What to Expect at Home & Garden Shows: A Conversation With Marketplace Events
Note: this is a transcript from our recent AHA interview. If you would like to watch the full video, check out our content studio page. This interview is also available as a podcast episode – find it here.
Steve Stack:
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Starting at Marketplace Events
Steve Stack:
Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I’m Steve Stack coming to you live from Studio 3B at Baird Brothers Fine Hardwoods with another episode of American Harwood Advisor. Today, we have two guests who we’ve been friends with for the past 13 or 14 years. Welcome, Rosanna and Cathy from Marketplace Events.
We came to know each other through one of the major spring events in Cleveland, Ohio: The Great Big Home & Garden Show. Rosanna, I’ll start with you. Tell us about yourself and your tenure with Marketplace Events.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Sure. I started with a company called DMG, which actually turned into Marketplace Events after they sold. We always did events, but now we’re more involved with holiday shows and wedding shows. Although, we still mostly do Home & Garden Shows. I’ve worked as a group manager, a show manager and a national sponsorship manager. We have 70 shows across the US and Canada. It’s been a great ride. My 17 years here have been amazing.
Steve Stack:
As Baird Brothers has grown from the Youngstown market to now serving all 50 states, we’ve talked about starting to do national shows. We don’t have to look any further than Marketplace Events.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
You’re absolutely right. We’re in the major markets. Honestly, it’s about finding the right venues, advertising properly and getting the people in. That’s the whole premise of it. Our mission statement is to get buyers and sellers together, face-to-face.
Steve Stack:
There’s also my friend Cath here. Cathy’s my go-to girl for the Cleveland Home & Garden.
Cathy Berthold:
Yes.
Steve Stack:
She is our direct representative through Marketplace Events. Where has the time gone?
Cathy Berthold:
I know. We’re getting old. We’re getting into our golden years here.
Steve Stack:
You have an extended tenure with Marketplace Events as well.
Cathy Berthold:
I just celebrated 13 years here. I came aboard when Marketplace Events was awarded the contract to run the Home & Garden Show at the I-X Center. They needed to put a team together. I was very happy to join. I just had my 20th anniversary as a recruiter and headhunter with a huge international search firm and temporary staffing agency. My boss there said, “I’m going to leave and go work for Marketplace. Do you want to come with me?” I said, “Sure. Why not?” So I came aboard as one of the first core foundation teams for outreach and sales. That’s where I spend my time and where we met 13 years ago on a phone call.
Steve Stack:
Roughly, how many exhibitors do you have at the Great Big Home & Garden Show?
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Over 650. Because of COVID, this past year we had a little bit less. But 650+ exhibitor companies on the show floor.
Steve Stack:
With exhibitors, Baird Brothers included, there are always hiccups. Cathy, you’re always a phone call or text away.
Cathy Berthold:
Oh yeah. Constantly.
Steve Stack:
And you have 650 kids to babysit.
Cathy Berthold:
Actually, about half of that because we have someone else, too. Our colleague, Reese, takes care of the other half. But we pinch hit. If Reese’s client needs something and she’s not available or vice versa, we help each other out.
Steve Stack:
Oh, yeah. You cross over.
Cathy Berthold:
Yeah. You know Reese just as much as you know the two of us, right?
Steve Stack:
Right. That’s the beauty of it. Whether it’s a Baird Brothers problem, “Oh, I need electricity extended,” whatever it is, you guys are always on-site from the week prior, setting up, throughout the show and then through dismantling.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Yeah. It’s about 19 days. Typically we have a stick-built home too, which is really 45 days before. We’re there the whole time, from morning till night. From move in to move out and during the show.
Serving Both the Exhibitor and the Homeowner
Steve Stack:
That’s when you’ve crossed your first hurdle. Then you have to attend to the general public.
Cathy Berthold:
Yeah. We have two customers. We have you and then we have the 100,000+ people that come and walk through our show that we have to take care of.
Steve Stack:
The consumers.
Cathy Berthold:
Customer service is obviously enormous in our industry. In fact, that’s one thing that some of the exhibitors have said to us over the years, “We do other shows and you never see the sales team or the show team. They’re not really out.” But I live to be on the show floor. I mean, I want to be out with all of you and the customers. I want to see what’s going on, put out fires if I need to, and have fun.
Steve Stack:
That’s it. I know for a fact that this year was the first Cleveland Home & Garden Show that I missed in probably over 20 years.
