Records Without

I just got back from the International Sign Assn.’s (ISA) Sign Expo in Las Vegas. I think it’s time the show extends to four days, or at least three and a half. No way anyone could get through the entire show without a jogging suit.

Given the record numbers for both exhibitors and exhibit booths, the easy assumption would be that the show appeared less crowded than usual. Wrong. The attendance figure of 21,777 obliterated the old record of more than 18,000 by a much bigger percentage (21%) than did Mark McGwire when his 70 home runs beat Roger Maris’ 61 (14%). Even better, as of this writing, the federal government isn’t investigating ISA for steroid use.

So what changed? Did ISA suddenly become the promotional marketing king of the world? Did a technological development spawn a new generation of exhibitors and compel sign companies to attend in droves? Did everyone come to investigate all of the Chinese digital printers? Or did everyone have such a bad winter that the lure of sunny Las Vegas was too tempting? (Strange fact: On the day I arrived, March 29, ISA headquarters in Virginia had higher temperatures than Las Vegas.)

All these facts could have played a role, but the Sign Expo has been the world’s premier sign show for some time. However, shows had seemed a bit lackluster since 9/11, when the double whammy of a bad economy and a terrorist threat sent America’s collective psyche plunging.

Maybe now (gas prices and baseball’s pimpled reputation notwithstanding), things have finally changed for the better. ST won’t get its Electric State of the Industry (SOI) data for another month or so, and the earliest returns have shown only modest growth, but maybe the sign industry has turned the corner, and those giddy years in the ’80s, with double-digit annual growth, may be returning.

In the joyous aftermath, ISA quickly released some impressive data. The 1,647 booth spaces sold represented more than a 10% increase (more than 150) from last year. The 3,710 registered attendees for the Discovery Series seminars evidenced a whopping 78% increase.

In the news release, ISA President and CEO Lori Anderson states, By all reports, sign manufacturers and product suppliers did a significant amount of business at the Expo.”

By one account, a wide-format printer manufacturer sold every machine in its booth. I visited one superlarge-format printer manufacturer that had two six-figure pieces of equipment marked “sold.” At another prominent plotter/printer manufacturer’s customer-appreciation party, the company president announced a sales-volume increase of more than 50% in 2004. Again, as with ISA, is it simply a case of superior products, or are sign companies in a buying mood?

I’d like to think a synergistic cause and effect is at work. Currently, sign companies are optimistic. A light-years’ gap distinguishes mindsets of envisioning growth versus simply controlling costs. A similar underlying premise has forever plagued the sign industry. Are signs fundamentally a societal benefit or a necessary evil?

Because suppliers are selling more equipment and consumables, they’re more comfortable using the money for additional R&D to bring even more capabilities to the market. This allows sign companies, who are selling more and making more money, to reinvest that money into more equipment that allows them to expand their offerings, etc. As John Gann referenced a few months ago, Newton’s Third Law is at work