Older Shows: Withstanding the Test of Time

Associations made up of nurses, doctors, firefighters, veterinarians, public utility companies and newspaper owners, to name a few, started forming during the second half of the 19th century in the United States. In most cases, members of the organizations would meet up once a year, learn more about their industry and, over time, attend a tradeshow attached to the event.

In the 21st century, association shows make up close to 60 percent of the total tradeshow market. The ones that have stood the test of time usually have a few things in common: loyal membership that continues to grow, valuable educational opportunities and a tradeshow with long-time exhibitors selling their latest products.

This week, Tradeshow Week takes a look at two of the oldest shows, the American Veterinary Medical Assn. Annual Convention and the American Water Works Assn. Annual Conference & Exposition, and traces their history through the years.

It was 1881 — five years after Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone and two years after Thomas Edison patented and tested the light bulb — that the American Water Works Assn. Annual Conference & Exposition began.

Public utilities were being established and spreading across the United States at the time, among them water utility. Twenty charter members of the association met in March in St. Louis to exchange the information they had about water — distribution mains and service lines, water waste and leak detection, energy for pumping stations and equipment design.

There were no exhibits that first year, but it wasn't long until exhibitors became part of the annual event for the drinking water industry.

The conference boasted a lively technical program almost from the beginning, with presenters discussing published papers and local facilities offering tours. The 1886 conference included a visit to Denver's pumping station; in 1953, conference attendees toured the world's first fluoridation plant in Grand Rapids, Mich.

The 1940 event had 12 sessions with 51 presenters. In 2005, the conference program had grown to 110 sessions with 500 speakers and 15 workshops.

The show traveled around the U.S. and Canada, with most major cities hosting it at one time or another throughout its 126 years, including Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

For this year's annual event June 24–28, the show revisited Toronto.

"Their whole team has been a delight to work with," said Katie Bender, Tourism Toronto's regional director of CityWide Sector for the Midwest and Western U.S. "We welcome the organization back every time they want to come back."

She added that AWWA has grown significantly, using about 30,000 room nights during its most recent visit.

The show's exhibitor list also has grown. In 1903, the AWWA showfloor boasted 23 exhibitors, including Neptune Meter and U.S. Cast Iron Pipe & Foundry (now U.S. Pipe & Foundry), companies still in existence and mainstays at the tradeshow.

"We've been a big company and a big part of AWWA since we've been around," said Mark Wooten, director of corporate marketing for U.S. Pipe, which started in 1899 and makes ductile pipe. "It's just a great way to see a lot of people in a short amount of time."

The company, like many others who have been exhibiting at the show since the early part of the 1900s, has seen changes since it began, including mergers and acquisitions, he added.

But being a cornerstone of the show has its perks. Wooten said during the show, exhibitors choose their space for the next year based a little on booth size and mostly on seniority. "We're second," he added.

A partial list in 1958 had 33 exhibitors — including American Cast Iron Pipe, Badger Meter Manufacturing, Chicago Bridge & Iron, James B. Clow & Sons (now Clow Valve), Cla-Val and Dresser Manufacturing Division — whose names are on the exhibitor's list today and were some of the 560 exhibitors on a 111,500 net square feet showfloor at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas, in 2006 for the 125th Annual Convention & Exposition.

For many long-time exhibitors, the products they manufacture and exhibit today are the same, albeit with technological advancements added through the years. Badger Meter still makes products that measure water flow. American Cast Iron Pipe continues to make iron and steel pipe. Clow Valve remains one of the lead manufacturers of fire hydrants and valves.

Attendance for the show also has grown considerably, with roughly 1,000 attendees in 1929 and more than 14,000, including exhibitors, at the most recent edition.

The long-running show has only canceled once since the first event in 1881. In 1945, during World War II, the federal Office of Defense Transportation dictated that no nationwide meetings be held.

The AWWA Annual Conference & Exposition also is no stranger to collocation. Although it's no longer common at the annual event, AWWA had joint exhibits with the forerunner of the Water Environment Federation in 1947 in San Francisco, long before collocations were an ordinary occurrence.

—Stephanie Corbin

In June of 1863 — between President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation announcing all slaves in rebellion areas were free and fierce battles waged in Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tenn. — 40 members of the United States Veterinary Medical Assn. decided to get together in New York for their first meeting.