Cathy Berthold:
Wow.
Steve Stack:
In fact, I’m thinking it’s closer to 23. We’ve seen it change, but I’ll say one thing. Since you, Cathy, have been our team contact, you come by the booth every day just to say hi.
You have your three notebooks stacked up and your phone up to your ear.
Cathy Berthold:
I always have that binder.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
I know. She leaves it sometimes. I’m surprised.
Steve Stack:
That’s so important and that’s why Baird Brothers Fine Hardwoods has the relationship that we have with Marketplace Events. Through COVID, we just picked up the phone to call and talk.
Cathy Berthold:
Yes. Right.
Steve Stack:
We wanted to see how everybody was.
Cathy Berthold:
I know.
From Fairgrounds to Expo Centers
Steve Stack:
At Baird Brothers, we work hard like that to develop relationships with our customers and the same can be said of you guys.
Cathy Berthold:
I felt bad during COVID because we, as a company and a team, help out on other markets and shows. As much as I wanted to call all my clients and say, “How are you?” and chit-chat, I didn’t have time. I was helping with our Northern Virginia, Austin shows or Philadelphia shows. So, there was a time when I thought, “How come none of my clients are calling us to say, ‘Hey, where are you guys? Why aren’t you bugging me to renew my booth?'” It was just a matter of time and resources. So, it was fun when we finally got the green light to go ahead and get everyone called and back on the show floor.
Steve Stack:
Wasn’t it exciting to be in front of an audience again this past spring?
Cathy Berthold:
Oh, yes.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Absolutely. It felt so good. I really couldn’t wait. We didn’t even know we were going back until the end of August last year.
Cathy Berthold:
To the I-X Center.
Steve Stack:
Then they threw another curveball. They threw a late fall/early winter show at you.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Yes. We were lucky enough to produce the Christmas Connection. We actually did it with IRG (Industrial Realty Group), the new management company. We put that on in just a few months. We learned about it really early in September and the show was in early November. So, we only had a few months to do it. But, we did it and it was awesome.
Cathy Berthold:
Yeah, it was crazy.
Steve Stack:
The management team has shifted gears and has changed up at the I-X Center. You guys have to be excited. From the articles I’ve read, this new group is very proactive concerning the venue that we know as the I-X Center.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Yes.
Steve Stack:
Can you give us some teasers of what might be in the works for the old I-X Center?
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Sure. So, they are removing that Ferris wheel.
Cathy Berthold:
The iconic Ferris wheel is coming down.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
I think they’re starting construction on that very soon. Then in that spot, they are going to build this huge wall and call it “The Great Wall of Cleveland.” The entrance into the show is going to switch gears. We’re going to come in through the east entrance versus the west entrance. They had both before, but now the west entrance will be storage. It’s really good for the I-X Center as well as the management company because it’s a revenue stream for them. They see the importance of having an event center. It will still be there, just a little bit different. We’re so excited. I actually have a little map of the new floor plan. We’re excited to actually put that out and start selling it next week.
Cathy Berthold:
The new management company is investing $50 million in enhancements, renovations, and development around the building, right?
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
They’re actually doing it in phases. Phase one is taking down the Ferris wheel, putting up that Great Wall of Cleveland, and separating it out. They’re also going to be putting in some new electrical and new bathrooms. The first phase is going to make it so that we can obviously have an event and come in through the east entrance. Because the east entrance doesn’t have the parking capabilities as the west, they will figure out whether they might have to use some type of little trolley, bus or shuttle over to the east entrance. All-in-all, their focus is to make this a wonderful event center and we’re excited about it.
Steve Stack:
I’ve seen a trolley system at other venues like the Orlando Convention Center. They have other means to get you from the parking lot to the entrances.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
It’s certainly not abnormal at all. I don’t know which phase, but they are going to make the east parking lot larger. But you know how big the I-X Center is and how big the grounds are. Right now, they actually have a circus tent out in the parking lot. They’re actually having a circus there.
Steve Stack:
I haven’t heard that. That’s interesting.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
I could not believe how big this tent was out in the parking lot. It was just amazing.
Cathy Berthold:
Yeah, I hadn’t heard either.
Steve Stack:
That brings me to a point and a compliment. I hadn’t heard about the circus coming to Cleveland, but everybody in Cleveland knows when the Home & Garden Show is coming to Cleveland.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Oh, they better.
Steve Stack:
Because of your efforts and your advertising campaign. You use every medium possible.
