by Chase
It’s hard to believe that summer break for my kids has almost passed. My attention now turns to getting them ready for back to school and I start to map out conferences and events to attend this fall.
Fall and early winter are busy times for the construction industry for trade shows, conferences and development. Traditionally, the winter months were slow for progress on projects and end of year wrap up for many vendors. From my perspective, the past five years however, has seen this perception change across the industry. Warmer weather and less snow has allowed many projects to continue full speed ahead and the slow down period, felt formerly by the industry, has almost disappeared.
The only slow period I see is for a few weeks between Christmas and the first week of January with people enjoying the holidays and vacations. Once the second week of January arrives, it is hard to stay on top of things.
The first show I am trying to balance family, personal responsibilities and work life around is Win- Door North America running Nov. 15 to 17 at a new venue and location in Montreal. New show organizers and the new location promise to revamp the show and allow me the opportunity for a nice getaway.
The next trip I will be attending is Construct Canada Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 in Toronto. The show attracts 20,000 plus visitors and allows me to connect with existing and previous clients over the days rather easily compared with having to travel the province throughout the year to see them. The show will also include the Concrete Ontario Awards dinner and the annual profile we produce on the winners.
The last show I am trying to schedule in is the Toronto Wood Solutions Fair at the Allstream Centre on Nov. 17. The show is very specialized for our publications and, with the recent changes to building codes around mid-rise five or even six-storey structures, this could be an expanding source for articles, leads and business over the next few years.
With each trade show, attendance comes down to one thing – return on investment of time, resources and money. So over the next few weeks I will be presenting business cases and proposed budgets for shows to justify attending based on maintaining relationships and also generating new ones at the same time.
What industry events are you attending this fall and winter? What shows are your associations or companies hosting? Share the details with me and we can provide coverage and even try to get out and attend them ourselves.
Chase is the director of marketing and client relations for the Construction News and Report Group, as well as the associate publisher for the GTA Construction Report, Ontario Construction Report and the Canadian Design and Construction Report. He currently serves on the Niagara Construction Association board of directors and also volunteers in his community as the sponsorship director for the Niagara Spears Football Association.
If you have any recommendations or suggestions on changes you would like to make for the publication, please contact him at ( 905) 228-1151, by email chase@cnrgp.com or visit www.gtaconstructionreport.com.
