The Top 10 Memorable HomeSphere Experiences at IBS/KBIS 2024
March 21, 2024
While getting our team ready for IBS and KBIS this year, we were really exhilarated to be exhibiting at the event in Las Vegas. We were proud of our manufacturer partners that had booths or were walking the show and our builders who were looking forward to builder networking and having meaningful discussions with suppliers.
With over 76,000 attending residential construction professionals and 1,800+ companies exhibiting, the 2024 event was the largest International Builders' Show in terms of attendance in 15 years. With the endless energy and the outstanding enthusiasm expressed at the event, we'd like to share some unique moments with you.
HomeSphere's top 10 most memorable experiences at the 2024 IBS/KBIS event:
10: Seeing why it's a much better idea to gamble and enter to win $15K at the FlowGuard Gold booth than it would be to play keno back at the casino.
At their booth, representatives from Lubrizol met with over 1,500 builder industry professionals, many of whom had learned the hard way why it was foolish to gamble with plumbing systems that may fail when reacting with chlorine. FlowGuard Gold is the only hot and cold water distribution material that is immune to degradation from chlorinated drinking water. Builders or plumbers were invited to enter a drawing to take a chance on becoming the lucky recipient of $15,000 toward the installation of complete FlowGuard Gold plumbing systems in their homes.
9: The Las Vegas Strip is open 24/7 with bright lights. At the show, a time and motion study shed light on reasons why builders should choose the ForceField® Weather Barrier System over OSB or housewrap.
Adam Hermansen, director of builder sales, (at 1:29 in the video clip) showed a demo of a time and motion study that compared an installation of ForceField Weather Barrier System by Georgia Pacific to an installation of OSB and housewrap. Time savings, differences on the air tightness of the building and great data on why to use an integrated weather barrier product — namely ForceField — were clearly shown. Georgia-Pacific Building Products also hosted a well-attended happy hour during the show.
8: BRK / First Alert started protecting homes around the same time the Rat Pack began performing in Las Vegas, but the manufacturer is still coming out with impressive new material.
Resideo Smart Home Products and Systems showed off an array of Resideo / Honeywell Home thermostats and products for a cleaner, more efficient home. They also focused on Resideo BRK / First Alert products that protect homes. These included smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and the new First Alert Pro Security products including a HD video doorbell and outdoor camera. Builders and contractors were invited to stop by and learn more about the future of fire safety and home building with the UL 217 8th edition, as well as to check out the new First Alert app coming out soon.
7: Although Vegas is famous for quick weddings of love-struck couples, Kwikset hosted a couple of well-thought-out and informative panel sessions at the 2024 KBIS.
Kwikset set up a panel on Tuesday, Feb. 27, "Getting Smart on Smart Locks" and another on Wednesday, Feb. 28, "Ageless Smart Security" — both featuring home experts Cathy Pedrayes, Alexandria Poer and Stacey Higginbotham. Kwikset, Baldwin and Weiser supply doorknobs and levers, deadbolts, smart locks and keypads. In their booth, Kwikset featured the next generation of smart security with voice-activated control access with their Halo Touch™ integrated with Alexa.
6: Being serenaded by The King of Rock 'n' Roll to the sweet tune of "Falling in Love" with MyQ®.
Viva Las Vegas as LiftMaster showcased a very talented Elvis impersonator to pay tribute to their king of intelligent access through any smart device — MyQ. No building professionals who visited their booth were left with suspicious minds that MyQ is the ultimate rockstar. MyQ enables homeowners to control their garage doors from an app. Also with MyQ, Amazon Key allows eligible Prime members in select cities to have packages conveniently and securely delivered inside their garage. LiftMaster provides garage door openers, entrance and access control and gate operator solutions for HomeSphere multifamily and single-family builders.
5: And on the topic of love, we loved meeting up with manufacturers' main contacts for HomeSphere, as well as area representatives and sales teams.
Frequently throughout the year, the HomeSphere Partner Engagement team connects with a main point of contact at our manufacturer partners. Our partner engagement managers, together with the HomeSphere's marketing and builder sales teams, work on driving brand awareness and creating lead opportunities for the manufacturers' area representatives. Partner managers also discussed HomeSphere-IQ® and its latest enhancements with manufacturer teams.
