...with a single step.

It was the Chinese Philosopher Laozi (c 604-531 B.C.) who said "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."  And so it was this week in Atlantic City.

First, let me get all the biases out of the way:  I hate Atlantic City.  Perhaps more than I despise New Orleans, and that takes some doing.

Second, I detest trade shows.  Standing around for 2-3 days speaking with clients who may or may not know what we do (and with 97% brand awareness, how can they NOT know?) isn't my idea of time well spent.

Finally, What has been SAAGNY, and then Promotions East, and now Expo East has been particularly frustrating over the years.  I didn't go last year, and only went this year because Indigo, one of my National Distributors to the Promotional Products market was going, and I wanted to introduce Hartmann to the market.  It always seemed that we weren't part of the festivities-one time we had been sequestered at the back of the hall, another time we had a flaming moat around us, you get the picture.

But this year was "different" in ways that give me hopes for next year and beyond.  It felt "different" because of any number of reasons, but three stand out:

1. The Economy is better.  Dean Resnekov of Indigo reminded me of this as we were discussing our takeaways from the show.  There are simply more programs out there and more optimism about future opportunities.
2. The Education was better.  While some of us (cough, cough) think we know everything, Expo West is always teaching us more about the business we live in.  Expo East had more of that this year and I believe it put the attendees in a better mood.  From there, they engaged their suppliers in a more positive way (not the default condition for many East Coasters).
3. The Look of the place.  There was more "branding" from PPAI--more presence by PPAI team members (always something that ASI does exceedingly well at its shows).  More glad-handing from Muckety-Mucks within PPAI--it was almost as if they were glad to see us!  There were plenty of years I never got that sensation from Show Management.  PPAI is bringing a different attitude to the event and that's a good thing.

Was it perfect?  Hardly--no show ever is.  I especially enjoyed the "sea foam" effect that my carpet kept creating (I'm guessing it was shedding season).  But we had substantive conversations, and lots of them, the first day.  Day 2 was pretty much what Day 2 of a 2-day show always is (if the show lasted an hour, the last five minutes would suck).  

Well done by PPAI.  Their next trick is no easy one--they need to create the "convention" mentality that makes Expo West such a success.  But that Single Step got made.  The next ones should be relatively easier...

Pete