Global Leader: Aaron Bludworth

The challenging economy has forced companies in the tradeshow industry that didn’t always play nice together to seek harmony for the common good.

However, the newfound spirit of cooperation is nothing new to Aaron Bludworth or his employer, the George Fern Company, he said.

“Fern’s always had a pretty friendly, open relationship with competitors, and I believe that’s still the case,” Bludworth added. The immediate past president of the Exhibition Services & Contractors Assn., the primary industry group for general service contractors, also is on the Intl. Center for Exhibitor and Event Marketing board and has been involved with CVB and facility advisory boards in the past, so working with every facet of the industry – including his competitors – simply is part of life.

“I’ve always tried to stay engaged,” he added, “and, as a result, I’ve interacted with competitors throughout my career.”

Bludworth recently took some time out of his day to speak with TSW Senior Assistant Editor Stephanie Corbin about the impact the economy will have on the general service contracting side of the industry, what George Fern is doing to make it through the recession and what the controversial exclusive labor situation in San Jose, Calif., could mean for the industry.

Tradeshow Week: Is service contracting changing because of the recession?

Aaron Bludworth: The product mix hasn’t changed much, but the way we engage customers has changed pretty dramatically over the last 18 months. It’s really been evolving (since) even before the recession, but the recession has sped up some changes, which is really driving a lot more customer focus.

TSW: In what way?

Bludworth: Contractors had provided a commodity product before, (and it) has changed now very much to a service product. With exhibitors, we now very frequently will get involved in sitting down and meeting with them and talking about their strategy across multiple shows or specific events and talking about their message, what they’re trying to accomplish, what they traditionally would have done, where they’re trying to get to.

TSW: How is that different from before?

Bludworth: In the past, it would not have been uncommon for an exhibitor to receive the (service) manual, fill out the forms, send them in and that be the entire engagement with the contractor. Now, (for) larger exhibitors – and every exhibitor where possible – we’re trying to reach out and provide an opportunity to connect and be part of their strategy and create solutions that are unique to them.

TSW: How does that help exhibitors?

Bludworth: It varies case by case. In some cases, we find that, when we sit down and look at exhibitors’ needs, that they’ve been spending on things that they really didn’t need. In some cases, there were modular rental-type solutions that better fit an exhibitor’s needs than going out and having a full custom build and all the freight that went along with shipping that exhibit around.

In other cases, there was a lot of opportunity to accomplish objectives using graphics, which technology has changed dramatically over the last half dozen years. ... They’re able to reduce costs and have a bigger impact.

TSW: What will be different when the recession ends?

Bludworth: What it’s going to look like in a few years is hard to say, but there’s a general consensus in the industry that change is occurring and part of it is permanent. I don’t know if that’s going to be the engagement of some different technologies and how exhibitors and attendees interact (or) if it’s going to be (that) ... the shows that have been scaled back both from the attendance and exhibitor standpoint are going to remain at the new levels now that people have seen they can still have an impactful experience without the same-sized presence that they used to. It’s hard to predict.

TSW: What is George Fern doing differently because of the economy?

Bludworth: At Fern, and at other businesses – not just contractors, but businesses in general – there’s been a lot of focus on doing more with less. We’ve done the same thing, and we’ve put a lot of focus in maintaining the same type of customer experience that we’ve provided historically, but with a much more efficient model on the production side for us.

As a result, we’ve been able to get much more efficient at how we handle certain services, mostly on the back end, but as the result of us being able to deliver a higher quality or a higher volume of services at a reduced price than we were in the past.

TSW: Can you give me an example?

Bludworth: On the back end, we’ve restructured the way we process carpet, which is a huge expense for contractors. We’ve introduced some new processes and systems that have allowed us to get better quality control and a much faster turn-around on carpet than we used to. That’s a big cost reducer for us.

On the graphics side, we’ve centralized our graphics and have a couple of hubs that service our branches. We’ve been able to increase the quality, implement standard procedures and lower our costs.

TSW: Is George Fern pursuing any new alternate revenue streams?

Bludworth: Fern has, for a long time, provided exhibit and event management services for a couple of large corporations. Sprint’s one, Cerner Healthcare’s another, and with those clients we’ve provided point-off-purchase displays, exhibits (and) program management both on the exhibit side and on the event side. We’ve never really launched out and provided that to other clients. It’s never been a big growth area for us, even though we’ve been developing those skills for many, many years.

TSW: Why have alternative revenue streams become so important?

Bludworth: We have a certain amount of investment that we’ve made in capital equipment and personnel. When tradeshows decline and contract, which we’re seeing generally across the board, ... we’re able to provide some of these additional services that we have the expertise to do, (and) we’re able to keep more of our assets engaged in productive revenue-generating activities, as well as keeping our staff active and involved and keeping more people employed.

TSW: Previously, you had a senior position with GES Exposition Services. How is life different at a large company like GES versus one the size of George Fern?

Bludworth: My career has spanned all sizes of companies. … I’ve seen all different aspects, at least from a size standpoint and ownership model. There are advantages to each, (and) there are challenges to each. I enjoyed my experience at GES, and I have a lot of respect for the team and that company. It’s a very innovative company that’s been a leader in a lot of ways in the industry. However, at Fern, one of the great things is we have all of the resources to service every size and type of show.

TSW: So the size of the contracting firm doesn’t limit the size of the show it can service?

Bludworth: We service eight Tradeshow Week 200 shows, and we’re able to service those very effectively. Some of those relationships go back up to 30 years but, at the same time, (because of Fern’s size) we have the flexibility to make decisions fast, to be nimble, to make investments where they need to be made without a lot of red tape and hassle that’s sometimes inherent – not a fault, but inherent – in a larger organization.

TSW: What are Fern’s main markets?

Bludworth: Fern services shows nationally. We work either directly, sometimes through subcontracts, and also with our sister-company capabilities in markets all over the U.S., but Fern has Fern-branded locations (and) heavy concentration in the Midwest, the Southeast and Texas. ... Only about half of our shows are in those markets, and the other half are spread all over the country. We’ve serviced under that model for 100 years this year.

TSW: What’s the company’s main business focus?

Bludworth: Our main focus is the middle-tier shows. Most of the shows in the country are middle range: They’re not megashows, and they’re not tiny shows. And we focus on those mid-range shows in any market in the U.S. (We service) shows from as small as 50 to 100 booths all the way up to several thousand booths, but our main focus is in that 50,000 to 200,000 net square foot show (range).

TSW: I know you’re quite familiar with the exclusive labor situation in San Jose. How do you think that is going to turn out?

Bludworth: San Jose is, fortunately, a very unique situation. ... I believe their intention is genuine, that they were trying to create an offering that was distinct from other markets and use that as a competitive advantage. Unfortunately, with the labor situation, they’ve taken a course that both contractors and customers agree isn’t productive for the industry. ... Our hope is that San Jose, as they continue to evaluate this policy that they’ve implemented, ... will make a change.

TSW: Will it set an industry precedent?

Bludworth: I don’t think so. There are only a couple of other markets in the country now that have exclusive labor arrangements. A couple of those are New York and Philadelphia, which have put those policies in place out of real, legitimate challenges in their markets related to labor that needed to be addressed. ... The only other one I’m aware of is Indianapolis, which is a little more similar to San Jose and a situation that we certainly hope will be reviewed in time.