The Show Must Go On (And On)

For Springfield businesses and organizations, trade shows are both a source of funding and a platform for building awareness. Whether hosting one or multiple exposition a year, the planning process is in perpetual motion.

At Ozark-based Metropolitan Bride LLC, expos are a year-round business. The company coordinates six each year – four at the Springfield Expo Center and two at Downstream Casino near Joplin – each paired with a magazine: Metropolitan Bride for the wedding crowd and Frolic, which is geared toward kids and family.

“Between the expos and the publications, we are always on some sort of deadline,” said Creative Director Megan Rallis. 

A four-person staff handles the bulk of the planning and preparatory work for both sides of the business, swelling to seven on expo setup days and 12 during the event. 

Help comes from owners Dawn and Sean Shields’ other company, Sierra Moving & Delivery LLC, and hospitality management interns seeking hands-on experience.

The Metropolitan Bride staff isn’t a rarity on the expo circuit. 

The logistics of expo prep for vendors and organizers mean logging many man hours behind the scenes, of which the return on investment could be immediate or not materialize for many months, if at all.

Robin Byler, director of the Tech IT Out Expo hosted by the Southwest Missouri chapter of the Association of Information Technology Professionals, said the organization already is planning its seventh annual expo after wrapping up this year’s expanded event Sept. 17.

For the Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield, expo season also is in full swing. The group’s Home Remodeling Show, scheduled Oct. 9–11, moved this year from the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds to downtown’s Expo Center, and the change of venue coincides with triennial reshuffling of vendor locations. 

HBA CEO Charlyce Ruth said while the event coordinator and six-member trade show committee prepare to launch one expo, they also are planning for the HBA Home Show in January.

“The move to the downtown facility has bumped our vendors up,” Ruth said, adding exhibitors number 122 this year, up from 104 in 2014. “It will be the largest Home Remodeling Show we’ve ever had.”

According to Ruth, January’s Home Show had 210 vendors this year – just short of 2009’s record 230 - and is on track to best 2015 with 165 vendors already committed. 

Vendor strategy
For vendors, exhibit space is considered more of a marketing expense than a point-of-sale opportunity. Booths have to attract leads that will eventually germinate into paying  clients.

“You’re always looking for the people who want to do something now, but typically those shows do more good down the road assuming they remember you,” said SCS Home Entertainment owner Larry Batson. 

Periodically, SCS refreshes its booth’s look during the expos and this year will feature 4K resolution TV displays and MartinLogan speakers.

“When I first started doing it, I’d say between 80 percent and 90 percent of our business came off of the home shows,” Batson said, adding SCS has been a member of the HBA for 20 years and buys space at each of the organization’s shows. “Now, it’s hard to tell, because a lot of those people may have used us anyway since they already knew about us, but just seeing us there reinforced us in their mind.”

Southern Supply Co. Operations Manager Jill Squires-Vincel said for the last three years the company has tracked expo leads to make sure the newly generated business is covering the cost of space, payroll and materials. 

“Without salespeople sitting at your booth and working on those leads, you’re never going to know if you have ROI on booth space,” Squires-Vincel said. 

As long as the company is at least breaking even within a year’s time, she considers the associated expenses to be worthwhile. This year costs will include at least $4,400 on eight 10-by-10-foot spaces at $550 each plus event sponsorship for the remodeling show, and an additional $7,650 for 15 8-by-10-foot spaces at January’s home show.

“It’s not just about putting up the booth to sell,” she said. 

“It’s also about putting your name out there to generate buzz about the company and what your capabilities are.”

Much like the HBA, January attendees of the Metropolitan Bridal Expo are looking for information to plan their big day and by the time of the fall shows are close to signing contracts and booking services, according to Rallis.

“As a merchant you can’t really miss that stage, because that’s where they decide they’re going to make room in the budget for things they didn’t think about when logistically planning their wedding,” Rallis said, adding since the company started the expo circuit in 2008, Metropolitan Bride has averaged about 10 percent turnover on vendor space.

Funding cycles
Ruth said HBA shows are the organization’s largest source of revenue, followed by event magazine sales and annual dues of $470 by each of the organization’s 380 members. 

“They are something we do to make money at, so we net a positive,” Ruth said, declining to disclose show expenses and profits. 

The two highest costs are renting the Expo Center and producing advertising for the events.  

Byler said Tech IT Out’s 2015 expo brought in about $105,000 and the organization expects profits to settle at $40,000. She added only $30 of $130 individual annual membership dues goes toward the chapter, with the rest allotted to AITP’s national organization. 

Revenue from the expo is used to fund the next year’s event, minus a percentage allotted for local charities. Past recipients have included Crosslines, Ambassadors for Children and Care To Learn.

“The first year we made about $1,000 and we weren’t expecting a profit,” Byler said, noting revenues came from booth rentals and there was no charge for tickets. 

Fast forward to 2015, when Tech IT Out netted 24 sponsors, 70 exhibitors and 800 industry professionals in attendance – about 150 more than in 2014. 

The next expo already is in the planning stages, with this year’s $10,000 title sponsor, Jefferson City-based Hubert & Associates Inc., already committed to 2016, Byler said. 

Held at the Ramada Plaza Hotel & Oasis Convention Center this year, having outgrown the University Plaza Convention Center three years prior, she anticipates the growing number of requests from prospective exhibitors – Byler had to turn away vendors this year – will necessitate a move to a new venue or expanding Tech IT Out into a two-day event. 

“They will get one hot lead that will take care of their booth rental and then some,” Byler said of demand. “It’s grown to the point where people may not want to be there, but they know if they’re not it won’t be good because the competition is going to be all over that floor.”