Corcoran Expositions, Inc. (CEI) markets exhibit space for trade associations. During our renewal sales programs last fall, we noted a trend of larger companies making the good decision to stay in tradeshows, but with some larger companies reducing the size of their space. This change created the need to attract many more “new” companies into our customers’ tradeshows if the show floors were to remain close to their overall size. Meanwhile, many new potential exhibitors are now waiting longer before deciding to participate. These trends have continued and are affecting our customers’ tradeshows.

Unfortunately, traditional methods used by many organizers to book exhibit space in the past aren’t as effective in hard times. Today, success requires an integrated exhibit marketing campaign combining direct mail, e-mail blasts and an intensive amount of time set aside for personal contact beginning many months in advance of the show.

In order to reach more companies faster, CEI made the decision to expand our sales calling center staff. In December, we began to add eight additional sales associates for a total of 13 sales professionals, each making contacts on behalf of our customers’ tradeshows, who are solely dedicated to selling booth space. CEI has now more than doubled the amount of calls, actions, and efforts that had been made in previous years. On an average day, the Calling Center staff makes between 550 and 700 outbound calls; however, just last Thursday our group made an impressive 1,530 outbound call attempts. Our database software enables each contact to be tracked and assists our team in setting up future actions with each prospect and staying organized.

We’ve found that exhibitors respond best to the soft sell. We are providing them with an opportunity, not pressuring them to do something that they do not want to do. It is a process that takes time and commitment. We begin by working mainly with companies who already use tradeshows as a marketing tool. By constantly growing and updating our own prospect lists, we can cross-match shows in similar industries and find new exhibitors for our clients.

Typically, it takes from six to eight calls to close a new sale, which is why starting early and staying with a program is essential. We continually send out different types of promotional materials so the exhibitor learns about the show in various ways and keeps it in the front of their mind. It is key to allow plenty of time in order to follow this process through.

The results have been fantastic! In 2007, our exhibit marketing team enlisted 1,889 brand new exhibiting companies for a total of 230,000 net sq. ft. of exhibit space, a more than 20 percent increase in each category when compared to 2006. In 2008, we sold 2,073 brand new companies into the expositions that we market and passed the 250,000 mark in net sq. ft. For the first quarter of 2009, we already have 535 sold contracts representing 71,540 net sq. ft. of exhibit space.

The key to our success has been staying confident about tradeshows, staying visible and in the front of our clients’ prospects to keep the conversations about exhibiting ongoing through show time.

Corcoran Calling Center Produces Results

The general business climate may have been down in 2007, but Corcoran Expositions continued to bring success to its tradeshow clients through our Calling Center. Last year our exhibit marketing team enlisted 1,889 new exhibitors for a total of almost 230,000 square feet of space, representing a 25 percent increase in new exhibitors and a 22 percent increase of space sold over 2006.

Depth of experience on our team is one of the chief reasons that Corcoran can produce results. Thom Hoffman leads a team of six associates-some with more than two decades of experience-who concentrate on matching potential exhibitors to each show's unique demographics rather than on hard-sell tactics.

"Many association shows that we handle are vertical niche markets," says Chuck Wagner. "We make sure that the fit is right and that exhibitors' expectations about the numbers and quality of buyers are right in line."

The Calling Center does more than follow leads provided by our clients. We keep on top of mergers and acquisitions as well as staff changes, constantly building and updating our own prospect lists. We can cross-match shows in similar industries, and we work to build increasing revenues and well as numbers of exhibitors for every show we produce.

The team effectively combines phone calls with e-mail follow-ups and tracks contacts to be sure nothing falls through the cracks. "One thing all our exhibitors benefit from is the online floor plan, where clients can see the entire floor plan in real time," Wagner adds. "Of course, there's nothing like producing good shows to help keep producing new business."

"Corcoran Exposition's Call Center is integral to the maintenance and growth of the NAMA Expos," says Sue Ralston, Director of Trade Show Sales and Service for the National Automatic Merchandising Association, Chicago. "Before we began using their service, we didn't have the time to follow-up properly with the hundreds of leads we received each year or to contact each of our past exhibitors personally. We rest assured knowing that contact will be made with everyone on our list and that the prospect list will continue to grow."

Lee Guthrie, VP of Marketing and Business Development at the Healthcare Management Association, Westchester, Illinois, has worked with Corcoran for about seven years. "I know the results, which are an increase of around 200 exhibitors for our show," Guthrie says. "I can't say enough in praise of the team at Corcoran!"

A good recent example of how Corcoran can turn a show around is the Eastern Snow Expo. In two years, Corcoran has sold twice the number of exhibitors and tripled the revenues as well as totally changing the layout of the show floor and the move-in/move-out system.

"Corcoran Expositions' experienced marketing staff's ability to sell to new exhibitors is a significant difference between our company and other show producers," says Tom Corcoran.

Greenbuild International Conference & Expo
Among 50 Fastest Growing Shows

Last November Tradeshow Week magazine honored Corcoran Expositions client U.S. Green Building Council by naming their annual tradeshow, Greenbuild International Conference & Expo among TSW's Fastest 50 for the second year in a row. The TSW Fastest 50 honors the fifty fastest-growing shows in North America based on percentage growth and net square footage of growth.

