Which August Trade Shows Are Worth Your Attention?
Even as we continue to slog through the dog days of summer, this is prime season for trade shows! Many of the best and biggest trade shows around the world happen over the summer, and several of the best are coming up in August.
Whether you’re interested in setting up your own trade show display, attending for educational or networking purposes, or simply waiting for the wrapup to see what happened, these are the trade shows for the next month that should be on your radar. I’ll also throw in a few comments about their websites since, today, your website is one of your single most important tools for promoting expositions and expo appearances.
And, of course, we’ll be providing updates on the most interesting ones as they happen.
So what’s coming up in August? Let’s take a look!
Major August Expositions And Industry Trade Events
BlackHat USA: Las Vegas – July 27 – August 1
Currently just begun, and running through the first of August, BlackHat is the world’s biggest and most important cyber-security conference. Despite the somewhat ominous name, this isn’t a “hacker” convention, at least not any more. If you are in any way involved in computer security, from PCs to home automation, BlackHat is a show you need to pay attention to.
The highlight of the show each year are the demonstrations, where industry professionals highlight system-cracking tools, as well as highlighting how to defend against them. This is very much an open-information zone. Most of the trade show displays at this show are presenting critical security information, and the computer industry is wise to take heed of their warnings.
While their website is a bit stripped down, it contains a wealthy of genuinely good information about the presentations, with multi-paragraph descriptions of each one. It makes it simple for visitors to see which conferences are most worth their time.
The National Professional Service Convention: Tunica, MS – July 29-Aug 2
The biggest convention for service professionals is holding its annual convention in Mississippi this week, with nearly a full week of conferences, lectures, and a full trade show thrown in. The emphasis is on practical matters, such as hotel management and equipment repair, with plenty of companies sending experts to teach on their products. You’ll also find plenty of new equipment for your service-based business as well!
One thing I like about their website is that, on the front page, there are easy links to full photo galleries from several of their past years’ shows. This makes it quick and easy for curious visitors to get a glimpse of what the show is like.
In fact, we strongly recommend anyone looking for booth design ideas to browse these types of show galleries to check out prior year expo displays; watch for what jumps out and grabs your attention – and also watch for what your competitors tend to do. (Don’t copy them, do something different and better!)
And remember to keep photographs from your own past trade shows; these can often be some of your most compelling advertisements!
Fashion Week: Las Vegas – Most of Mid-To-Late August
“Fashion Week” has expanded into a twice-yearly mega-exposition that happens in February and August, often spanning more than the actual week claimed in the name. Less a single event than a series of trade shows scattered around town, fashionistas from around the globe will be descending on Sin City for a festival of decadence.
Headlining the festivities will be the first US show from hot European designer Alex Vinash, whose eclectic style takes the ‘thrift shop’ vibe of youth fashion and makes it global, mixing and matching fashions from around the world.
From August 17-22, there will also be nightly runway shows with a mix of high-fashion, practical, and ready-to-wear designs. While you probably won’t be dressing up your own employees in any of these, the show will provide a big glimpse into the styles of the coming year. This is a great time to start thinking about colors for your upcoming trade show displays, and possibly even for website redesigns.
Regarding their official website, I’m a bit surprised at how slight the available information is. It clearly hasn’t received much attention. Perhaps they figure there’s no need to promote what’s already one of the biggest fashion events of the year.
OFFPRICE Show: Las Vegas, Fashion Week
Without trying to cover every event during Fashion Week, OFFPRICE is probably the event most worth attending for regular businesspeople. While fashion is still the focus, this is the show that connects buyers directly up with suppliers, making it the perfect place to order all your clothing needs for the upcoming year.
The trade show booths here are full of everything from uniforms to casualwear; there’s something here for everyone. If you’d like to see more of what OFFPRICE has to offer, they have free quarterly magazines, downloadable as PDFs, to help show off what’s in store.
VISIONS Women’s Expo: Dallas, TX – August 23-25
The longest-running expo in the US dedicated solely to women’s products is hosting its 24thannual show, at the Dallas Market Hall. The display stands here will be featuring a wide mix of products – 
household items, technology, fashion, and more. This three-day affair features a stage and live entertainment as well, although currently their acts are still TBA. Based on previous years, at least one late-night dance party is likely.
One-on-one meetings are more of a focus here, with plenty of interactive sessions between experts and the public on a wide range of issues, from health to finance. Spa treatments will be available as well!
One thing surprised me about their website – they managed to ‘break’ my personal rule about never having audio auto-play on a site. Rather than having a straight movie, there’s a small overlay of a woman “standing” on the page, talking to you directly. I found that much more interesting and personally involving than the usual canned video presentation.
Perhaps that’s something you can work into your own trade show display promotions!
Home Design And Remodeling Show: Miami, FL – Aug 30-Sep 3.
Homeshow puts on several trade shows in Florida throughout the year, with their August show being the biggest. Expect tens of thousands of attendees and hundreds of exhibit displays covering every possible form of home furnishing you can imagine.
Besides being one of the best opportunities for home design vendors to reach out to the public directly, this is also a great opportunity for picking up office furniture and installations as well! This show is one of the trendsetters in interior design, and there’s something here for anyone who needs furniture.
Their website deserves special notice for being quite well laid-out. It doesn’t do anything fancy, but the design uses a nice mix of sidebars, delineated sections of information, and even a small (optional) video, all on the front page. I’ve rarely seen a trade show website that is so effective at presenting why someone should attend a show, and it’s practically a model for similar websites to follow.
(Placing a pop song under the video is especially smart, as having catchy music in an online video is one of the single best ways to encourage people to share it. Try it yourself!)
Well, there are plenty more shows in August, but those are the highlights. We’ll be bringing updates as they happen, and looking forward to more great trade shows throughout the rest of the year!
For more, check out how to find your trade show why or how to pick the right trade shows.