Western Standard - June 14, 2024


It's A Wrap Global Energy Show Canada 2024


Episode Stats

Length

11 minutes

Words per Minute

172.16205

Word Count

1,918

Sentence Count

111


Summary

In this final episode of the 2019 Western Standard Trade Show, I sit down with President and CEO of Western Standard, Sean McLennan, to talk all things Western Standard. We talk about how the show has been a great experience for him and his team, and what they are looking for in the energy sector.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 We're here on the last day, and we're kind of wrapping it up, and I guess you've got some insights and some numbers, but it's obviously a very busy show for you.
00:00:10.900 Yeah, thanks, Sean, and thanks for welcoming me back here to the Western Standard booth, and it has been a busy show, and I think I've been by the booth here a lot.
00:00:19.780 You've been doing lots of interviews, but that's really extended across the event here.
00:00:24.040 You know, the last three days, it does take a lot of walking and a lot of time to get through and see all the stuff that's happening.
00:00:31.080 What does your predominant say?
00:00:32.660 Yeah, I've been pushing $24,000 to $26,000 a day, wearing out my new shoes that my wife kindly got me, and you never buy new shoes before a trade show.
00:00:44.200 I should know that.
00:00:45.460 Somewhere like the standards.
00:00:47.340 But the trade show itself, it's been really a dynamic experience that we're looking to create.
00:00:54.020 Look, you know, we've got the theaters here on the show floor.
00:00:57.540 You know, we're right over here, just near us here with our friends at Mila that are doing the methane emissions reduction Alberta and lots of programming in and around that.
00:01:08.340 Very, very popular, big pavilion around that.
00:01:11.160 You know, further down, we've got our next-gen booth there with lots of conversations happening and our education partners at SAIT working on that.
00:01:21.500 Going to wine and cheese upstairs.
00:01:22.880 We've got wine and cheese upstairs.
00:01:25.520 You know, we've got plug-and-play that's here on the show floor and talking about, you know, future innovations, what does startup technology look like?
00:01:33.700 And we've got a great equity theater, too, where we get a lot of people coming through talking about what that inclusiveness looks like for that next-gen of energy professionals.
00:01:42.820 Because we need to ensure that there's some visibility in with that we don't, you know, that maybe that stereotype, not so much now that's been around, but that the energy sector is very much, you know, a roughnecks.
00:01:57.400 And we love our roughnecks, we do, but there's a lot of opportunities with emerging technologies in AI, for example, in measurements, in working with emissions, transportation, right down to hospitality and finding the people, the men and women that are going to come in and really help propel the growth that's been talked about here at some of the higher-level conferences in the energy sector here.
00:02:26.600 Absolutely, we were talking with and serving this morning, and that's exactly what she was saying.
00:02:31.400 Yeah.
00:02:31.680 Finding careers for people, and there's like about 20,000 shortfall jobs, attracting young people and bright people into what is a dynamic sector, and a very important one as well.
00:02:46.280 A very important one, and one that here at a show like this, and that's the nice thing, you know, we really like about events, is that you can come in and you can walk the aisles and you can see.
00:02:57.820 And that's what, you know, that's what a booth is all about, is I can come in, I can get just enough information and maybe get, you know, develop that comfort that if I feel I want to know more,
00:03:08.500 I can follow up online afterwards and really get some of that discovery.
00:03:12.360 And I think that that hasn't been lost in events for years and years and years.
00:03:16.740 I mean, now we know we can pretty much find anything we want online and research that.
00:03:20.780 But how do you know?
00:03:22.520 And sometimes it's a conversation just like we're having face-to-face here.
00:03:25.660 Sure, and networking.
00:03:26.340 Great networking.