With these developments, the manufacturers can leverage the power of the platform to help further increase their market share with new builders, as well as grow existing business and upsell their premium products to builders already using their brand. Nearly 20 of our partners exhibited at IBS/KBIS 2024 and several more were in attendance and we were able to meet with so many of them!
4: Welcome to the fabulous HomeSphere booth — much larger than the iconic neon-lit "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign itself.
HomeSphere took its tradeshow presence to the next level in 2024 with a 10 by 30 foot booth space. Three stations containing 42-inch monitors showcased the advantages of HomeSphere rebates for builders, our emerging technologies and our over 80 trusted building product brands on our program. Just like the rest of Vegas, our booth was very busy and full of activity, with lots of meaningful and impactful discussions with HomeSphere staff.
Members of the HomeSphere team present at the show included: Patrick Brandon (Partner Engagement Manager), Rachel Couch (Director of Revenue Operations), Brian DeGuzman (Regional Market Specialist - TX), Dave Delles (Regional Market Specialist - AZ, HI, NM, NV, Southern CA), Danielle Hellon (Event Manager), Eric McCartney (Business Development Account Executive), Jeff Olin (VP of Technology), Jim Plazak (Director of Builder Sales), Ryan Poe (Regional Market Specialist - GA, KY, TN), Liz Polson (Director of Marketing), Adam Reke (Senior Product Manager), Mike Rosenbach (Director of Partnerships) and Greg Schwarzer (President and CEO).
To find out more about the fun activities in our booth, keep reading this countdown after the colorful collage.
And now the top three HomeSphere experiences...
3: With better odds than a progressive jackpot at a group of slots, builders and contractors were encouraged to participate in HomeSphere's fun scavenger hunt to win one of 13 spectacular prizes.
Our building product manufacturers offered twelve attractive prizes including GROHE's Concetto kitchen faucet by LIXIL, an Amazon gift card by Siemens, a mini drone from Lennox, a tankless water heater by Rinnai, a smart LED lamp from ABB Residential Solutions, a Milwaukee Tool PACKOUT™ available through The Home Depot's Pro Xtra™ Loyalty Rewards, and a Swiss Army backpack and Titlest golf ball set from Leviton Manufacturing (and so many others)!
HomeSphere offered up a grand prize of a Jackery Solar Generator 300 and solar panel. Our contest was cleverly designed to drive builder and contractor traffic to our HomeSphere partner booths at IBS/KBIS to talk about products on our program. Although all the builders on the HomeSphere program are winners, in the sense that they earn cash back on products they love through rebates, we'd like to extend a special congratulations to our winners' circle for the scavenger hunt.
2: Our three manufacturer-sponsored food breaks drew larger crowds than all-you-can-eat crab legs at a Las Vegas Buffet.
Promoted exclusively to HomeSphere builders prior to IBS/KBIS 2024, these hour-long breaks drove builders to the booth for the food, but also attracted them to stick around for discussions about the advantages of our partner's products and their rebate relationship to HomeSphere.
On Tuesday morning, LIXIL with American Standard, DXV, GROHE brands spoke with building professionals about their toilets, showering, bathroom faucets and bathroom and kitchen sinks over coffee and pastries. On Tuesday afternoon, Gerber Plumbing Fixtures had conversations with builders and contractors about their toilets, kitchen and bathroom faucets and valves over a nacho station. On Wednesday afternoon, Greenheck Residential Ventilation Solutions offered Bavarian pretzels while talking about how their ventilation fans and ERVs help builders and their contractors meet strict ventilation and energy codes while also being a cost-effective solution. (By the way, Greenheck exhibited at IBS with the concept of The Code Compliance Alliance featuring HomeSphere as part of founding alliance member.)
And... the #1 HomeSphere Experience at IBS/KBIS 2024:
Connecting our builders at the shows with our manufacturers at IBS/KBIS.
Our builders planning to attend the show this year had requested over 60 meetings with HomeSphere manufacturers present at IBS/KBIS 2024. We had surveyed our builders in advance of the show so that the manufacturer could set a time and place to meet up during the main event.
Our manufacturers were thrilled with the opportunity to talk with our builders and have the opportunity to increase their market share. HomeSphere acted as the liaison to drive these types of meetings while also maximizing our builder's rebate earnings with HomeSphere.
With a 2024 show this successful, we can't wait to return to Vegas for 2025!
