Attendee registration for the 2011 SHOT Show is now open at www.shotshow.org.
In a short video invitation, National Shooting Sports Foundation Chairman Bob Scott encourages all buyers and retailers to sharpen their competitive edge by attending the 2011 show in Las Vegas.
“Our new SHOT Show logo is just the beginning of what’s new and changed at this year’s SHOT Show,” said Scott.
Watch the video and register today for NSSF’s 2011 SHOT Show.
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Exhibitors at the 2011 show will have a much easier time identifying true “buyers” thanks to changes to the attendee-registration process.
Attendee badges will be more specific, enabling exhibitors to better identify various buyer categories.
This change is based on feedback from our exhibitors, who stated that the traditional red attendee badges used at the show do not clearly identify who from an organization is the decision-maker in buying.
Web-based registration will start out by asking if attendees are buyers or non-buyers. From there, the attendee will filter through the demographic questions that will assist us in determining the categories of people attending the show.
Past show attendees should be able to find their information in the system and should move through the process quickly. The identification and verification policy that was started at the 2010 show will continue for the 2011 show.
In addition, attendees will be able to purchase tickets to SHOT Show University, State of the Industry Dinner, register for free education sessions online within the registration process and have the ability to pay for registration and special-event fees.
SHOT Show has initiated a modest price increase for attendee registration. As many of you are aware, the show has not increased its registration prices since 2007.
Thanks to everyone who participated in our second live chat.
Many of the questions focused on booth selection, floor-plan layout and our plans for enhancing the customer experience.
NSSF, Reed Exhibitions and the Sands Expo & Convention Center have been working on improving that experience.
Our SHOT Show committee will conduct a site inspection in Las Vegas in early October, so we can see the renovations first-hand. When we return, we’ll host another live chat to report on our findings, and I hope to post a few pictures as well.
If you missed the chat, you can view it at nssf.org/shotshowchat.
One of NSSF's many strengths is solving problems by listening to you — our members, customers and influential leaders.
Over the past several years, you have told us that the SHOT Show logo is dated and does not reflect the show's exhibitors, attendees and key audiences. For the first time in 34 years, beginning with the 2011 SHOT Show, we are updating our SHOT Show logo with a more contemporary take on the logo that served us well for more than three decades and draws upon the brand equity the SHOT Show already owns.
The target is the evolutionary element we carried over from the past logo. The font is a san-serif font, which is more readable and modern. By eliminating the hunter and the dog, the logo now better reflects shooting, hunting and law enforcement. We have used the NSSF green in the target element to bind it closer to NSSF.
We strongly believe that this logo will help us communicate the show as it is today and be much stronger graphically. We have already seen its power on mock-up signage for the upcoming show, which was one of the major complaints we received from last year's attendees. This logo, due to its unique elements and clean look, makes the signage pop, easier to read and work with in all types of marketing and communication scenarios.
The selection of the new SHOT Show logo culminates an 18-month process in which we saw over 390 logo suggestions from two outside award-winning design firms and our own in-house creative services department, which designed the logo you see here.
Trade shows are a fragile partnership between event organizer, exhibitor and attendee. It's no secret that in the recent economy the trade show business has suffered. Trade shows that decline under 10 percent are thought to be doing well by today's standard.
Bigger isn't always better, even though it's thought to be in most aspects of life, and no where is that more true than the trade-show business where customer experience is now paramount.
In Trade Show Week magazine's latest rankings of the largest trade shows for the year, 2009 reveals that the SHOT Show has moved up from 22 to 13 despite a planned slight downsizing. I fully expect that the SHOT Show will crack the top ten for 2010 despite further downsizing due to the smaller venue at the Sands Expo.
The 2011 SHOT Show will encompass approximately 656,000 net square feet of exhibit space, down from the 672,000 net square feet in 2010. The space that opens up will be dedicated to widening aisles, adding more signage and providing more common seating areas for our attendees.
To ensure that this space is available, we are not booking any additional exhibit space for 2011 and in fact have a fairly lengthy waiting list of prospective exhibitors. For the 2012 SHOT Show we will work off a floor plan that reduces the exhibit space by another 20,000 square feet, which will again be dedicated to enhancing the experience of our customers.
