The exhibitions (or expositions, as they are sometimes called) segment of the
U.S. meetings industry began in the United States when the first exhibition was
held at the newly constructed Chicago Interstate Industrial Exposition Building
in 1873 (Tanner, 1997). Largely confined to local or regional shows until the
post-World War II period, after the war the number of exhibitions grew quickly
in step with the surge in pent-up demand for mass-produced consumer goods,
increasingly efficient national distribution of products and services, and widespread
domestic air travel. It soon became clear that exhibitions could become
more than a sales “contact and close” medium, but also an integral part of marketing and advertising. The invention of Masonite, spray paint, and lacquer
made it possible for sign shops to create new and improved marketing accoutrements
for exhibition booths, thus spawning another exhibition-related industry
(Tanner, 1997