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Aaron Levant
Co-Founder of Agenda TradeShow
Aaron Levant, President & Co founder of AGENDA, LLC. @AgendaShow
Tell us a bit about Agenda Show and how it got started
Agenda got started in 2002 when me and my old partner Luis Pulido had a brand called GrnAppleTree. we were attending other shows like ASR and we were generally unhappy with the trade show options for new brands at a time. We were doing something different and something that had a higher design aesthetic, the shows at that time where doing nothing to cater to us from a price and environmental standpoint. In September 2002 we decided that we would launch our own show and we pulled together 30 of our friends and launched Agenda in January 2003 in the back of a restaurant in Long Beach, CA at the same time as ASR…. The rest is history.
Before Agenda what other companies and projects were you involved in?
Before Agenda I started as an Intern at an LA street-wear label GAT/ Milk Distribution, witch later became GrnAppleTree. I was interning there from age 16 when I was kicked out of high school. I worked my way up the ladder at that company, from intern to graphic designer, to sales all the way to minority partner over 5 years before launching Agenda together with Luis Pulido GAT founder. Along the way Luis gave me the opportunity to launch my own skate/surf label through Milk Distribution called “Matador” with my best friend Trace Marshall. Trace Marshall later went on to launch the high end surf labels Gonz and Warriors of Radness with Freshjive founder Rick Klotz. Luis and I parted ways a few years back and he still runs GrnAppleTree to this day. After parting ways with Luis I formed a new partnership with my cousin Seth Haber,whom I am partners with to this day.
What advantages do you feel you have over the more established trade shows?
Agenda has numerous advantages over the bigger shows. The number one thing is that we get “it”and we don’t feel that any of these other shows do. We understand the market and we are leading, while everyone else is following. When we see a change that needs to be made we make it in a timely manner. We react at the speed of the market and thats why we have the competitive edge. Other shows see a clear problem or change in the market but cant make the proper changes for years. Such as adjusting to the new needs of the brands/buyers whether it be dates, trends or new product categories.
Being a smaller trade show, is it easier or harder to deal with the economic changes? How have you dealt with the climate so far?
We are not a Smaller trade show because we can’t get bigger, we are smaller by choice. We do not allow crap into our show and if that makes us smaller then thats a good thing to me. Agenda is invite only and we only have the best of the best from each category. If you make a skateboard pogo stick or you are Ed Hardy then go to another show because Agenda is not for you. As far as the economic side of your question we have been doing great and having double digit growth every season, we have been seeing the upside of the bad economic times. The reason being is brands are changing their patterns and trying new things like Agenda and dropping out of the stagnant shows. The days of doing things the same way just because thats the way they have always been done are over.
Where do you see Agenda within the next 2-5 years?
The US equivalent of Bread&Butter…..
Which brands will be participating in the next show? Who are some of the new brands showing?
There are 140+ brands showing at Agenda this season.
Some Key Returning Brands: Vans, Nike 6.0, Volcom, The Hundreds, Hurley, Supra, Adidas, KR3W, Crooks&Castles, DC Shoes, RVCA, Converse, OBEY, HUF, Skull Candy, Altamont, Gravis, Analog, Etnies, Girl Skateboards, Insight, NewBalance, Fallen, LRG, e’S, TheSevethLetter, Creative Recreation, Reebok, Puma, Stussy, Ermrica, ZooYork, 10DEEP and NewEra.
Some New Brands : Oakley, DVS, Osiris, Globe, Pro Keds, Toms Shoes, Orisue, Matix, Lakai, Alien Workshop, Incase, NHS, Fox Head, Diamond Supply Co, and P-Rod…..
What will be some of the new product launches some of you’re participating brands will be doing?
So many new things its hard to give a full run down but i would point out that Nike is debuting the Paul Rodriguez collection at Agenda. There will be Paul’s fourth signature model, the Zoom Paul Rodriguez IV. Huf and Habitat will be releasing their own footwear collections at Agenda as well.
In the past, you anchor your event along more established well-attended events (i.e. US Open of Surfing). This time you haven’t. Do you think this will affect the attendance and the quality of buyers attending?
I think partnering with events like The US open have helped us in the past but we are projecting this January show will be bigger then our last July show and bigger then any show we have done in the past. I feel we have finally come into our own in the trade show game and it’s safe to say we are truly a stand alone show now. The awareness and hype around Agenda is the highest its ever been and thats only going to equate to higher attendance numbers from buyers.
Agenda has been aggressively using Social Media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc.)? How has this impacted marketing & sales?
