Rachel Wimberly

A Showfloor With Style and Flavor

 I’ve expressed my opinion before about industry meetings with tradeshows attached. It seems an impossible task to not only make the suppliers – who are paying for the show to a large extent – happy, but also lure the crowds attending the meeting itself onto the showfloor.

I’ve been to shows where I thought it didn’t work. For example, at ASAE & The Center for Assn. Leadership’s meeting last year at Chicago’s McCormick Place, the showfloor was only open for a few short hours, and lunch was served at exactly the same time. The lunch was in an adjacent area, but the showfloor never really got busy. Honestly, it may have been because the food was pretty mediocre, and people most likely left to get something better to eat before heading back to afternoon sessions.

Imagine my surprise when I attended Meeting Professionals Intl.’s World Education Congress at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino recently and, though the showfloor started off slowly, an hour after it opened a substantial number of the 4,300-plus attendees were in the aisles.

So, what did MPI and Mandalay do right? For one, the showfloor itself was designed with a more open format. Instead of 10’x10’ booths, there were circular ones divided into four parts scattered throughout the middle of the showfloor. It created a more inviting atmosphere, and, after polling some of the exhibitors, they seemed happy with it too.

Secondly, Richard Harper, Mandalay’s vice president of sales and marketing, said they made a distinct choice to go with a higher-end food product that was served in stands dotted here and there right on the showfloor. People ate and mingled and raved about the food, which included gourmet sandwiches and exotic salad selections. I, for one, happily ate my way though the exhibits.

Posted by Rachel Wimberly on August 12, 2008 | Comments (0)