Selling Cities

1
Selling Cities Venues Today
2
Four Themes

• Power Shift
• Conventions Tradeshows 2.0
• Convention Centers 5.0
• Selling Cities Venues

3
Part One Power Shift
4
Power Shift

• Faster, better, cheaper information
• Attendees are well informed due to information
  available on the Internet.
• They are further along in the buying process
  when they get to the show.

5
Attendee Power Shift

• Site-selection Wheres the built-in attendance
  base?
• Site-selection Which city will draw?
• Attendees not staying as long
• Booking outside the block
• Confused exhibitors

6
Buyers Have Powerful Tools
7
Less control
8
Part Two Conventions Exhibitions 2.0
9
Show Producer Trends

• 5 gross revenue growth forecast
• Focus on cost containment
• Hard to launch new B2B shows
• Exhibitor product cycles dont fit show schedules
• Empowered attendees/buyers
• Closer focus on site-selection
• How to add more value beyond the show days?

10
Challenges

• Consolidation on attendee and exhibitor side
• Growing high-quality attendance levels
• Competition from other show producers
• Competition from Web and other media
• Containing costs while raising experience
  quality Travel and hotel costs

11
Opportunities

• International show launches
• Co-location
• Targeting new related market sectors
• E-marketing
• Working more closely with exhibitors/sponsors
• Global economy

12
Tradeshows 2.0

• Whats the next version of conventions and
  tradeshows?
• Lets look at retail
• Data-driven customization/segmentation and new
  store layout
• More staff training
• Services beyond merchandise and warranties
• High end or low end

13
Either High End or Low End
14
Can you be both a price competitor and standout
customer service provider?
15
How Real is Venue Management Commitment to
Customer Service?
Percentage of Convention Center Managers
Source Tradeshow Week Venue Management Survey
August 2005
16
Tradeshows 2.0 The Next Version of Shows

• Associations continue to evolve
• More specialization more segmented floor layout
• Enhanced data and information collection
• Additional services custom event management
• Linkage with Web sites, i.e., eBay Live show
• Smaller or larger? Shorter or longer?
• Next version of exhibit booths?

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More value
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Part Three Convention Centers 5.0
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Supply and Demand Growth
Annual Growth Rates
20
Total Convention Center Space Square Feet
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Number of Convention Centers Exhibit Halls
1.8 compound annual growth rate (1995-2005)
22
Average U.S. Canadian Venue 2000 2005
Average Meeting Rooms 2000 25 Average Meeting
Rooms 2005 26
23
Convention Center Size Breakout Square Feet
24
August 2004 to July 2005 Building
1.8 million square feet of exhibit space
25
In-Process New Venues and Expansions

• 29 new venues in-process 41 expansions 8.2
  million square feet of exhibit space

26
Are you studying or building a new venue or
expansion? Is a major competitor?
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When Expanding or Building New Venue

• What does our citys tourism, corporate and
  convention brands stand for?
• How can new venue investments link all three of
  these distinct aspects of the community?
• What does our current venues brand stand for?
• Are the key stakeholders and decision-makers in
  the development process up to speed with trends
  in the national convention, exhibition, hotel,
  travel and media industry?

28
When Expanding or Building New Venue

• What will the convention and meetings industry in
  our city and competitive set look like in ten and
  twenty years?
• How can we develop new services to become the
  best of class venue in our competitive set and to
  compete at the highest level among North American
  venues?
• Are we hoping to compete mainly by building a new
  facility?
• Are we committed to investing in marketing and
  new service development to compete and better
  service event planners, exhibitors and attendees?
  

29
Venue Evolution
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Todays State of the Art Convention Centers
Source Building Design Construction
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Venues Today

• Remarkable 20-year transformation
• High-tech, high-profile, award-winning design
• Complex businesses -- important to communities
  and political structures
• Differentiation is gone discounting and
  incentive funds increasing
• Facing commoditization again

32
Tomorrow Design for Individuals

• More functionality
• More intimate feel, less overwhelming, stark
  spaces
• Better integration, connection with city
  elements
• Board rooms small breakout rooms
• Lounges Admirals Club
• Comfortable chairs and sofas

33
Institutional
34
Quality battle
35
Part Four Selling Cities Venues
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How to Respond?
37
Power Shift

• Site selection prove your drawing power
• Focus brand to attendees and exhibitors
• Attendance marketing
• Harness all state and local resources and
  expertise (from Governors office, to labor
  department, to sports teams, to universities)
• Hire marketing managers to work solely with shows
• Offer marketing payments, partnering
• Earlier signage not just welcoming signs in
  airport but signs marketing the shows four to six
  weeks out

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Convention Centers 5.0 New Services

• Consulting on venue and hotel usage best practice
• Research
• Help exhibitors reach attendees
• Web services
• Entertainment
• Learning labs
• Full-time marketing staff
• Market to groups that launch shows

39
Show Producers with Recent Launches

• Advanstar Communications Inc.
• ASI Show, Inc.
• Centric Events, Inc.
• Clear Channel
• CMP Media, LLC
• ConvExx
• Conferon Expositions
• Cygnus Expositions
• Diversified Business Communications
• dmg world media
• EH Events Education
• Hanley Wood Exhibitions
• IDG World Expo

40
Show Producers with Recent Launches

• JD Events
• Karel Exposition Management
• MC Communications
• Macfadden-Protech
• McLaughlin Associates Corporation
• Messe Frankfurt, Inc.
• Motor Trend Auto Shows, Inc.
• National Trade Productions, Inc.
• Offinger Management Company
• Oxford Publishing, Inc.
• PennWell Corporation
• Penton Media, Inc.
• Pulvermedia
• Questex Media Group
• Reed Exhibitions
• RJ Promotions
• Spargo (J.) Associates, Inc.
• Unicomm
• VNU Expositions, Inc.

41
Sales, Marketing and Service

• Sensory marketing, music, etc.
• Higher level customer service
• Differentiation
• Become the attendee marketing venue
• The customer service venue
• Theyre not a facility. They are our
  indispensable partner

42
Venue Evolution
43
Guest Transformations
44
QA
45
About Michael Hughes

• Associate Publisher Director of Research
  Services, Tradeshow Week
• As head of Tradeshow Weeks Custom Research,
  Michael produces proprietary research, consulting
  and marketing projects for leading exhibition
  industry organizations around the world. He
  works closely with exhibition industry leaders,
  corporate exhibitors, entrepreneurs, investors
  and real estate developers to provide high-value
  strategic information, analysis and
  recommendations. His clients include nearly all
  industry leaders in every segment of the industry
  as well as leaders in the investment and
  consulting community. Michael is frequently
  quoted by major newspapers and national magazines
  such as The Chicago Tribune The Los Angeles
  Times Newsweek The New York Times and The Wall
  Street Journal. In January of 2003, he was
  selected as a Person to Watch by mins btob
  newsletter. Since 1999, Michael has been a
  presenter at over 40 industry conferences. He is
  also the research director and editor of
  Tradeshow Weeks syndicated Executive Outlook
  research surveys.
• Tel [phone]
• Email mhughes_at_reedbusiness.com