Convention Insider (Conventions.net)

The pet industry is a huge market around the globe, and like any other industry, it has to have a trade show or convention to support the many people involved.  My company actually helps manage a blog in the pet industry and I happen to know it’s big business.  Just stand outside your local pet store or look at the way we run to that window of pet shops to see the latest crop of puppies or kittens.  You have to be able to support that following, and the best way to keep track in the industry is to attend Global Pet Expo.

The Global Pet Expo will take place in Orlando, Florida,  February 12-14, 2009, at the Orange County Convention Center.  The 2008 convention took place in San Diego, California, and the numbers were not readily available on their site, but the numbers for 2007 were impressive.

“Global Pet Expo, the pet industry’s largest annual trade show, is presented by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA) and Pet Industry Distributors Association (PIDA). The 2007 Show featured 760 exhibiting companies utilizing 230,000 net square feet of exhibit space. More than 850 new product launches were featured and 4,600 pet product buyers from around the world attended.”

The site provides excellent information about their event and also provides other information about the show and the industry.  One of the things I found interesting as I scanned their site was that Labrador Retrievers, have been the AKC’s number one popular breed of dog for 17 straight years, and Bulldogs have moved into number 10.   I suppose I can file that under other useless knowledge I pick up while surfing the Internet.  I wonder if they have dog walkers and poop scoopers attending this event?

Last year my wife worked in the mortgage market and we saw the beginning of the end of the booming housing sales because of the problems we saw with the lenders.  She ended up being laid off from her job due to the woes of banks.  Lenders being in trouble also means that the home buyers and sellers are in for a dip in the housing market.  This also translated to a dip in attendance at this year’s National Association of Home Builders and their  International Builder’s Trade Show.

According to Trade Show Week Magazine’s Rachel Wimberly, from a quote from Wayne Stetson, Vice President of the National Association of Home Builders, the pre-registration of attendees was down 15%, while the true number came in at a dip of 11%.  The trade show took place at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center on February 13-16, 2008. 

Next year the trade show is set to take place in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 20-23, 2009.  This is great news for the City of Las Vegas at the IBS has taken place for the last four years in Orlando.  Wimberly goes on to add that Stetson indicated that since this was the fourth year in a row that the event took place in Orlando, it may have grown stale in the eyes of attendees and that next year being in Vegas could spice up attendance.  It seems that many of the exhibitors were also excited for Vegas since they saw a rise in deposits for the trade show in January 2009.  A change in scenery may change the trend. We can only wait and see what happens in January.  Good luck to the folks at NAHB and IBS.

I worked in the golf industry for about 10 years and was very tuned in to the latest in equipment and services and followed along in that trade for a while.  One of the most exciting things about being part of that industry was the PGA golf expo and other trade shows and conventions.  The trade show is usually held each year in a place where they have plenty of golf opportunities as well.  Many of the manufacturers and people involved as exhibitors love to wine and dine retailers and golf shop owners to play golf and try out the latest in equipment.

As many golfers out there know, golf can be a very expensive sport, and buying things like golf balls can set a guy back each game as much as a tank of gas these days.  I for one don’t remember ever having to pay for a golf ball in that entire span of time I was in the business.  The reason was the great stuff given away at conventions and trade shows such as these.  It was nothing to walk out of a convention with a box of balls and a handful of tees to go with that golf glove and cool new spikes to fit in your golf shoes.  In order to be an expert about the equipment, you had to be an expert user of the equipment.  Many a Driver and iron have I used that never had me reaching for my wallet.  It was a great perk being in the business.

I see this year that the PGA Expo is going to be in Las Vegas in August 2008, and the PGA Merchandise Show that is the big kahuna convention of the golf world is going to be in sunny Orlando, Florida in January 2008 at the Orange County Convention Center.  There are more reasons to have these events at these locations than just good weather that time of year, they are a couple of the best places to play golf on the planet.  I miss the days when I reached into my golf bag and pulled out a freebie golf ball.  Now when I hit a tee shot into the water it has a little more hurt behind it knowing that I actually paid real money for that ball.

With the ever popular reality television and the huge following of game shows out there in prime time television, it only stands to reason that a convention would benefit from the same type of excitement, hype and fun.  I’m talking about The Ultimate Game Show founded by Bryan Quinn.  Bryan Quinn  and his company are located in  Sacramento, California and they cater to all types of conventions, trade shows, corporate retreats and conferences across the country.  They have worked with a small groups of as many as 25 people up to huge conferences or trade shows and even Fortune 500 companies.  They inspire groups to be a part of your convention or trade show and make it an experience to remember.   The biggest inspiration to me is when he says they can help give away lots cash!

Bryan Quinn, pictured right,  has been doing game shows for conventions, trade shows and even corporate meetings for a number of years now and has literally hundreds of events under his belt.  Bryan provided this information about his company and himself:

They have presented game shows in twenty states and now have equipment stored in strategic locations across the U.S., allowing them to access any city within a 14 hour drive. They have game show productions that range from very small to TV-studio quality, and offer game formats inspired by popular TV game shows as well as completely original games. The founder and President Bryan Quinn has been performing and organizing corporate events for more than 20 years, as a Disc Jockey, team-building facilitator and for the past 8 years as a game show host. He is one of the most experienced corporate game show hosts available, but for clients looking for celebrity talent, The Ultimate Game Show also works with a variety of TV game show hosts and comedians. The Ultimate Game Show has helped its clients create award winning booths and become the most popular place on the trade show floor. Their games can be used as a high-energy method to give away promotional items, but more importantly to highlight the benefits and features of their products and services.

Earlier this year, a second division of the company has come to fruition and they call it “The Ultimate Audience Response”.

Ultimate Audience Response, which offers clients the greatest return on their meeting investment through total audience participation. Their audience response services allow every attendee to participate by responding to questions utilizing a wireless keypad. The results are then displayed instantly in a variety of graphic formats that are easy to understand. In addition to the benefits of a game show, Ultimate Audience Response?s clients can also gather attendee contact and demographic information as well as conducting market research.

The service provided by Bryan and his group is meant to enhance the experience of attendees to your trade show, or convention.  As I said above they can handle any size group and can provide all the necessary equipment.  Bryan and I joked about the fact that they could provide as little as a small podium for a speaker to the 18′ x 18′ Tic Tac Toe stage setup as pictured on their site.   They have even filmed the event for companies that want to use the show later.   Being a bit pessimistic about the cost of such a service I asked Bryan about what it would cost to provide such a service and I was very shocked at how affordable this service was and what they provide. 

Bryan said that they not only do the convention scene but they are also very busy during the holiday months doing holiday parties and corporate, non-public gatherings.   Bryan Quinn and his group has appeared all over the country including, many events in the California area, Las Vegas, Orlando, Chicago and other venues.  He stated that they can handle your plans from start to finish with as little hassle as possible.  Something that any event planner can be thankful to have.

When talking to Bryan for some reason I couldn’t get Richard Dawson out of my head and I told him about my problem.  He said that is normal and even indicated that his company works with many comics and retired game show hosts and can provide a variety of choices for your event.  Thanks for talking to us here at Convention Insider Bryan, I really enjoyed learning about your business.

[To receive additional information or to book The Ultimate Game Show? for your event, please call our office toll-free: 1-866-4-GAM-SHO (1-866-442-6746) or complete the contact form at their site.]

*** To find other vendors and suppliers such as the above featured company, please go to Conventions.net and search the resources.  If you want to have your company or your service featured here on Convention Insider’s Friday Feature, contact us and tell us about you and your service or product I would be happy to visit with you and feature you on Friday!***