AmericasMart Advisory Board

As a member of the AmericasMart Advisory Board, one of my responsibilities is to attend three yearly meetings to examine the state of the industry, how the Mart factors into the picture, and to determine what can be done to improve the experience and usefulness of the Mart for buyers, venodrs, and reps. Today, we all entered the room with cautious optimism.

Across the board, there are challenges, but there are also solutions, and AmericasMart University continues to provide them. The registrations numbers were better than expected, as was buyer activity. Building 2WW (West Wing) is a stunning success, having opened with absolutely no hitches or hiccups. Attendees were feeling energized and more positive then when they arrived in Atlanta, in great part due to the extraordinary efforts put forth by AMC to make this winter’s show a “must do.”

Yes, we discussed the (absurd, over-the-top, insanely inflated) attendance rumors of last summer, and agreed that no matter what AMC does, those who take pleasure in a glass half empty will continue to do so, reality be damned. So again, given my NDA as a board member, I can’t quote exact numbers, but I can tell you this: Atlanta printed a truckload of buyer badges, and not one was pre-sent. Warm bodies arrived. Warm bodies bought. And warm bodies made this show a success, in spite of the economy.

Naysayers, eat crow. The Atlanta show just set the bar for the rest of you, and it is high.