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JOE'S CORNER
Trade Shows - Are They Worth It?
Trade shows, we all agree that we go to too many of them, they cost too much and they take up too much time. However, we do keep on going. And the question still is Are They Worth It? On the up side, you get to see a lot of people, new products, refresh yourself on older products and follow up on projects that need personal contact. You can see and do a lot in a short period of time.
As an exhibitor I am not happy about the many papers, presentations, workshops and panels that distract a visitor from the show floor. But if those people are taken off to conferences and other business, it becomes less interesting to the exhibitor. It's underable that we want to take advantage of the fact that a lot of people are coming together. It's a comvenient time to have Standards, USITT, SMPTE-TTFL committee, and business meetings; all at the same time that the exhibit floor is open. Over scheduling is a concern at many conferences and trade shows.
Trade shows have gotten to be very expensive. The per square foot cost for floor space continues to go up as we get less in services. Load in fees (drayage) are absolutely out of proportion at about $35.00 per hundred pounds. That's the cost to go from the loading dock to the booth, not shipping to the exhibit hall. These fees are so out of line because they seem to be geared towards an exhibitor with hundreds of little boxes that need to be carried into the show which is time consuming and in the end the weight may not add up to much. However, exhibitors in our industry are loading in thousands of pounds that roll in with road cases and take very little time to be brought to the booth. But Trade Show managers do little or nothing to get these or any other expenses in line.
I can remember when trade shows negotiated a deal for a special lower price for hotel rooms. What happens now when a trade show comes to town is the hotels jack-up their prices. Why aren't the exhibit managers negotiating a better deal for those of us who wish to attend, not only for the exhibitors who underwrite so much of the cost of these shows but for all the participants. When the cost is more economical more people attend the show.
We weigh the value of participating in each trade show and it comes down to return on investment. If there is a lot to be gained from being there, we as suppliers will be there. And the same is true for the customers we are eager to see at the show. If they get a lot out of the show then the investment in time and money is worth while. If the show is boring, poorly prepared and not informative, they will not show up. When this happens exhibit managers may try to get "other people" to come so that the numbers appear to be better than they really are. In the end, it is the quality of people that counts. Everybody likes to make predictions as we near the turn of the century so here is mine: some trade shows are going to be in trouble if they don't get themselves in better shape and it will be hard to win back participants who stop coming because they find the shows are not worth while. There are two essential ingredients that make a trade show a success. Practitioners from the market we service and participatetion from the exhibitors who foot the bill. When they come together, it's a great how well worth everyone's time, effort and money!
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