Cathy Berthold:
Yes.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
We do. We have a great marketing team. I can’t even tell you. They’re the best I’ve ever seen. We use about $325,000 on our marketing. The promotional value is probably more like $800,000 in value. We do TV, radio, social media, and print. Everything compliments each other. They definitely know what they’re doing when it comes to buying. If TV is not as popular, they’ll move the budget over. They’ll make sure that we saturate that market at least six weeks before the show. And it’s saturated.
Adjusting the Expo
Steve Stack:
We have a couple of on-site events that we host here at Baird Brothers. During COVID, we had to shy away from that and shift gears. We had to replace that revenue stream. I know over the 20 months or so, you guys were all dead in the water when it came to trade shows or home shows. You guys were at work. I know one of the things you implemented this year at The Great Big Home & Garden Show in Cleveland was a paperless ticket program. How’d that work out for you guys?
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
It worked out well. Anytime you introduce something new, there will always be a few little challenges and hurdles to overcome. All in all, most of the people were pretty excited about it. It’s easier to send something to a friend digitally versus physically having it and trying to figure out how you’re going to get it to somebody. Yeah, it worked great.
Cathy Berthold:
There’s less waste. We used to have thousands of paper tickets that we would allocate to every vendor. Unfortunately, some of them wouldn’t use them and we’d dump them at the end of the show. It’s heartbreaking. Now everything is paperless so you use the tickets if you need them. If you choose not to, there’s no waste.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Some people still like the paper ones, which we definitely have. We’ll mail them or do whatever they want to make sure they get their ticket.
Steve Stack:
There are pros and cons to it. In the past with the paper tickets, I would get my tickets at the counter then I would have a stack of envelopes and I’d run them down to will call. In effect, that saved me time because I’m on whatever device I want to be on and I’m pushing them to our guests.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Right. It’s a little easier.
Steve Stack:
If my guest shows up with their phone, they get admitted to the building. They’re still coming to my booth, so I haven’t lost that personal contact. I’m still making that personal contact in the end. Having just traveled recently, the only thing you need to get through the airport is your driver’s license and your phone with your ticket on it, right?
Cathy Berthold:
Right.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Yep.
Steve Stack:
It’s the same premise.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Yeah.
Cathy Berthold:
It’s the way it is right now. During the really hard lockdown period where we couldn’t function in live events, we did beef up our online interactive exhibitor list. Now, every vendor in our show gets a full page dedicated to their business. We’ve always had it, but we added way more bells and whistles. You can put all your social media, your BBB link, and your website was always there. You can upload video content and images of your projects, work or services. It became our virtual showroom when we couldn’t have live events. We did try a little digital media to drive people to our website so they could still shop with our vendors. There was no extra fee for that, it’s included in the cost of the booth that they purchased the year before we thought COVID was happening.
Steve Stack:
Well, that’s it. It was actually an added value.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Definitely.
Cathy Berthold:
Yeah.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
It’s so easy to go to our website and plan your day. It’s all by category.
Cathy Berthold:
Yeah, it’s nice.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Somebody can put in windows, siding, roofing or whatever they want, then all the different companies will come up. They can research and actually plan their day before they even come to the show. At the time that we did it, we were promoting a lot of the holiday shows. We had an actual store where people can order products from our website. It was great because so many local vendors, especially with the Christmas show, made wreaths and things like that. It really did provide support of local businesses when COVID was taking over.
Steve Stack:
Oh, definitely.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
It was very helpful.
Steve Stack:
Yeah. Getting back to the conventional Great Big Home & Garden Show that we’re used to, talk about your vendors. I’ve experienced it. I know. It’s anything from nuts and bolts to food, home improvement, to lawn and garden. You cover the gamut. Tell us about that.
Cathy Berthold:
Yeah, this show is unique because it’s what we call categorized. If you look at our floor plan, it’s color-coded. Green was our lawn and garden section. Blue was remodeling, construction and renovation. Then we had this one section that I call “anything goes.” Because our show is mass attended by a very strong demographic of consumers, we allow people in the show who want to be in front of that audience as long as we have space for them.
Our core vendors (remodelers, construction, and landscapers) are the premise of the show, so we always have to focus on them first. But as long as there is room available, people love coming to this miscellaneous section because they could discover things. We do have that in this particular show. We also have a very fun little cash and carry marketplace for some of the crafters, jewelry makers, and things like that. But the premise is home, garden, remodeling, renovation, home design, kitchens, baths, basements, outdoor living, et cetera.
