Does the Trade Show Location Really Matter?

Expo Industry Associations.

by Larry Kulchawik 

Years ago I represented the Chicago Convention Bureau with their exhibit program when McCormick Place was the number one location for trade shows in the USA. The objective was to promote Chicago as a preferred trade show destination. Their theme at the time was ‘Attractions without Distractions’. Meaning, when you attended a trade show in Chicago the focus on business opportunities was stronger than the secondary attractions of the city. Yes, Chicago had a beautiful skyline and remarkable restaurants, but you were not distracted by Mickey Mouse and Gambling Casinos. Chicago continues to offer these unique advantages but competition is generating stronger attractions beyond the event itself.

Over the years, and after covid, show attendees who were on the fence to

attend a show, now preferred to go to events in Orlando and Las Vegas

because their family, or spouse, wanted to join in on the trip. This was great, but in most cases the attendee who spent most of their time at the trade show, left early to spend time with the family elsewhere.

If the organizers strategy was to attract attendance at the event, it worked. But, was the total value of attending the event compromised for the companies who invested to pay for the attendee to attend? I say, no. After covid mania, getting visitors to get on a plane for business, after a two year grounding, was a challenge. The secondary benefit for an attendee to bring the family on a business trip did work. So I propose to my family- join me in Chicago, Atlanta or Dallas? or join me in Las Vegas and Orlando? This secondary emotional attraction when deciding to attend a conference does matter.

Today, conference organizers need to take this point very seriously. Yes, industry conference attendees still desire to network, see what is new, and attend educational sessions. Companies are willing to pay for their employees to attend conferences to learn, to grow, to buy, or to drum up business. This is a company investment, not a vacation. I believe that both can happen and create a win-win result.

Organizers must use the destination attraction as a lure, but the fish that visitors inadvertently catch will be the real prize. It is very common for show visitors to experience a ‘eureka moment’ as a result of attending a show. Examples… “ I met this guy who showed me a new way to sell our stuff”. “I visited an exhibitor who invented a solution for our problem”. In the end, you discovered things you never intended to find. These are Eureka moments when attending a trade show.

With todays younger audience of professionals delivering the total experience at the conference event must be more carefully orchestrated to create a unique, and a new, show site environment for learning and engagement. Face to face marketing does still work.

The organizers must work with the convention center, the show contractor, and the city convention bureau to create the right blend of environment for all visitor experiences. Some conference improvements might be to make the session topics more relevant and entertaining. Or to make networking opportunities more fun and easy. Or make the exhibit floor an easy place to find exactly what is of particular interest to you. Or to allow more down time between sessions to have quiet time on their cells.Or to allow time to see the city sites with a group of peers. The total experience matters!

As noted in our book, the Invisible Industry, the major trade show cities who paved the way for trade show success in America- Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Dallas- have fallen behind after covid. Each fell back for different reasons beyond their attractions. Orlando and Las Vegas then took the lead by expanding their facilities and promoting their attractions. I feel that other US convention cities qualify to attract an attendee to a meeting for the same reason- San Antonio, San Diego, New Orleans, Boston, Miami, Hawaii also have strong emotional attractions to lure an attendee to a conference. For other cities- create the attraction. Play up the attraction to create emotion, but be sure, in any location, to focus strongly on what goes on during the three days of the event.

With regard to city attractions in the rest of the world- according to ICCA City rankings 2023, Paris was the number one meeting destination. A recent podcast promoted by Kai Hattendorf, past President of UFI, discussed the findings of a study conducted by the Destination Marketing Organization. The study pointed out the best convention site cites who were perceived most favorableAsia- Singapore, Sydney, Thailand, Europe- Germany, London, Norway, Middle EastDubai, Saudi Arabia, and North and South America- Las Vegas, and Brazil. Each of these city locations generated the emotional attraction to influence an attendee to a world class trade show or conference meeting. They agreed that the destination mattered to encourage attendees to attend.

It was Maria Antoinette of France who said "Let them eat cake".

But it was Thomas Moore the English philosopher who said-

"You can have your cake and eat it too”.

Both are words of wisdom that can apply here.

Attending an event to gain knowledge, to network, and to enjoy the sites

-all can be achieved with a single bite.