Page 82 - Lighting Magazine December 2017

so MaNy shows, so little time
“There needs tobea be er way to qualify leads and op- portunities. Pre-planning and orga- nization need im- provement, especially with agency shows.” – VISA Lighting
history, Lightfair has become the go-to event for non-residential lighting designers in the U.S. and even draws a endance from overseas. The show has grown exponentially each year, a racting 27,939 registered a endees in 2017. The exhibitor side of the house is expected to reach 500 exhibitors next year in 200,000+ square feet of exhibit space.
For some manufacturers, this is a “must” event and for others, it’s a secondary option to more pre- ferred show formats. Many of the industry’s larger and leading manufacturers tend to use Lightfair as a multi-purpose event beyond the trade show oor for customer entertainment and agency training due the considerable expense and corporate investment. However, an increasing percentage of manufacturers have stopped participating in these larger standard industry trade shows and have opted to participate in smaller regional shows.
Are Regional Shows the New Star?
Multi-day shows hosted by regional clubs, industry associations, or by a variety of trade publications are a growing market that has been gaining traction over the last several years. These events include Light- Show West, Boston Lights, LEDucation, Strategies in Light/The LED Show and the LED Speci er Summit
Series to name a few. They tend to have the same format as the larger shows – with a trade show expo and educational sessions – but are targeted to draw a speci c regional audience based on location.
There is also a growing trend for shows targeting speci c verticals such as Healthcare, Hospitality, Education, Workplace, and Residential Design. Inno- vative products and services that aid in the design of these types of facilities and have a direct impact on their design and construction can be seen at shows such as Healthcare Design Expo, Design Connec- tions, and others.
Most events today nd it mandatory to host a variety of educational sessions to draw and increase a endance for those seeking AIA or educational credits. This inclusion tends to ensure the draw of local architects, lighting designers, and students into the venue and hopefully to the trade show oor. The speci c exhibitor format for these regional shows and association events can even the playing eld for the participating manufacturers by having limits on space allocation and se ing stringent rules regarding the size of displays.
Some manufacturers responded to enLIGHTen- ment Magazine’s inquiry that they prefer the local regional shows and association meetings/tabletop events over the larger, more traditional format. Typically, at shows such as Boston Lights and LEDu- cation, you won’t see island exhibits, but you will see pop ups, tabletops, banner stands, and lightweight hybrids. Historically these events were originally created as tabletop shows to allow all exhibitors to be viewed equally by a endees. However, expo- nential growth and management changes may have caused the original intent to diminish as many of the tabletops in the past few years have succumbed to lightweight hybrids and traditional 10x10 booths.
Most of these shows are hosted by local asso- ciations such as the IES local chapters or Designers Lighting Forum with exhibit fees that range from $500 to $4,000 per table depending on the event, number of days, and event management. Consider- ing that the display investment can range from $200 for a basic banner stand with graphics to $8,000 for an upscale portable hybrid, manufacturers then must add the “cost to exhibit” expense such as ship- ping, labor, hotel stay, and meals into the equation. This means that the manufacturer can still be invest- ing a minimum of $2,500 for the smaller regional show — even with the reduced footprint and exhibit expenses.
80 enLIGHTenment magazine | december 2017
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