Brisk Traffic Reported at This Year’s ASAE Springtime Expo in D.C.
May 20, 2014
Just less than 1,500 meetings professionals attended American Society of Association Executive’s annual Springtime Expo at the Walter E. Washington (D.C.) Convention Center May 15, with both attendees and exhibitors reporting strong activity on the showfloor.
Springtime is the largest one-day trade show in the meetings and events industry.
“Traffic was excellent and exceeded our expectations,” according to the Rose Bowl’s Jens Weiden, who participated with the Pasadena Convention & Visitors Bureau. “When I was walking around the showfloor, booths were consistently engaged with visitors and talking shop.”
In addition to the attendees, there were 368 exhibiting companies occupying approximately 48,000 square feet of floor space.
“We had good attendance all day during the show and several new leads,” said Art Shaw, regional director of sales for the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau.
He added, “ASAE made some modifications to the schedule and floor layout, which has made it easier to get around.”
ASAE launched a service, in partnership with eShow, called “Map Your Day,” where registered attendees could go online to search for exhibiting companies they wanted to visit.
After choosing exhibitors to visit, the attendee was given a listing in booth number order and a personalized map of the showfloor with the booths they chose highlighted.
“One hundred and fifty planners used the Map Your Day tool to create over 2,600 bookmarks,” said ASAE’s Senior Vice President of Meetings & Expositions Amy Ledoux.
She added, “Over 360 of the exhibiting companies had at least one bookmark. In addition, the contact information for each bookmark is given to the exhibitor, so they now have a lead, even if the attendee doesn’t stop by the booth during the show.”
Another new feature this year was the addition of a day and a half pre-conference program - Meetings & Events Technology Bootcamp, which had more than 60 professionals enrolled.
“More meeting professionals are becoming responsible for coming up with strategies for social media, mobile and digital technologies for their events,” Ledoux said.
She added, “Implementing these new technologies are transforming our industry. They can become game changers at a very low expense to an event organizer. Knowing about the options available allows you to create a better experience for your members and attendees.
The trade show itself has had changes too - opening and closing hours were pushed up an hour earlier this year. “Opening early was a good thing,” Ledoux said. “We still had good number attendees on the show floor during the last hour.”
As a result of the changes to the showfloor hours, ASAE’s general session started after the expo floor had closed.
This year’s program followed the fast-moving Ignite! format, featuring five-minute presentations with slides changing every 20 seconds.
Presenters included: Tobin Conley, KiKi L’Italien, Adele Cehrs, David McAuley, Peggy Hoffman and John Parke.
In his opening remarks, ASAE President and CEO John Graham said that “outside of the federal government, the meetings industry is the No. 1 provider of jobs in the Washington, D.C, area.
Next year’s Springtime Expo will be held April 9.
Partner Voices
Overview:
The award-winning Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) goes the extra mile to make every day extraordinary by offering customer service excellence and industry-leading partnerships. From their dedicated in-house Rigging team to their robust Exhibitor Services, The Center of Hospitality brings your imagination to life by helping you host unforgettable meetings and events. With more than 2 million square feet of exhibit space, world-class services and a dream destination, we are committed to making even the most ambitious conventions a reality.
In October 2023, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve allocating Tourist Development Tax funding for the $560 million Phase 5A completion of the OCCC. The Convention Way Grand Concourse project will include enhancements to the North-South Building, featuring an additional 60,000 square feet of meeting space, an 80,000- square-foot ballroom and new entry to the North-South Building along Convention Way.
“We are thrilled to begin work on completing our North-South Building which will allow us to meet the growing needs of our clients,” said OCCC Executive Director Mark Tester. “As an economic driver for the community, this project will provide the Center with connectivity and meeting space to host more events and continue to infuse the local economy with new money and expanding business opportunities.”
Amenities:
The Center of Hospitality goes above and beyond by offering world-class customer service and industry-leading partnerships. From the largest convention center Wi-Fi network to custom LAN/WAN design, the Center takes pride in enhancing exhibitor and customer experience.
The OCCC is the exclusive provider of electricity (24-hour power at no additional cost), aerial rigging and lighting, water, natural gas and propane, compressed air, and cable TV services. Convenience
The Center is at the epicenter of the destination, with an abundance of hotels, restaurants, and attractions within walking distance. Pedestrian bridges connect both buildings to more than 5,200 rooms and is within a 15-minute drive from the Orlando International Airport. The convenience of the location goes hand-in-hand with top notch service to help meet an event’s every need.
Gold Key Members
The OCCC’s Gold Key Members represent the best of the best when it comes to exceptional service and exclusive benefits for clients, exhibitors and guests. The Center’s Gold Key memberships with Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando and Walt Disney World greatly enhance meeting planner and attendee experiences offering world-renowned venues, immersive experiences and creative resources for their events.
OCCC Events:
This fiscal year, the OCCC is projected to host 168 events, 1.7 million attendees, and $2.9 billion in economic impact.
The Center’s top five events during their 2022-2023 fiscal year included:
AAU Jr. National Volleyball Championships 2023
200,000 Attendees
$257 Million in Economic Impact
MEGACON 2023
160,000 Attendees
$205 Million in Economic Impact
Open Championship Series 2023
69,500 Attendees
$89 Million in Economic Impact
Sunshine Classic 2023
42,000 Attendees
$54 Million in Economic Impact
Premiere Orlando 2023
42,000 Attendees
$108 Million in Economic Impact
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