I would say that we have not been aggressive in using these media outlets at all. I just started using Twitter 3 months ago and I didn’t even know that using Facebook or Myspace was important,until other people in the office told me I was being stupid for not being on them. I put very little value on these things for marketing. I still like post cards and we still use broadcast fax believe it or not. I get so much email, twitter, bla bla, BS.. its all starts to blend in after a while. If someone sends me a hand written letter I would notice that a lot more then a Tweet or an email.
What % of your marketing budget will be devoted to digital spend?
Its about 40% is online for now in the future its going to be about 60% of our spending.
What outside events does Agenda participate in/partner with?
Not to many things, we are very selective about what we put our name on. We throw some art shows at a store we are involved with in LA called SURU and we just started sponsoring events with ShopEatSurf and in the future with group Y.
Who are some of your marketing & non-endemic partners in the show?
Complex Media is our main media partner for the last 2 events and we also work with AMP Energy and NewEra is the official headwear sponsor of Agenda.
Given that established brands are tightening their belts, do you think the current economic state helps or hurts emerging brands?
I think it’s a blank canvas out there, I see a lot of amazing new brands coming out this year. Personally I believe they will be taking a market share from the big boys. Things are fragmenting in all industries, i think you will have 20-50 mid sizes players and 50-100 smaller players, not just 5-7 big boys anymore.
What established brands to you look to for inspiration? Who’s doing it right & wrong?
Brands that are doing it right are: OBEY, RVCA, Insight, Hurley, TheHundreds, Crooks&Castles… they are all growing and gaining brand energy in a downturn. That’s the hardest thing you can do as a brand.
Many small, new brand are you avoiding doing “proper” PR” and depend on more of an organic\word-of-mouth growth–what is Agenda’s strategy?
Agenda has been fueled by organic growth and word of mouth the last 6 years of 7 years. Only in the last year or so have we taken a more aggressive advertising strategy. The last year we have tripled our advertising budget and even added new things like billboards into the mix. I think word of mouth is the strongest thing we have going for us and everything else just reinforces our message. I’m a big believer in “out of sight out of mind”
How do you convince a brand who’s questioning showing at Agenda or another show, as opposed to doing it on their own (i.e. in-house).
I very rarely sell the show, the show sells itself and we don’t take many new brands. This season I would say there were less then 3 sales calls made where i was having to sell the show. If they are questioning it then that’s the end of the conversation for the most part. If they don’t get it already then we don’t want them in the show.
What does your daily routine look like … take us through it:
I live in the Malibu area so a good part of my day is spent commuting to Hollywood. I get in the office at 10am and return emails until noon. I try and have lunch with brand owners and reps every day or travel to the OC to meet with key exhibitors or retailers. Spending time in the shops is a very important part of my day, i used to spend at least 1-2 hours a day hanging in this skate shop down the street from my office on Melrose in Hollywood. You have no idea how much business I would get down just hanging out there,.All day reps, designers, brand owners and press would just roll into the shop and chop it up with me.Plus you learn a lot about trends being there. I also try to go to the mall every weekend and visit the chain stores to see what’s going on at the mall.
What sports are you actively involved in?
I grew up doing BMX dirt jumping and half pipe but now I just ride a BMX Street bike. Can’t afford a broken arm or leg these days
What type of music do you listen to?
Only Rap music and only Jay-Z and Old WuTang Clan for the most part and 1 or two songs of Johnny Cash and the Beetles thrown in there. Jay-Z is my own version of Anthony Robbins tapes, he’s very motivating.
With your current position, do you travel much? If so where?
I don’t get to travel as much as I would like because a show is always coming around the corner. When I do go its just to other trade shows or industry events, so in the next month I will be in Colorado for Zumiez 100K then off to Surf Expo in Orlando, then NYC for Capsule show, San Diego for ASR, then Boston for a quick meeting and then off to Vegas for Project/Magic…back to back for the next month.
What do you like and not like about working within the action sports industry?
I love working in this industry, it’s a million times better then working in some job where you where a suit and tie every day and wake up at 4:30 in the morning to go trade stocks. Everyone is easy going and generally good people to work with.
What’s the best advice you have been given?
I haven’t gotten any really good advice, but I do know its all about connections and who you know really does matter if you want to get anywhere in this world.
What do you think about group Y and it’s events?
group Y is amazing, I enjoy attending your events, and I have made some great connections at them. Hopefully I will be on a panel one day.
Any parting words to the Twitter universe?
Come to the Agenda show in Huntington Beach, CA this Friday Jan 8th and Saturday Jan 9th and thanks to My partner Seth Haber and Marketing Director Tal Cooperman and the rest of the Agenda team.
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