I am going to preface this post with a few, hopefully obvious things. First and foremost I am a loving, devoted fan, and proud partner of The Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC) who produce and manage the U.S. based GRAPH EXPO and PRINT shows. GASC partnered with me four years ago to create a show floor feature open to all attendees called The PrinterverseTM. On top of that awesome partnership and support, quite frankly the networking I have been able to do, and the people I have been able to meet as a direct result of my relationship with GASC is vast, and might even include you.
I wanted to get that out of the way so I could move to this. Even with all that said, I am under no obligation to write this post, but I wanted to share my experience and some pertinent information, so here we go!
I attended GASC’s GRAPH EXPO 2016 Onsite Orlando event. It was created to bring some key show players to Orlando to gather facts and get a feel for what the show will be like in 2016 at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC). Ralph Nappi and Kelly Kilga kicked it off with a transparent discussion on why after 20 years GRAPH EXPO was going to mix it up and test out Orlando in 2016.
Main reasons included: Show dates in Chicago falling on, or within Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – which are 7 days apart, escalating costs for travel and hotels in Chicago, overall exhibitor costs vs. other cities, and of course after 20 years in one spot it was just time to shake things up a bit.
Shaken, not stirred!
GRAPH EXPO 2016 in Orlando isn’t about reinventing the show. It’s about adding some sunshine and fresh coat of paint. We will be back in Chicago for PRINT 17, but after that the destination/s haven’t been decided. Team GASC wants to create the best options for attendees and exhibitors, and moving around may just be the answer to keeping it new each year. But before we jump ahead to 2018, here are a few reasons to attend and exhibit in Orlando in 2016.
New. Everyone likes new, and I can tell you first hand Orlando is rolling out the red carpet for us. Representatives from Visit Orlando, the OCCC including Freeman, internet and catering, and surrounding hotels with meeting space gave short presentations about their services and offerings – and received applause. SeaWorld and Universal Studios were on hand to show off their private party spaces, and come on, that is just cool. PLEASE invite me if you do this!!
Fresh Faces. The volume of GRAPH EXPO attendees in the Chicagoland area was certainly considered before the show was moved, and the question was raised on how to “fill that void” in Orlando; would those printers travel? Let’s face it, when GRAPH EXPO has been in your backyard for 20 years, the sense of urgency to attend is reduced to “eh, I’ll go next year.” Moving the show might not get the Chicagoland printers to Orlando, but I am betting they will be out in droves for GRAPH EXPO 15 and PRINT 17 when it returns. Perhaps the bigger question to ponder is will the printers from the East Coast make their way to Orlando. It’s certainly easier and cheaper, and lets face it, it’s FLORIDA. I’m feeling a lot of family vacations tacked on either end of the show dates. The same opportunity also opens up for our friends and colleagues in Mexico, Central and South America, and Brazil. I specifically asked if GRAPH EXPO was going to target and promote the show in these markets, and I was not shocked to learn the effort had already begun. Start planning now to have bi-lingual staff in your booth, bi-lingual marketing materials and bi-lingual information shared through social media for 2016 and you may be pleasantly rewarded for that effort. OLE’!
Sense, not dollars. Florida is a “Right To Work” state. That means if you are an employee of a company, and that company has a space on the show floor, you have a right to work there without anyone’s help. If you are an exhibitor, that is a huge “union labor” budget line item that can be saved or allocated elsewhere – like renting out SeaWorld or Universal! Right To Work also includes driving your car/truck right into the OCCC and unloading it. This might not make booth staff happy, but more can attend as the tradeoff for a little help unpacking!
Print Power. The OCCC people made a point to mention that their electric runs 24 hrs with no additional charges to keep it on overnight. For exhibitors, I have to assume that is good news based on the applause that statement received. So, between that and reduced costs for labor if you require help, I am hoping to see LOTS of equipment in Orlando in 2016 – something that has fallen victim to “shrinkage” at print shows in general over the last five years.
Order Up! As someone who wishes I owned STOCK in McCormick’s catering service, I was thrilled to learn that OCCCs’ Centerplate has NO MINIMUMS for orders. A few of you must be rejoicing with me right now, especially if the credit card bill is your domain. And here is something pretty cool… the prices on THIS PDF will be honored for GRAPH EXPO 2016, even if they go up between now and then. Download it, and reference it when placing your order! I verified three times this was true, and if you have any issues with Centerplate please let me know and I will find the people I spoke with to help. Here is the order form too! It’s an Excel Doc that will download if you click.
Hungry for more? The surrounding OCCC area is home to a plethora of food and entertainment experiences being in such close proximity to the House of Mouse. From celebrity chefs to theme restaurants and plenty of music options you can literally eat, dance and drink the night away. Some of the Onsite Orlando crew proved the latter at the House of Blues… but I do admit I did instigate that a bit by having doubles served as shots. No scenes were reported, but at least one guest spent a little time the next morning checking in to make sure they hadn’t caused any.
Now the fine print…
Get your walking shoes ready. The OCCC is huge, and the North Hall is on the backside from International Drive. Hotels within “walking distance” are referring to the OCCC in general, not specifically the North Hall. If you aren’t lugging luggage and booth materials, and if you want to walk it’s totally doable. However, it was a hike from the Hyatt Regency Orlando (where we were staying) to the North Hall where the show will be in 2016. I would suggest you stay in a hotel on the bus route, then you can decide to walk or not.
Is this thing on? As dynamic as the OCCC is, they do NOT provide free wifi access on the show floor. There is free wifi pretty much everywhere else, and on the floor you can get a cell phone signal through some carriers. I mention this for two reasons. For exhibitors, think ahead before you slap QR codes all over your materials that attendees may or may not be able to access on the show floor. If demos or anything else you are doing requires a steady signal, the internet company SmartCity is pretty cool and the pricing is WAAAAAAYYYYYYY better than in Chicago! For attendees, going back up to the public spaces for wifi is going to be a pain if you don’t have a signal, so enjoy your phone freedom to really take in the show floor, but plan ahead. Keep your session schedule and info for the booths you want to visit on something called PAPER to make sure your day is glitch free, while wifi free!
When You Wish Upon A Star…
No one knows what the future holds for sure, but based upon GASC’s Onsite Orlando event, attendance from MAJOR exhibitors, co-located events, GASC board members including Michael Makin, President and CEO of Printing Industries of America, and Ken Garner, President and CEO of Epicomm, there is real skin in this game and a real effort being made to create something magical for print. Considering the location is within the realm of the Magic Kingdom, my bet is that this wont be the last time we see the OCCC.
PS… Make sure you check out THE PRINTERVERSE at GRAPH EXPO 15 and beyond! Get a FREE PASS to GRAPH EXPO with code PMC15
