Review: ShowBiz Expo Returns to Los Angeles After a Seven Year Break - was it Worth the Wait?

The Film, Stage and ShowBiz Expo is billed as "a five-star event that brings everyone in show business together under one roof." Having been involved in the entertainment industry here in Southern California for almost thirty-five years (twenty-four of them as President of my own company, The Research Department), I had been a fairly regular attendee of this event when it was held annually in Los Angeles up to 2002. Since 2003, Producer Zachary Lezberg had been producing the twice-annual Film, Stage and ShowBiz Expo events only in New York City so I was excited to learn about his plans to "relaunch" the Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center on October 17, 2009.

Personally, I find the benefit of these events to be highly relational to an individual's needs. In a nutshell, the day pretty much becomes what you make it. I always pack plenty of business cards, brochures and a notepad. Don't worry if you forget your pen, you could have at least a half-dozen by the time you clear the first row of exhibitors. More importantly, I bring along a broadly optimistic attitude that goes something like this: if I make a new friend or business connection or reconnect with one old friend plus maybe learn a few new things then I figure it was worth my time.

COMMUNITY GATHERING VS. INDUSTRY EVENT

I had read in a press release that Mr. Lezberg planned to make ShowBiz Expo's return to Los Angeles more directly responsive to today's entertainment professionals. In my opinion, he came pretty close to hitting the mark. I found the vast majority of exhibitors to be relevant to a broad range of the entertainment industry's needs. No, not every aspect of the industry was covered but more often then not I found myself thinking of several other friends or business associates who would have benefited by knowing about a particular vendor even if I couldn't personally use them.

I was impressed by the electronic mini-displays that were set up along one wall and on a special counter, some featuring an artist's music CD while others were running a continuous loop video presentation for a film or product on a large or small screen LCD television. Along another wall, actors and actresses were displaying photos and resumes which I feel was smart commercial use of the space and also just made the space more fun and interesting to browse. I thought the several large bulletin boards that were set up, each given its own focus (items for sale, for rent, services, etc.) where attendees could tack up a business card or brochure was a great idea. Naturally, I had a brochure with me for The Research Department, and so I stuck one up with a few business cards. I checked back a little later and was pleased to see that the brochure was still doing its job and, even more exciting, the business cards needed to be replenished. For me, small details like those bulletin boards that allowed attendees to freely share what they do only helped give ShowBiz Expo more a feeling of being an entertainment "community gathering" rather then the more impersonal "industry event."

THE ONLY WEAK LINK

I arrived at the Expo right around 11am to a very, very long line (think loooong - now double it) but I have to say that once the line started moving we were all heading into the lobby pretty quickly to check-in for our ID badges...and that's where things became a little stressful. I had pre-registered online a couple of weeks before. That was a very straight-forward and easy process - unfortunately, checking-in and obtaining an ID badge wasn't so easy. There were probably a dozen or more computers set up where you were to enter your information - but what information? It appeared that if you entered too much information you could end up re-registering, too little and you couldn't obtain your badge. The "check-in" computers weren't user friendly in that there was no on-screen help displayed or even in printed index card nearby to explain what was required. Fortunately, an Expo staff member showed up, politely apologized for how non-user-friendly the computers were and walked several of us through the process. Once done, we were told to head over to a nearby booth where attendee names were being called and the badges were being printed and passed out.

This is where some attendees became really frustrated and you could hear people grumbling. Names were being called but sometimes it was an attendee's first name and other times it was a last name and because it was so inconsistent people were left wondering "Was that someone's last name? Was that my first name? Why would they call out first names? Did I just miss being called?" So many people had apparently given up trying to figure out the process that I was told many simply entered the Expo without their badge. This left the staff people repeatedly calling out the same names and looking for people who were long gone. It also delayed the process of getting out badges to those of us who were waiting. That left quite a few attendees frustrated before they even entered the Expo room. I'm sure this check-in process can be streamlined in the future. I would have liked to have seen perhaps three computer terminals dedicated to a single badge printer and then have one staff member assigned to assisting attendees at each terminal group. You enter your name, the printer spits out the badge and you're on your way. Maybe next time.

IT STILL WORKED GREAT FOR ME

At ShowBiz Expo 2009 I ended up making at least a half-dozen new business friends, all of whom were decision-makers at large companies that have promised (and in a couple of cases have already taken steps to refer research business to my company). I reconnected with an old friend whom I haven't seen in probably 30 years and he recently sent me an invitation to an industry party. I learned about new production facilities, marketing concepts and methods, databases that will make my day a little easier and on top of that I received discount coupons and promotional codes that offered me great savings on services I already use or plan to use. And if that didn't make the day worthwhile enough I got to sample some delicious cookies and candy that made the time there a little sweeter and scored a cool coffee mug from a vendor I plan to use to boot.

I know there's going to be hardcore fans of the "old" ShowBiz Expos (and it's fair to recognize that there were a few good ones back then, too) but I honestly feel that 2009 is probably the best I've ever attended and was definitely worth the wait. Sure, the check-in process was a weak link but I just refused to allow it to set a poor tone or ruin my attitude for the remainder of the day. ShowBiz Expo was so much fun, so interesting, educational and even profitable from the attendee side of the booth that I'm considering being an exhibitor at the next Los AngelesShowBiz Expo scheduled for April 24th and 25th in 2010. Hope to see you there, too!