Steve Stack:
We fall in a product category where homeowners are not going to take it home from The Great Big Home & Garden Show that day. We’ve always approached it as being in front of the people like a branding event. I’m not selling beef jerky that they’re taking home with them. But I will say, I have had firsthand experience of being at the show and working our booths, talking to people, and two years later, they’re back at The Great Big Home & Garden Show with a set of blueprints saying, “Hey, we’re breaking ground this year.”
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Yep.
Cathy Berthold:
Yeah, we hear a lot of those stories.
Steve Stack:
It’s the front end, back end and everything in between.
Cathy Berthold:
Networking is important for Baird Brothers. There are other contractors and designers there that are either in the show or walking the aisles as a visitor. Anyone walking around could be a general contractor or work in interior design. They might network with you to spec your products in their projects or jobs.
My girlfriend came to the show with her husband and I said, “What are you looking for?” She said, “We need doors. I hate our doors.” I walked them over to your booth and introduced them to your team. They spent 30 minutes or so with your guys. Both parties thanked me; my friend thanked me and your team thanked me.
Steve Stack:
I was at another obligation in Orlando when our sales representative texted me saying, “Hey, Cathy just brought friends over. They’re looking for doors.”
Cathy Berthold:
Right. It’s nice that we know the vendors because we can help the consumer and anyone that is looking for something. We’re like walking encyclopedias about what’s on the show floor.
Steve Stack:
You know your floor plan inside and out.
Cathy Berthold:
Yes, very much so.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
It’s really inspiring for people when they come to the show. They might not have a project in mind, but all of a sudden they see something. When they walk through the house, they might see something that interests them. They’re walking through the gardens and all of a sudden they see something that they think would be so great in their backyard. It really does inspire people to start projects. It’s definitely something to give people thoughts and ideas. That’s the reason why people show up.
Cathy Berthold:
I invite a bunch of prospects to come by, and I always call and ask, “Did you come to the show?” I love it when they say, “Yeah, I’m mad at you.” I ask, “Why?” They say, “I spent $2,500 that I didn’t expect to spend on a playset or a hot tub.” They’re like, “I didn’t go to the show to buy that, but it was there and I fell in love so I made a purchase.”
Steve Stack:
It happens.
Cathy Berthold:
That happens all day, every day at our show.
Steve Stack:
Exactly. I don’t recall what year it was, but I walked home with a new cutlery set.
Cathy Berthold:
And it’s not cheap cutlery.
Steve Stack:
I had seen it for ten days and it’s like, “Okay.”
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
“I’ve got to have it.”
Steve Stack:
“It’s got to go home.”
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Right.
Steve Stack:
Three years ago, the last thing I needed was another outdoor grill.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
“I’ve got to have it.”
Steve Stack:
Guess what came home from Cleveland with me? We see the same thing, we even have a little tagline: inspiration starts here.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
It does.
Steve Stack:
You’re right. You walk through the gardens and they’re gorgeous.
If you don’t come out of there with some ideas, you must have been walking through blindfolded. It’s the same thing with the show floor. The Home & Garden Show, the holiday shows, the wedding shows. You have different audiences, but I have to believe there are a lot of crossover audiences, too.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Oh, absolutely, yes. We advertise to both of them. We crisscross to make sure that they get ticket deals. The people that came to the Christmas Connection will get a deal to the Home & Garden Show and vice versa to make sure that they come to both shows. We want them to come to the shows because we know that they enjoy it and they get inspired by them. So why not, right?
Steve Stack:
We see the same thing with our guest passes and tickets. I look forward to coming to Cleveland every year. I was a rep in the Cleveland market for more than 20 years. I still have customers of 20 to 30 years who have never been to Canfield, Ohio. In changing positions and not being in the field every day, now I go to the Cleveland Home & Garden Show and it’s like a family reunion for me.
Cathy Berthold:
I was going to say, it has to be a reunion for you. Lots of mini-reunions.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Yes. It’s a good feeling.
Steve Stack:
It really is. As you guys do, we work hard at building and maintaining those relationships. The Great Big Cleveland Home & Garden Show is a great place to do it.
Returning to the Expo Post-COVID
Steve Stack:
How tough was managing through COVID?
