Effective April 23, the show's opening day, Rob Whitman will begin his term as PSDA board president, a position most recently occupied by IBF president and COO Tressa McLaughlin. In addition to serving on the board of directors for the last five years, Whitman is president of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania-based distributor Innovative Print & Media Group Inc.
Helping distributors find solutions to grow their business has always been one of PSDA's core missions. According to Whitman, this starts at the show level. For 2014, PSDA turned to Smart Advantage, a marketing and management consultancy based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The firm conducted a blind study surveying existing PSDA members as well as prospects and nonmembers to learn what attracts them to an event. The answer? Product diversification-an area that Whitman intends to address.
"PSDA has traditionally been a forms, labels and tags association and, obviously, distributors are taking a product portfolio to the marketplace that now includes a lot more services in the marketing suite," he remarked. "My focus as president will be to try to diversify the product portfolio that we offer to the distributors and provide education and networking opportunities, along with connectivity to manufacturers so that they can have a greater representation of suppliers and services that they take to customers."
Once again, attendees can take advantage of the Expo's solution zones, where top industry leaders will deliver educational presentations on: marketing and technology; packaging and direct mail; signage, display and wide format; and promotional products. (Visit www.distributorsolutions.org for the complete schedule.) This year PSDA welcomes 18 new exhibitors, two of which are:
- Four51, a leader in B2B technology and services delivering web-to-print and e-commerce capabilities.
- Regency Business Solutions, a top supplier of office supplies, furniture, paper shredding, Keurig coffee brewers and supplies, certified e-waste management and toner replenishment.
Another change to the 2014 Expo centers on location. The association has opted to hold the two-day event at Hyatt Regency Chicago, the official conference hotel. Several issues were behind the decision.
"One of the biggest values to a trade show event is the networking opportunity. When people are traveling back and forth between the hotel and actual trade show venue it kind of takes away the ability for people to network effectively," Whitman said, referring to the show's previous venue, Navy Pier. "Having everything self-contained in the hotel where most people will be staying [...] will create greater connectivity for people to go in and out of the showroom floor while they continue to do their jobs, and at the same time facilitate a better networking experience." Of course, it also saves money, he added.
Whitman believes the biggest thing attendees should take away from the 2014 Distributor Solutions Expo is "an understanding and knowledge around how they can grow their business."
"Whether that's through new product ideas that they receive on the showroom floor or whether it's through the educational format that we provide," Whitman said. "[Based on] some of the data that we received, companies that have been engaged in the PSDA have had much more success in growing their organizations than their peers who haven't participated.
"So at the end of the day, it's all about providing people with the tools, the education and the networking opportunities that enable them to figure out opportunities to grow their companies and bring something new and relevant to their customers," he continued.
Looking ahead, 2015 promises more excitement. Association management will finally be free of contracts inherited long ago, allowing room for flexibility. "Next year gives us the opportunity to evaluate either different venues geographically or different set-ups for the trade show, as well as potentially even consider co-locating with other events that might be aligned with our mission," he commented.
Whitman admitted that the success of PSDA's most recent CEO Summit has given the board something to consider in terms of show intimacy. "[February's] CEO Summit had record attendance again in 2014. Attendance has grown year over year for four straight years, although this year was the best attendance it's had in years," he noted. "We got a great deal of feedback on the success of that event and certainly are determining whether smaller, more boutique-like events are what we need to focus on versus the larger trade show."
In the meantime, come see the best of the industry during the following exhibit hours: 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on April 23; and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 24.