If you have SHOT Show related questions or suggestions then mark your calendar for Wednesday, Aug. 11 at 2 p.m. EDT, when I’ll host our next live chat.
Our earlier online chat drew a lot of participation, evoking more questions and comments regarding the SHOT Show than we could squeeze into the allotted half-hour. I think we answered most of the questions and let people blow off some steam about their 2010 experience by the time we signed off an hour later.
We’re moving forward and working hard to improve your experience at the 2011 SHOT Show, so let’s not plow old ground or rehash what has already been made abundantly clear in the previous live chat.
To help make sure that we don’t short change anyone, you can submit your questions or suggestions in advance, so that responses can be considered and created before the next chat. That will expedite the process and maximize the dialogue that can occur in the scheduled session.
The live chat is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 11 at 2 p.m. EDT, and the July edition of SHOT Show Blast will offer the details on how to participate.
In the meantime, send your questions and/or other comments in advance of the live chat so they can be considered for inclusion in the session.
Following the standing-room-only edition of the 2010 SHOT Show University at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas, we pored over the post-SHOT Show University surveys completed by the 300 retailer attendees at the sold-out event. So we’ve made some adjustments to the curriculum and added some new topics that will feature some new speakers as well as attendee favorites.
We’ll let you know when registration opens, but, for now, simply keep open Monday, Jan. 17, 2011 — the day before the SHOT Show exhibit floor officially opens — for SHOT Show University. Here’s what NSSF Director of Business Development Randy Clark and our retailer advisory committee have lined up so far.
Planned Sessions for 2011 SHOT Show University
To ensure the best possible SHOT Show experience for this coming year, we've asked the Sands Expo & Convention Center to provide our exhibitors and attendees with regular updates on improvements the facility is making for next year's show. The following is an update from Ashlyn LaPorte, executive director of event management for the Sands:
SHOT Show 2011 is now one month closer and we wanted to once again tell you how excited we are to have you coming back to the Sands Expo & Convention Center.
While we all know it never rains in Vegas, we wanted to share some exciting news with you. The Sands is one week away from completion of our new roof installation. That's right! While the storm of January 2010 is behind us, and we know it will never rain again, we are prepared, with a new roof to cover your head.
As we continue to improve in preparation for your return, I will update you on the many exciting changes here at the Sands. See you in January!
The following is an article from the April/May issue of SHOT Business magazine:
Las Vegas in January
The 2010 SHOT Show returned to Las Vegas in January by popular demandBy Chris Dolnack
NSSF Senior Vice PresidentEighty-five percent of SHOT Show exhibitors have stressed that holding the industry's largest trade show in January is a must. A January show gives manufacturers plenty of lead time to introduce new products, get a head start on sales and ensure their products are in stores with plenty of time to spare before hunting season.
In 2008, the SHOT Show was held in February, and it turned out to be one of the lowest-rated shows in its history. This was primarily because many companies lost a whole month of sales because they weren't able to introduce new products a month earlier.
To combat this problem, the 2009 show was held in January in Orlando. That show was one of the highest-rated shows ever in our customer feedback surveys.
A majority of exhibitors, however, have continually stressed the importance of holding the show in Las Vegas. According to post-show surveys, 85 percent say the show should be held there "no matter what."
When it comes to trade shows, Las Vegas is a popular place in January. It's the most sought-after month in the trade-show business, with giants like the International Consumer Electronics Show taking first priority with local tourism officials.
We've been fortunate in the past to be able to hold the show at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the most attractive venue by far to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (owner and sponsor of the SHOT Show), as well as to a majority of exhibitors and attendees.
More than anyone, we would like to hold the show there every year. Unfortunately, we were not able to be there in 2010 and will not be able to be there for the foreseeable future due to high demand for dates in January and February.
Other than the Las Vegas Convention Center, the only venue in Las Vegas that can support the SHOT Show is the Sands Expo and Convention Center.
The NSSF held the 2010 show at the Sands because of its availability in January. The Sands had planned to have a brand-new convention center built by 2010, but that plan, like many others around the country, fell victim to the economic downturn.
