SEMA News—July 2015
CHRIS KERSTING
SEMA: Delivering Business Tools for You—Are You Using Them Yet?
With the arrival of July, SEMA initiates a new fiscal year and budget. It’s an exciting and challenging time for both the association staff and the Board of Directors. As we embark on another financial cycle, we can report that good management and long-term financial planning have put the association in position to invest in tools and programs to help members with product development, vehicle technology integration, regulatory compliance and delivering digital marketing content to the world. We are pressing forward today with significant services and tools that will benefit members for years to come. But you have to use the programs to get the benefits!
For example, we purchased the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show and magazine and consolidated them with the International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS) in Indianapolis, creating a more efficient trade show landscape for the racing segment. The PRI Trade Show is delivering outstanding return on investment (ROI) for attendees, and the 2015 show is shaping up to be another great event. If you have not been to the show lately, I urge you to join us in Indy this December and check it out for yourself.
We’re helping members grow sales through the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC), our member-owned product data repository, which now boasts industry-leading data volume and reseller participation. SDC is bringing more manufacturer product lines into the “search-click-found” era, and it’s helping resellers to easily use this powerful marketing information. The new SEMA Search look-up tool further enhances the ROI for those participating in the SDC. If you aren’t benefitting yet as an SDC member, take the time to contact us and make joining a priority.
We’ve also expanded SEMA’s Vehicle Technology tools by launching the SEMA Garage and leveraging OE relationships to support benefits such as Tech Transfer. Member manufacturers now have access to original OEM computer-aided design files, rapid prototyping technology and a smooth pathway to California Air Resources Board and Environmental Protection Agency emissions certification—all at the SEMA Garage.
We’ve expanded our International Trade Conferences, which have been highly rated by participants and earned significant financial support from the U.S. Department of Commerce. These initiatives have yielded new sales in excess of $62 million by member companies since 2011. Join us and learn how to grow sales in strong enthusiast
markets overseas.
We’ve launched SEMA Ignited along with the Battle of the Builders competition and television special, leading a consumer awareness initiative to leverage the creativity and innovation of SEMA Show exhibitors by exposing their products more broadly to the media and consumers. The inaugural SEMA Ignited event was a tremendous success, and SEMA Ignited moves directly across the street from the SEMA Show this year—making it more convenient for more of the industry to participate.
The above are examples of how SEMA is investing your member resources to provide you with great tools to help your business succeed. As we work through considerations for the 2016 budget picture, I want to note that SEMA has been able to provide these benefits without raising dues since the early ’80s or booth fees for SEMA Show exhibitors for the past 11 years.
In the future, costs are likely to rise. For example, the Las Vegas Convention Center has informed SEMA of another increase in the hall rental rates we pay, and our related costs have grown as well. However, SEMA will continue to strive to return dues and Show earnings to exhibitors through programs such as the SDC, the SEMA Garage, SEMA Ignited and Battle of the Builders, while keeping fee increases as low as possible.
Our low fees and high level of benefits have been a boon to our members. My message to you: Take advantage of the great tools your association invests in on your behalf! Contact us today to enroll in the many programs and benefits your association is delivering. The ROI is real!
—Chris Kersting, SEMA President and CEO