Cathy Berthold:
It was rough.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
It was. I still remember the beginning. We were getting ready for the Cleveland Home and Remodeling Show in 2020. We were brought into our conference room and told, “Listen, this is bigger than what we can handle. We’re going to just take two weeks off.” That’s what our boss told us. Two weeks off and we’ll just communicate, but we’re not going to run the Cleveland Home and Remodeling Expo. We’re going to have to shut that down. I’m thinking, “All right, two weeks. That’s not so bad. It’s going to be fine.” Well, that two weeks obviously turned into almost two years when you think about it.
A lot of us were furloughed and then brought back slowly. Coming back was great, but it still wasn’t the same until we could actually have an event and be face to face again. We started coming back slowly to some of the markets. It was good to see, but everybody was wearing masks and it was different. Everything was different.
I’m just so happy to see that things have changed for the better. Obviously, attendee wellness and making sure things are safe is our first concern. I’m glad that Marketplace Events took all the precautions, making sure that we’re following all the venue rules and state rules. We would’ve done anything to get back, but at the same time, we wanted to make sure everybody was safe and healthy.
Cathy Berthold:
It was such a fine line to walk, too. Right?
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Yeah.
Cathy Berthold:
Because we might have felt one way, but then the venue might have had another rule. Or, usually, the county health departments had rules.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
County health department. Right.
Cathy Berthold:
It’s tough because, in our industry, our revenue comes from selling every inch of our show square footage. We couldn’t sell for a full season. Everything that we do to generate revenue was taken away from us. So as they brought us back, that’s why I was helping out and in all these other markets because, luckily with my skill set, I was able to just dive right in.
The first show that I worked on was the first fall show of last year, which was in Austin, Texas. The struggle we had working on that was getting companies to come back. However, the biggest reason why they couldn’t come back to the Home & Garden Show was that they were too busy and short-staffed.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Or the product.
Cathy Berthold:
Or they couldn’t get the product.
Steve Stack:
Supply issues.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Right.
Cathy Berthold:
They weren’t saying, “I’m not coming this year and I’m never coming back again.” They said, “I can’t come back this year.” Plus, we only gave them a few months’ notice with the late announcement. With all of those factors, we still ended up with over 400 companies on the show floor, which I think was very respectable.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Pretty amazing.
Cathy Berthold:
Yeah. It was a nice show, right?
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Yeah.
Cathy Berthold:
The good news, though, is that even though overall attendance was down (because consumers were still a little hesitant), those that came to it all needed something. If we had a 100,000 headcount before COVID and we had 85,000 after, my clients got more (and more qualified) leads this year than they had gotten in 2020. It just goes to show you that the audience was very concentrated and they needed work. They needed things.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
They needed the products.
Steve Stack:
We experienced that firsthand locally, regionally and nationally. Our local Home Builders Association Show had good consumer support. Folks show up at the Great Big Home & Garden Show in Cleveland. Numbers may have been down, but people were talking.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
That’s right.
Steve Stack:
I recognized it on the national level at the International Builders Show in Orlando. It was only about three-quarters the size that it normally is, but the people that came were there on a mission.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Right.
Cathy Berthold:
Right.
Steve Stack:
It’s kind of self-leveling.
Cathy Berthold:
I’m constantly trying to invite new people in and I always tell them what I believe is true. A lot of consumers are experiencing trouble getting a contractor to call them back, let alone get on their calendar.
What better way to get in front of a reputable firm than to go to the Home & Garden Show?
Steve Stack:
Right.
Cathy Berthold:
There will certainly be somebody to talk to at the booth. Right? For that reason, I think the homeowners and other consumers thought, “Well if I don’t get on a schedule soon, I’m going to be looking at 2025 before I get my work done.”
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Right.
Cathy Berthold:
If I have to wait until 2024 for my project, at least I know I’m on a good company’s calendar. That’s where we’re at right now, but that won’t go on forever. I think people are now saying, “I have to start planning for 2024.”
Steve Stack:
Very, very much so. Speaking of calendars, people can visit marketplaceevents.com.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Or greatbighomeandgarden.com to be very specific for the show. Marketplaceevents.com has all of our shows.
Steve Stack:
Right. Whether you’re in the southwest part of this country, down south or up in New England.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Yep. It has the whole listing.
Steve Stack:
Even north of the border into Canada.
Cathy Berthold:
Yeah, we have a lot of shows in Canada.
Steve Stack:
You have a complete listing of where you’re going to be and how long you’re going to be there. It’s a very interactive website that’s easy to follow along.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
It is.
