ABC KIDS SHOW REPORT

Posted by Rob Wolf on September 12, 2008

I’ve just returned from the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas, the big trade show for products made for babies and kids. The show was exhausting—a grueling 9 hours of booth duty for 5 days talking to buyers, exhibitors, and members of the press—but it was also exhilarating.

There were hundreds of buyers there from children’s stores around the world, and many of them have wisely chosen to start carrying That Baby DVD and That Baby CD! I’ll be updating my site’s Where To Buy section shortly.

In addition to the many stores that ordered from us at the show, I gave out tons of samples to buyers. I’m confident that once they get the products home and try them out on any nearby child, they’ll be customers too.

The show was massive. The convention hall we were in was literally a half mile in length. There were two floors of that. So, it was both understandable and frustrating that many buyers whisked by my booth without stopping to check out the awesomeness that is my product line. Some were off to appointments, others focused on other categories of goods like apparel and furniture. Still, I tried to walk that fine line between “assertive advocate for my business” and “obnoxious carnival barker.”

Many times, I’d catch a buyer and say something like “hey, I know you’ve got lots of walking to do, but this is worth checking out—kid friendly acoustic covers of songs written by Bruce Springsteen, Neil Diamond, Fleetwood Mac, The Pretenders, Paul Simon, and more.”

And then I’d take a breath.

If they so much as raised an eyebrow, I’d say “here’s a sample and my wholesale pricing.” I’d scan their badge and off they went.

The true success of the show for me will be dependent on the extent to which I follow-up with the ones that didn’t buy. Some exciting opportunities await my business in the stack of business cards I collected.

Thanks to my mom and mother in law who came to Las Vegas for no other reason than to help me with booth duty. Really, the fact that they both love Vegas as much as I do was merely a coincidence!

I was thrilled to meet so many of the people I’ve only talked to online before, like Heather from About.com Baby Products, Jill from Alex Casey Baby, Stacy from Paci Plushies, and Kara and Stacey from Mom Central Consulting. Hiya, ladies!

I was also in awe of the success of Go Mama Go Designs, the mom-run business just across from my booth. Katherine and Georgia’s booth was jam-packed throughout the show, as they showed their crib bumpers and swaddling blankets. I’d be jealous of them if I wasn’t so genuinely happy for their success.

Now that the show’s behind me, I’m excited to know that my products are “out there” in the hands (and homes) of so many people in the baby products business. I’m confident that once people take the time to watch and listen, they’ll “get it.” In the weeks and months to come, I hope to report back on the new “it getters”—retailers that realize baby music can be cool after all and join the ranks of That Baby DVD and CD partners.