Specialty contractors are niche marketing specialists -- they find needs in the exposition industry and fill them. Those specific trade show services include electrical, audio-visual, photography, security, registration, floral, freight and drayage and the like.
Specialty contractors' services are as important to show managers -- and exhibitors -- as those of the general contractor because they also impact a show's look and personality and help create an overall perception of the event.
"Years ago, show managers relied almost exclusively on their general contractors to select the companies that would provide specialty services to their shows," says Bill Hull, Vice President of ADF Services of America, Inc., a security firm based in Atlanta.
Tim DiMasi, Principal and Co-Owner of Exhibit Air Express in San Diego, says that is changing. "Now, my business comes from a combination of show managers and general contractors," he says, noting that show managers today are more likely to take control of and manage elements of their shows. "They realize how everything in a show is tied together."
Though she places a tremendous amount of faith and trust in her general contractor, Mary Thompson-Furr, Exposition Director for the Interbike Expos based in Newport Beach, CA, says show management should control the selection of specialty contractors. "That way, you know what you're dealing with and the kind of rapport each company would have with exhibitors," she says. "We don't want companies involved that aren't extremely customer-oriented and there to work for our exhibitor. It's a reflection on Interbike."
As with many associations, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers is required to get bids for each contract it negotiates. However, the selection of specialty firms for SME's shows is a group process. Typically, says SME's Gary Micola, Show Manager of the Westec Show and Advanced Productivity Expositions, SME's system involves identifying a need, meeting with staff members to discuss it, and collecting the information needed to make a decision. The group then selects a specialty contractor.
"We feel we need to be responsible," says Micola. "The general contractor is not in a position to determine what best serves our customer -- the exhibitor."
Sam Galloway, Executive Director of the Southern Council of Optometrists, sees no need to get bids from specialty contractors as long as the existing provider's level of service and quality continues and their prices are in line. Galloway differentiates between suppliers to show management and those whose services are offered in the exhibitors' service kit.
"We determine who goes into our service kit, and we have a policy that we receive no remuneration for inclusion," he says adamantly.
He notes that for his annual Congress and Trade Show in Atlanta, he has used ADFsecurity services since 1981 and has had the same general contractor and printer for more than 10 years.
A firm believer in show management selecting specialty contractors is David Jacobson, Show Manager of the Gutenberg Festival, a printing machinery and graphic arts trade show. Jacobson also goes by the oldtime rule of business loyalty. "I don't use requests for proposals," he says. "If the contractor is providing good service, why change? Familiarity makes it easier for the show manager and the exhibitor."
The Interface Group usually sends requests for proposals to specialty contractors, and show management decides which specialty contractor to use in most eases, according to Leonard Goodman, Vice President of Show Operations. On a smaller show, he says, show management may leave the choice of a specific specialty firm, floral for instance, to the general contractor because it's not a big concern to the show's exhibitors. "We deal with the larger issues up front and personally," Goodman says.
Building relationships
Developing relationships is helpful in any type of business situation, and working with specialty contractors is no exception.
"I prefer to deal directly with the show manager," says Diane Norton, Director of Sales and Marketing for ADF Services. "I get a better feel for what's needed. A one-on-one relationship is better because we do more than just put guards at doors. We work with show management on crowd control, bank drops, and traffic flow in the hall, for instance."
In addition, she makes sure show security goes smoothly by dealing directly withbuilding security, the facility's event coordinator and the general contractor. By doing all the footwork, she says, she offers show managers the peace-of-mind advantage.
Hull points out that when show managers choose their specialty contractors, they are able to build relationships on which service and reliability depend. To assure continuity of service from city to city, he advises, get advice and recommendations from your general contractors.
For the most part, Joyce Schroeder, Conference and Show Manager for ComputerSecurity Institute, a division of Miller Freeman in San Franeiseo, relies on the general contractor to hire specialty subcontractors, a practice known as "subbing" the work.
"We're heavily conference-based, requiring a lot of audio-visual, so I handle that and security," Schroeder says. "The general contractor has always found reliable specialty companies for the other services, and that's just one more thing I don't have to do."
