New Conference on Growing Issue
EVENT: NACE International's AIRPOL

2007 MEETING (JUNE 26-28):
AIRPOL is one small conference for a large organization, NACE International, (originally National Association of Corrosion Engineers). With 17,000 members in 100 countries, NACE decided in 2004 to focus a meeting on a niche market of professionals involved with air pollution control equipment.

CHALLENGE: In the past, AIRPOL was not a stand-alone conference. But a rapidly increasing demand for information on corrosion-resistant materials increased the value of technical presentations.

INITIATIVE: In 2004, AIRPOL was held in conjunction with a larger symposium, using the same hotel and overlapping advertising, although AIRPOL had a separate registration and lunch. The increase in attendance from 2004 to 2007 can be attributed to a strategic marketing effort. NACE created flyers promoting AIRPOL 2007 and distributed them at the 2007 NACE annual conference. The Electric Power Research Institute became the co-sponsor for AIRPOL, and an AIRPOL committee recommended companies and individuals to target. A dedicated staff person was hired to expand the exhibits and sponsorships areas of the conference.

UPDATE: Louisville After 18 months of construction, the Kentucky Exposition Center's $55 million North Wing/East Hall reconstruction project was completed in fall 2007. The expansion brings the center's total Class A space to 885,000 square feet, and the North Wing is currently being booked with shows and conventions through 2020. Q Several projects under way downtown will open in 2010, including four major projects within walking distance of the Kentucky International Convention Center. Q A $250 million Center City District will bring new retail stores, a movie theatre, a boutique hotel, condominiums, and restaurants to downtown. The new Center City plan will bring downtown investments currently under construction or planned to $2.1 billion.

American Bonanza Society Show
EVENT: 2007 American Bonanza Society (ABS) Convention and Trade Show

2007 MEETING ( September 5-9):
The American Bonanza Society celebrated its 40th anniversary at the 2007 ABS Convention and Trade Show, plus the 60th anniversary of the Bonanza airplane. Located in Wichita, airplane manufacturer Hawker Beechcraft invited attendees' planes to land at the company airport, the same airstrip where each of the Bonanza planes first launched, and hosted a hangar party Friday night and tours of the factory on Saturday. The celebration drew twice as many attendees as the prior year.

TREND: "We had a definite ground transportation issue," said Peggy Fuksa, ABS events coordinator. When the society originally contracted for buses, no one expected to have the explosion in attendance. Unfortunately, other events scheduled in Wichita meant no more buses were available at the late date. The company even rented buses from other companies in and out of town, but transportation remained a problem.

INITIATIVE: "The good news is that attendees had 62 great seminars to choose from," Fuksa said. "The bad news is that such an extensive educational program cuts down on exhibit hall hours." To help promote the exhibits, the society extended the lunch hour and included cash concessions in the hall. That helped draw traffic, as did an exhibit hall grand opening evening, with a live auction to support the society's Air Safety Foundation.

AIRPOL Conference
2004 Washington, D.C.
53 Attendees
No Exhibitors

2007 Louisville
95 Attendees
16 Exhibitors

ABS CONVENTION & TRADE SHOW
2006 Colorado Springs 
596   Attendees
71 Exhibitors

2007 Wichita
1,220 Attendees
83 Exhibitors