Cathy Berthold:
It’s nice because it’s chronological. As the shows happen, they drop off the top and then go to the bottom. You can go straight down the list and see what’s coming up next.
Steve Stack:
Yeah. If folks want to follow along from another region of the country, how many shows did you say?
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
We have 70 shows across the U.S. and Canada.
Steve Stack:
You guys are pretty easy to find.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Yes, we are.
Cathy Berthold:
You reminded me of something. Let’s say you wanted to start a lawn service and thought, “I want to grow this and go throughout Ohio, then I want to move into Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Indiana.” If you want to expand, do yourself a favor and look where we run shows. You won’t have to think twice about whether it’s a good market or not. If we’re in that market running a Home Show, we’ve already done the due diligence and it’s a good place for you to expand. I tell them that all the time. I’m planting a seed for our own company for a future vendor, but I’m also helping them grow their business.
Steve Stack:
If there are companies out there that want to look into exhibiting at one of your shows, they can do it at either greatbighomeandgarden.com or marketplaceevents.com.
Cathy Berthold:
Yep.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Our websites are open to anyone who wants to submit for a show or just wants more information.
Future Home Shows
Steve Stack:
I’m excited about the new management team at the I-X Center and their huge investment. Your whole team is a bunch of busybodies and you haven’t been sitting still. What else do we have coming up in 2023? Well, we’re not out of 2022 yet. You’ll be starting your fall stuff.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Right.
Steve Stack:
Then into 2023.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
We have the Christmas Connection at the I-X Center in November. Then we have the Great Big Home & Garden Show from February 3 through the 12.
Cathy Berthold:
The all-new Great Big Home & Garden Show.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Yes, all new. Then we’ll have our new Cleveland Home and Remodeling Expo from March 24 through March 26. That show is more geared towards home improvement. We won’t have the big houses or the gardens in that show, but it’ll be more focused. We’ll have some great features there and, of course, all the great exhibitors. We’re looking forward to it. It’ll be a little smaller than the Spring Home & Garden Show, but definitely worth the trip to the I-X Center.
Cathy Berthold:
Even though it’s considered “new,” we ran the Home and Remodeling Expo for four consecutive years at a different venue. We’re ready and excited to relaunch it, but often my customers will say, “Why are you doing two shows only six weeks apart?”
The answer is that we did pretty intense studies several years ago and found in multiple markets where we did this study that less than 4% of the same individuals went to both shows. Therefore, even if you’re in the ten-day Home & Garden Show in early February, doing the three-day show too will expose you to almost an entirely new audience.
Steve Stack:
New audience.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Right.
Cathy Berthold:
Think of a homeowner that wants a new kitchen so they go to the Home & Garden Show. They spend four hours there or their whole Saturday. They found good vendors and are now taking the next step. There’s no reason for them to go to another show in six weeks.
Their needs are fulfilled. But if I miss the Home & Garden Show, thank God there’s another show for me to catch before summer.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Plus for the exhibitor, a ten-day show could be quite lengthy. Sometimes they can’t work those ten full days away from their business. The option for a three-day show is huge for the exhibitor because they know that they can have the weekend to sell to the masses, be face-to-face with consumers, and still be at their office during the week.
Steve Stack:
You made a good point where people can spend four hours walking around the expo. A strong online business is crucial in today’s society, and Baird Brothers Fine Hardwoods is blessed in that aspect. But if I’m investing in a new kitchen, I want to see, feel, touch, speak to someone, and experience it.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Exactly.
Cathy Berthold:
Experiential.
Steve Stack:
Right?
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Yeah.
Cathy Berthold:
Live events (and home shows in particular) are alive and well because a homeowner can go to a show and shop in one room, under one roof, and in a matter of two to four hours, check off their entire to-do list (provided we’ve done our job and gotten the right vendor mix there). They’re now ready to make a purchase decision.
Let’s say I want to buy a hot tub. There are three to four hot tub dealers at our show. I can go from A to B to C to D. Before we walk out, “Which one do you want to buy, honey? I like this one. I like that one. We’ll go with this one.” Then we go back to the winner and sign a contract. We’re making it easy for them to do business. Consumers shop and get to the next stage of that buying decision, whether it’s buying it here or getting the estimates and signing the contracts later. Right?
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Right.
Steve Stack:
You’re bringing them right down that funnel.
