I’ve attended hundreds of trade shows and conventions in my 25 years of corporate marketing – Comdex (once the biggest computer show in the world and now defunct) in Las Vegas, Natural Foods Expo in Anaheim (the biggest in the world), the Personal Care and Beauty Products Show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York, the CTIA Wireless Show (again in Las Vegas), and the Organic Food Association show held each year at the humongous McCormick Place in Chicago.

And in all those years, without exception, I have never heard a straight answer from a tradeshow promoter after asking him or her what that year’s attendance and exhibitor participation numbers looked like: “This is a record year for attendance!!!” they always shout back. “You ought to book a booth now for next year as we are already 80 percent sold out!”

They are full of the word that rhymes with mitt.

The reason I ask about exhibitor participation rates is because I always notice the unsold space on the floor when I’m at a show. You can always tell the space the promoters haven’t sold because the empty spaces have been replaced by cozy chairs and tables at which weary show attendees can cool their heels and rest awhile and enjoy a momentary respite from the miked salespeople barking their pitches from their amplified booths. The show promoters don’t provide these spaces for attendees out of the goodness of their hearts.

The rosy sales figures promoters give belie reality, however. According to the same Brookings Institution report supposedly (hopefully) read by Mayor Berry, “the current overall attendance rate at the 200 largest tradeshow events languishes at 1993 levels.”

And yet, the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau is asking the business community to show its support for the proposed Downtown Event Center & Hotel Complex project. Though many business leaders remain undecided about the proposed $400 million downtown event center and headquarters hotel project, one hotel mogul has come out strongly against it recently in the Journal.

Jim Long, owner of six hotels in the state, as well as the Albuquerque Plaza building downtown, calls the project an “economic albatross for Albuquerque.” Mr. Long offers a broader perspective at looking at the proposal, in my opinion, as he says, “The issue is not the Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the issue is not the lack of rooms, and the issue is not the lack of convention space – the issue is the lack of desirability of downtown.”

In other words, come night time, would show exhibitors and attendees rather party in Las Vegas, San Francisco, Chicago – or in Albuquerque?

Over-built and under-attended

The Brookings Institute study was pretty critical on the idea of cities investing in convention centers as a linchpin of their economic development strategy.

The report stated the convention center business is over-built and under-attended. And this is a report that was conducted in 2005, three years before the financial meltdown in September 2008. You think attendance has picked up these past three years? I think not. In fact, I know not.

Mayor Berry says he is “non-committal on the project at this time.” He says he is in no hurry to rush into making a decision on whether to move forward on spending $400 million and raising the gross receipts tax at least another one-eight of a percent to pay for this project.

I think neutral is a good gear for Mayor Berry to put this project in at this time, a time in which the city is facing revenue shortfalls deeper than any one at City Hall has the stomach to put down on paper.

City Hall still has nearly $78 million in outstanding debt related to its convention center – even though the last major expansion was 20 years ago – as a result of refinancing through new bond issues, reconstruction of Civic Plaza in the 1990s, and renovation and expansion of the center itself.

At the current rate, the city won’t pay off the convention center debt completely for another 27 years, until 2037.

The future of trade shows and convention centers

I wonder about the future of trade shows and convention events in general, given the disruption of traditional models by digital displacement. It’s clearly quite fun to visit London or Las Vegas or New York and schmooze with your peers at these events, but are the events worth the investment for exhibitors and attendees both? These shows are very expensive for a company to participate in and for an attendee to attend.

I emailed futurist Michael Moon, president of Gistics and editor in chief of the Journal of Digital Asset Management, and asked him where he saw the future of trades hows and convention centers as a business model was headed. His reply:

1. Pervasive use of the Web has disrupted two of three fundamentals of tradeshows: webinars replaced in-person demo and product microsites replaced (mostly) the need for distributing printed collateral in person. The social and personal engagement fundamental becomes heightened.

2. The basic underpinnings of business-to-business buying and collaborative decision-making processes has changed to the extent that tradeshows have become marginalized.

3. The basic nature of work in a Networked Economy has changed, making time away from offices and workspaces more difficult and painful, time away / offline often becomes a liability and problem source. As a result, many heretofore conference delegates must make a more formal and factual business case for attending.

4. This all suggests that we will see a demand for shorter, regional one-day briefings and lower demand for larger, centralized multi-day confabs.

