Marketplace Events Plans to Launch American International Motorcycle Expo

January 21, 2012
Rachel Wimberly
Consumer show organizer Marketplace Events will launch another show – the American International Motorcycle Expo – to further grow their portfolio of more than 30 events. Set to launch in the fall of 2013, company officials said, the new event is meant to ﾓbring together the entire two-wheel industry in a single arena that creates a grand stage for motorcycling in the U.S. and North America, while delivering an efficient and energetic market-timed expo platform for B2B and B2C in the motorcycle industry.ﾔ In order to lead that effort, Marketplace Events has tapped Larry Little, who previously was the publisher at motorcycle news magazine, Cycle World, in the new role as the company's vice president and general manager, Motorcycle Group. The new AIME event likely will compete with Advanstar Communications' multi-city International Motorcycle Shows series, of which Cycle World used to be a title sponsor. ﾓFollowing a year of information gathering through my own company on behalf of Marketplace Events, it was a natural and logical extension to make the move to the company,ﾔ Little said. He added, ﾓI have been extremely impressed with the management team at Marketplace Events – from their vision and sense of commitment to the markets they currently serve, to the leadership position they have earned in their core market. I'm also thrilled to be joining longtime friend and associate Mike Webster at Marketplace Events.ﾔ Webster previously joined Marketplace Events in May 2008 after a 26-year run at Advanstar, where he managed the International Motorcycle Shows and Dealer Expo. In addition to his 25-plus years at Cycle World as vice president and publisher, for the past 15 years Little has been elected by industry peers to the board of directors of the Motorcycle Industry Council and currently serves as its chairman. First joining the industry in 1978 at Cycle News, Little also holds a Charter Life Membership with the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA). The show he will oversee, AIME, is a trade and consumer show for the motorcycle industry that is timed to align with the annual reveal of new motorcycles, aftermarket products, safety equipment, and accessories to the press, motorcycle dealers and consumers. The new AIME show will be a part of Marketplace Events' robust portfolio of consumer events that includes 31 consumer shows that are annually held in 21 markets that collectively attract 14,000 exhibitors, 1 million attendees and another 1 million unique web visitors. Those shows include longstanding home shows in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Orlando, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Indianapolis, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, some of which are more than 50 years old, and newer launches and acquisitions in markets such as Denver, Cleveland and Dallas, which is produced in partnership with Dallas Cowboys Stadium. This year will mark the launch of another consumer event - WIRED Live - a technology event to be held in Washington, D.C., in partnership with WIRED magazine, a Conde Nast Publication.

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