, a very unscientific look at Tradeshow Week research reveals some interesting facts about the association show business.
- Of the more than 3,800 tradeshows in the 2007 TSW Data Book, roughly 2,050 are association-managed and/or -owned. That's about 54 percent.
- Of the 10 largest tradeshows in the United States, six are association-managed and/or -owned.
- Of the 157 organizations that manage the tradeshows listed in the 2007 TSW 200, 82 are associations.
A list of the top association-show management firms, with the number of shows each will manage in the United States and Canada this year, contains few surprises:
- SmithBucklin, 33
- J. Spargo & Associates, 20
- Hall-Erickson, 13
- Corcoran Expositions, 13
- Corcoran-Conferon Expositions, 11
Some associations are top contenders, too, in terms of the number of 2007 U.S. and Canadian tradeshows they are managing:
- Natl. Defense Industrial Assn., 14
- American Chemical Society, 10
- Natl. Marine Manufacturers' Assn., 9
- Society of Manufacturing Engineers, 8
- Western Winter Sports Representatives Assn., 8
That's not counting the various regional home builders associations, which manage 11 shows.
