USGBC Gets Start-Up Help from Conferon, Sells Out Show By Tom Corcoran, President, Corcoran Conferon Expositions and Marian Calvin, Director of Marketing In 2002, when Trade Show Week declared that new exposition launches are down 30% to 40%, the US Green Building Council (USGBC) rolled out a show in Austin, Texas, November 12-15, 2002. Their Expo sold out with a waiting list of 40 companies, and their pre-registered Conference attendance ended up at 150% of goal. USGBC’s mission is to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work, and the association serves a high-growth marketplace. They knew this Conference and Expo was going to be a very large project to pull together, so Conferon was called in to consult on how to make the concept come alive. The Conferon team hit the ground running with a full slate of services. Our DC office immediately started to lock up the contracts at the Convention Center and at 12 hotels in downtown Austin. MRA kicked-in by producing everything from the event logo, to swaps for advertising space, to call for papers and creation of all the promotional materials. Simultaneously, the Corcoran Conferon Expositions team got busy selling sponsorships, booths, kiosks, floor plan enhancements, ads in the On-Site Directory, and more, only to sell out a full three months before the event! The Conferon Registration & Housing machine purred away with registrations pouring in via mail, fax, Signupcenter.com and USGBC’s web site. Amy Henderson, the Meeting and Event Manager for the account, and Nancy Wise, Account Executive and team leader, worked closely with a small volunteer army on the educational content and local host activities. Christine Ervin, President and CEO of USGBC remarked, "We are thrilled at such a phenomenal response and I think this means very good news for our industry, which is still very young. It’s been a great effort with a whole lot of participation from all of our partners."