This week sees the opening of two key exhibitions in BDB’s calendar, Vitafoods and Interpack. They’re the culmination of many interesting projects, from stand design and build to brochure production and multilingual press support. Shows like this are a significant investment for exhibitors – not only financially, but also in terms of time. So with the global economy still so shaky, what can we expect from international trade shows in 2011 and beyond?
Vitafoods registered visitor growth of only 1% last year compared to 2009. When I spoke to Messe Düsseldorf on Monday, they weren’t expecting much improvement on the 179,000 visitors that attended the last Interpack. Can trade show organisers and exhibitors justify and expect big spending when money remains tight, international travel is being further reduced and so much communication is now online? Is the show over for traditional exhibitions?
The short answer is no. Digital technology, which has opened up fantastic online communication opportunities like virtual exhibitions, webinars and excellent discussion and networking forums, will complement offline activity, not annihilate it. The beverage industry’s first virtual show, drinksingredients, took place almost a year ago. Three of our clients “exhibited” and all reported it reasonably successful. The organiser, Decision News Media (now part of William Reed) followed up with three more events within twelve months and plans a total of eight in 2011. BNP Media, in the USA, has also entered the market with five virtual shows this year.
Without doubt, virtual events address some of the concerns of marketers today. But they don’t have universal appeal; not everyone is comfortable with the concept – yet. Some industries are more conservative and don’t see a role for events like this – yet. Visitor profiles aren’t as good – yet. And the technology isn’t flawless – yet. I think that will change and the virtual exhibition industry will grow.
But there’s simply no substitute for meeting in person, discussing a product while holding it in your hand. For an exhibitor, seeing competitors, customers, prospects and journalists in the real world is still more attractive than a virtual one. If nothing else, the numbers do the talking. Drinksingredients: 11 exhibitors, 3,024 visitors. Drinktec (which admittedly covers much more than just ingredients): 1,500 exhibitors, 60,000 visitors.
The global economic squeeze didn’t instigate virtual events, but it will certainly bolster and accelerate their popularity. Even when international finances look much stronger, I don’t think we’ll return to the old way of exhibiting. We’ll see more smaller, specialised, and regional shows. In reality, I can see room for only one major international exhibition in any given sector – Interpack, FiE, K, Eurotier. And, welcome news for BDB and its clients, there will be far greater measurement and evaluation, of both “real” and virtual exhibitions. Austen Hawkins, CEO of the Association of Exhibition Organisers (AEO), recently wrote: “It’s about time we changed the way we prove the worth of our shows.” He’s right – exhibitors, visitors and the press can now share information on many different platforms and will cherry-pick the best ways of doing so.
The cancellation of Interbuild (recently rebranded as BEST) took many in the construction industry by surprise earlier this year, but it won’t be the last big casualty of a changing exhibition climate. In-person trade show organisers need to refocus and talk up the USPs of their products. Virtual organisers need to hone their offering and step up their marketing efforts. There’s room in the market – and in our clients’ marketing strategies – for both, but only if they can prove they’re worth it.
