Supercomm Calls on ReedX, Krause

The roller coaster of changes that the once-canceled, then reinvented and now resurrected Supercomm show has gone through plays out like a dramatic daytime soap opera, and, as with any good story, there's a new plot twist.

Reed Exhibitions and E.J. Krause & Associates, through their Expocomm Events joint venture, will take over management of the show from the two telecom associations, Telecommunications Industry Assn. and USTelecom, that previously ran it and still own it.

“Reed Exhibitions views this agreement as a commitment for continued growth, while valuing and leveraging our global customer relationships,” said Mike Rusbridge, chairman of Reed Exhibitions. “The partnership allows us to bring sales, operational and management expertise to deliver enhanced content, contacts and communities to transform customers' businesses.”

Edward J. “Ned” Krause, president and CEO of E.J. Krause, added, “Along with Reed, we bring a global marketing capability, which will enable the Supercomm brand to flourish and become a showcase for telecommunications, IT and broadband development.”

The two seasoned tradeshow companies – Reed has 470 events worldwide and E.J. Krause has more than 60 – might be just what the show needs after the past few tumultuous years.

Supercomm was launched close to 20 years ago, and, for years, partners TIA and USTelecom seemed to be in perfect sync. The show flourished, with more than 25,000 attendees and 670 exhibitors on the 309,000 net square foot showfloor in 2005.

But, the following year, the good times came to an end when a rift developed between the two associations, Supercomm was rendered obsolete and each association said it would start its own show.

In 2006, USTelecom launched TelecomNext, which drew 10,007 attendees and 278 exhibitors to a 215,700 net sq. ft. showfloor, and TIA launched Globalcomm, which had 10,526 attendees and 501 exhibitors on a 202,725 net sq. ft. showfloor – both a far cry from Supercomm's numbers just a year earlier.

The associations quickly resolved their differences and got back together the next year to launch NXTcomm (having previously agreed that neither side had the right to the old Supercomm brand). Exhibitors at the show's debut at Chicago's McCormick Place, which drew 500 exhibitors and 20,000 attendees to a 200,000 net sq. ft. showfloor, were not impressed. “It's a little slow,” said Kirsten McGregor, director of marketing communications for OCCAM Networks.

The following year, things changed once again – the show, held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, was collocated with InfoComm Intl. But that, too, seemed to fall flat.

During the show, its then-executive director, Wayne Crawford, told TSW that neither attendance, square footage nor exhibitor numbers had grown since the previous year. Exhibitors also complained about the show being in Las Vegas, where there were few telecom companies.

“We would prefer it (be) in Chicago,” said Heather Komomua, tradeshow manager for ADC, at the time. “We'll be happy to see it come back.” NXTcomm was scheduled June 18-21 this year at McCormick Place and – one more thing – it would have yet another name change.

The associations figured out that what was once old could be new again and dusted off the previous Supercomm brand. “There's a lot of excitement to bring back, by popular demand, the new Supercomm,” TIA President Grant Seiffert said at the time of the name change announcement. “We're looking forward to being back in Chicago.”

Along with the mid-March news that Reed Exhibitions and E.J. Krause were signing on, there was one more change in store: Dates were pushed back to Oct. 21-22, undoubtedly giving the new management team a bit more lead time to sell the show.