March 2005
Best Practices: Extreme makeover

Branding and redesign connect AAPEX logo, tagline and graphics to keep buyers on the floor

By Cathy Chatfield-Taylor

The Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX, www.aapexshow.com) suffered from an identity crisis. In its 60-odd year history — the last 10 co-located with the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show (www.semashow.com) during Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week in Las Vegas — the show had changed names multiple times due to mergers and acquisitions among the sponsoring associations. Even after the change to AAPEX in 2000, the show struggled to distinguish itself in the $250 billion industry.

“You’d see the show logo, plus the association logos, and there was confusion,” says Arlene Davis, Senior Director of Tradeshows for the Bethesda, MD-based Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA, www.aftermarket.org), which now co-sponsors AAPEX with the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (www.mema.org), Research Triangle Park, NC. “The associations needed to stand back and let AAPEX stand on its own two feet.”

In March 2004, the associations met to discuss the AAPEX look and feel with show manager WT Glasgow Inc. (www.wtglasgow.com), Orland Park, IL; Freeman Decorating Co. (www.freemanco.com), Chicago; and visual merchandising consultant Murray Chapple of Critical Aesthetics (www.criticalaesthetics.com), Charlotte, NC. Together they toured the International Home & Housewares Show for ideas about visual design.

“The main thing that we went away from that meeting with was that our show did not tell a story,” Davis recalls.

Acknowledging a need for a new logo and tagline, they retained Chapple to redesign the AAPEX graphic treatment, then began brainstorming a tagline that would clearly communicate the show’s purpose. They decided on “We keep them on the road.”

“When we describe our industry, we say, ‘We keep America on the road,’ because of the parts we supply for vehicles,” Davis says. “Knowing that, we knew we had to connect the show to that tagline.”

Chapple shot a series of five photos that illustrate people on the road, and these became the focal point of the show’s new look, with a funky blue, pink and green color scheme. The new logo, tagline and photos appeared everywhere in the decoration, from the upper and lower lobby entrance arches to the “you are here” signs and exhibit hall banners.

Responding to exhibitor complaints that the show floor was hard to navigate and new products were hard to locate, the redesign also introduced color-coded sections, marked by a color change in carpet, aisle signs and column wraps. Every “you are here” board had a color-coded map, which was reproduced in the show guide. Chapple also moved the new products and packaging showcase from the back of the lobby to front and center.

Despite the volume of new graphics produced for the 2004 show, held Nov. 2–5 at the Sands Expo Center, the decorating team kept costs within budget with some creative suggestions from Freeman. Using vivid colors instead of lighting reduced electrical costs by 48 percent. Installing fixtures from the ground up, instead of hanging them from the ceiling, decreased rigging costs by 30 percent. And the uncluttered approach to decoration reduced the number of signs by 25 percent, which cut production and labor costs.

The crisp clean look appealed to exhibitors, who bought 30 percent more sponsorships than the previous year.

“The design made a nicer place to put logos,” Davis says. “We also set limits. There were only so many spots available.” For the first time, they were able to sell sponsorship packages on site for the next year.

Next year, Chapple will continue to advise the AAPEX team about how to implement the redesign and supplement decoration in the lower lobby and other areas.

“Murray will stay on as our conscience. If someone comes to me and says, ‘If you let me sponsor this, I’ll put it in your lobby,’ I’ll say, ‘Let me talk to our designer,’” Davis says. “You don’t want to turn anyone away who wants to give you money, but you have a responsibility to create a visually pleasing atmosphere for everyone involved.”