The first round of the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament begins today, with eight games scheduled between noon and 6 p.m, and eight more tomorrow during that same time period. As the games fall during the Global Pet Expo in Orlando, organizers of the event are incorporating a broadcast of the games to foster engagement. The nearly 18,000 buyers and sellers of pet products who are attending the event at the Orange County Convention Center through tomorrow can watch all the games in a full-service bar that’s been built on the show floor.
“Our goal is to keep everybody in the hall for the entire time the show is open,” said Andy Darmohraj, executive vice president and C.O.O. of the American Pet Products Association, which hosts the show. “When we were looking at this year’s dates, it’s not only over St. Patrick’s Day, but it’s also the N.C.A.A. tournament. So we worked with our general services contractor, G.E.S., and the foodservice company Centerplate and said could we build something that looks like a real sports bar and make it so people can have another place to meet, another place to hang out, and keep up with the games.”
The result: a 1,500-square-foot lounge with a long wood bar, bar stools, high-top tables and, of course, multiple television. And, to tie into the expo’s focus on all things animals, there’s artwork of pets playing sports. “It’s a little more whimsical to play off the pet theme,” Darmohraj said. “But it looks so nice, not like a bar at a networking reception. It’s like a neighborhood bar you’d slide up to and order a beer and watch some sports.”
Also new this year, the event’s PR team is using Periscope to stream live from the show floor. In past years, organizers have created daily videos to provide a recap of activities for attendees and those who are not at the event. “Periscope seems like such a natural evolution of that. It’s raw, real life, and we think that can be really cool,” Darmohraj said.
The expo has nearly 1,100 exhibitors and attendees from more than 80 countries.
