Even with the advent of the Internet, long-distance relationships often fail. That’s why the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) staged an exhibitor summit this year, bringing exhibitors, prospects and association staff together five months before the annual meeting. More than 150 exhibitors and prospects attended the two-day event in Las Vegas in May, which resulted in commitments from those who had not already purchased space and meaningful feedback to help guide show planning.

For decades, SEMA held on-site booth space selection. Exhibitors flew to Las Vegas, met with show staff, and went home with their space selected, says Peter MacGillivray, vice president of events and communications at SEMA. While that format worked well for years, the advent of technology and the high cost of travel led the association to develop an online solution, which has worked well for several years.

While selecting space online from their own offices was convenient for exhibitors, the change brought “unintended consequences,” MacGillivray says. “We lost the power and meaning of face-to-face interaction, and our show began to erode. We weren’t losing sales, but we had to work harder to promote our show benefits and new features. We promoted the show’s value in various media channels, but it wasn’t enough.”

To rebuild strong exhibitor-staff relationships, MacGillivray and his staff decided to host an exhibitor summit. While exhibitors still selected booth space online, the summit offered two days of in-depth programming specific to the SEMA show. The association sent electronic invitations to exhibitors and “hot” prospects, and 150 registered. While that represented a small sample of the show’s almost 1,900 exhibitors, MacGillivray says it was more than enough to gather meaningful feedback, begin building strong connections, and to allow his staff members a chance to experience the magic of face-to-face interactions.

In addition to educating exhibitors about the show, organizers wanted to hear exhibitors’ thoughts. “We wanted the tough topics to come out because there’s no better way to address them,” MacGillivray says.

While planners were wary of opening up the floor for a slam session, they were pleased to see that “everyone was there for the right reasons; they wanted to be constructive,” MacGillivray says. “Everyone had a definite ownership of the show and the summit and wanted to be productive. Some hard conversations, such as the expense of the show, came up, but they were put in the right light. And we had an appropriate opportunity to explain why things are the way they are and we could offer some solutions.”

While MacGillivray and his staff hoped for some meaningful conversations and feedback, he says they got so much more. “The summit really opened up dialogue and connected us with exhibitors in a way we haven’t been connected in years,” MacGillivray says. Based on early feedback, MacGillivray expects at least 300 companies to attend next year’s summit.