I would say Mr. Moon’s assessment doesn’t bode well for a business community and its city officials to say yes to future investment in convention center/tradeshow/hotel infrastructure. Are the tradeshow exhibitor, the tradeshow attendee, the entertainment event ticket buyer getting their bang for their buck today, let alone in the future, given Mr. Moon’s prognostications?

Personally, I think not. And something tells me that if the mayor goes ahead and funds this project the city taxpayers won’t get their investment bang for their buck, either.

Molitor is an adjunct scholar at the Rio Grande Foundation and a regular columnist for this site. You can reach Molitor at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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If you've ever manned a tradeshow booth, you're familiar with that sense of urgency to bring back home a stack of qualified leads. And, with so many other exhibitors vying for the same prize, you may find yourself behaving a bit like a carnival barker in your efforts to lure visitors into your booth.

Luckily, there's a more dignified option: Let your tradeshow booth do the work for you.

To learn how marketers can attract a constant flow of traffic to their booths, I interviewed industry expert Les LaMotte, founder and CEO of Xtra Lite Displays (www.xtralite.com).

The key to maximizing booth traffic is to make sure the booth commands attention at several distances, starting with about 30 feet away, according to Les. Your booth needs something eye-grabbing that attendees can spot from that distance. "Side wing" displays that catch attention from several aisles are also a good option.

Getting in the Zone—Three Zones, Actually

But let's say you weren't able to secure such a desirable spot—or, for that matter, invest in a fancy exhibit booth. That's OK; attendees are still going to pass your booth at some point, and you can still attract—and sustain—their interest by displaying three types of messaging, each uniquely suited to viewing from one of three distinct zones, says Les:

• The Memory Zone—about 15 feet away.
• The Sensory Zone—close enough to interact with booth materials and demos.
• The Data Zone—as much a state of mind as a particular proximity, the Data Zone is where booth visitors are looking for evidence that your product or service will solve their problems.

The Memory Zone

When an attendee is in the Memory Zone, Les says, "their eyes naturally move to the top of your display. This is where you want to put your take-home slogan, that power statement attendees will remember about your company."

For new or unknown companies, the Memory Zone is a particularly ideal place to put the major benefit of working with you.

But what if you're a big brand, a Coca-Cola or an IBM? Everyone already knows who you are. In that case, your Memory Zone statement should reveal something new and relevant to the tradeshow's audience.

The Sensory Zone

Now that the Memory Zone has attracted several attendees to your booth, let's see how appealing to them in the Sensory Zone can extend their visit.

"This is the middle zone where you want to appeal to the attendee's senses. You can stimulate them with compelling words and big visuals, or even give them something tactile to do," Les suggests. "Learning is a key aspect of the Sensory Zone, so your demos or other interactions should happen here."

If you want to get really creative (and maybe split some costs), consider pairing up with one of your customers or partners to create a demo.

At an engineering design tradeshow, one of my clients, a 3D rendering company, teamed with an auto manufacturer to display a memorable scene in the Sensory Zone. The auto manufacturer had a sleek sports car shipped in, which my client displayed next to a large graphic of its stunning 3D prototype, generated by its rendering software.

Les points out that one of the biggest errors exhibitors make in the Sensory Zone is putting up blocks of text from their brochure copy. This won't stick with attendees, as it simply won't make that immediate, big impact you're looking to achieve here.

The Data Zone

The Data Zone is where so many booths lose visitors' interest, and hence leads, with weak (or nonexistent) messaging.

"At this point, the attendee is now looking down at the bottom of your display. And when people are looking down, they're contemplating," Les states. "Essentially, what they're contemplating is if they should work with your company. How will you solve their problems, or make their job easier? The Data Zone is where you want to give them the answers."

In other words, the Data Zone is where you give attendees the major reasons to purchase your product or service, or where you make a powerful call to action.

* * *

Les concludes with the following tip: "Never block the entrance with a table, especially if your tradeshow staff is standing behind it observing everyone who comes in. It makes visitors feel self-conscious. Consider your tradeshow booth your company's living room where guests—potential customers—should feel at ease. Make it inviting!"

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ATLANTA – Ben Shanley has been tapped as the incoming chairman of the board of directors for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) for 2011. Shanley is the vice president of distributor development for Atlanta-based Coca-Cola’s Foodservice and On-Premise Division.

SIGNAL HILL, Calif. – Bowman Design Group, an interdisciplinary communications design firm specializing in identity, exhibits and event marketing, has added Lee Harrington to its executive team.