This year, there will be more seminars than ever. Topics include sales-and- marketing strategies, finding and hiring qualified employees, best practices in race track operation and more.
There will also be several technical seminars focused on race engine technology, a roundtable with top sanctioning body representatives, a panel discussion featuring top female drivers, and more than a dozen business-focused sessions. All are free of charge to convention attendees.
Since there are so many industry leaders in attendance, the PRI Show is also appealing to students and young professionals interested in making motorsports their career. A Student Breakfast and Career Day on Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. in Sagamore 3 of the Convention Center will allow students to hear how noted industry professionals got to where they are today, and then they’ll have the opportunity to meet with representatives from exhibiting companies to learn about possible internships and job openings.
Another example of young people at the PRI Show is the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow engine building competition. Usually held in one of the main entrance hallways, it is the culmination of a year-long contest among high schools to see which team can disassemble and reassemble a small-block engine with aftermarket components the fastest.
Good walking shoes, patience, endurance and a plan are the four things most needed for those who do the most customary thing done at a trade show, which is walking the aisles.
Technology has made this easier. In the early days, show-goers went home loaded down with catalogs, brochures and business cards. This is still true to some extent, but nowadays many exhibitors order and pay in advance for “lead retrieval scanners” they use in their booths to electronically capture the information of those who visit their booths.
The contact info comes via scanning the show-goer’s badge (show credentials) into these tabletop devices. Besides contact info, there are buttons to push for what each individual was looking for, like a product sample, a call, a meeting, etc. The exhibitor just downloads the list when the show is over and follows up later.
Technology has made the show walker’s life a little easier too. Although there are still paper maps available to plot out the booths one wants to visit, by going to the performanceracing.com/tradeshow website prior to the show, the show-goer can view the floor plan, search exhibitors and plan his or her path so time doesn’t run out before visiting all the booths he or she wanted to visit.
There is even an option to view personalized recommendations based on one’s activity within the website. A new PRI Education sign-up page in the registration process and online in the Map Your Show planner can help show-goers schedule their time.
An expanded International Center is also new this year to help foreign visitors. In addition to office equipment, interpreters from several countries will be available by appointment at no charge to assist during meetings. There will also be a new PRI International Trade Roundtable featuring dealers and distributors around the globe.
Like Christmas and weddings, the PRI Show requires a great deal of planning and work for something that is over in a couple days. Exhibitors spend a lot of time developing their exhibits and deciding what to bring. Then they all have to be staged to bring in and tear down their exhibits efficiently before and after the show.
Everyone needs a place to stay too and in conjunction with Visit Indy there’s a listing of hotels offering discounted rates to show-oers. Bus transportation to and from the show from suburban hotels is included in many.