The Home and Housewares Show hits McCormick Place this weekend. With attractions ranging from a meet-and-greet with heartthrob celebrity chef Curtis Stone to a cake-graffiti demo from Ace of Cakes star Duff Goldman, the event also displays new cookware, dinnerware, and miscellaneous lifestyle products including beauty goods, outdoor furniture, and scented paper-towel dispensers.
The increasingly successful event has a newly extended four-day run, 60,000 international buyers expected to attend, and more than 2,100 exhibitors. "Approximately 25 percent [or 500] of our exhibitors did not exhibit last year," said the show's vice president, Mia Rampersad. "Exhibitors see the value of the show and understand that it is a global marketplace that allows them to see buyers from all over the world in one place over a four-day period." From her post at McCormick Place, which has been her unofficial home for the past week, Rampersad spoke with us about what's new at this year's show:
In 2010, there was speculation that the show might leave Chicago due to high exhibiting costs at McCormick Place. Now that the city has put new legislation into place to prevent your event and others from leaving, is it easier for you to do your job?
Chicago is a world-class city and has always been our industry’s first choice to hold our show. However, with the new legislation and labor reform in place, our exhibitors have a broadened ability to set up their booths and products using their own personnel. This makes the process of operating an event at McCormick Place more viable, customer-friendly, and in the process helps exhibitors control costs.
On the flip side, what has been the most challenging aspect of producing this year’s show?
Keeping the show new and exciting is always challenging. Every four years we refresh the visual branding. In 2012 we will again present a fresh face to our industry, and achieving this new look takes significant focus from our entire team. We have a completely new look in signage, new purple and green colors, new graphics, entryway panels, aisle banners, and … visual materials. We will use this new look for the next four years. In addition, recruitment and retention of our exhibitors—which is now over 2,100 for 2012—keeps us busy.
What else is new at this year’s show?
In addition to the new show look, we are creating an educational hub at the show called the Hall of Global Innovation. This area will allow us to gather many of our displays and events that help educate the industry on the latest in design, color, and materials. The hall will include the Global Innovation Award finalists for housewares merchandising and will feature 25 best-in-class retailers from around the globe. The hall will also host Pantone ColorWatch, a display announcing Pantone’s color forecast for 2013 along with exhibitors’ products that already reflect that forecast. The Innovation Theater will have continuous presentations from experts on design, innovation, and industry trends. The winners of our annual student design competition will be present and discussing their new product ideas. The Going Green display will highlight the latest in sustainable products and materials. And lastly, new to the show this year, the International Housewares Association's Innovation Awards will celebrate the most creative new offerings from show exhibitors. We actually get our inspiration [for keeping the show fresh] from our industry participants. We have standing councils and committees, and we regularly gather their thoughts on what we can do to make the show more meaningful to them.
How has attendees’ feedback from 2011 shaped this year’s show?
With over 500 new exhibitors participating in the 2012 show, the attendees are pleased to see not only the new companies exhibiting but also the thousands of new products that will be on display. Another major change is the additional half-day we are adding to the show. This is a direct response to a calling from the retail community, who felt they needed more time to take full advantage of the show.
What new methods are exhibitors using to engage show attendees?
Our most important new tool is Housewares Connect 365 which allows exhibitors to tell their story in pictures, words, and videos on an exclusive page on our Web site. They can also contact buyers directly using the buyers’ personal mailboxes on the site. This is available to the industry at no charge to buyers or sellers, and to date nearly 500,000 unique searches have been conducted in the run-up to the show. [At the event] exhibitors appear to be using more fabric and technology in their displays. To maximize their footprint on the show floor, we are also seeing more two-story booths being built.
How are you using social media this year?
We continue to employ social media tools [Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn] to further connect with our members, exhibitors, industry professionals and consumers. With Twitter, we developed two different accounts. One [is] geared towards the show and one focused on the [International Housewares] Association and industry. At the show, we will feature tweets in real time on large panels at the entry to each building. The tweets will promote companies, products, and brands. International Housewares Association’s LinkedIn group displays member networking opportunities and provides discussion boards to facilitate contact with a strict focus on business relationships. Our LinkedIn page includes industry news and links to other companies within the industry, and allows us to provide industry status updates in real time. Our blogs continue to keep the dialogue going within the industry. Several authors, including [association] staff, contribute to the blog, and topics include the latest consumer-lifestyle trends, tips on doing business globally, and year-round updates on the show.
