The sunshine expo

America. The USA. Land of the free; home of the brave. As we draw closer to this year’s presidential elections, all eyes are turning towards the States. And, love it or loathe it, what happens in this giant of a country affects us all. Whether it be economic crashes, military interventions, or the FBI bringing down FIFA, the USA plays a significant role in global affairs. For some, it is the leading light of the Western world. For others, it is the root of all evil.

Regardless of your opinion, if you are in business, you cannot afford to ignore the state of America.

And so we turn our attention across the Atlantic, to the biggest event in the American signage calendar—The Inter-national Sign Association (ISA) Sign Expo. While few of you will cross the pond to attend the show, what happens at this event remains highly significant to the industry at large.
 
ISA Sign Expo has been running for almost 70 years, growing from a few hundred booths to more than 1,800, representing almost 600 companies and serving an audience of 18,000 attendees.



Held annually, the event location alternates between Las Vegas, Nevada, and Orlando, Florida. ISA Sign Expo 2016 is set to be held April 20th to 23rd at the Orange County Convention Center, South Building in Orlando, Florida.




Whilst of course it has most relevance for companies in the US, the exhibition’s global reach has expanded throughout the years, hosting thousands of international visitors from nearly 100 countries around the world.


Teach us a lesson

Just like the UK, sign industry exhibitions in America are putting greater emphasis on the educational elements of these events. With a wide range of session tracks and targeted sessions, ISA Sign Expo is no exception. Visitors to the event can take their pick from seminars such as ‘Small Shops, Big Wins: Sales Strategies for Sign Shops’ and ‘Introduction to DDS: Where is the Profit?’, to ‘The 12 Biggest Mistakes Sales People Make’ and ‘Seven Ways to be a More Effective Boss’, to name but a few.



Of course these come at a cost. For members the price jumps from $15 (£10) for the trade show alone, to $129 (£91) for the entire ‘education package’. Yet with ‘top-rated game changer sessions’ also included, which promise to provide ‘deep insights into what’s coming next in the new world of work’ and ‘practical and actionable tips and techniques that can immediately impact business today’, the exhibition organisers stand behind the value of this package.
 
A particularly interesting ‘game changer’ is being hosted by Kenneth W. Gronbach, entitled ‘Charting the Course through Demographic Change’. A marketer with 19 years’ experience of proprietary demographic research, Gronbach claims his understanding of worldwide demo-graphics, fertility, migration, aging, and immigration have enabled him to forecast societal, political, economic, cultural, and commercial phenomena. In this session he will explore questions like: What nations are demographically doomed? How will our children’s children get their education? Will big data change marketing and branding forever? What is the fate of mass media? What countries and continents are demographically positioned to excel? Useful information for any business.
 
Familiar faces
 
As well as these educational seminars run by freelance business professionals, there will of course be a host of exhibiting companies more than willing to give you an in depth explanation and demonstration of their technology. One firm to go one better is Roland DGA, the North and South American marketing, sales, and distribution arm of Roland DG.
 
This wide-format digital heavyweight is holding an inkjet user conference, Imagination 2016, on April 20th, co-located with the 2016 ISA Sign Expo. Designed to offer a selection of educational workshops led by industry experts and experienced Roland product managers, these sessions aim to help users get the most out of their Roland equipment, learn new and profitable applications, optimise productivity, and increase overall business success. In addition to the interactive workshops, Imagination 2016 will include a keynote address and networking events.


 
Roland is of course exhibiting at the ISA as well, under the American arm DGA. It will be showcasing its newest wide-format inkjets, including the SoljetEJ-640 eco-solvent printer, the Texart XT-640 dye-sublimation printer, and the VersaUV LEF-300 UV-LED flatbed printer.
 
Indeed, if you or anybody you know is going to the show, there will of course be many names you recognise, if represented by the American wing of the global company. These include AXYZ International (exhibiting its CNC routing solution), Esko (demonstrating the Kongsberg C64 and the Kongsberg XN-24), EFI, Agfa, and HP, to name but a few.
 
Culture shock

As well as the people and activities you would normally expect from a trade show, ISA Sign Expo 2016 has a few tricks up its gargantuan sleeve. Last year, the organisation brought together the brightest young talent in the sign and graphics industry for its ISA Elite Programme, run at the 2015 show. The group then met again for a two-day leadership retreat at the ISA office in October 2015. In addition to studying personal leadership traits and analysing their leadership habits, the class participated in several networking opportunities with both the ISA board of directors and ISA staff. The only specification is that they are born after 1981, and currently work in the sign and graphics industry. With the issue of encouraging talented youth to join and stay in the industry a recurring one, this might be a strategy UK exhibitions or events could consider.

Stephanie Poyant Moran from Poyant Signs in New Bedford was part of last year’s contingent. She comments: “The ISA Elite Program provides a unique and valuable opportunity for young professionals in the sign industry to meet and learn from industry experts and leaders and, equally important, it provides a unique and valuable opportunity for young professionals to meet and learn from each other. This is an experience you do not want to miss out on.”


Nathan Young from Salt Lake City is equally emphatic about the value of the programme: “The ISA Elite is the best program to be a part of if you are up and coming in the sign industry. It was extremely valuable to meet other young people who share my same interests and desires. I would encourage anyone who is young and excited about what they do to join the ISA Elite program.”



Another unexpected extra at this year’s show is the Hosted Cross-Disciplinary Delegation: Architects, Designers, Planners. In an effort to promote a collaborative community, the ISA is bringing together architects, designers, brand managers, urban planners, downtown developers, clients/end users, sign fabricators, and sign material suppliers, offering a special program to 50 diverse practitioners, selected to be guests of ISA. By introducing talented designers, planners, and developers to innovative people and technology within the sign and graphics industry, the organisation hopes to spark innovations and advanced development, claiming this unique programme allows for high-level collaboration between these connected sectors.

The programme includes hotel stay, free entry to the trade show floor, a three-hour custom behind-the-scenes tour of an iconic Orlando project, 50 percent discount on all ISA education sessions, guided tours of the trade show floor focusing on innovative materials and technology, and three networking events to build a community with other delegates and experienced professionals.

Proof in the pudding

At the end of the day, the success of a trade show can be judged on footfall and sales. ISA Sign Expo is doing its very best to boost the latter. It is running a competition, offering the chance to win $10,000 (£7,056) for anybody purchasing a wide-format printer from one of its program sponsors (that is, formally commit to spending $20,000 (£14,112) or more on an eligible purchase).

Overall, the best way to judge the potential of an upcoming trade show is to look at its figures from the year before. An established megalith in the industry, ISA has impressive credentials. In 2015, the exhibition was sold out, showcasing more than 600 exhibitors and 213,000 net square feet of tradeshow floor. In all, some 19,000 attendees visited the site, making it one of the largest tradeshows in recent history.

O Factoid: Plans for next year: ISA Sign Expo 2017 will be  held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas, from April 20th to 22nd. O

Speaking of last year’s show, Brandon Hensley, ISA chief operating officer, comments: “We continually heard from exhibitors that sales were strong and that they were selling the products right off the show floor. This indicates a strong sign and visual communications industry with leaders willing to invest in their businesses.

“There’s no telling where this will take the industry in the years to come.”


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