Though the 2010 SHOT Show successfully set records for attendees and media, we recognize that the venue posed some challenges for everyone. We've already begun addressing those challenges and are striving to improve the SHOT Show experience next year, when we head back to the Sands.
To start, there will be more adequate signage in the exhibit halls and common areas, more seating available for dining and more information staff throughout the venue to answer questions and offer directions.
We are also working with the Sands to address other facility-related issues.
A couple of rumors making their way around the 2010 show were that the Sands is NSSF's first-choice venue and that the show was held there because the venue is less expensive.
Both could not be further from the truth. On the contrary, it would cost us a lot less to hold the show at the Las Vegas Convention Center because it is a public facility.
Another rumor was that the NSSF has contracted with the Sands for the next 10 years or more. The truth is that we are under contract for 2011 and are finalizing a contract for 2012.
We have reserved dates at the Sands for years beyond that, but we are also carefully weighing our options for future SHOT Show venues that can provide the required 1.5 million square feet of exhibit space in firearms-friendly, warm-weather cities.
We are also continuing to work with the Las Vegas Convention Center in seeking future long-term dates there.
The fact that so many in our industry want the show to be held in Las Vegas in January is understandable. Las Vegas is a first-rate entertainment destination.
Many feel the SHOT Show is at its best when it's in Las Vegas, and, judging by booth traffic and sales at the 2010 show, we'd certainly agree.
We continue to receive and monitor feedback from exhibitors, attendees and media about the 2010 show, and we are listening.
It's our goal to ensure not only that the show remains second to none, but also that all of our customers continue to be provided with a can't-miss experience each and every year.
Since the show, we've received feedback in all forms, including social media, the live chat we held last month and surveys we've sent to all of the show's exhibitors and attendees.
Over the next few weeks, we'll be addressing the questions we've received and posting the answers right here on the blog.
Q: Any thoughts on improving the check-in process for the next two years?
A: Many thoughts actually. We will move the main registration area and employ stanchions similar to what airports do to control lines.
Q: How about a separate show for law enforcement?
A: Even though law enforcement accounts for 27 percent of the floor space, less than 10 percent of the attendees register as law enforcement. The fact is that the vast majority of the LE products displayed at the SHOT Show are purchased by traditional sporting goods or firearms retailers and they don't want to travel 10 minutes or more to another venue, according to our surveys.
Q: You still haven't addressed the fire hazard of being stuck in a basement on lockdown if there were a serious threat. A small incident at the end of the show and the entire basement is locked down by rent-a-cops?
A: In response to this question that was posted on our Facebook page, there was a power outage that occurred at the Sands after the close of the 2010 SHOT Show. A detailed response on the situation is provided here by Karen Haigh, senior director of operations for Reed Exhibitions, which manages the show for NSSF.
Q: Can anything be done to improve the Package Center for the Palazzo/Venetian? It was understaffed and there were long lines to retrieve packages.
A: We are addressing that with Sands management.
Q: We've heard that there was a new Sands Convention Center under construction. If this is true, will be able to go there next year?
A: The plans to build a new Sands Convention Center went the way of the economy and there are currently no plans for a new Sands CC.
Q: The main aisle seems a little narrower than in the past and therefore it was a bit congested. Is there any way to make the aisles a little bit wider?
A: It is narrower by about 4 feet. We could widen the aisles by cutting down on the number of exhibitors on Level 1 and Level 2 but then we spread the show out even more.
Q: Can anything be done to reduce the cost of meeting space prior to show opening for exhibitors?
A: It doesn’t look like it at this time. The Sands is a privately owned building and the cost of meeting space is significantly higher than the convention centers in Las Vegas or Orlando, which are publicly owned buildings. Food and beverage costs are higher as well.
Q: How about going back to the 10-foot-by-10-foot grids for booth selection?
A: This may allow users with enough points to take a spot they want instead of being shuttled to the corners. Good in theory, but doesn't take into account the number of booths that are 30 feet wide or larger. In reality, we would end up with even more dead-end aisles than we have now.