Seven states were represented, and elected officers included the French-trained Dr. Alexandre Liautard, who ran the American Veterinary College in New York. Liautard established New York as the unofficial headquarters of the association, and the American Veterinary Review was founded as the primary publication for the profession.

Close to a century and a half later, not only has the USVMA, renamed the American Veterinary Medical Assn. in 1889, grown from 40 members to 75,000 (who care for more than 60 million dogs, 70 million cats, 10 million birds and 5 million horses, among other animals), but it also hosts the largest association tradeshow for the veterinary profession, the American Veterinary Medical Assn. Annual Convention.

"We often sit around and laugh and wonder what these guys were thinking starting a meeting in the middle of the Civil War," said David Little, director of AVMA's convention and meeting planning division. "I mean, were they trying to get out of something?"

Little, who's worked for the AVMA for seven years (his dad, Bruce Little, is CEO) and on the tradeshow for five, obviously wasn't around when the show came about. But, as far back as 130 years ago, tables were set up with products.

The first sign of an exhibit is noted in an 1887 report published in the American Veterinary Review about the 24th annual meeting held in New York City: "There were three casting-tables presented to the notice of the association, and not one of them could be officially endorsed. There was a general opinion among members that one of these was far superior to the other two."

In 2007, the association held the annual convention in Washington, D.C., July 14–18, drawing 4,200 members, along with another 5,000 family members. It had a showfloor of approximately 150,000 net square feet, according to Little.

"The show's grown in proportion to attendance to the meeting," he added. "Now we're able to attract more smaller to medium-sized companies ... bigger pharmaceutical and pet food companies have also taken on more booth space."

A number of the show's flagship exhibitors, including Hill's Pet Nutrition and Bayer Animal Health, have been with the show for a long time.

Even though he didn't know the exact date Bayer started exhibiting, Bob Walker, director of communications in the company's animal health division, said, "Bayer goes back to the 1920s. We started in the livestock market with prescription products for cattle. We go back with the association for many, many years."

As AVMA's show grew, Bayer's exhibit grew along with it, and now the company has a 20′×50′ booth. "It's the first booth when you walk into the show," said Dean Cost, Bayer's manager of marketing and communications in the same division. Neither Walker nor Cost knew the AVMA Annual Convention was so old. "I knew it was close to the turn of the century, but not the 1800s," Cost added.

Bayer exhibits at 22 shows a year, but Cost said the AVMA event is the company's third largest one and the biggest association show it takes part in.

Walker said it was important for the company to attend: "We have a contingent of salespeople there always who are working our booth, and it allows us to share with folks what's new at Bayer. It's an opportunity to touch them in a way we don't usually have. We have a very, very strong partnership with AVMA. This is the organization of our customers."

Hill's Pet Nutrition, makers of Science Diet pet food, has also exhibited at the show for a number of years, according to Amy Gregory, the company's veterinary conference planner. But, she, too, had no idea how old the show was.

"I was shocked to see the signage this year promoting the length of the show. I thought it was amazing for the show to be that long in existence," Gregory said.

Hill's also exhibits at more than 20 events a year, and the AVMA audience of veterinarians is the perfect place for the company's prescription pet food products. "We know we are reaching our target market at that show," Gregory added.

Though the show has experienced tremendous growth in attendance and square footage from its initial 40 members and a few small tables, there have been a number of challenges along the way.

In 1914, the meeting was scheduled in New Orleans, but there was an outbreak of the extremely virulent foot-and-mouth disease and the meeting was canceled.

Fast forward to the 21st century. Once again, New Orleans presented possible difficulties for the association's 2008 show after the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. "There was a lot of trepidation of whether or not we should pull out or not," Little said. "I had a lot of heartburn."

After meeting with the city's convention bureau and talking to other show organizers who held events in New Orleans after the storm, Little's doubts were erased. "I think (New Orleans) is ready to roll, and we don't have any reservations whatsoever," he said.

The number of attendees might be smaller next year, but Little sees a bright future for the show: "It's exciting. There's always a new city on the horizon to look forward to. It's a new challenge every day, that's for sure."

—Rachel Wimberly