Rocky Mountain High...

I just got home from what I've come to call Gazipalooza, the EEA soiree that was held last week in Denver.  I used to call it Kilmetispalooza in honor of Jim Kilmetis, the "face" of the event to the market.  With Jim's move to Hinda, Nick Gazivoda has assumed the leading role, hence the name change. 

The event was not a "trade show" (although I did get a couple of things in "trade" from other exhibitors), but rather a "client meeting event" where we didn't build a booth, didn't bring much product, and didn't stand around on hard concrete for 8 hours a day (my back is eternally grateful for that). 

What we did do was sit down with clients large and small, new and prospective, and talk about how we might improve each other's business.  In the end, I left Denver with my expectations exceeded for the second year in a row.   Nick has something here.  What I'm interested to explore is exactly "what" it is he "has".

Since the demise of the Chicago Motivation Show in 2012, our business has sought a "gathering place" that allowed us to visit with clients.  PPAI has provided the merchandise suppliers a new venue at "brand." The Gift Card people, however, aren't as thrilled with the arrangement, perceiving that their clients aren't at Expo and cracking the promotional products nut is harder than they (or anybody else) thought. 

The EEA event allows more types of suppliers to exhibit and meet with the "right" client base.  The whole hosted buyer thing may or may not be a fad, but in the current environment I'm willing to pay to secure a potential audience with key clients.  I'd guess most of the other exhibitors felt the same way. 

What we don't know now is whether this concept is scalable.  Can we bring 200 buyers?  500?  Or is the format, with a small number of exhibitors, the optimal way to meet?  We should explore and answer this question ASAP because our market desperately needs another place to congregate. 

Of course, the real issue is "how many suppliers can EEA secure?" because without suppliers footing the bill we won't be able to scale the attendance.  Travel expenses aren't cheap, and anyone that exhibits at IMEX knows what the price of admission is for a large-scale sponsored buyer event.  I don't think we need something like IMEX--in fact, I'd argue against it.  The consolidation of brands in our market doesn't suggest that we are going to get 100 suppliers, or 200. 

IMRA and IMA have an opportunity and they should explore it.  Nothing may come of the discussions but there are no real options out there other than "brand." and while that remains the major show (and will for the foreseeable future, especially for the merchandise types) we need another one that appeals to more segments of our supplier universe.

So, kudos to Nick and his team for making Gazipalooza what it was--a productive two days that allowed me to visit with important clients in a less-hectic environment.  And while I wasn't looking for new clients, a couple of them found me and something may come from that as well.  I guess hosting the event in Denver didn't hurt attendance...


Pete