Strong Fall Home Show Attendance Brings Promise of Successful 2010 Season

Attendance Increases in Marketplace Events' Fall Home Shows

CLEVELAND, OH -- The management team at Marketplace Events is predicting that their 2010 shows will be much stronger than the 2009 season based on solid attendance increases at four of their first five home shows this fall. Shows in Orlando, Calgary, Jacksonville and Toronto, which took place over the last three weekends, all resulted in significantly increased attendance. While the company's show in Chantilly, VA near Washington, DC, did not experience huge growth, exhibitors there still reported strong sales from a highly qualified audience.

Toronto Fall Home Show attendance was up 25% and Calgary attendance was up 30% over last year. In the US, shows in both Orlando and Jacksonville, FL - two markets that have been hit hard by the troubled housing market - were each up an astonishing 37% in attendance. "These attendance gains are very encouraging," explained company CEO Tom Baugh. "Strong attendance in Florida is a very good sign and a great indicator of - what we believe - will be a very strong 2010 for consumer home shows." The Orlando Home Show featured a rare live appearance by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition's Ty Pennington, nevertheless both the Orlando and Jacksonville shows were two of the company's most successful Florida shows in the last five years.

"The show was organized, well presented and best of all, well attended," said Orlando exhibitor Jim Price of Pondtastic Water Gardens. "Every company that decided not to participate in this show due to a sagging economy made a huge mistake. The people were there and they came to spend."

Pennington, spokesperson for all shows produced by Marketplace Events, will next appear at the company's Vancouver Home & Interior Design Show on October 15th. He then heads to Cleveland in for a live appearance at the company's launch of the Great Big Home & Garden Expo, running February 5-14 at the I-X Center in Cleveland, OH. Pennington rounds out his live appearances at Marketplace Events' shows when he appears at Canada's largest home show, The National Home Show in Toronto, which runs February 19-28. Pennington is widely regarded as the most trusted name in home improvement today. Forbes magazine once listed him among their Top 10 list of "most trusted" celebrities and the number one "influencer of purchase decisions."

Marketplace Events will produce 27 home shows in 18 markets across North America, in just eight months from September 2009 through April 2010. "It is a good sign for both home shows and the economy that more people are coming out and spending on their homes at our shows," explained Baugh. Signing on Ty Pennington to serve as the company's spokesperson, is just one of the marketing initiatives that is helping drive attendance upward, according to Baugh. "Our marketing team tests and measures results from every one of our campaigns," he explained, "which allows us to learn, tweak and improve our marketing 27 times each year. With consumer marketing becoming more and more difficult, this definitely gives Marketplace Events a competitive edge."

For a complete listing of home shows produced by Marketplace Events, visit marketplaceevents.com.

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FOR QUESTIONS OR MORE INFORMATION EMAIL info@marketplaceevents.com

Testimonials

"The show went so well for us that each day we hardly had time to pull away from the booth to even grab lunch!! We have done home shows in the past but certainly without this overwhelming response..."
Amy Coleman, DIY Valances, Tampa FL

"What a great Fall Event, great crowds and a "Star" Ty Pennington to build the excitement. It was good to see the "crowds" again, a waiting line to get in and the rush of people when the doors opened!
Jack Green, Closet Factory, Longwood, FL

We closed enough sales week 1 to pay for the show."
Angie Kurrack, Invisible Fence of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 

FROM OUR SPOKESPERSON
TY PENNINGTON:

"This partnership makes a lot of sense for me. People always ask me where they can buy the cool products they see on our show, and the truth is that the best place to find all the basics, plus all the hot new products - all in one place - is at the type of home shows Marketplace Events produces." -Ty Pennington