the June 2008 Issue in PDF Format - Trade Show Executive

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NAMM NAMM Show Grows by Tweaks and Bounds By Sandi Cain, news editor Part 1 of a ten-part report on building attendance at trade shows. Few shows set out to increase attendance by cutting back. But that’s exactly what the International Music Products Association (NAMM) did for its annual Winter NAMM Show, held each January in Anaheim, CA. Over the past two years, NAMM has seen its qualified attendance numbers climb by about 4,000 each year. And they did it by turning people down. Kevin Johnstone, director of trade shows for the organization, said the association set out to reduce the number of guest registrations and ended up generating higher attendance. 40 June 2008 Trade Show Executive www.TradeShowExecutive.com
NAMM “We found we had too many visitors that were making it difficult for business to be done,” Johnstone told TSE. He noted that the final day of the show had nearly turned into a consumer event: guests flocked to the popular music industry event and legitimate buyers stayed away. “We wanted to reverse that trend,” he said. This year, registered attendance reached 88,126, up 4% from 2007. Last year’s registered attendance of 84,695 reflected a 4% increase over 2006. Improved databases and a call center enabled the organization to easily identify the true buyers on visitor lists. A quick call was typically all it took to get most registered in the proper category—even though that meant some had to pay dues. “Our badge policy was extremely generous and some people were taking advantage of that,” Johnstone said. It had become too easy for exhibitors to hand out guest badges to nonmembers. Show organizers worked with those who had liberally dispensed guest badges and explained their rationale for reducing those numbers. Once fewer guests were able to get access to the show floor, additional buyers returned, creating greater value for both exhibitors and buyers. The NAMM Show upped the ante with extra privileges for attendees with exhibitor and buyer Kevin Johnstone badges, and fewer privileges for those who came as guests. One perk was onsite parking at the convention center for exhibitors and retailers, which ended the considerable hike from more remote lots. Getting the right people the right badge made a big difference on the show floor, Johnstone said. “Buyers didn’t feel like they were fighting for exhibitors’ time with people who shouldn’t be there.” NAMM also performed I.D. checks on everyone each day of the show to eliminate badge sharing. “The attendance built itself because we refined the value of the show,” Johnstone said. NAMM also reached out to foreign countries where they believed attendance could be improved. Organizers learned that some foreign distributors were reluctant to have their buyers come to the U.S. and see competing products they might not carry. Thus, NAMM supplemented its international marketing efforts with some direct marketing to those foreign buyers and succeeded in attracting many of them to the show. In all, NAMM saw delegations from about 100 countries. Johnstone said NAMM’s efforts wouldn’t likely work for everyone because the association was focused on being more selective with their attendance promotion rather than appealing to a broad audience. As a closed trade show, Johnstone said the organization turns away thousands of requests to attend each year—some from groupies hoping to catch a glimpse of the celebrities who attend. It is also one of the first major shows of the year and many exhibitors use it to introduce new products, so the appeal of the show is high for the end-user. The inherent popularity of the music industry also increases the interest and demand to attend the show. The trade association includes all members of the music industry, and funnels profits from its shows back into programs that benefit the industry. That Continued on page 42 www.TradeShowExecutive.com Trade Show Executive June 2008 41
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