CHICAGO — Trade shows can be found across the globe in almost every industry. Events such as CES®, ISC West and the National Restaurant Association Show span millions of square feet and are visited by millions of participants combined, driving significant economic impact worldwide.
But how did all of this begin?
Trade Show Executive (TSE) spoke with Larry Kulchawik and Bob McGlincy, events industry legends and authors of The Invisible Industry: The Evolution of Trade Shows, about the history of events — and got a glimpse at their future.
Origins of Events
“Some date the beginning to the Persian markets of 3,000 years ago, although a more-accurate date might be the mid-1400s with the Frankfurt Book Fair,” McGlincy explained. “The first modern trade show was the Great Exhibition of 1851. It was the first international show and hosted 14,000 exhibitors from 44 countries.”
Industrial expositions emerged in the late 1700s and became more popular in the 1800s. In the late 1800s, many evolved into industry-specific trade shows — such as events dedicated to bicycles, food and electricity.
The economic boom after World War Two drove growth in the industry which, according to McGlincy, took off in the 1970s.
Key Players
As trade shows grew as an economic force, American cities started building convention centers.
“Each major city in the U.S. evolved in the same way,” Kulchawik explained. “They elected to invest money in convention centers … Why were they so willing to invest? To attract people and revenue to their cities.”
Certain cities, such as New York, struggled at first due to unions and regulations while others, like Chicago, flourished, taking the lead.
Industry associations — including UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (est. 1925), the International Association of Exhibitions & Events (est. 1928), and the Exhibition Services & Contractors Association (est. 1970) — were formed to advocate for the growing field.
While The Invisible Industry provides a comprehensive list of impactful players, here are some people and organizations that any trade show enthusiast should know:
- In 1927, Buck Freeman founded Freeman Decorating Company [now known as Freeman]. His son Donald Freeman helped unify diverse segments of the industry as Freeman grew into the world’s largest provider of brand experiences and transformed the role of a show contractor into someone who provides added coordinated services.
- Fred Kitzing launched KITZING, Inc., in 1950 and introduced the mentality that it’s not the trade show exhibit that sells — it’s the attraction and the people within it that stand out to prospective buyers.
- Moss Display launched in 1955 and pioneered the concept of pop-up fabric exhibits.
- In 1963, Richard Swandby started Exhibit Surveys, Inc., which provided measured benchmarks for exhibitors and exhibit organizers.
- The Greyhound Corporation — the first big corporation that owned an exhibit company — purchased Manncraft (a sign, window and exhibit company) in 1969 and changed its name to Greyhound Exposition Services [now called GES].
- In the late 1970’s, Jack McEntee, one of the industry’s first independent labor contractors (also called exhibitor-appointed contractors) launched I&D Inc. He helped change the attitude of carpenters who set up exhibits, inspiring them to be kind to customers and receptive to their needs, and gave them a more service-oriented mindset. This created a new model for on-site carpenter behavior.
- Nomadic Displays began in the late 1970s and introduced the first umbrella-type of pop-up exhibit.
- Bill Mee founded the Trade Show Bureau in 1978, which is now the Center for Exhibition Industry Research.
- Ingrid Boyd became the first female President of the Experiential Designers and Producers Association in 1990 and led the movement to get U.S. companies to embrace international exhibiting.
Related. Insights for Event Success: A Q&A with CEIR’s Nancy Drapeau, IPC
COVID and the Future of Events
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the trade show industry. When events returned, they featured more digital elements, such as screens in booths where participants could speak to a company’s leaders or view marketing materials.
Kulchawik explained that virtual solutions, while efficient, lack the emotional component of in-person interactions, which he believes are key to a strong sales strategy. According to Kulchawik, the lack of travel and exciting, in-person experiences in the pandemic created demand for these when events returned, making Las Vegas and Orlando more-popular for trade shows.
“Experience is really what it’s been all about for the past two or three years,” Kulchawik explained. “There’s an emotional reason for why people decide to go to Las Vegas or Orlando. It’s because of the secondary attractions … especially after COVID.”
However, even as the world is changing, Kulchawik and McGlincy believe that the trade show format is here to stay.
“Trade shows work — they make dollars and they make sense,” McGlincy said. “They are mini-business malls and networking hubs. Trade shows are idea incubators — places allowing the cross-pollination of thoughts to flourish and flower.
“It’s a face-to-face industry and that will not change. It’s all about engagement — while events are becoming more interactive and the industry is becoming more hybrid, we still need person-to-person interactions … Hybrid shows work and can expand a show’s audience but, at the end of the day, it comes down to what people value and I think people value face-to-face contact. It develops a certain level of trust.”
Purchase The Invisible Industry here.
Also, you can find Trade Shows From One Country to the Next, a guidebook by Kulchawik about how the industry varies by country, here.
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