ISC East Organizers Put Positive Spin on Attendance

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ORLANDO, Fla.—The exposure to new products and services was kept to a minimum at this year’s ISC East show, held at the Orange County Convention Center Aug. 14-16 in Orlando. With many exhibitors planning to launch or aggressively market their products at either the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) show in Philadelphia or ISC West in Las Vegas, this show was more about creating and maintaining business relationships with customers.

By holding the event in Orlando for the first time, show organizer Reed Exhibitions had hoped to gain attendance by moving from its long-standing New York venue. Although Reed did not provide attendance numbers by press time, ISC East visibly had much lighter foot traffic than in previous years. “Yet, however you measure success, the initial feedback we got back from exhibitors was positive,” says Beth Blake, spokeswoman for Reed. Meanwhile, more than half of the attendees who took a Security Sales & Integration quick poll said it was a decent show.

With Reed’s former announcement of alternating ISC East between New York and Orlando, it came as a big surprise on the first day of the show when it was revealed that ISC East would instead move to Washington, D.C., in 2003. Blake says the opportunity came to Reed via the Security Industry Association (SIA), and was further influenced by the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and the potential business opportunities from the government.

“It is just as imperative for the government to have security products close to them as it is for security companies.” Blake adds that the city was also looking to attract more business and made an offer to Reed. “That timing made good sense to us,” she says. “It doesn’t follow with the rotation strategy, but it was an opportunity too good to miss.”

This year’s show was coupled with a lighter schedule of educational sessions and association meetings than usual. Many of the sessions were put on by the Alarm Association of Florida (AAF), which allowed members to gain credits for their licenses. The usual meetings held by the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association (NBFAA) took place this year at a separate event in New Jersey.

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