The Motivation Show 2009 took place last week from September 29 through October 1 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL, wrapping up with a few mixed feelings on the parts of attendees and exhibitors. Some found the experience to be the epitome of meaningful business contacts and information that they have come to expect; others were frustrated by the reduced size of the show and dismayed by continuing indicators of tough times ahead.

One-Stop Shopping

Many attendees stated that they continue to be impressed with the diverse offerings to be found at The Motivation Show each year.

"This is the best place to find innovative ideas," said attendee Augie Leopold of Augie Leopold Advertising Specialties. "I’m here to see what’s available. Coming here saves a lot of time—everything and everybody is under one roof."

"The Motivation Show offers one-stop shopping," agreed attendee Marilyn Wax, Travel Consultant for Frosch in Chicago. "For example, you can see a technology manufacturer’s whole line. Plus, you can see samples in person. It’s a great resource for travel and innovative products. I [have] come here for five years, and I keep coming back to the show because international and domestic travel are all in one place. It’s easy to see what’s new and get a lot of valuable information from a variety of sources."

"Coming here spurs creativity," added attendee Richard Rapacki, Director, Business Development, for Aires Consulting. "Many times, there are items you know about, but you don’t think about them as gifts or incentives, and, here, you can learn how they have been used effectively. I can also get immediate ballpark pricing and plan better for next year."

Fewer Attendees…

While much feedback continues to support the sentiment that The Motivation Show is the place to be within the meetings and incentives market, some people expressed concerns about apparent downgrades in size at this year's show.

"I would worry that if the number of exhibitors continues to decline, there will be a parallel decline in the number of buyers," said exhibitor Pat Crowley, Chief Executive, Shannon, for Ireland's Odyssey International Incentives and Meetings.

Many participants noted that attendance seemed to be considerably lower than that of past years. While registration numbers referred to near 10,000 attendees, some exhibitors who heard that figure during the show were left scratching their heads and wondering, Where are they?

"This year, there was clearly a lot less traffic than in previous years," said one exhibitor who preferred to remain unnamed.

However, considering the fates of some other shows this year, organizers are happy with the results.

"Our attendee registration totaled 9,131, compared with 10,467 in 2008, representing a 13% decline–which we are very pleased with for this year," said Wayne Dunham, Owner of Dunham Communications and PR Consul for The Motivation Show. "Most trade shows have been down significantly more."

The final attendance audit, Dunham said, is expected to be available by November 1 and will be posted online at www.motivationshow.com.

"Both our attendees and exhibitors seemed pleased with the energy of the show," he added. "Attendees liked the variety of products and services available, and the exhibitors were happy with the high quality of attendees."

…High Quality

Indeed, despite the concerns of some in regard to attendance, many exhibitors said they experienced plenty of traffic, and word on the street indicated a potential plus side to reduced overall numbers. Due to corporate cutbacks in travel spending, many participants said, the people who were on the show floor last week collectively tended to represent the top decision-makers within their companies.

"This has been a good show with steady traffic," said exhibitor Megan Montefusco, Marketing Specialist for Rymax Marketing Services. "We’re meeting with good people who can make decisions. The benefit of being here is the brand exposure. We are meeting serious buyers here. We’ve been exhibiting here for a long time and are always happy with the end result."

"We have had great traffic at our booth and have been very busy," added exhibitor Jennifer Anderson, Gift Card Marketing Coordinator for Kohl's. "The people we are meeting can make the decisions at their organizations. Exhibiting at this show is a great tool for networking with current and potential clients. It helps us keep our brand in front of a very important audience. It’s definitely worth the investment, and we do plan on coming back next year."

"The attendees this year are really focused on business," said attendee Michael Horn, President of MD Sales Group. "They’re the ones who can make decisions. I’m meeting with people who are good contacts as my business grows in the future. I’m building my knowledge and keeping ahead of trends."

