Big Shows, Small Strides

In the tradeshow business, the fourth quarter is typically the quietest of the year. October, November and December bring with them unpredictable winter storms, extreme temperatures and holiday festivities that claim the attention of would-be exhibitors and attendees at fall and winter shows.

As if that weren't enough, the last quarter of 2007 saw the beginning of what could be a real economic slowdown. The U.S. gross domestic product was nearly flat, registering a mere 0.6-percent growth. Still, overall – and compared with the rest of 2007 – the last few months of the year could hardly be defined as failures.

Compared with the fourth quarter of 2006, the end of 2007 registered small percentage increases in most indexes, especially net square footage, up 4.5 percent, which was stagnant in the fourth quarter a year earlier. The number of exhibiting companies at shows went up a slight, but steady, 0.6 percent, compared with a 1.4-percent increase a year earlier; and attendance increased by 3.6 percent overall, more than the 2.2-percent increase rate in the same quarter of 2006.

The shows with the highest cumulative increases in net square footage, attendance and exhibiting firms for the fourth quarter included SC2007: High Performance Networking & Computing (which showed increases in net square footage of 33.5 percent; attendance, 31 percent; and exhibiting companies, 23 percent); West Coast Women's Show (increases in net square footage of 29.6 percent; attendance, 30.8 percent; and exhibiting companies, 13.4 percent); and MILCOM 2007 (increases in net square footage of 76.5 percent and exhibiting companies, 51.8 percent).

According to Mike Weil, vice president of Hall-Erickson, which manages SC2007, the show has been on a steady growth path since 2002.

“High-performance computing is a hot industry right now,” Weil said. He added that when the show moved to the Reno-Sparks (Nev.) Convention Center in 2007, it was able to grow significantly. In 2006, the show had been at the Tampa (Fla.) Convention Center, with about a third less space available than at Reno-Sparks. In 2005, it was at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in Seattle, which has about the same amount of space available as in Tampa.

“This was the first year we had space to accommodate all the exhibitors and allow them to expand to their desired size,” Weil said.

Murat Olcay, the producer and manager of the West Coast Women's Show, which saw increases across the board, said he believed his show prospered because of “a very good sales agent with a determined work ethic,” increased advertising, show-update newsletters and improved show content.

“Our sales agent was able to leverage the 46-percent increase in attendance we experienced in 2006 into more booth sales and a record number of sponsorship sales for 2007,” he added. “The increased revenue in booth and sponsorship sales allowed us to invest in better show content earlier in the sales cycle, (including) celebrity speakers and fashion shows.”

The greatest increases of the quarter occurred in the area of attendance. The shows with the strongest attendance jumps compared with 2006 were Greenbuild Intl. Conference & Expo, up 58.3 percent; Baton Rouge Jewelry & General Merchandise Show, up 43.7 percent; and the 2007 Realtors Conference & Expo, up 43.3 percent.

According to Kimberly Lewis, U.S. Green Building Council's vice president of conferences and events, Greenbuild Intl., held Nov. 7-9 at Chicago's McCormick Place West, jumped from 12,000 attendees in 2006 to 19,000 last year because of constantly growing recognition and involvement in a strong, popular movement.

“Since the conference's inception in 2002, Greenbuild has established itself as the industry event for green building professionals to connect with other green building peers, industry experts and influential leaders,” Lewis said. “The green building movement as a whole has also experienced exponential growth. USGBC membership has increased ten-fold since 2000, the number of LEED-certified green buildings has more than doubled in the last year, and green is on the minds of many Americans.”

The highest net square footage increases in the fourth quarter were at MILCOM 2007, up 76.5 percent; SC2007, 33.5 percent; and West Coast Women's Show, 29.6 percent.

Few shows had great increases in number of exhibiting companies, but those that saw some improvement were MILCOM 2007, up 51.8 percent; StonExpo, 25.8 percent; and SC2007, 23 percent.

Certain shows saw significant decreases in individual indexes, but the explanations don't always reflect the overall health of the shows, i.e., relocations, date changes and the relative state of the economy.

The Canadian Waste & Recycling Expo fell in attendance and net square footage by 41.3 and 30 percent, respectively. Show manager Arnie Gess attributed it to a move from Toronto to Vancouver, British Columbia, which he said has never been a major magnet for attendees.

“It's just a smaller market in Vancouver,” he added. “It will go back up again next year (when the show rotates back to Toronto).”

The Annual Pet Industry Christmas Trade Show & Educational Conference, which thrived in 2006, dropped this time in net square footage by 35 percent, exhibiting companies by 4 percent and attendance by 2 percent, perhaps because it was held three weeks later than usual, in late October. Show Director Colette Fairchild said she'd prefer to have the show, held in the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, even earlier than the first week of October, when it will be held again this year, because any later is too close to the holiday season.

“If some manufacturers cannot deliver their products in time for Christmas, they may not exhibit,” Fairchild said.

Win-Door North America Manager Patrick Shield said the sliding economy was to blame for his smaller show last year. The show saw decreases in net square footage by 21 percent, exhibiting companies by 8 percent and attendance by 3 percent.

According to TSW research, the average show in the fourth quarter of 2007 had 182,199 net square feet, 577 exhibiting companies, 12,350 professional attendees and 313 booth spaces.

November was the strongest month of the quarter. Compared with the previous year's quarter, both attendance and net square footage increased, up 6.6 percent and 7 percent, respectively. The number of exhibiting companies at shows in November increased 1.3 percent.

December followed with increases in net square footage and attendance as well, up 3.7 percent and 6.2 percent. Exhibiting companies stayed nearly the same, with a 1.9-percent increase. October's stats remained unremarkable with a 0.2-percent drop in exhibiting companies and only slight increases in net square footage and attendance, up 3.1 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

Climate seemed to be the best indicator of success in specific regions. Out of the 57 shows that submitted qualifying statistics for this report, the West Coast ranked highest with 17 shows, followed by the Southeast with 13 shows, South Central with nine and the Midwest with eight. Canada had five shows in the entire country. The Northeast had four and the North Central states, one. Shows held in Las Vegas increased by an average of at least 5 percent in both net square footage and exhibiting companies.

Health care shows comprised 24 percent of all shows included in the report. Considered as a discrete sector, they experienced slight average increases of 1.7 percent and 3.2 percent in net square footage and attendance, respectively. Only the number of exhibiting companies decreased, by 1.3 percent overall. Non-medical shows went up 5.2 percent in net square footage, 3.5 percent in attendance and 1.1 percent in number of exhibiting companies.