With Apple pulling out of Macworld and the increasing decline of attendance from both visitors and exhibitors, is this the beginning of an end to trade shows?
Or could it simply be that the tried-and-true formula of trade shows for businesses is no longer viable?
I remember drooling over the 1999 SEGD award winning 45,000 sq. ft. Sony Playstation booth design by Mauk Design for the E3 event. The design I believe is still one of the best even 10 years later. It was groundbreaking, impactful, surprising, and delivered the message that Sony was its industry’s most innovative company.
Now, what about E3 today? To those that are unaware of E3, it used to be the ultimate video game conference. Think of it like the Saloni Milano for furniture industry or the Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week for the fashion industry. Gaming companies used to spend a ton, to debut titles, creating the most exciting buzz while gamers walk the floor with gleeful eyes, fighting to test out the latest games. Well for those who have attended the past few E3’s, most will say that they are highly disappointed and that the show is dying; with nothing innovative, nothing surprising, nothing new.
Don’t get me wrong. I love attending trade shows and have nothing against trade shows. We’ve made wonderful partnerships with clients, fans and peers through trade shows. In the last few years, my company has been fortunate to do as many as 8 shows per year; some local and some international. I’ve enjoyed them all. Some were worth the investment and time, and some were just disappointing misses. Certain shows still have the pizzazz, attracting record-breaking visitors and exhibitors alike. But most shows are your same old “trade show”. Of course, show management will always try to convince or sell you that they are “THE” show to do. After all it’s a business. But despite economic down turn and low turn outs, booth fees keep increasing and now range from $40.00- $70.00 per sq.ft!!
Now with the recent Apple stunt, I have to pause for a moment and try to understand why. Maybe trade shows are NOT dying, but the way in which business is done today has changed. And the conventional ways of doing business no longer apply. With Web 2.0, most new product announcements are now done on the Internet/ blogs. With consumers increasing their demands on transparencies, buyers are now forced to do their research in advance way before attending a show and may not even attend because of that.
Either way, the most important thing is to accept the fact that time has changed. The conventional trade show formula may have worked for many businesses 10 or 20 years ago but main street has evolved. There is no one right method, but without exploring new ideas we may fall behind times in tackling the ever changing demanding consumers.
