AZBEES_TOPTEN
AZBEES_finalist-2020

This Just In

Marketplace Events to Create Motorcycle Consumer Show Series

HIL ANDERSON, SENIOR EDITOR

Irvine, CA – A multi-city series of consumer shows for motorcycle enthusiasts will be launched by Marketplace Events (MPE) in the coming months.

Details of the project, including its brand name and venues, will be announced at a later date. The shows will launch in time to spotlight the 2016 models.

Marketplace Events hopes to parlay the momentum of its American International Motorcycle Expo (AIMExpo), a combination trade/consumer show, into a successful expansion into an arena it sees as underserved. AIMExpo launched two years ago. The October 2014 show in Orlando grew its exhibit space by 32.5% to 181,650 net square feet. The show in fact has earned a ranking on the latest Trade Show Executive Fastest 50 in all three metrics: exhibitors, attendance and exhibit space.

“We have been constantly asked by key industry players when we would produce a series of consumer-only events,” said Mike Webster, president of MPE Motorcycle Group. “Their message has been that the market is underserved from a consumer show perspective and they are looking for a more responsive and engaging platform.”

The consumer market may be underserved, but it is not unserved. AIMExpo itself is open to the public, and of its total attendance of 18,145 last year, more than 11,000 were members of the general public.

There is also the Progressive® International Motorcycle Shows® brand, an 11-city series of three-day consumer events organized by UBM Advanstar. From Seattle to Miami, the nationwide tour provides attendees with a look at the latest model street bikes, dirt bikes, sport bikes, cruisers, scooters, ATVs, accessories, new rider seminars, stunt shows and more.  The show expanded its partnership with EagleRider, developing the EagleRider Travel and Tour Pavilion:  The World on Two Wheels at all 11 shows, to help inform touring and adventure riders on what they need, where to go, and how to get there.

Marketplace Events has a portfolio of more than 40 events, mainly home shows in major U.S. and Canadian markets, and is considered the largest home show organizer in North America. The company last Fall acquired Casa Latina Expos, a series of home shows geared to the Hispanic market in the U.S.

The MPE motorcycle shows will have a marketing presence at the home shows in order to entice attendees to mark off a day on their calendar to kick a few tires. Webster told Trade Show Executive that exhibitors will also be recruited from parts and aftermarket sellers, apparel and accessory companies as well as financial and insurance services.

Reach Mike Webster at (949) 517-7511 or mikew@mpeshows.com

TSE Data Center