The PPAI Expo, presented by Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), was recognized as the 53rd top ranking U.S. trade show on the 2013 Trade Show Executive magazine’s list of the Gold 100 at the annual awards and summit held September 18-20, 2013, at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point, Calif. The rankings, published in the September special issue of TSE, are based on a three-part, same-show comparison including show size, growth and attendance as well as innovation, social media practices, green initiatives, global participation and economic impact. The PPAI Expo has been ranked in the top tier of the Gold 100 since the ranker’s inception in 2007.
“The PPAI Expo continues to be a top ranked U.S. trade show and the promotional products industry’s premier event because it is so much more than a trade show,” said Paul Bellantone, CAE, president and CEO of PPAI. “It is everything that promotional products businesses and industry professionals need to kick off the year strong with tandem access to the largest buyer and seller market, industry-relevant events and advanced education with unmatched economies of scale. The sustained recognition of the Trade Show Executive Gold 100 ranking both demonstrates and validates that we are succeeding in our mission to create value while growing the visibility, viability, credibility and community of the promotional products industry.”
“Being named to the Trade Show Executive Gold 100 again this year is a tremendous honor for everyone at PPAI,” said Darel Cook, director of expositions for PPAI. “Producing a best-in-class trade show that makes a tangible impact on the future of a highly effective advertising medium, the flourishing Las Vegas market and an entire industry is an incredibly rewarding undertaking for us all.”
North America’s largest international promotional products trade show at a million-plus square feet, The PPAI Expo was held January 4-6, 2012, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The PPAI Expo brought 10,178 distributors under one roof for the five-day event and featured more than 1,348 exhibiting companies occupying 319,000 net square feet of exhibit space at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. With a total of more than 18,376 participants, the overall non-gaming economic impact of The PPAI Expo 2012 was estimated at more than $17 million by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
The shows held in 2012 that make up the sixth annual Trade Show Executive Gold 100 tallied a total of 43,606,242 net square feet (nsf), a increase from the 2011 events, which topped 42,458,142 nsf.
“The shows that make up the sixth annual Gold 100 reflected a growing confidence among buyers and sellers that the economy was indeed improving and it was an opportune time to invest,” said Darlene Gudea, president of Trade Show Executive Media Group. “As 2013 winds to a close, the prospects for the Gold 100 appear to be a continuation of the same steady growth that with a little luck, could become more spectacular in time for the next Gold 100 roster to be assembled.”
For more information about The PPAI Expo 2014 to be held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, January 13-17, 2014, visit www.expo.ppai.org.
