
In spite of ‘Snowmageddon’ hitting the East Coast, the New York International Toy Fair at the Javits Center went on as planned February 10-13. The blizzard arrived at the same time exhibitors and attendees were making their way into the city, and some booths displayed “Delayed by the Storm” signs on the first day, but exhibitors were still writing orders and meeting with clients. Keep in mind that this show is different from many — exhibits are more like walled fortresses and there’s a strict check-in policy before access is granted. To see a photo gallery from the show (of the exhibits and some really cool toys), check out this post on TheVerge.com.
In Boston, the New England Grows! show opted to cancel their final day as the storm approached. This allowed many of the participants the opportunity to get out of town before Logan International Airport was shut down for nearly two days. Which brings up a very valid discussion for show organizers: What would you do if weather threatened your event? Do you have a contingency plan in place?
In other news:
- PCMA’s Convening Leaders conference set records with 683 attending the virtual component of the event. And before you jump to the conclusion that this is taking away from the number of attendees who attend in person, post-meeting surveys indicate that virtual attendees are 63 percent more likely to attend the face-to-face event because of the hybrid experience.
- San Francisco’s Moscone Center is set to add approximately 350,000 to 400,000 square feet, which should help the filled-to-capacity venue (that has been losing shows) compete for more events. Construction is set to begin in late 2014, with completion by 2018 at an anticipated price tag of $500 million. <link removed due to suspected malware issue>
- It appears Las Vegas is bouncing back — the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority recently released the visitor numbers for 2012: 39.7 million, which exceeds the previous high of 39.2 million in 2007. Of those, 4.9 million attended a convention, meeting or trade show.
- And in case you haven’t heard … the U.S. Postal Service is planning to end Saturday delivery beginning in August. PCMA has some great tips on what this means for marketing meetings and trade shows.