- When: January 26, 2013
- Where: SunStyle Tanning – West Hollywood, CA
- Who: Australian Gold, Body IQ, The Intelligent Lotion, California Tan,
- Cosmedico Light Inc., Designer Skin, Devoted Creations, Ergoline,
- FS Accessories, Ed Hardy Tanning, Sun Style Sunless Solutions
- and Swedish Beauty
When Four Seasons Sales & Service wanted to host a different kind of tanning event, the company organized its unique – and quite successful – Regional Tanning Expo in Hollywood, CA.
Hosted in conjunction with JK-North America and Platinum Sponsor Devoted Creations, the regional event took place at SunStyle Tanning, an upscale tanning salon in West Hollywood. The goal was to introduce Four Seasons’ services to West Coast salon professionals. “Because the salon has limited parking and space, our event was limited to about 75 people,” said Sheila Routon, Four Seasons Marketing Manager. “We sent out invitations to nearly every salon owner in California and about 75 showed up, including one who flew in from Oregon!”
The event schedule opened with a welcome address from Ed Jerger (Four Seasons) and a keynote presentation by Mike Blore (California Sun), who discussed his views on the future of the tanning industry and the image our businesses must project to the public, as well as sharing various marketing and promotional tips. Jerry Deveney (JK-North America) followed with another presentation on sales and marketing, and was followed by Lisa Parsons (Devoted Creations) who discussed merchandising products in a tanning salon environment. A long line of attendees waited for a session in the Ergoline SunStyle sunless booth, which was operating throughout the day, as well as SunStyle’s UV tanning units.
For Lori Armstrong, owner of Electric Tan in La Mirada, CA, the Expo was a great place for her and her staff to learn something new. “It was amazing!” she exclaimed. “All of the presenters were very informative and they shared many useful tips that can be implemented right away at our salon. I definitely picked up some good advice as well as a lot of great promotional ideas, and my staff got a lot of ideas, as well. Attending this show is a great way to jump-start our season, and I hope Four Seasons decides to host another one next year.”
For her first time attending any indoor tanning event, Ashlie Kennedy was impressed with everything the Expo had to offer. She and two other employees from Sundance Tanning Salon in Grover Beach, CA attended with their boss – Devon Johnson – to learn as much as they could to improve their business. “I didn’t know what to expect, but I was very impressed by the speakers and everything else,” said Ashlie. “All of them gave some very valuable information, and we really learned a lot about EFT packages from Mike Blore’s presentation. The experience was amazing!”
Education and networking weren’t the only things attendees received – thousands of dollars’ worth of prizes were given away by the event’s vendors. The grand prize – a New Sunshine Table Display valued at $2,500 – was won by Devon Johnson of Sundance Tanning in Grover Beach, CA. Shannon Holly of Island Tan in Walnut, CA won two cases of sunlamps from Cosmedico Light, Inc. valued at $500.
For Four Seasons, the West Hollywood Expo was a great way to wrap up their tanning events for 2013, says Sheila Routon. “We decided to host this show not knowing what kind of response we would get but we were very happy with the turnout, and our attendees were very pleased with it, as well,” she added. “We received a lot of compliments and they all asked us to host a show there again next year. This is something we’ll strongly consider as we plan our 2014 Expo schedule.
