Dana Teague

DALLAS—To the average observer, not much about Surfaces ’07 will have changed from Surfaces ’06. Sure, there are more than 300 new exhibitors and more education than ever before. But behind the scenes a quiet but significant change occurred in late 2006, when Dana Teague was named show director by Hanley Wood. FCNews’ editorial director and associate publisher Steven Feldman recently sat down with Teague to discuss this and future Surfaces.

So who is Dana Teague?

I’ve been doing trade shows for a long time. I worked with the American College of Emergency Physicians, doing two trade shows and 20 continuing education programs for 17 years. I joined Hanley Wood Exhibitions in April 2000 as director of the International Auto Body Congress and Exposition, a show with attendance of 40,000 and 175,000 square feet. I was also director of Big Builder, an event for the top 200 volume homebuilders in the United States. I became the show director for Surfaces on Dec. 1, 2006.

I know it’s only been a couple of months, but what are your initial impressions regarding Surfaces?

I’m excited to be part of the floor covering industry and looking forward to getting to the show. We are looking at approximately 320 new companies coming for 2007 and over 500,000 net square feet of space. I have participated with the on-site Surfaces show team the last several years and each year I have been impressed with the industry and its potential for growth.

So where are the opportunities for growth?

As fashion and design become an ever-increasing part of the floor covering industry, this will open up new product sectors and great opportunities for increased education. I’m excited about the opportunity to grow these areas of the show. We also see the continued growth from products and services from outside the U.S. as untapped potential for Surfaces.

Heading into your first Surfaces, what are you most excited about?

I’m excited that it will be one of the largest Surfaces to date. I’m also excited about the architect and designer program, which is new this year and another area that we want to grow.

Talk a little about the architect and designer program.

Surfaces has always run programs focusing on architects and designers; however, this year an entire track has been added for this segment including a luncheon with keynote speaker, Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, who has been named one of America’s Most Brilliant Decorators for 10 consecutive years by House Beautiful, and also a reception on that Thursday. The goal is to attract more architects and designers. Some of the feedback we have gotten from the exhibitors is they want to see more architects and designers at the show.

Where does architect and designer attendance stand at this point for Surfaces?

Since we started making a concerted effort to attract more architects and designers, this segment has grown by more than 300%.

What are some of the biggest issues regarding Surfaces?

We need to make sure we not only maintain our attendee base, but continue to expand it and grow. We also need to make sure we maintain our core demographic, the retailer, given all the competition out there such as other markets, manufacturer events and buying groups. It’s a great tribute to the show that, in spite of a down economy and down housing market, we’ve been able to maintain and even increase our attendance and square footage.

How are your attendance numbers to date?

We are maintaining our numbers from last year, maybe even a little up, and we are expecting significant on-site registration.

Are you concerned that retailers may bring fewer people to Vegas given a slower economy?

Even though some retailers may bring fewer people, they are still bringing the best and most important people. We are still maintaining the quality of the Surfaces attendee and we expect overall attendance to be up as the attendee base for the show expands.

What are your thoughts on some of the major manufacturers dropping out of the show?

This year it was Tarkett. Last year it was Pergo. And we’re not even going to discuss Shaw and Mohawk. It’s a concern, but we have been able to grow in other areas. If one of the larger companies makes the decision to not participate, we can fill that space with several smaller exhibitors, which ultimately may offer more value for the retailer wanting to see some of the companies they may have never seen before. Attendees are always excited to see new products, so when we are able to have that many more new products on the show floor, it creates a value for them. It also creates even more opportunity for retailers and architects and designers to find something that will differentiate them from the competition by finding unique products, whether it be leather tile or something else new and unique.

It seems like the halls become a ghost town on Friday. Is there anything that can be done to increase attendance on Friday?

Every show has a last day. It is something inherent in every trade show. While the traffic is definitely slower on the last day, many exhibitors tell us it is one of their best days for closing large business commitments. However, each year we continue to look for ways to make the last day stronger, such as the Installation Showcase presentations on the trade show floor to drive attendance on all three days.

What’s new for Surfaces 2007?

The increased emphasis on bringing out architects and designers with the aforementioned program. They can earn continuing education credits. There is also a new emphasis on stronger business and management courses. We have a lot of new speakers this year and, for the first time, we are offering CDs for sale from the seminars.

Every year, Surfaces is the place to see all the new products in the industry—it’s where all the manufacturers launch their new lines for the coming year. That means thousands of new and specialty products that consumers are asking for. Have you done anything different this year in terms of marketing?

We put together a digital brochure to see how the audience would respond; it went over really well. We also worked with some of the top distributors in the country to get their customers to the show. We carried out some very targeted marketing efforts to attract architects and designers to our new program.

In general, from print ads, direct mail, telemarketing, emails and the Web site, Surfaces creates millions of advertising impressions over the course of the attendee campaign. Is there any show out there you would like Surfaces to emulate?

There are elements of other Hanley Wood events that I would like to incorporate into Surfaces. I’d love to emulate World of Concrete’s live competitions — not to mention its amazing growth. Then there are certain aspects of JLC LIVE—Journal of Light Construction LIVE, which is an annual series of four regional shows. These events create so much buzz and excitement on the floor with their live demonstrations and on-floor education. I’d love to see more activity and more education on the show floor.