This spring’s Nationwide PrimeTime – held at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center along the shores of Grapevine Lake in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex – brought together a total of more than 2,300 attendees from about 1,000 Nationwide member companies, including a strong turnout of Nationwide RentDirect members – a total of over 100 attendees from 50 member companies.
“Overall, this was a great PrimeTime, with near-record attendance and engagement by Nationwide members,” said John Laing, RentDirect’s new Director. “Despite current business and economic challenges, our members are optimistic and sustained a high level of energy throughout the show. The Nationwide RentDirect members and participating vendor partners had very favorable comments about the event.”
The event – themed “Customer Obsession” – provided plenty of opportunities for participant education, networking, buying, giving back, and entertainment. Attendees perused 200,000+ square feet of show space with 185 vendors offering ways to help them do business more efficiently and effectively. A highlight was the PrimeTime Backyard, where folks enjoyed live music, refreshments, and tasty samples served up by grill vendors.
Nationwide RentDirect, Nationwide Marketing Group’s rent-to-own division, offered a wide variety of RTO-focused educational sessions and issue forums, including Nationwide Learning Academy, regional member meetings, a furniture forum, and marketing and merchandising presentations. APRO’s Vice President of Membership Jen Troke led a roundtable session on key components of running a successful rent-to-own business, and Local IQ led a roundtable discussion on digital marketing.
PrimeTime Palooza and the Expo were packed with purchasing opportunities and exclusive show specials from vendor partners. The RentDirect Hot Show featured a new format – a 60-minute buying frenzy with 16 vendors working their own tables during a happy hour. More than 137 Hot Show specials were extended to RentDirect members; though the exact total purchases amount is still being calculated, millions were made. Following the Hot Show, a dinner featured brief presentations, including Laing’s update on planned improvements in communication, direction, and value for RentDirect members and vendor partners.
“For the future, I look forward to expanding the Nationwide RentDirect agenda,” Laing said, “targeting education and peer-to-peer sessions on the most critical pain-points of the RTO business.”
