New model
Winsight link-up brings NRA tradeshow
new valuable food for thought
John Keenan looks at how a US media group took ownership in the tradeshow kitchen without
spoiling the successful recipe for the National Restaurant Association’s annual exhibition
hen media company
Winsight LLC assumed
operational ownership
and execution of the
National Restaurant Association’s
annual Restaurant, Hotel-Motel
Show it sent shockwaves across the
exhibition industry.
At the Exhibition and Convention
Executives Forum in Washington this
summer, the movers and shakers
explained how the groundbreaking
deal, signed last year, was put
together and led to another record-
breaking edition in May 2019.
Under the terms agreed, The
National Restaurant Association
became an equity partner in
Winsight. The association secured an
advisory seat on Winsight’s board of
directors, and Restaurant Business
became the official magazine of the
tradeshow.
The tradeshow, the largest
gathering of food service
professionals in the world, continues
to be branded under the association’s
name as part of a 45-year sponsorship
for the exclusive branding, content
and promotion of the show.
The association said the
partnership would serve the
emerging and changing needs of the
food service industry. Working with
Winsight, the National Restaurant
Association said it had gained new
opportunities to deliver best-in-
class content, drive member value,
broadcast advocacy messages,
advance the industry’s stories and
provide data-driven insights to fuel
the restaurant and food service
industry’s growth and profitability.
For Winsight, the deal gave it
control over the show, which this year
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk
Below:
Mike Wood,
Mary Pat
Heftman
and Dawn
Sweeney
on stage at
ECEF
drew 42,557 restaurant operators,
retail foodservice professionals,
equipment dealers, food distributors
and many others to McCormick
Place 18-21 May 2019. The figures
represented a 3% increase over 2018
and record exhibition space sales
were posted for a fifth year in a row.
Show visitors, including exhibitors,
totalled 65,526, exceeding last year’s
number. Over 700,000 square feet of
“We were not able to keep up in
terms of digital transformation. The
strategic partnership accelerates
our efforts to bring show attendees
and exhibitors better and deeper
programming and expedites the
digital transformation taking place
throughout the industry”.
exhibition space was taken.
The association’s board of directors
and related meetings were held as
usual during the show.
The agreement was designed
to improve the show experience
and provide more opportunities
for members, sponsors, partners,
exhibitors and attendees. The
partnership has accelerated
programming and content to improve
attendance and help the show target
senior-level operators and executives.
The agreement with the association
was a key move by Winsight to
expand its reach in the food service
sector. The Chicago-based company
in 2017 had received an investment
from private-equity firm Pamlico
Capital.
Winsight is a US-based business-
to-business information, event and
market intelligence company serving
the restaurant and non-commercial
foodservice, convenience and grocery
Issue 5 2019
31