Show attendee Dave Lutz, Managing Director of Velvet Chainsaw Consulting, said his successful experience last week, and that of his clients who exhibited at The Motivation Show this year, was a result of solid pre-planning.

"From what I understand, [attendance has] definitely been slipping, but, for me, it was a great show," he said. "Absolutely, the number of people walking the floor [was down]. I'm sure that a more junior salesperson probably had a very depressing show. But people who have a decent network and made some advance appointments [were productive]. Several of my clients were exhibiting or participating in a major way. Most of my clients that were exhibiting were very pleased. I probably could have spent another day there and been very productive."

"I was very pleasantly surprised at the number and quality of buyers that I met on Tuesday and Wednesday, [including] key people from the top incentive houses, primarily from the U.S. but also from Canada," Crowley added.

Measuring Results

"Attendance was down from previous years, but people there were high quality and really wanted to be there to connect and learn," said exhibitor Tracy Buzzell, Account Manager with Catalyst Performance Group, which is conducting an ROI evaluation of The Motivation Show 2009. "The show provided opportunities for us to build new relationships within the industry and to re-connect with existing relationships and strategic partners."

Catalyst Performance Group’s new initiative, called "ROI of Engagement," launched in partnership with the ROI Institute and is kicking off by measuring The Motivation Show's ROI for attendees. The evaluation has already yielded some intriguing findings, Buzzell said, and study results will be released incrementally between now and the 2010 show.

"It is exciting to be measuring session, exhibitor, and participant results for The Motivation Show, in addition to ROI," Buzzell said. "Initial feedback is very interesting. Measuring ROI for the 2009 show will take us into early 2010 and will help in the design of the 2010 show. We would like to continue our involvement with The 2010 Motivation Show to help design [and] execute improvements identified in the evaluations."

"Armed with this information, we can improve the show and help attendees justify the investment to attend in 2010 and beyond,” stated Pete Erickson, President of Hall-Erickson, Inc. and Managing Director of The Motivation Show, in a release announcing the ROI study.

Changes Ahead

Based on recurring conversation themes last week, one of the suggested improvements that is likely to come up in 2009 evaluations is a move away from this year's concurrent show and education session schedules, which caused several exhibitors to wonder if all the planners were in sessions rather than walking the floor.

"From our view, the show was a bit slow... not sure if that was because of the seminars that run at the same time as the show or just lack of attendance," said one exhibitor who preferred to remain unnamed. "One recommendation would be to limit the show to two days."

Good news for everyone who shares such sentiments: organizers have already worked to counteract conflicts by changing the show schedule for next year. During a press conference last Tuesday, Erickson announced that the 2010 schedule will include a dedicated "Education Day" on Tuesday, followed by two full days of exhibits on Wednesday and Thursday.

"We've been a three-day trade show with exhibits every day," Erickson said during the press conference. "We're going to change that next year. What we have learned, in the last three years that we've been offering education at The Motivation Show, is that our attendees are looking for professional education. Our plan is to expand the education next year to continue to offer new learning tracks and new education, but to also do it in a timeframe that doesn't compete with the exhibit hall as it does [now]."

The schedule changes are also geared to provide exhibiting companies with time and travel savings, while still providing a full 16-hour exhibit schedule over the second and third days of the show.

"The new 2010 schedule will result in significant savings to help our exhibitors control their costs and improve their show return on investment," stated Nancy Petitti, Show Director for The Motivation Show, in a press release following the onsite announcement. "The exhibit space rate will not be increased in 2010, in an effort to hold down overall exhibiting costs."

Areas for Improvement

In addition to the overall schedule changes, Lutz believes that more strategic programming could also aid in improving last-day attendance, in particular.

"I don't think I've ever seen a show that does phenomenal on the last day," he said. "I'm pretty active in PCMA, and I know the Midwest chapter, who I'm a member of, did a big event [the Eighth Annual Student Education Program] with students on Wednesday. You know, that's the kind of stuff you want to have happen on the last day of the show. You want to do anything to try to build local traffic and get people in the door."