00:03:28.000 A lot of good government support, a lot of good speakers, premiers here two days in a row, a lot of cabinet ministers coming through.
00:03:35.940 And I noticed that you were up for a premier's talk there yesterday.
00:03:40.820 And I found it quite insightful.
00:03:43.200 I did as well.
00:03:44.400 I mean, it was great to have a premier and a number of cabinet ministers, as you've noted, from different ministries,
00:03:50.640 whether that's from environment, whether that's from infrastructure, whether that's talking about technology, innovation, transportation.
00:04:01.820 And yes, yesterday, the premier with the CEO of Altagast, Mr. Yu, talking about opportunities to expand the export of our resources,
00:04:12.120 which is very exciting.
00:04:13.760 And that has direct correlation to a lot of the larger themes here at the show, which is jobs, opportunity, responsible energy development.
00:04:24.120 But, you know, finding new markets and bringing back that growth, which is, you know,
00:04:29.860 as many branches into the things that I like to bring it back to to your average person that's looking at here.
00:04:37.240 What are we really looking for in energy?
00:04:39.860 It's affordability, it's access, it's equity, and it's energy security, which, you know, I sometimes I know myself, you know,
00:04:48.760 it might take for granted, right?
00:04:49.940 Flick a light, switch, light comes on.
00:04:51.360 It's been like that since the day I was born.
00:04:53.620 That's my expectation.
00:04:55.040 Well, careers and opportunities.
00:04:56.460 Yeah.
00:04:57.520 Yeah, exactly.
00:05:00.200 Yeah.
00:05:00.780 So really opening that up.
00:05:02.240 And I think that that's what a big show like this is all about, is that you're able to get thousands and thousands of people here
00:05:08.900 and to be able to experience that.
00:05:11.380 And we look at planning the show with a day-after approach.
00:05:15.340 So that's tomorrow when we kind of pause and do an after-action review and think about what has changed.
00:05:23.080 And you can't see everything, but some of those great collisions or new friends, old friends,
00:05:28.080 the networking like you mentioned, that's going to have an effect that can go on for weeks and months and years ahead.
00:05:36.800 Yeah, absolutely.
00:05:37.780 So what about some of those numbers?
00:05:40.560 We're happy to report that our pre-registration, which we were tracking very, very closely,
00:05:46.620 and we saw a big jump in and around April and May.
00:05:50.440 We're always watching our internationals, their ability here to travel.
00:05:54.440 That's a big part of our audience that comes as we get delegates from more than 100 countries.
00:06:01.440 We know there's nine international pavilions here on the show floor.
00:06:04.300 We need to get them all here to Calgary.
00:06:05.820 We need to make sure they have hotels.
00:06:07.580 So our pre-reg is how we're targeting to hit about 32,000 people for over the three days of the show,
00:06:14.260 which is just a tremendous achievement for the event to see some growth year on year,
00:06:24.280 but really to maintain a solid core of audience.
00:06:26.780 Now, the quality of the audience is something here that we're proud of.
00:06:31.300 Our marketing teams, our conference teams put a tremendous amount of effort to making sure that we all love,
00:06:37.800 seeing the cabinet ministers and the CEOs on stage and a lot of the high-level business.
00:06:44.480 There's closed-door policy meetings and different things happening,
00:06:48.020 but we also need to make sure that we're attracting broad ranges of engineers,
00:06:54.300 of energy professionals, of decision-makers that have come to this show tasked
00:06:59.680 with finding new technologies, new services, pushing out RFPs,
00:07:05.480 and really driving business on the show floor.
00:07:08.060 So we've seen a big growth in that area.
00:07:10.160 A lot of them are involved with our technical programming,
00:07:13.080 which we've expanded this year by 25%.
00:07:16.100 So that, you know, it's really an investment in content,
00:07:19.740 and if you have that right content, that's going to get people interested,
00:07:23.100 and we're able to showcase the hundreds and hundreds of exhibitors here behind us
00:07:27.320 to say you've got something to see, feel, and touch, and people to meet.
