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FEATURE Continued from page 38 NEWSPAPER ASSN. OF AMERICA Making Key Buyers an Official Part of the Annual Trade Show In 2009, the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) launched mediaXchange, an annual conference for the newspaper media industry, which formally incorporat- ed a marketplace for buyers of newspaper media to meet with newspaper executives. mediaXchange combined two events, NAA's Marketing and NEXPO conferences, into a single event that focuses on multi- platform strategies for newspapers. Tese meetings were already taking place off-site in hotel suites, piggybacking with NAA's other conferences, according to Margaret Vassilikos, NAA's executive vice president and CFO. NAA wanted to bring them into the fold and make them an official part of the event. Tat means the association picks up the travel expens- es for the advertisers and provides them with private meeting space in 40 rooms, which in 2012 covered about 10,000 nsf. NAA does not require buyers to attend a specific number of meetings, but instead views its role as providing funding, space and tools to facilitate meetings between key buyers and its newspaper members. Using PresdoMatch, 524 of the 1,245 total conference attendees (about 40%) completed user profiles and inquired about 2,046 meeting requests and 1,469 conversations were facilitated through the system. Tere were more than 180,000 total page views on computers, mobile phones and tablets. PresdoMatch can pull LinkedIn data into user profiles to make it a simple and seamless process, which the association hopes will increase user adoption. Major brands, such as AT&T; and Target, held private meetings to plan their upcom- ing schedules and marketing campaigns for Into the Fold. The Newspaper Association of America has made hosted buying part of its annual conference as a means of bringing newspaper executives and major advertisers together. A strong digital platform helped facilitate meetings and appointments during the event. three 8-hour days during the conference. Hosted advertiser buyers invested $3.0 billion in newspaper media in 2010, according to an NAA estimate based on Kantar Media data. "If we can create a marketplace for those buyers, that's incredibly valuable," said Vassilikos. To boost attendance at its annual con- ference, access to private meeting rooms was limited to full conference, full price registration, which ranges from $845 to $1,045. "Newspaper sales execs were not typically registered for the conference previously, so we are able to offset some increased expenses through additional attendee revenue," said Vassilikos. "It's not a cheap ticket." Educational content of the conference was not planned as a key component of NAA's hosted buyer program, but adver- tiser roundtables emerged as one of the most popular mediaXchange events. It features 20 to 30 tables, which consist of several key advertiser reps and a dozen newspaper people who represent papers of all sizes. Newspapers have the rare oppor- tunity to listen to advertiser needs, plans and changes, as well as to ask questions about strategy. Tere were four advertiser roundtables at the event in 2012, which was held April 2-5 at Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, DC. What is the biggest challenge for making this portion of the NAA show successful? "Creating an environment where buyers are comfortable in a private setting, where they are able to do busi- ness," said Vassilikos. "Tese are poten- tially huge deals, and privacy is critically important. Tis event has evolved over the last four years. We continue to tweak the format every year." Reach Phil at (603) 471-0816 or pmckay@ thengagecompany.com; Chris at (770) 617- 0828 or ccollinson@collinsonmedia.com; Margaret at (571) 366-1140 or mvassilikos@naa.org Contributing editor DANICA TORMOHLEN, who served as editor-in-chief and publisher of EXPO magazine, has covered the trade show industry since 1994. She has won numerous awards for outstanding editorial and design, including the Folio: Award for Editorial Excellence and Best Web Site Redesign from min's b2b. Tormohlen is active in the trade show and publishing industries, serving on various committees for the Int'l Association for Exhibitions and Events. She currently serves on the board of directors for American Society of Business Publication Editors. She can be reached at (816) 803-8103 or danicat@tradeshowexecutive.com 40 October 2012 | Trade Show Executive