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Why one industry-wide megashow makes sense
August 20, 2008
At today's CMM Industry Outlook Panel, one of the bigger topics of conversation among the 50 or so converters, supplier/exhibitors, staffers from show organizer PennWell and the four trade-magazine editors there (myself included) was..."Does the idea of one industry-wide, package-printing and converting megashow for North America every four years make sense?"
This blog entry will look at some of the advantages of such a show through the opinions expressed at the panel discussion; I'll cover the "cons" in my next posting.
1. There are now too many smaller shows too often. One megashow could solve the problem of dwindling visitor attendance at tradeshows in general. With so much to be seen in one place by an audience composed of absolutely every facet of the industry, companies might be compelled to send more people for more days. A five- or even six-day megashow would give that bigger audience the timeframe it would need.
2. There's just not that much new every year. Having the event on a four-year cycle faces the reality that most technology is evolutionary, not revolutionary. It's more in line with the new-product development cycle.
3. Supplier budgets are stretched with too many shows. Exhibitors of all kinds are already making tough decisions about which of several shows to attend every year. Not enough ROI for the dwindling customer pool. Yes, quality of attendee can certainly outweigh quantity. But, with one megashow, the chances of getting both quality and quantity are bound to increase.
4. Supplier budgets, Part 2: A less-frequent megashow should also let more exhibitors justify the expenses involved. It's got to cost less to attend one six-day event every four years than the combined costs of four, separate three-day events.
So, what do you think? What might be other "pros" for one less-often megashow? Go to our Website Poll on the home page or post your Comment below.
Posted by Mark Spaulding on August 20, 2008 | Comments (0)