Issue link: https://tradeshowexecutive.epubxp.com/i/58649
POWER LUNCH Continued from page 58 oversees the building and design, apparel, medical and military sectors. Chris Mc- Cabe in Los Angeles oversees the ASD merchandise, jewelry and photo indus- tries. Darrell Denny manages our sports market events as well as new business development for Nielsen Expositions in San Juan Capistrano. For every one of the brands they are responsible for, they have subject-matter experts as show directors. Te goal is simply to have experts at the hub of every brand. We have about 225 employees located in key offices in Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta and San Juan Capistrano. I don't believe there is one single measure of a successful show. It is important for us to know what each customer defines as their success and deliver solutions to help them achieve it. BOB: How is your attendance trending? DAVID: Tis is another top priority: growing our attendance across the board. We have significantly invested in adding and upgrading marketing leadership and staff, introduced a new database man- agement tool (Alterian), implemented company-wide audience acquisition standards and best practice strategies, and created a standardized reporting tool across the organization. Our investment in enhanced outreach has been very suc- cessful in 2011 and we are seeing good success with early 2012 shows. BOB: What percent of your audience is international? DAVID: It is still a small fraction of most of our shows' overall attendance. In some shows, it's under 2%, and in others, between 10% and 15%. However, we are expanding our exhibitor base with many new international pavilions. BOB: There is strong competition in most of the sectors you serve: apparel, jewelry, healthcare, sports, etc. What does Nielsen do better than its competition? DAVID: We keep our eye on our markets' "wants and needs" and try to be progres- sive and innovative in consistently serving those needs. It is my belief that our future competitors haven't even launched or emerged yet, but they're out there waiting for us to get stale. We strive to deliver a unique experience show aſter show and set our goals on meeting customers wants and needs by exceeding their expecta- tions, both from an ROI and experiential perspective for every show. BOB: Are you contemplating any changes to your portfolio? DAVID: We are very pleased with our brands and the balanced yet diversified portfolio that we have today. As far as changes to the portfolio, we are always on a growth drive, and as a result, launches and complementary acquisitions are always on my radar. BOB: How important is social media to your strategies? What about virtual events? DAVID: We were an early adopter of the absolute need to connect with our customers and markets in every way pos- sible. Tis is reflected in both our aggres- sive social media strategies as well as our overall digital offerings. We have blog- gers and digital editors on staff. We tried virtual events but the "many to many" environment just wasn't there. We have apps for most shows. Our signage has QR codes to get people to where they should be. Tis list goes on and on. BOB: Tell me about your greening initiatives. Are they integral to all of your events? DAVID: Nielsen Expositions implement- ed a program called "Green Steps" in 2003. Te program started with Outdoor Retailer and was adopted by all Nielsen expositions. We have a centralized department that specializes in ensuring that we maintain our sustainability ef- forts and evolve with the changing times. We are members of the Green Meetings Industry Council and many of our events offer carbon offset options, recycling Business Casual. The atmosphere may be casual but David Loechner and TSE's Bob Dallmeyer cover a lot of ground when discussing the ups and downs of the exhibition industry at Nielsen's Orange County offices. 60 March 2012 | Trade Show Executive SPONSORED BY