post-con reports

New Marketing Campaign Pays
Off for NCBA Annual Meeting
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) was treated to a healthy attendee turnout at its annual meeting, held Jan. 31 - Feb. 3. The association attributes the high number, which exceeded expectations, to the Nashville meeting location and a new, more comprehensive marketing strategy for the event.

"Nashville has always ranked high with our members in terms of location," said Kristin Torres, manager of trade show and association marketing for NCBA. "Our incoming president is from North Carolina, so he really made an effort to make people in the Southeastern region aware of the meeting."

In the past, NCBA has sent the registration brochure and mailings only to NCBA members, but for the 2007 meeting, materials were sent to an additional 30,000 qualified cattle producers.

Along with an overall attendance increase, trade-show-only registrants were up, constituting almost half of the total attendee numbers. NCBA has already sold 80 percent of its 2008 show in Reno because of its success in Nashville.

NCBA is trying to make the show as efficient as possible to make the most of attendees' time. "We've seen that attendees want to get in as much in as they can in the shortest amount of time [possible]," Torres said. "We are always looking at ways to fit more in without increasing the number of days of the convention and trade show."

Feed and Poultry Shows
Co-Locate to Grow Attendance 
An overlap in attendees and exhibitors convinced the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) that co-locating its meeting with International Poultry Expo (IPE) would serve to strengthen both events. AFIA's Expo was held bi-annually until the 2007 inaugural co-location of the International Feed Expo (IFE) with IPE, held Jan. 24-26 in Atlanta. Attendee numbers increased dramatically, particularly among international visitors.

AFIA attributes the attendance spike to not only the co-location of the IFE and IPE, but to the U.S. Department of Commerce Buyers Program, which assisted in matching customers and exhibitors.

"Bringing AFIA's International Feed Expo and the International Poultry Expo to the same location was a natural fit, as many attendees and exhibitors traditionally visited both shows separately," said Angela Powell, AFIA's director of membership and services.

With a co-located show, both exhibitors and attendees spent less on participation and travel. Firms throughout both the feed and poultry industries are currently experiencing reductions in travel and marketing budgets, adding another reason for the merger. Exhibitors reached a much broader customer base at the single event, and attendees could visit feed industry and poultry industry vendors under one roof. 

SPECIAL REPORT
Phoenix Convention Center Expansion to Be Completed in 2009   
Phoenix will soon feature the final piece of a $600 million project to be completed by January 2009, which will expand the Phoenix Convention Center's meeting space to nearly 900,000 square feet in the heart of Copper Square. This 90-square block, revitalized Downtown district offers a wide variety of accommodation, dining, and entertainment options for meeting and convention groups.

After booking more than 120,000 and 95,000 delegates, respectively, in the construction years of 2005 and 2006, the Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau (GPCVB) sales team has already booked nearly 130,000 definite delegates for 2009. That figure includes the estimated 60,000 people who
will attend the National Rifle Association in May 2009.

A new 1,000-room Sheraton hotel will open in fall 2008, only a block away from the new
convention center.

Current meeting attendees can see a glimpse of the city's future already. The West Building of the convention center, the initial phase of the expansion project, opened for business last August.

"With the new West Building complete, clients can get a taste of the innovation and functionality that the completed project will possess," said James Jessie, GPCVB vice president of sales. "This has translated into a successful pre-booking period for both the convention center and the hotel."