Jam Session Live music is integral to the NAMM Show. The challenge is making sure it doesn’t drown out business taking place on the show floor.

are trying to do business over the sound of a concert, which is not a desir- able situation.” It’s also one of the reasons why the addition of the ACC’s new Grand Plaza drew such a warm welcome (despite the cold rain) at its debut on the first day of the NAMM Show, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony performed by “American Idol” judge Jackson and others. In years past, the show would construct its main performance stage in the center’s lobby, which presented a number of challenges — including sound control, limited space, poor acoustics, and congestion issues. But this year and at future shows, the new Grand Plaza main stage gives performers a concert- quality setup with enough space for a 12,000-guest audience.

CROWD CONTROL Another challenge for NAMM — com- mon among many trade shows — is ensuring that the bulk of attendees are qualified buyers. In almost all cases, reg- istration is complimentary for NAMM members, and each of NAMM’s 8,600 member companies is allocated a cer- tain number of visitor badges, intended for significant others and family mem- bers. But as the show has evolved over the years to include more big-name rock-star attendees, those guest badges have been redirected to many other starry-eyed visitors. An influx of non- industry visitors on the trade-show floor just isn’t great for business. “We’re trying to get it back to the

industry and their invited guests,” Johnstone said. “We started a market- ing campaign with exhibitors about eliminating the number of non-indus- try attendees on their lists that were coming. We also did a great deal to elim- inate anyone under 18 who wasn’t an artist or a storeowner’s family member.

PCMA.ORG

We had a tremendous number of young people who weren’t part of the industry and were there for the autographs and to be part of the NAMM experience.” The campaign seems to have paid off: The number of buyers this year jumped up 4 percent, and the number of non-industry guests decreased by 16 percent. “We’re going to tighten the requirements further and address the allotment issues moving forward,” Johnstone said. “It’s an industry show, and it needs to stay an industry, busi- ness-to-business show.”

LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD With its packed trade-show floor, it’s surprising to learn that NAMM steers clear of big-ticket sponsorships. There are no oversized banners hawking an exhibitors’ latest product in the lobby, and exhibitors all pay the same rate for booth space — a model that show organizers adopted more than 25 years ago to level the playing field for every- one. “At the time, a lot of trade shows were [offering] add-on sponsorship opportunities, which drove costs up considerably for those who participated and put a burden on those who couldn’t necessarily afford it,” Johnstone said. At NAMM, “everyone pays the same amount for booth space at the show, and we don’t hit them up with addi- tional opportunities to spend money. [We decided] that that was the best and fairest way.” Only in the last few years has

NAMM begun to offer a select number of advertising opportunities available to — and affordable enough for — any exhibitor. They include a mobile app for smartphones, with maps, schedules, and the like; a new product showcase (new for sponsorships this year); and rec- ognition opportunities for companies that provide equipment for the show’s

+

BREAKOUT

Learning the Music With 90,000-plus attendees and more than 520,412 net square feet of exhibit space packed to the gills with nearly 1,500 exhibitors — not to mention John Mayer just walked by — NAMM can be a distracting place. To make sure attendees don’t miss a beat, NAMM offers The Idea Center — an educational classroom in the middle of the show floor.

“NAMM is such an overwhelmingly product-focused trade show, it’s very dificult for our members to dedicate large amounts of time to education sessions,” said NAMM’s Kevin Johnstone. The sessions are about 30 minutes each and are scheduled back-to-back throughout all four days of the show. Attendees are free to walk in anytime, sit down, and put on the headphones hanging on the back of their chair to tune in (and drown out Eddie Van Halen jamming away next door). Session topics are aimed at music retailers and touch on every aspect of the industry — technology, sales and marketing, finance, retail, music education, and more.

To catch attendees before they headed to the trade-show floor, NAMM also offered NAMM University Breakfast Sessions every morning at the Hilton Anaheim next door.

ON THE WEB Learn more about NAMM and the NAMM Show at namm.org.

Innovative Meetings is sponsored by the Irving Convention & Visitors Bureau, irvingtexas.com.

› APRIL 2013 PCMA CONVENE 37