The 4th Annual AIMExpo concluded a couple of weeks ago, and in a press release, the organizers provided some very interesting data.
The show that took place in Orlando, FL drew 18,399 attendees over the four days with a record number of 12,029 being powersports consumers. The were 451 exhibitors with OEM support from Honda, KTM, Suzuki, and Yamaha joining in on the action.
As an event planner that looks at shows and events, I am mixed on the success of the AIMExpo. Is it a dealer show or consumer show? Does it take the place of the old Dealer Expo or run in competition with the IMS consumer shows taking place soon? I had always hoped for it to fill the gap left by the Dealer Expo going away, but clearly, this is a hybrid show with a strong consumer component.
In any event, the organizers show 2,459 attendees from 1,116 dealers with those attendees filling more than 1000 seats in the Powersports Dealer Seminars. This is a very positive sign and something that I see increasing next year when the show moves to Ohio. (AIMExpo Moves to Columbus for 2017)
Another really positive number coming out of the show was the amount of social media impression gathered during the event. More than 32 million social media impressions via Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and YouTube showing and increase of 10 million impressions from the 2015 event.
Plus, I guess you can’t beat it when you get more than 12,000 potential end-users past your booth during a show. It just requires a different focus by the booth staff.
Now it’s time to look forward to 2017 and the relocation of the show to Columbus, OH on September 21-24, 2017 where I think the proximity to a larger percentage of dealers will show a dramatic increase in dealer attendance.
See you in Columbus.
As always the ideas expressed above are my own, and I make no claims to the success or failure of implementing them. They are suggestions to make you think. Please vet all ideas against your business plan before implementing them.
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