Industry’s Premier Association Also Announces New Show Location, Dates for 2014 

CHICAGO – PSDA recently concluded its annual Distributor Solutions Expo, with the revamped educational program and trade show floor receiving rave reviews from participants. The event, held May 8-9 at the Navy Pier Convention Center in Chicago, drew more registered attendees than for the association’s 2012 and 2011 events in Baltimore and Chicago, respectively, and exhibiting manufacturers of print and related products and services reported seeing a steady flow of qualified leads.

The many strategic and tactical changes made to the show for 2013 ultimately attracted more attendees and delivered higher floor traffic and ROI, according to John Delavan, PSDA’s director of marketing and communication services and editor-in-chief of its flagship monthly magazine, Print Solutions.

“The attendance and traffic flow were great, and our sales team came back pumped with new leads,” said Roger Buck, Director of Marketing for The Flesh Company, a PSDA member.

“PSDA successfully repositioned its Expo as the must-attend experience for distributors and manufacturers that want to partner to deliver powerful solutions for end-user customers,” Delavan said. “It represented a premier opportunity for distributors to find solutions that meet their customers’ changing needs. While traditional printed products such as labels, tags and forms remain vital to our event’s success and reason for being, as well as to PSDA and all of its member businesses, our attendees have told us that an exclusive emphasis on print does not reflect the industry’s evolution, which includes many solutions that go beyond purely print and often enhance it. The Solution Zones helped bring attention to the how the industry is changing – and expanding.”

Among the changes in 2013 were a non-traditional Expo floor featuring four “Solution Zones” for specialized exhibitors – Promotional Products; Packaging & Direct Mail; Marketing & Technology; and Signage, Display and Wide Format. On-the-floor forums and presentations were held in the Solution Zones to educate attendees about new area in which they can grow their businesses. “The Solution Zones helped bring attention to the how the industry is changing – and expanding,” Delavan said.

The consensus was that PSDA’s 2013 show was stellar – and that it will only continue to improve in 2014.

“Those of you who attended already know what a great success story this year’s show was, and for those of you who did not attend, you really missed an outstanding event,” said Randy Eubanks, Vice President of Sales at Suncoast Marketing Inc. and a member of PSDA’s Board of Directors. “Almost everything was new this year: from the setup of the hall to the education and seminars. I heard only positive feedback from the attendees, both from the suppliers and the distributors.”

PSDA’s Distributor Solutions Expo next will be held April 23-24, 2014, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago – with all exhibits, educational sessions and networking events under one roof.

“We’re excited to partner with the Hyatt Regency Chicago to continue to evolve PSDA’s signature annual event,” said PSDA Executive Vice President Matt Sanderson. “We believe that holding the entire event at one property will further drive the power of partnership among distributors, manufacturers and suppliers, and enable our members to do more and better business together.”

Learn more about this and next year’s event at psda.org.