"Most associations we deal with are very comfortable having us handle subcontracting," says Barbra Chaitin, Executive Vice President of National Exposition Services Inc., a general contractor in Detroit. The associations, Chaitin says, often will arrange only their own security, while independent show producers usually contract all the specialty services themselves.
Traditionally, common carriers deal directly with general contractors. According to Richard Weidner, Director of Trade Show Services for Yellow Freight in Overland Park, KS, the general contractor has to rely on the carrier to provide a large number of trailers for empty crate storage during a show. So, a close relationship between the two is essential to ensure the carrier has the resources needed.
"Show managers rarely contact common carriers directly and there's no advantage for them to do so," Weidner notes. "There have been instances when show managers wrote to us about becoming the official carrier. We responded with the caveat that the general contractor has the final decision regarding selection. If the contractor wants to bring in a carrier he's been using, we would defer to his wishes."
Local vs. national companies
Geography is not a major concern for show managers when they are selecting specialty suppliers. For most, the bottom line is service and performance, not location. There is no perception that national means bigger, better or more resourceful or that local means working with less.
"Whether a supplier is local or national is not part of our decision-making process," says Galloway. "We look for quality and value to our exhibitor."
Thompson-Furr says she's more comfortable with local companies because they know their cities best. For Mikola and Jacobson, what's important is how well the specialty firm does the job, not whether it has offices in major show cities.
As expected, specialty contractors take the view most compatible with the scope of their companies. And, whether local or national, each makes a good ease for their vantage point. DiMasi says his air freight forwarding business, with no ties to any city, has no geographic limitations. Norton says a local contractor has an advantage in thoroughly knowing the city's facilities and in being able to provide a well-screened labor pool also familiar with the show site.
Evacuating options
Once the location of the specialty contractor is decided, how do you go about finding the right company and assessing its performance and capability?
When evaluating companies in another city, Jacobson asks his decorator for advice.
Mikola adds that the hardest part is identifying the reputable specialty firms. To check them out, he calls other show managers, asks for references, talks to convention centers about their experiences with the contractors, and sometimes asks to visit one of their shows.
Interface Group's Goodman uses a variety of sources to find contractors, includingInternational Association for Exposition Management's membership list, his company's contractor list, vendor solicitation, and recommendations from other show managers. "Performance," he says, "is the best way to evaluate them. We're concerned more with value and quality than price."
Thompson-Furr relies on her own personal experience in the industry and the contacts she has established over the years. Beyond that, if the need arises, she talks with the local convention and visitors bureau. "Even if the contractor is not a member, I don't think the bureau would give you a bum steer," she says. "After all, they want you to be happy."
"Check specialty contractors' licenses to make sure they're current and in accordance with requirements," Norton cautions, adding that talking with the local general contractor and facility staff, and finding out how long the company has been in the industry is also a good idea.
Show managers working directly with specialty contractors need to be sure thecontractor is providing appropriate insurance coverage. Marcy Simon, Vice President of Expo-Tech Electrical and Plumbing Services, Inc., in Orange, CA, says, "When general contractors sub out they give their Certificate of Insurance to the show manager, and it may not cover the specialty portion of the show."
Thompson-Furr also talks with other show managers and, she says, IAEM meetings are a great place for this kind of information gathering.
Industry associations, such as IAEM and the Exposition Service Contractors Association, also make membership directories available as resource materials .
Negotiating a contract
Simon at Expo-Tech points to one of the best reasons for show managers to be directly involved in selecting specialty contractors -- the show manager can negotiate the best rate for the exhibitor. The show manager also can negotiate specialized personnel, special forms and certain safety procedures.
One reason Schroeder selects the security firm she uses for her conference and show is that she's been able to strike a better bargain than through her general contractor.
"We negotiate," says Goodman, "to protect the event -- our exhibitors and attendees. And we see to it that all the suppliers are insured."
Galloway says most contractors are flexible in negotiations, depending on the size of the companies and how badly they want his business.
"The needs of every show organizer are different," says DiMasi, "so if I don't haveflexibility in how I structure the agreement, I won't get very far."
Because specialty contractors have a stake in the success of your show, albeit a smaller one than the general contractors, make them an essential part of your show planning and negotiations. Expo-Tech's Simon sums it up: "We believe we're all working as a team."
