Inaugural Interbike Media Center a Big Hit With Working Media and Attendees

Show organizers and attending journalists say the inaugural Interbike Media Center of the International Bicycle Expo was a phenomenal success.

The 2006 OutDoor Demo, held September 25-26 in Bootleg Canyon, Boulder City, Nevada and International Bicycle Expo, held September 27-29 in Las Vegas’ Sands Expo and Convention Center, was attended by close to 450 working media, representing a 15 percent increase versus 2005 attendance. For the first time, Interbike invited “new media” representatives to the show, such as bloggers, but at the same time tightened the verification process to ensure a higher quality of accredited journalists reporting on the show.

“The media does a great job of covering the show and bringing attention to the exhibitors,” said Lance Camisasca, Interbike’s show director. “Often times, their efforts go unnoticed and unappreciated in small corners of the show where they previously interviewed industry decision makers and interesting celebrities. We believe the Media Center provided an excellent venue for showcasing the media's efforts in covering the industry show and provided an opportunity for attendees to see exciting industry interviews.”

Throughout the show’s three days of indoor operation, the Interbike Media Center became the premier background for more than 120 interviews with industry heavyweights and celebrities. Interview footage supplied 12 hours of live broadcast to attendees and exhibitors on the show floor and taped footage for video streaming on participating media companies’ Web sites. Online cycling broadcaster Cycling.tv worked with Interbike as the Official Media Center Technology Partner, providing the necessary equipment and technical experience.

“Having a media center on the show floor made it extremely easy for our staff to reach and conduct business, and the video studio was fantastic,” said Jeff Lockwood web manager for Dirt Rag. “Our studio time and the Cycling.tv video editing staff allowed us to produce high-quality video segments.”

The 30- x 40-foot Media Center, located on the main floor of the Sands Expo and Convention Center, featured a TV interview studio, working newsroom and still photography studio. In addition to providing light snacks and high-speed Internet access for story posts, the Media Center’s TV studio included a fully equipped control room and an interview area enclosed in clear Plexiglas walls so show attendees could watch the programming live.

“The Media Center was a great opportunity for VitalBMX as a new company to get exposure to the thousands of people at Interbike,” said Todd Toth, VP of marketing services at VitalBMX. “It was also away for us to offer something new to our advertisers. We applaud the effort of the Media Center team and can't wait to do it again next year.”

Media Center programming started each day with Good Morning Interbike, sponsored by Giant Bicycles and Pedro's Total Bicycle Care. Pedro's Director of Marketing Communications Richard Fries and Interbike’s Director of Advocacy Mike Greehan hosted the show. During the half-hour show, attendees waiting for exhibition hall doors to open watched interviews with industry greats such as Danny Van Haute directeur Sportif/Coach of the Jelly Belly cycling team, Tom Ritchey of Ritchey Designs, Scott Montgomery of Scott USA, Kozo Shimano of Shimano America and Ron Kieffel of Wheatridge Cyclery, to name a few. Bicycle Retailer and Industry News’ Megan Tompkins also presented daily Interbike show highlights.

After Good Morning Interbike, media companies BMXer, Bicycling, Bike Magazine, Cycling.tv, Dirt Rag, VitalBMX, VeloNews and World Cycling Productions used the studio to interview interesting people about advocacy, industry business practices, products, racing, etc. Interviewees included such notable people as 2006 World Time Trial Champion Kristin Armstrong; Paris-Roubaix and Tour de France stage winner Magnus Backstedt; Bikes Belong’s Tim Blumenthal; Tour de France pioneer and recent RAAM winner Jonathan Boyer; KHS/Free Agent's Vince Calvio; Interbike’s Lance Camisasca; former World Champion pro road racer Mario Cipollini; SNAFU's Mike Collins; Trek’s Zapata Espinoza; Felt Bicycles’ Jim Felt; Gary Fisher Bicycles’ Gary Fisher; Freeride Entertainment's Eric Croswell, Scott Dickson and Chris Lorence; Bianchi’s Felici Gimondi; Gluskin Townley Group’s Elliot Gluskin and Jay Townley; pro MTB racer Niki Gudex; Giant USA’s Skip Hess; USA Cycling's Steve Johnson; Limar Helmets/Sinclair Imports spokesmodel Emma Ledbury; OLN’s Phil Ligget; Discovery Channel Cycling Team's Jason McCartney; Revolution Advertising’s Harold 'McGoo' McGruther; cycling legend Eddy Merckx; Hoffman Bike's Mark Owen; Pist-N-Broke's Corey Leclerc and Ambrose Weingart; pro MTB racer Steve Peat; OLN commentator and former pro road/MTB racer Bob Roll; MirraCo's Mike Russell; WTB's Patrick Seidler; Mountain Bike Hall of Famer John Tomac; Cervelo's Gerard Vroomen and SRAM's Michael Zellman, to name a few.


About Interbike
Interbike, a division of VNU Expositions, is a full-service tradeshow company that creates, markets and produces high-quality expos and educational conferences. Producers of the OutDoor Demo and Interbike International Expo, Interbike is the leading bicycle industry business-to-business event management company, bringing together top manufacturers, retailers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of cycling. Finishing its 25th successful year, Interbike (www.interbike.com) gathers more than 1,000 cycling-related brands and more than 21,000 total attendees annually.

The next 25 years of Interbike start with the OutDoor Demo in Bootleg Canyon, Boulder City, Nevada, September 24-25, 2007 and the Interbike Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, September 26- 28, 2007.

# # #