Most of the U.S. will experience cold but clear and sunny skies on Thursday and Friday, the travel days for most Expo attendees. Locally we are expecting some light rain perhaps by late Saturday and on into Sunday, but temperatures are predicted to be in the 40's and even 50's by then. Looks like overall good weather, again, for the Expo.

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You might think about getting off the East coast.
This time of year, it's dry and 75 or 80 in Phoenix...Just saying.

70% of the people in the U.S., and thus 70% of the rod builders, live east of the Mississippi River. This makes it within a single day's drive of the vast majority of rod builders. Unless you understand the demographics involved, you can't make it work. A good many have failed for this very reason.

The Expo hasn't been this terribly successful by accident - I know what I'm doing.... Just saying.

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There is another outfit that has it's big show in January or February called the NFL.
They seem to understand marketing and demographics too.

Fifteen different regions have hosted Super Bowls.
Here;s the list...

Miami Area 10 1968, 1969, 1971, 1976, 1979, 1989, 1995, 1999, 2007, 2010
New Orleans 10 1970, 1972, 1975, 1978, 1981, 1986, 1990, 1997, 2002, 2013
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area 7 1967, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1987, 1993
Tampa 4 1984, 1991, 2001, 2009
San Diego 3 1988, 1998, 2003
Phoenix Area 3 1996, 2008, 2015
Houston 3 1974, 2004, 2017
Metro Detroit 2 1982, 2006
Atlanta 2 1994, 2000
San Francisco Bay Area 2 1985, 2016
Minneapolis 2 1992, 2018
Jacksonville 1 2005
Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex 1 2011
Indianapolis 1 2012
New York metropolitan area 1 2014
I count five games north of Salem and 45 south and west...Just saying

what is the NFL ?

The NFL hardly translates to custom rod building and our low density demographics - every rod building event other than the ICRBE that has had grandiose designs to mimic this event has failed to draw enough exhibitors/attendees to last more than a year or two. No one has even come close to hosting an event that is even 10% as large as the ICRBE. But if you think you understand custom rod building demographics better than I do, give it shot. Put your money where your mouth is and let's see what happens. Everybody else that pretended to know how to do this has fallen flat on their face, and hard. But I'm sure you can do better.

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I wish every rod building event could be hugely successful but few are. Tom seems to have the magic or the knowledge to make it work. The shows in California didn't pan out and you would think those would have worked. The ones up in the Pacific NW didn't make it. The ones in Texas, no comment. No offense to the small seminar events held all over, they seem to be okay where a couple or three dozen attendees are all that's expected, but for a really BIG rod building event Tom has done what no one else ever has and many have tried. If it was easy then all these other events would have succeeded but they didn't. I guess Tom has just been LUCKY these past twelve or whatever years.

If you understand rod building demographics then you'd know why any such event in California, if you intend it to be a large show in terms of rod building standards, is doomed to fail. Same for any rod building event west of the Mississippi. All impossible for reasons that should be apparent.

Compared to many sportsmans' or general fishing shows, the ICRBE isn't terribly large, but from a rod building standpoint it's huge. And the location, from about Richmond down to about Atlanta, is one of the important keys.


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My guess is that a small percentage of rod builders will travel from the ends of the earth to attend no matter where it's held. But most have a limited travel range due to time and or cost so a location on the east cost in the mid Atlantic area is best if you want the largest possible turnout which is the only way you can get so many exhibitors and therefore resulting rod builders involved.

I am in statesville nc now about 45 min from Winston Salem we got snow then freezing rain last night The coldest day this week is suppose to be Thursday. I came down early to build an addition for family and brought the snow sorry lol

Ken Finch Wrote:
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> My guess is that a small percentage of rod
> builders will travel from the ends of the earth to
> attend no matter where it's held. But most have a
> limited travel range due to time and or cost so a
> location on the east cost in the mid Atlantic area
> is best if you want the largest possible turnout
> which is the only way you can get so many
> exhibitors and therefore resulting rod builders
> involved.


Ding, ding, ding!

You just bested 100% of the other people who have tried to duplicate the ICRBE.

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