Attendance at the National Association of Broadcasters Conference and Expo 2010 (NAB) surpassed expectations when it attained a total pre-registered attendance of 88,044 compared to 2009’s total attendance of 82,650, an increase of more than 6 percent.
Although exhibitor participation remained about the same at about 1,500, exhibit square footage slipped about 5 percent compared to last year.
Held at the Las Vegas Convention Center April 10 –15, NAB is one of the top-five tradeshows nationwide in terms of attendance.
“The uptick in attendance and dazzling technology on display here in Las Vegas demonstrates again the NAB show’s enduring popularity and status as the premiere global event for the content marketplace,” said Dennis Wharton, NAB executive vice president of media relations.
Keep in mind that because an individual pre-registered for a show does not mean the person actually attended the NAB Show.
Total Registered Attendees: 88,044
International Attendees: 23,900
Countries Represented: 156
News Media Attendees: 1,153
Exhibitors: 1,500 (approximately)
International Exhibitors: 497
New Exhibitors: 200
International and news media attendance figures are included in the overall registration number. The figures are based on pre-show and onsite registration. Final registration data will be available at a later date.
Although Wharton did say exhibit square footage was down about 5 percent compared to last year, he did not provide any numbers for comparison. A dip in exhibit square footage came as no surprise to those who have has attended NAB for a number of years.
Aisles were wider, there was more space between exhibits and more lounge areas were strategically added where it appeared exhibitors had dropped out of the show.
“We had more people on the (exhibit hall) floor this year,” Wharton said. “Perception is everything and that (more attendees) will give the exhibitors a good feeling for the foot traffic around their booths. It (more attendees) will help us in terms of exhibit sales for next year so we should have an increase in square footage next year.”
Aleta Walther is a marketing communications professional and freelance writer with several years experience as a corporate exhibit manager. Contact Aleta at aw@waltherstewart.com.
