Trade Show InsightsNews, tips & tools to expand your knowledge of exhibiting

Now here’s an example of a convention center doing good! The Orange County Convention Center in Orlando has announced that they donated more than $1.6 million in goods and services in 2011, including nearly 250,000 pounds of food, $175,000 in educational supplies and grants, and more than $100,000 in building supplies. The OCCC also has an extensive Sustainability Policy, which can be found on their website.

It seems 2012 shows seem to really be on a roll! This week, both the NAMM Show (National Association of Music Merchants) and SHOT Show (Shooting, Hunting & Outdoor Trade Show) reported record-breaking events. The SHOT Show hosted more than 61,000 attendees at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas, while the 110th NAMM Show drew 95,709 to the Anaheim Convention Center.

While there are a lot of things worth copying about the success of the Consumer Electronics Show, there’s one area where they lag far behind other expos.

It seems that among the hundreds of media mentions at last week’s event, there were several (including Inc. Magazine and the Huffington Post) who zeroed in on the fact that a number of CES exhibits still feature what’s commonly known as “booth babes.” This antiquated practice started decades ago in male-dominated industries as a way to draw men into the exhibit. But there are a number of problems with this strategy today, as pointed out in a video by the BBC.

While January is isn’t filled with lots of trade shows, there are several benchmark ones across the country. Whether or not they have anything to do with your line of business, it’s worth paying attention because they often set the tone for attendance at other shows throughout the year.

So here’s your “must-watch” list for January:

PPAI Expo
Jan. 4-6 in Las Vegas (est. 20,000 attendees)
http://expo.ppai.org/
PPAI Expo on Facebook
Follow PPAI Expo on Twitter 

North American International Auto Show
Jan. 9-22 in Detroit (est. 735,000 attendees)
www.naias.com/
NAIAS on Facebook
Follow NAIAS on Twitter 

TSNN recently released the list of the top shows and show cities in the U.S. — Did your favorites make the list?