00:07:31.520 There's robots here working.
00:07:32.960 You probably saw big, big equipment that you can get in and try.
00:07:36.820 So you've got to have that variety and be able to advertise that at the right time.
00:07:41.420 We were able to successfully do that,
00:07:43.640 and I'm very proud of our show team this year to achieve a number in and around that 32,000,
00:07:49.300 which will be audited over the next 24 hours and then released to the media.
00:07:53.780 Excellent.
00:07:54.000 So the day after, planning for next year starts tomorrow.
00:08:00.640 So what can we look forward to in 25?
00:08:03.860 We're going to look forward to 25 is everything that we've learned from working with three levels of conference rooms.
00:08:10.860 And, you know, I mentioned, I think, in an interview earlier that we had together,
00:08:15.180 we have used every conference room.
00:08:17.020 Now we're going to look at and measure through surveys to all of our delegates, our exhibitors, our attendees, and really gather data.
00:08:25.660 So the next month or so is about establishing data and then presenting that through to our number of committees.
00:08:32.960 You know, we've got hundreds of volunteers that are behind the show, and that's hours and hours of work.
00:08:38.840 And we have a duty and responsibility to collect that data and present that to them and say,
00:08:45.060 this is our findings.
00:08:46.460 This is what we think we should do next.
00:08:48.340 So all that said, what's my guess on what we're going to do next year?
00:08:52.960 You can look forward to an expanded outdoor exhibition area this year with bringing back some of the features that we've had before,
00:09:01.720 really getting live working equipment.
00:09:03.880 We weren't able to do that this year with some of the changeover in logistics,
00:09:07.640 but we've got that budgeted and we're ready to roll.
00:09:10.980 We've got exhibitors behind us.
00:09:12.980 Second to that, you can expect us to continue to increase the number of exciting keynote speakers.
00:09:19.820 We're already in touch with international contacts.
00:09:23.380 You know, we're able to bring Nick Nanos here, but we like to be the show where you can come and get some,
00:09:28.340 you know, get some outlook.
00:09:29.660 Be able to walk away to say, no, I saw on Facebook somewhere this survey that said that.
00:09:35.620 No, you want to be able to come say, I was in the seat.
00:09:38.000 I was, you know, a few feet from Nick Nanos who said he thinks this is what Canadians are thinking
00:09:42.260 and that's what's looking for.
00:09:43.680 So for more of that dynamic content, we're going to expand the exhibition floor with new pavilions
00:09:49.960 that are going to represent, you know, we want to expand in the LNG sector.
00:09:56.040 We want to continue to expand on the oil and gas side of the show as well.
00:10:00.420 Hydrogen, you know, there's a lot here being an integrated energy event.
00:10:05.840 So lots of chat about SMRs, geothermal.
00:10:09.780 So really continuing to make this, that all energy event.
00:10:13.020 Canada's national energy events is really what we want to continue to solidify as a reputation
00:10:20.980 of the global energy show Canada.
00:10:23.040 Excellent.
00:10:23.820 You're going to bring back the rodeo.
00:10:25.580 We, you got me there, haven't you?
00:10:29.020 So I'll answer that one.
00:10:30.740 And so we are in touch with a top rodeo producer already and we are, we are working up plans
00:10:38.040 to see how we can make that work for 25.
00:10:40.340 You're, if I had a nickel, Sean, because it's so popular, isn't it?
00:10:45.020 And what a wonderful thing I missed this year.
00:10:46.640 Yeah.
00:10:47.080 Yeah.
00:10:47.580 Yeah.
00:10:47.800 So stay tuned on that.
00:10:49.480 That's what I'll say to, to the viewers and yourself.
00:10:51.940 We've got a bunch of exciting announcements that will start to drop to the market.
00:10:56.660 We'll see end of August, early September, our next year's show.
00:10:59.440 Awesome.
00:10:59.920 Yeah.
00:11:00.420 Congratulations.
00:11:01.160 Yeah.
00:11:01.420 Thank you very much.
00:11:02.360 And thanks for the opportunity again to, to be here with Western Standard.
00:11:06.120 You've been a great host.
00:11:06.980 You've been a great partner.
00:11:08.120 Thank you.