The SEMA Show is a must-visit industry event for the automotive aftermarket and specialty-equipment aftermarket.
By Barry Alt
By Barry Alt
If you’ve never visited The SEMA Show before, you might be under the impression that it’s just a big car show, but I’m here to tell you today that it’s not! The SEMA Show is a trade-only industry event that just happens to include an amazing custom car show.
Don’t worry, lots of people think it’s only a big car show, and while there are a lot of impressive cars on display, there’s way more to the show than that.
The SEMA Show is in the Las Vegas Convention Center, and it’s enormous! The convention center includes 4.6 million square feet of convention space and an additional 2.2 million square feet of outdoor space: in 2021 alone, there were approximately 114,000 attendees, exhibitors, and media who participated.
You could easily walk over 40-60 miles during show week, and this year it’s the biggest automotive show in North America. There were over 1,300 exhibitors present (As of this writing there are already 1,700 registered for the 2022 show) at the event and over 100 educational sessions.
If you’re an automotive aftermarket restoration and performance shop, a restyling shop, or a shop that focuses on custom builds, then the SEMA Show is the place to be.
Even if you’re just looking for new innovations to include in your builds or new tools to help you be more productive in your shop, you can learn so much by checking out SEMA. Besides the people, cool builds and tools the SEMA show also offers over 100 expert speakers via the SEMA Education series of talks that you can attend all week. From digital marketing to the HRIA builders panel you’ll come away with more knowledge than you came with.
Pro Tip: If you attend the SEMA Show, which you should, don’t skimp out! Attend the show in its entirety because if you don’t you won’t have time to see everything and you’ll end up missing out on something badass.
There are loads of benefits to attending the SEMA Show, but here are the top five reasons to attend we think you should take into consideration.
At the SEMA Show, you’ll be able to see all the latest trends and innovations, in person. There are so many new products and techniques showcased at the show. You can talk to all the great people who built the fantastic cars and applied those new trends and products to their rides.
The most popular customized vehicle in 2021 was the new Ford Bronco.
Broncos were everywhere at the show this year, all customized in different ways. Like the amazing Bronco built by Tucci Hot Rods with snow tracks replacing the wheels! We also saw built-in lift kits, bigger tires, new lights, customized interiors, and all kinds of different aspects that you wouldn’t believe if you didn’t see them right there at the show.
The Jeep Wrangler certainly has some real competition now in regards to customization and build options.
The best part about it is that you could just go right up and meet the person or team who built it and ask them any questions you might have about their build.
One of the biggest things about events like SEMA is getting to the part where you’re seeing so many builds that you’re starting to notice all these new unique products people have. This will get you thinking, ‘hey, I want that in my shop,’ and you know what, these shows are the perfect place to get those parts and sometimes you can get some great show deals direct from the manufacturers.
You’ll learn so much just by talking to other attendees. Plus, while you’re at it, you can talk to some of the manufacturers that provide some of the parts people use to help build their cars during the event.
Pro Tip: If you’ve got something specific you want to ask a certain manufacturer or builder then write it down so you don’t forget! Lots of people want to talk to these amazing industry leaders so if you forget your question you might not get a chance to ask it again.
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The Motorhead Digital team are digital marketing expert with over 25 years of experience. They’re focused on supporting automotive aftermarket restoration, performance, and race shops. Their signature Site, Location, and Maximizer™ programs will supercharge your digital marketing including website design, social media, SEO search engine rank, content marketing, and your entire online presence so you attract better leads who want to spend more money with you. You can reach Motorhead Digital at (585) 766-9785, via email, or online at MotorheadDigital.com.