Cathy Berthold:
Yeah.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
It’s about relationships too, right? When you meet somebody, you can get a feeling of how that’s going to go.
Cathy Berthold:
Right.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
The trust factor is determined by the feeling of how you get along with that person. It’s forming that relationship and bond. If you feel good about it, you’re going to feel much better about them coming into your home.
A lot of times, you can make a phone call and say, “I need help, my driveway needs done.” Then they never show up. You never met them and you don’t know too much about them. At the expo, you can learn all about that company.
Steve Stack:
That’s one of the things that we work on with our marketing partners. We’re very aware that in order to encourage online purchases, you have to have enough content to build credibility so a customer on the west coast will buy lumber from a little company in Canfield, Ohio.
Cathy Berthold:
Right.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Yes.
Steve Stack:
We’ve had success at that, but it’s just so much easier when you’re physically looking at your new kitchen countertop.
Cathy Berthold:
Touching it.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Right.
Steve Stack:
Anything can look good in a picture.
Cathy Berthold:
Absolutely.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
It looks so much better when you’re touching it and going, “Oh, that would look good in my kitchen.”
Cathy Berthold:
My husband and I have been talking about redoing our nice maple wood cabinets. He came to the show to see two or three painting contractors that do reface painting, which is the option we were leaning towards.
He stopped at Textbook Painting’s booth. It just happened to be that my husband knew a guy working there that is from our community. He talked to him, they had before and after samples all along the back of their booth. We agreed that we wanted an estimate from them. Long story short, they did the work. They sent us the most fabulous worker. I have nothing but amazing things to say about them.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
She made them lunch and dinner every day.
Cathy Berthold:
Then our other colleague, Sue, used them. It was such a positive experience. We got two estimates, but we went with this one and I just can’t say enough about the whole experience.
Steve Stack:
That’s what we strive for. We want to fulfill our obligation and make sure when their next project comes up, you’re the first one they think of.
Cathy Berthold:
Right.
Steve Stack:
That’s what we work for.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
You’re right.
Steve Stack:
Over the years, I’ve had the fortune to work with and become acquainted with quite a few of your team members. It’s nice when you’ve done your work and we can both enjoy that type of relationship.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Well, both exhibitors and consumers come back year after year; that’s the result. That’s what we want. We want to make sure everyone’s happy and the consumers are getting what they’re looking for. Obviously, you coming back to us means a lot because that’s what we want. We want to make sure that exhibitors are having a good experience. They’re getting a good return on their investment, brand awareness, and the leads that they’re looking for.
Steve Stack:
You both are going to have fun promoting the 2023 Great Big Home & Garden Show at the newly improved, renovated I-X Center.
Cathy Berthold:
Friday, February 3 through Sunday, February 12. Do we know when the Super Bowl is yet?
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
I think it’s going to be the second Sunday of February. But that’s okay. We’ll just close at five instead of six.
Cathy Berthold:
The Browns are going to be there. You know that, right?
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Yeah. Right?
Cathy Berthold:
They predicted it. Somebody on TV said, “We’re going to be there.”
Steve Stack:
Well, you just said it on TV.
Cathy Berthold:
I did. Go Browns!
Steve Stack:
Roseanne and Cathy, thanks for coming down today. We enjoyed having you. We enjoy the partnership we share with you guys. Ladies and gentlemen, please jump onto their website. Great Big Home & Garden Show in Cleveland, Ohio at the I-X Center. It’s the spring event in Cleveland.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
Yes. You can’t miss it.
Steve Stack:
I’m really excited about the new format. We’ve already worked on our contract.
Cathy Berthold:
You’re already booked.
Steve Stack:
We don’t know where our home’s at yet.
Cathy Berthold:
Not yet, but we’ll figure it out.
Rosanna Hrabnicky:
We got an idea.
Steve Stack:
We’re going to figure that out. Ladies and gentlemen, keep following on all of our social platforms. We look forward to seeing you next time. Take care.
For all you folks listening, thanks for talking shop with Baird Brothers Fine Hardwoods. If you’ve enjoyed this episode and want to stay up-to-date with the American Hardwood Advisor podcast series, give us a like and subscribe. For more tips, DIY projects, and inspiration, check us out on Facebook, Instagram, read our tweets, or visit bairdbrothers.com. Until next time.
Contact Information for Marketplace Events can be found at https://marketplaceevents.com/contact-us. You can also buy tickets online for each show in their virtual box office!
