Golf course superintendents and equipment managers who can’t attend the Golf Industry Show this year – or those who do attend and seek further information – have an additional opportunity to connect with suppliers thanks to the virtual trade show being hosted by the International Golf Course Equipment Managers Association next March.
Even before the golf industry began feeling the effects of the economic recession the IGCEMA was brainstorming more ways to connect equipment technicians with manufacturers because many of them aren’t able to attend the GIS, says Stephen Tucker, equipment manager for the Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla., and a member the IGCEMA.
IGCEMA decided to go ahead with a three-day live, online event next March.
“The biggest thing for us is getting some of those individuals who can’t get away to attend the major trade shows the ability to communicate with the manufacturers,” Tucker says. “We’re trying to make it to where it’s as close as humanly possibly to a regular trade show. The only difference is you’re not touching the equipment.”
Instead, attendees visit the virtual trade show floor (it’s designed to look like a real convention hall) and visit suppliers’ booths, where they’re exposed to a bevy of multimedia options.
Depending on the type of booth an exhibitor purchases, they can show videos about their products and services, provide downloadable brochures and educational materials, chat live with attendees and more. IGCEMA does not plan to add an education component along with the trade show for the first year, but that’s a possibility in the future, Tucker says. IGCEMA hopes the virtual trade show will be an annual event.
It’s difficult to gauge how many attendees might come to the virtual trade show, Tucker says. More than 75 people signed up in the first week of registration.
“This is for everybody,” Tucker says. “We think that owners, GMs, superintendents and everyone should be able to attend.”
Attendance is free, and the trade show is open 24 hours a day from March 18 to 20. The show's content and materials will be accessible online for 90 days after the show. Organizers chose the March timeline after talking with manufacturers about their preferences. Holding the virtual trade show post-GIS, which takes place in February, gives manufacturers an opportunity to put together their videos and other materials based on what they exhibited at the show.
Tucker says he hopes to attract between 50 and 100 exhibitors worldwide. He’s hoping for support from the major equipment manufacturers in addition to smaller suppliers in the U.S. and overseas.
“We want to be able to give exhibitors that can’t afford trade shows the opportunity to get their products out,” he says. “There are a lot of small manufacturers in Europe that make good products that we don’t get to see here.”
The cost to exhibit ranges from $3,000 to $15,000.
The association will spend between $35,000 and $50,000 to launch the first virtual trade show, Tucker says, adding it doesn’t expect the trade show to be a major money-making venture for the IGCEMA.
“We’re doing it to get people to attend that normally wouldn’t be able to,” Tucker says. “We’re not a huge organization like GCSAA with a hired staff. We’re all volunteer; we don’t really have any major expenses. Hopefully it will help our association grow, but making a ton of money isn’t really our goal. The first year will be a learning experience for us as well as the exhibitors.”
For more information or to register for the IGCEMA Virtual Trade Show, visit http://igcema.veplatform.com/.
