The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
May 2-5, 2011: New Orleans, LA
REGISTRATION OPENS JUNE 1, 2010 |
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| TOTAL REGISTERED ATTENDEES (As of Friday, February 05, 2010): | 0 |
The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
Do you have ANY |
WELCOME TO THE HOME OF NDREXPO The National Disaster Resource Expo Exhibit Hall B First things first, I am sure most of you who know this event are noting the date of the event... 2011! YES - THIS IS CORRECT! We are waiting until 2011 to have the next event. We do NOT plan on making NDRExpo a bi-annual event. However, we believe it is in the best interest of the event and those organizations who have chosen to support this event that we wait until 2011 for the next event to take place. 1. The 2009 event attendance was dramatically affected by the economic conditions facing the industry. As you know, when faced with a slowing / receding economy, the business sector slices budgets in 3 areas: Business Marketing, Inventory and Supply Chain Management, and Employee Training. These cuts were deeply felt by NDRExpo 2009: Attendance was much lower than expected on the exposition floor due to a reduced size of the buying market. Training and certification enrollment was much lower than expected due to cuts in training budgets. Product / Supply purchases by those attending the event were much lower than expected. Simply put, the state of the economy took a toll on the performance of the 2009 NDRExpo. The index of economic indicators continues to rise, leading economists and economic strategists to believe this recession has bottomed out with recovery around the corner (Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2009). By moving the event to 2011, we believe we are allocating enough time for the economy to begin recovery, allowing us to minimize the negative effects of the economic recession we have been experiencing and maximize the overall attendance in the future. 2. The attendance of the 2009 event was dramatically affected by a misaligned marketing effort. The 2009 NDRExpo Marketing Plan produced over 40 print ads in over 15 industry publications, distributed over 30 e-blasts to BNP Media / NDRExpo database contacts, distributed over 15 international press releases, placed web banner ads on numerous industry web sites, and aligned the event with industry associations and organizations including the Restoration Industry Association (RIA), the Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA), the American Bio-Recovery Association (ABA), The Network and Systems Professionals Association (NaSPA), The Restoration Forum, Rebuilding Together New Orleans, Edwards Disaster Recovery Directory, Homeland Security Today, the Disaster Resource Guide, and more. However, as broad and encompassing as this marketing plan was, the message did not secure the target audience and was mismanaged. It is apparent the message of the event was lost in translation while the majority of the target audience did not receive the message at all, and those who did receive the message learned about the event too late to make arrangements to attend. To address this issue, NDRExpo has secured the services of a major trade show marketing group whose sole purpose with NDRExpo is to assist in devising and delivering the message of the event to the markets we intend to serve. By bringing in an independent 3rd party to assist in these marketing efforts, the market can be evaluated without influence or bias, assisting the NDRexpo team in meeting our marketing and attendance goals, ensuring the message of the event is clear, while delivery of this message is most productive. By moving the dates of the next NDRExpo to 2011, we are able to ensure there is enough time to effectively produce the most impactfull marketing campaign and successfully bring this event to market, in turn producing the quality and quantity of buyers and attendees the NDRExpo supporters expect and demand to see at the event. 3. The conference program presented with the 2009 NDRExpo was created and produced by Imago Trade Shows with suggestions on content and speaker options submitted by BNP Media. Unfortunately the program failed to deliver. Don't get me wrong; the event had some excellent conference content, and provided training and education opportunities with leading industry experts serving the restoration and remediation fields, and received an overall rating of 4 out of 5. However, the program as a whole was not focused, and did not deliver the impact on attendance registration we expected it to deliver. NDRExpo is striving for great conference content; a conference which will deliver opportunity through training and education, and serving all who work within the industry of disaster preparation, response, and recovery. As such, NDRExpo will be working with industry associations as well as Federal and State government agencies to present a conference program expected by the professionals who serve the industry. Conference sessions will include certification programs, state licensing programs, CEC opportunities, and numerous educational sessions all in one conference program. However, it will be designed and produced by industry partners, state organizations, federal organizations, and national associations serving the disaster preparation, response, and recovery industries. In addition, we are in the process of working with industry organizations to co-locate their annual conference events with NDRExpo. This will ensure the presence of hundreds of industry association members at NDRExpo. By moving the event to 2011, we are ensuring enough time for NDRExpo Management and the Federal and State organizations working with us on the event to create a conference program with the content and the educational opportunities NDRExpo attendees demand. In addition, this allows numerous established conference events to co-locate with NDRExpo; events that wish to co locate with NDRExpo but are unable to join us in 2010 due to prior commitments. All in all, the move of NDRExpo from 2010 to 2011 will help us ensure the program we produce hits the mark and exceeds all expectations. There is much hope for this event to succeed throughout the industry we serve. If you have suggestions or comments on how we can better this event, please do not hesitate to drop us a line with your comments and / or suggestions. After all; our goal is to serve you and your industry. in addition, feel free to go to the "Request Info" page and submit your contact information. We will make sure you receive email updates on the event, keeping you in the loop on the upcoming announcements. We are looking forward to the days ahead! Jimmy Mouton ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have not heard, there are many changes taking place with the event. From event co-locations to a new name of the exposition itself (you did notice "Resource", didn't you?), the 2011 exposition promises to bring what was started in 2009 to a whole new level. The MOST DRAMATIC change taking place for NDRExpo 2011 will be the co-location of the Expo with a major industry conference! Unfortunately we are unable to give you more information at this time. However, announcements will be following shortly. What we can say at this time… Why the co-location? Though we had an exceptional show floor presenting some of the most exciting new products and services available to the industry, and a conference program providing a variety of options for the industry professional, it is no secret that the Expo did not achieve desired attendance. This lower-than-expected attendance is directly attributed to 2 major issues: The Economic Conditions at the time of launch, and a marketing effort which did not reach the intended audience. Though we cannot control the economic state of the country and industry, we can change our marketing strategy and program development to ensure maximum industry support. Making the move to blend this expo with a major conference program serving the industry will accomplish this, ensuring target numbers of qualified buyers are on the show floor at NDRExpo. These decision makers will represent federal, state, and local government emergency management offices as well as independent professionals representing emergency management, restoration & remediation, insurance, loss mitigation, and business continuity. In addition, the co-location of NDRExpo will present new marketing opportunities unavailable to the 2009 event. These marketing vehicles will ensure maximum media coverage and exposure throughout the state of Louisiana, the gulf-coast region, and the nation. Bringing new associations in the mix, as well as new government entities presenting unprecedented marketing resources, we should experience maximum attendance. Though we can’t fix the economy overnight, we can address the marketing issues experienced in 2009…. And we believe we have. More information will be released shortly... so STAY TUNED. If you have any questions or just want to talk about the event, drop me a line anytime, and feel free to go to the "Request Info" page and submit your contact information. We will make sure you receive email updates on the event, keeping you in the loop on the upcoming announcements. Thank you for your support and interest in what we are trying to accomplish. We appreciate you! Sincerely, Jimmy Mouton |
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An Imago Trade Shows Production |