Show Manager, Noreen Burke says, "Corcoran Expositions has been providing show management services to USGBC since the inception of the Greenbuild Expo in 2002. As an organization, we could not be prouder of the tremendous growth Greenbuild has experienced and we are thrilled that Greenbuild was recognized among the TSW Fastest 50."

"We are honored," said Kimberly Lewis of the award, Director of Conference & Events, USGBC. "The growth of Greenbuild mirrors the advancement of the green building industry itself and USGBC is at the forefront. We look forward to what the future will bring."

Greenbuild 2008 will be held November 19-21 at the Boston Convention Center in Boston, MA. This year's Greenbuild will feature more than 1,400 booths and over 15,000 attendees and exhibitors. The U.S. Green Building Council is the nation's leading coalition of corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations working together to promote buildings and communities that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work.

Chicago Golf Show a Daly Success

To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Chicago Golf Show, Corcoran Expositions was searching for a Big Idea to make the event from Feb. 29-March 2 at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL extra successful. The answer suggested by Barry Cronin and Wayne Dunham, both public relations professionals with daily newspaper backgrounds, was to bring in one of golf's biggest icons, PGA Touring Professional John Daly, to appear on the show's Golf Academy stage on Saturday, March 1.

Daly's two Saturday appearances became the focal point of an updated integrated marketing campaign that featured large photos of John Daly in all the elements. These included two direct mailings, one with a four-color brochure, a John Daly photo prominently positioned on the cover; e-mail blasts; a teleconference between Daly and Chicago area golf writers and more than 2,000 radio and TV advertisements. The radio spots appeared on three stations and featured a personal message from Daly urging listeners to come to the Chicago Golf Show. The TV ad also included the same message and featured footage of Daly "gripping it and ripping it" as the ad ended.

Saturday's enticements also included an appearance by former Chicago Bear Center Jay Hilgenberg, a member of the 1985 Super Bowl Champions, taking a golf lesson from Illinois PGA Professional Carol Rhoades.

To add more excitement to Friday, which happened to be February 29th (Leap Day), Corcoran Expositions created a special "Leap Day" admission price of $5 and brought in former Chicago Bear Tight End Emery Moorehead, also a member of the 1985 Bears, who took a golf lesson on the Golf Academy stage from well know Chicago teaching professional Emil Esposito.

To create more media interest, a press luncheon opened the show featuring a news-filled program organized by the Illinois Section of the PGA, a long time supporter of the show.

The long driving and golf trick shot show of Marty "Long Ball" Joyce was added to the Friday lineup. Joyce's show also highlighted Sunday, as did another golf lesson by Esposito, this time with former Chicago Bear Linebacker Bruce Herron. "The results exceeded our expectations," said Tom Corcoran, President of Corcoran Expositions, which owns the Chicago Golf Show. Attendance on Friday was up 44 percent. Attendance on John Daly Saturday was up 35 percent.

Golf as an industry has been struggling for the last few years, so we wanted to celebrate our Silver Anniversary with an event that would draw both our regular attendees and lots of new visitors to our show.

We surpassed our expectations for attendance and achieved this goal. This success helped us to achieve an even more important benefit, the 25th Annual Chicago Golf Show ended with lots of very happy exhibitors!

Visit www.chicagogolfshow.com

Mary Michalik Joins Corcoran Expositions Staff

Chicago area native Mary Michalik has been named sponsorship manager for Corcoran Expositions, Inc. Michalik is expected to work with at least 10 shows in 2008, providing contract fulfillment and customer service and traveling to sites to interact with show management and sponsors.

Michalik has some 15 years experience in the meetings and trade show industry. Most recently, she worked MeetingWorks, an independent meeting planning company. "Two things appealed to me about joining the Corcoran team," Michalik says. "First, I was impressed that the people here like their jobs and enjoy working together. And, since I'll be working with different associations, my activities will be constantly changing and stimulating."

A University of Illinois graduate, Michalik is an avid reader, a fitness instructor and the mother of three teenagers.

"We are excited to have someone of Mary's experience and professional caliber on our team," says Corcoran Expositions President Tom Corcoran. "She brings so much to the table and will be a great asset to our clients and their sponsors."

Corcoran Expands Online Offerings to Clients Through a2z

Corcoran Expositions has a new strategic partnership with a2z, Inc. that will allow our clients to offer more online trade show features to exhibitors and attendees. This new agreement, effective last November, will provide additional marketing value for exhibitors, including real-time, complete exhibitor listings; trackable hyperlinks; searchable product category listings; logo uploads; appointment managing; and new product showcases.

Attendees will also be able to make the most of their time on the show floor by using online upgrades to search for relevant products ahead of time, request information from exhibitors even before meeting them and make appointments to visit with exhibitors at the show. They can then map out their appointments, print out a highlighted floor plan and be on their way.

Corcoran partnered with a2z four years ago after searching for an online floor plan provider. Since then, a2z has increased its offerings and continues to offer best-in-class online show solutions. Corcoran's expanded relationship with a2z is just one more way we are assisting our national trade association clients with all facets of the business of growing trade shows.