the May 2008 Issue in PDF Format - Trade Show Executive

Power Lunch
Bob: You’re a successful entrepreneur,
yet you started in the research side of
our business. How did you make that
transition?
John: As an English major graduate of
Boston College, I quickly learned that
there weren’t any jobs for people who
could quote Shakespeare. During my
student days, I worked for my father,
who was a college professor of research
methods and statistics. This gave
me a practical background in market
research, and one of my first jobs was
with Cahners Publishing Company as
research assistant to Ira Siegel. He was
another mentor, and I soon relocated to
New York when Cahners began buying
magazines there.
Bob: Describe your experiences with
Cahners Publishing?
John: It really sharpened my research
skills. I must have worked for 17 different
industries in the Cahners portfolio:
interior design, library, book publishing
and medical publications among them. I
knew just enough about each of these to
get through a ten-minute cocktail party
conversation before people found me out.
Bob: When did you first meet Bob
Krakoff?
John: I met him while I was working for
R. R. Bowker which had been acquired
by Cahners. Bob and Ira subsequently
felt that I should bring my marketing
expertise to Cahners Exposition Group in
Stamford, CT. So I packed my research
bag and moved there.
Bob: Was this about the time when
CEG was acquired by Reed Elsevier and
became Reed Exhibitions?
John: Yes, soon after I relocated. I
spent five years with Reed and loved
every minute of my association with
the company. I had a great boss, Neil
Perlman, whom I knew from the
publishing side. His roots were with
Publishers Weekly, and he was promoted
to head up the exhibition division. He
pushed me into marketing, direct mail,
etc. Jim Alic succeeded him and gave
me my first line management experience
with the packaging and pharmaceutical
manufacturing shows. It was a blast.
Bob: Why did you leave?
John: I’d relocated five times in ten years
and decided to shop my resume with
the intent of settling back in Boston. I
met a fellow Boston College alumnus,
Jack Connors, who owned a successful
advertising agency. He gave me the
opportunity to start my own trade show
business, with the proviso that I develop
a concept and invest my ‘sweat equity.’ He
would provide the capital.
Bob: Sounds like a win-win opportunity.
John: Yes, but I was reluctant. He
challenged me to take the chance and
reminded me that if we failed, I’d be
in my mid-thirties and still marketable
to other employers. I was scared, but I
did it – and M/C Communications was
launched.
Bob: What was your initial strategy?
John: We had two parallel tracks: one
was to get management contracts for
existing events and the other was to
launch our own events. As luck would
have it, Terry McDermott, who was
president of Cahners Publishing USA,
had left to become chief executive of
the American Institute of Architects.
He asked me to manage his AIA trade
show and conference. This gave us our
start and Terry continues as a friend and
mentor.
Bob: How did you start your medical
conferences?
John: Soon after the AIA contract, we
came up with the Pri-Med concept, which
is shorthand for Primary Medicine Today. It
is a conference and exhibition for doctors
and clinicians in their local area that puts
together multiple primary care disciplines
and delivers world-class education. The
first event was in Boston with Harvard
Medical School as our partner. We had
an exhibitor/sponsor advisory committee
composed of all the major pharmaceutical
companies, who paid for the opportunity
to access doctors away from their hectic
workplaces.
Bob: Was the event successful?
John: Since doctors constantly need
continuing education credits, our first
conference drew a respectable 3,600
attendees, with 120 exhibiting companies.
We didn’t make money, but Harvard
loved it, our exhibitors loved it, and most
importantly, the doctors loved it. The
next year, 5,000 doctors attended Pri-Med
in Long Beach, CA. Currently, there are
seven large Pri-Med conferences annually,
with Harvard Medical School as partner.
We also developed Pri-Med Update Meetings
for the secondary and tertiary markets,
responding again to the increased need
for continuing education for doctors.
Pri-Med is now held in nine countries and
comprises over 200 medical conferences
each year.
Bob: What about competition from the
Continued on page 40
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