Is it that time AGAIN?

Greetings from Atlantic City, a city that defines "juxtaposition" just about as well as anything I've ever seen.  The glass-and-steel casinos sit next to dying infrastructure, a perfect metaphor for the "haves and have-nots" economic environment of 2013.

We're here for Expo East, which used to be called Promotions East, which in the Jurassic Period was called SAAGNY and was held at a ski resort in upstate New York.  That its name has changed numerous times is a testament to the event's survival skills, or an acknowledgment that there's nothing on Earth powerful enough to kill it dead.

It's outlived the New York Premium Show. It's outlived the Chicago Motivation Show.  And it seems to outlive the ongoing kvetching by suppliers both on the branded side and the traditional promotional products side that it's at the wrong time of the year, in a lousy venue, and never gets the "draw" that it "should".

I've given up on trying to explain the success of this event.  It reminds me of the line I use about healthy living:  Jim Fixx, who pioneered the running craze in the ''70s, is dead.  Keith Richards is still alive. Or, put another way, I quote the great American Philosopher William Goldman, who famously said about Hollywood "Nobody knows anything".

Atlantic City might not be the most depressing place to hold a convention (Hell, it's probably not even in the top 3 in NEW JERSEY), but Vegas or Chicago it's not.  It's far from everywhere (Philadelphia is the closest "major" city), it's creepy (admit it--YOU don't walk out on the streets after dark, do you?), and it's hard to imagine the biggest clients in New York saying "Hey-I've got an idea!  Let's drive 2.5 hours and mingle with the day-trippers in the City that Economic Progress Forgot!"

And now PPAI has responsibility for the event and this is a Good Thing.  The plan (as I understand it,and I may not understand it well) is to turn this event into a Convention, where more than a trade show is happening and there is true interaction amongst the players in the channel.  That's what Expo West (are they gonna change the name?) does.  It would change the raison d'etre for the event from Trade Show to "gathering" and everyone would benefit.

But one thing is clear--I have no idea the appeal of this destination, timeframe, and event.  Perhaps I'll learn something over the next couple of days and I'll become a big supporter.  I want to--the market deserves more than one gathering place for the brands.  Besides, I'm a golfer--I have optimism in the face of overwhelming adversity...

Pete