(Exhibit Manager Jean Edwards coauthored this article.)
A trade show lasts only a few days, but our work for each one starts about a year in advance. As the Human Kinetics exhibits managers, our role is to manage every detail that goes into our participation in trade shows. We administer all of the arrangements and oversee planning for each event. Putting an exhibit together is truly a team effort and involves our collaboration with virtually every department at Human Kinetics—marketing, sales, graphic design, tech, fulfillment, finance, and shipping, to name a few.
Each year our strategic planning begins with the consideration of hundreds of potential events in which to participate. Human Kinetics takes part in large events such as Book Expo America, Frankfurt Book Fair, ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) Annual Meeting, NATA (National Athletic Trainers Association), SHAPE (Society of Health and Physical Educators) America National Convention, as well as smaller meetings and conferences. We consider each event based on criteria such as our new titles and products to promote, Human Kinetics’ relationship with the sponsoring organization, and activity within the state such as textbook adoptions.
We work with marketing staff to select the appropriate titles to send to each event. When program information is available in advance, we ensure that authors’ titles are sent to the show in support of their presentations. We craft each book list to cater to the audience at each event. We also work with Journals division staff to coordinate editorial board meetings at their corresponding conferences.
In April we exhibited at the SHAPE America (formerly AAHPERD) National Convention in St. Louis. Over 4,000 people attended this event. Human Kinetics is the official publisher of SHAPE America, and one of our new products this year was the SHAPE America title National Standards & Grade-Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education. We also showcased the newly released sixth edition of Fitness for Life. We look forward to this convention every year because it is always an excellent opportunity to connect with customers, authors, and partners.
The ACSM Annual Meeting is one of the largest trade shows that we exhibit at each year. ACSM continues to be a key academic show, allowing us to strengthen our relationship with ACSM, authors, and faculty. Human Kinetics’ name is well known and respected by attendees, which is evident by the record sales we just had at ACSM in May. By exhibiting at ACSM, we are able to showcase our newest resources in exercise science, proving that Human Kinetics is the best in the field.
We enjoy our positions as exhibits managers because we work with so many great people, and our jobs are never the same day to day. The fact that we have been at Human Kinetics as exhibits managers for seven years (Julie) and eight years (Jean) is evidence of this.
Here are the tradeshow exhibits that we have planned for the current fiscal year:
American Volleyball Coaches Association Spring Conference, attendance 300
American Baseball Coaches Association Annual Convention, attendance 4,800
National Strength and Conditioning Association Coaches Conference, attendance 675
American Football Coaches Association Annual Convention, attendance 675
Illinois Marathon Expo, attendance 20,000
Frankfurt Book Fair, attendance 280,000
Beijing International Book Fair, attendance 200,000
Book Expo America, attendance 28,000
Society of Health and Physical Educators America National Convention, attendance 4,500
Arizona Association for Health, Physical Education, Health, Recreation, and Dance Annual Conference, attendance 250
California Association for Health, Physical Education, Health, Recreation, and Dance Annual Conference, attendance 800
Du Page County Physical Education Day, attendance 1,200
Eastern District (of SHAPE) Convention, attendance 1,200
Florida Association for Health, Physical Education, Health, Recreation, and Dance Annual Conference, attendance 600
Illinois Association for Health, Physical Education, Health, Recreation, and Dance Annual Conference, attendance 3,000
Maryland Association for Health, Physical Education, Health, Recreation, and Dance Annual Conference, attendance 800
National Physical Education Institute, attendance 350
National Dance Education Organization National Conference, attendance 500
New Jersey Association for Health, Physical Education, Health, Recreation, and Dance Annual Conference, attendance 1,400
New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Health, Recreation, and Dance Annual Conference, attendance 1,400
Society for Public Health Education, attendance 600
Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Health, Recreation, and Dance Annual Conference, attendance 2,300
Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Health, Recreation, and Dance Summer Conference, attendance 2,000
Texas Secondary Elementary Administrators Summit, attendance 100
Virginia Association for Health, Physical Education, Health, Recreation, and Dance Annual Conference, attendance 600
Wisconsin Health and Physical Education Convention, attendance 750
Aquatic Exercise Association/International Aquatic Fitness Conference, attendance 800
Association of Aquatic Professionals Conference, attendance 200
World Waterpark Symposium, attendance 600
Illinois Park & Recreation Association/Illinois Association of Park Districts Conference, attendance 4300
National Recreation and Park Association Congress, attendance 7000
American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting, attendance 5500
North American Society for Sport Management Conference, attendance 573
North American Society of Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity Conference, attendance 450
National Athletic Trainers Association Annual Meeting, attendance 15,000
American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Annual Meeting, attendance 1100
Association of Applied Sport Psychology Annual Conference, attendance 950
North American Society for Sociology of Sport Conference, attendance 250
American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections Meeting, attendance 9000
Collegiate & Professional Sports Dietitians Association Conference, attendance 300
Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutritionists Symposium, attendance 300
National Strength and Conditioning Association National Conference, attendance 1725
Club Industry Show, attendance 4200
NSCA Personal Trainer Conference, attendance 425
ACSM Health and Fitness Summit, attendance 895
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