Others commented on the show's burgeoning involvement in social media—a new effort this year. With a presence on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, launched earlier this spring, The Motivation Show has so far attracted a few hundred followers and fans, with the majority of its social media activity concentrated during the weeks before and after the show.

While a strong start, some participants hope to see increased utilization of online tools and networks.

"One of the main observations I had regarding the show was my total reliance on social networking," said Midori Connolly, CEO of Pulse Staging & Events, Inc., which produced the PCMA Hybrid Meeting during The Motivation Show last week. "Attending an event that did not have a strong social media plan and execution really uncovered how much I’ve come to rely on various social media platforms for connecting and information."

"I was glad to see the Motivation Show embracing social media and hope to see enhanced strategy and promotion efforts next year," Buzzell said.

Industry Uncertainty

In looking ahead, for some, the coming together of buyers and suppliers at The Motivation Show 2009 served to underscore current uncertainties regarding meetings and incentives business prospects for the next couple of years.

"I saw very little evidence of tangible new business for 2010, even though almost every buyer I spoke with expressed the belief that there is still pent-up demand 'out there' for 2010," Crowley said, adding, "Let’s have it! On the more positive side, [we heard] strong indications of good pick-up for 2011; the graph seems to be going in the right direction."

Others are not quite so optimistic about 2011 prospects.

"At least through mid-2010, I think we're going to see a continued downward [turn], or leveling off, at best," Lutz said. "People might be saying things are going to be better in '11, but it's going to be a very slow crawl. What it really boils down to... this is the first time ever that demand has gone down at the same time that supply has gone up, and that's not a good mix. It's going to take a while for that to level out. You're going to see some bright spots, for sure, but it's going to be tough."

Moving Forward

Good times or bad, overall, The Motivation Show 2009 saw plenty of repeat participants, many of whom plan to come back next year.

"I keep returning because I always see new products and ideas, and I always gain new knowledge," said attendee Warren Priemann, President of About Excellence, Inc., who has been coming to The Motivation Show for 10 years. "By coming here, I develop better relationships with our vendors. It’s better to talk in person and establish a personal connection."

"I come back because it’s one-stop-shopping here," said attendee Konrad Forman, National Marketing Manager for Ingersoll Cutting Tools, who said he has attended the show for at least the last eight years. "I always find innovative items that are hitting the market first here."

"Coming to the show keeps me fresh—there are always new exhibitors with unique items that make it interesting to keep coming," said attendee Bob Miller of RMW Group, who attended The Motivation Show for the 32nd year last week. "Just when you think you’ve seen everything, there’s a new product being introduced here. You never know what you’ll find."

The Motivation Show 2010 will be held October 12-14 at McCormick Place West in Chicago, IL. For more information, visit www.motivationshow.com.

Visit the PlannerWire fan page for additional images!

Serenity J. Knutson is the Editor in Chief of PlannerWire.com, the News, Information and Community website for meeting and event planners. Contact her at Serenity@PlannerWire.com.

Photos by Serenity J. Knutson

Top: Last week, at times, there seemed to be little traffic on the floor at The Motivation Show, but many exhibitors expressed satisfaction with the show and the quality of the attendees. “I was very pleasantly surprised at the number and quality of buyers that I met on Tuesday and Wednesday,” said Pat Crowley, Chief Executive, Shannon, for Odyssey International Incentives and Meetings, an exhibiting company within the Ireland Pavilion (pictured, center).

Bottom: Exhibitor Julian Sanjuan of Museo del Vino Malaga drew a crowd to the Spain Pavilion on Wednesday afternoon, during which time he conducted a tasting of several Spanish wines for visitors on the show floor.

back to top

Name:
Subject:
Comment:
Enter Text Below:

There are no comments at this time

back to top