Not Just As It Seems

The third quarter of 2007 ushered in no big tide of change. The indexes routinely measured by Tradeshow Week's Quarterly Report of Tradeshow Statistics reflected minor growth – with the number of exhibiting companies and attendance both experiencing a small boost (and net square footage dipping a toe in the red) - but fell short of revealing what's going on beneath the surface.

While the quarterly report statistics are rendered from the results of multiple events, when an individual show's performance changes drastically compared with the previous year, it can skew the overall statistics. This happened in the third quarter of 2007, as significant changes in a few shows influenced the outcome of the report as a whole. And it appears that even the growth or decline seen in individual shows may not tell the whole tale.

The Las Vegas Market – Summer took a deceptively big hit in net square footage, as measured by the temporary space occupied during the summer installment of the semiannual show. While the 2006 show had 626,000 net square feet of temporary exhibit space, the 2007 show had 323,160 net sq. ft., a decline of 48.4 percent.

The opening of World Market Center's new building, which added nearly 1.6 million sq. ft. of permanent showroom space, allowed former occupants of temporary exhibit space to move into permanent space, diminishing the figure that TSW uses to track show growth in venues with permanent showrooms. Las Vegas Market's other indexes, meanwhile, did not show regression, with attendance remaining flat and the number of exhibitors rising 7.2 percent.

According to the TSW Quarterly Report of Tradeshow Statistics, third quarter shows' net square footage declined 0.2 percent; exhibiting companies took the biggest leap, increasing 1.6 percent; and attendance remained steady, with an increase of 0.7 percent.

Ignoring Las Vegas Market's statistics, the growth in attendance and number of exhibiting companies remained largely the same as a year earlier (1.5 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively), but net square footage bounced up, reflecting a 1.5-percent increase.

All Candy Expo had a similarly misleading drop in one measure (in this case, attendance).

“I can see why it would seem odd (that) it was the best show we've ever produced,” said Theresa Anthony, Natl. Confectioners Assn.'s director of expo and membership.

The show features exhibitors that provide an array of sampling opportunities. A veritable paradise for people with a predilection for sweets, the show played host in the past to its fair share of non-industry party crashers. To discourage this trend, the 2007 show implemented a $35 registration fee, an act that deterred many of those looking for a few good freebies rather than solid leads for their businesses.

“You can buy a lot of candy for $35 instead of registering, parking, coming to the show, collecting candy and whatnot,” Anthony said. “So when we implemented the fee, those attendees that were not really germane to the industry didn't register and didn't come.”

Exhibitors welcomed the dearth of show crashers, which whittled the attendance down from 15,588 in 2006 to 9,130 in 2007. “But you've never seen an industry so happy to have numbers go down,” Anthony said. “It allowed them more time to sit with the buyers.”

Besides the show's 41.4-percent decrease in attendance, it grew 8.8 percent in exhibit space and saw 12.4 percent more exhibiting companies than in 2006.

When All Candy Expo is removed from the overall quarterly statistics, net square footage registers a 0.3-percent decline, number of exhibitors is up 1.5 percent and attendance shows a 1.5-percent increase.

In another case of anomalies, two shows demonstrated radical growth in all indexes tracked by the report: ABC Kids Expo and Oil Sands Trade Show & Conference.

As a multi-year TSW Fastest 50 winner, ABC Kids Expo is no stranger to growth. According to Larry Schur, president of All Baby & Child and Schur Management & Consulting, part of the show's growth can be attributed to the cancellation of the Intl. JPMA Show, which had its final run in April 2007 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. After April, all roads led to the Las Vegas Convention Center, ABC's home.

“Even before the announcement (of the cancellation) was made, we were sold out of space,” Schur said. “When the announcement came out, a lot of the companies were contacting us to get even more space, existing companies as well as new companies.”

The biggest adjustment made to accommodate the growth? “Up until this show, we were doing it on a staff of three,” Schur said. “Right before the show, we basically doubled our staff.”

They also made navigating the ever-expanding showfloor a bit easier on attendees by adding a shuttle trolley system running the perimeters of the LVCC, an addition Schur plans to keep.

But the biggest boom this quarter was at the Oil Sands show, typically held in Fort McMurray, Alberta. The 2007 show had to relocate to Edmonton, Alberta, because of construction activity at the usual venue.

“We were nervous about moving it because most of the activity is in Fort McMurray. It could have gone badly for us,” said Lesley Stevenson, sales manager.

Their nerves were calmed by the result of the move. The show grew from 46,780 net sq. ft. with 376 exhibiting companies and 2,774 attendees in 2006 to 86,700 net sq. ft. (up 85.3 percent), 710 exhibiting companies (up 88.8 percent) and 8,103 attendees (up 192.1 percent) in 2007.

Stevenson stressed that the show would continue serving the Fort McMurray market by implementing smaller, conference-based events in the region.