Rosemont, Ill. — The third edition of h+h americas, held May 1-3, 2024 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention and Conference Center, reported record attendance, exhibitor-count and net square footage. More than 3,800 attendees visited the event’s 402 exhibitors, which were spread over 56,425 net square feet.
A leading gathering for the North American handicraft industry, h+h americas offered live stage classes, hands-on learning labs, fashion shows, cosplay exhibits, masterclasses and more this year. Koelnmesse Inc., which organizes the show and its counterpart h+h cologne, also celebrated its 100th birthday on the show floor.
“There’s no way to see it all,” Darrin Stern, h+h americas Show Director and Vice President at Koelnmesse Inc., said. “People still continue to thank us… it’s amazing how many people stop and say ‘thank you for bringing us together, thank you for giving us this forum.’”
Growth Factors
Stern attributed h+h america’s explosive growth in part to the events industry’s post-COVID recovery.
Also, the event was moved to May this year to allow for more product launches on the show floor and increase attendance.
“One of the mantras that I keep repeating to the exhibitors is ‘we can only be successful if you keep launching new products… if you’re not bringing new products, we can’t bring new people,’” Stern said. “We’re now better suited for when the show products do launch, and companies are launching products at the show at a much greater scale… I’ve had a number of companies just say ‘we plan on launching more products… now I get it.’”
Stern also added that h+h americas broke into the quilting industry this year, whose professionals attended “in tenfold numbers, [and] just totally were off the charts.”
An increased investment in language-targeted YouTube advertisements (which saw a more than 70% average completion rate) also contributed to growth.
Enhanced Show Features
Stern shared that content creators are the handicraft industry’s preferred B2B media format, and called them “the biggest way to amplify our voice.” To encourage attendance and engagement, Koelnmesse, Inc. expanded an existing happy hour reception into a new Content Creator Summit with interactive sessions focusing on education and collaboration.
According to a pre-show survey, the content creators who attended the event had a cumulative reach of 16,995,455 consumers, and Koelnmesse, Inc. used Brand.24.com to determine that the value of this exposure was $378,000.
h+h americas 2024 also offered a new pre-show Product Academy where exhibitors could book 30-minute, one-to-many sales pitch sessions. There were 36 sessions in total, and the average class had 25-30 attendees. This feature will be included and enhanced in next year’s show.
To Come in 2025
h+h americas will return to the Donald E. Stephens Convention and Conference Center from May 7-9, 2025, and Stern expects further growth. Additionally, industry professionals can find on-demand classes, live content and more on h+h connect, the event’s free digital platform, throughout the year.
“We know why we need live events, but yet I do believe the digital intersection point is still very needed. That content platform where exhibitors can still live, showcase products, have news, [and] people can go back and watch things on-demand because they didn’t get the chance during the show,” Stern added.
Reach Darrin Stern at d.stern@koelnmesse.us.
