The 87th annual Campus Market Expo, the largest trade show and educational event for the collegiate retail market, wrapped up Monday after three days of seminars and exhibits at the Orange County Convention Center. The show drew more than 700 exhibitors and 2,100 attendees. To kick off the conference, organizers hosted a party on Friday night at the Rosen Centre Hotel and asked the evening's six sponsors to create activities that would foster networking among attendees and increase the companies’ exposure.
“We asked each of our six Friday night sponsors to do something interactive to enhance the evening, which also reduces our costs for entertainment,” said Wendy Holliday, vice president of marketing and member services for the National Association of College Stores, the professional trade association that organizes the conference. The night's sponsorship package—which included a display area, tickets to the event, and branding on the show’s Web site and programs—costs $6,000 per company.
Although originally planned as a poolside reception, the party and its 750 guests moved inside to the hotel’s A, B, and C ballrooms due to rain and strong winds.
Kukui nut jewelry maker Go Nuts had hula dancers handing out fresh flower leis to attendees and provided Hawaiian music for the party. Collegiate apparel dealer College House hosted a Wheel of Fortune-style game that, in an effort to drive more traffic to its trade show booth, required participants to redeem their prizes at the company’s booth during exposition hours.
“Camex is a really big show, so anything we can do to make it feel like a small event helps people walk away with a good feeling,” Holliday said.