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To Show or not to Show
It is an understatement to say that the industry was shocked when Avid announced they were not going to
exhibit on the NAB show floor in 2008. At least as far as the South Hall Lower Level is concerned, besides the long line at Starbucks, Avid IS what you saw when you entered.
More recently, the Apple rumor mill had started to churn as if it were the weeks leading up to so many a MacWorld Expo, but this time it wasn’t speculation about the thinnest, fastest or lightest anything; rather, it was about whether Apple would follow in its first-initial-sharing brother Avid’s footsteps by pulling the plug on its NAB exhibit as well.
Apple’s rumored pullout became a reality in a very understated and brief announcement from a company spokesman. As expected, the forums and newsgroups were abuzz with renewed fervor as to why all this had come about. With Avid, it seemed the consensus of public opinion was that business was suffering and the NAB cash cow was a casualty of cutbacks. Compare and contrast this to the public's reaction after Apple had opted out, where the most common comment seemed to be that while business was solid and they had cash in the bank, they weren't releasing anything new and really didn't need to be there (those interested in Final Cut Server, among other things, would beg to differ). The point is that, in the court of public opinion, Avid needed to cut NAB from their roster, whereas Apple just didn't want to do it.
Regardless of the motivating factors behind the decisions these respective companies made, less common were the discussions regarding the efficacy of the NAB or other trade shows for these or any of the exhibiting companies, particularly with respect to the resources involved in producing and staffing a booth and the return on these investments.
Whether an exhibitor or attendee, these events transpiring gave us pause to rethink our perspective in terms of why we go to the big show. Both Apple and Avid stated that they didn't feel this was the best way to get through to their customers. They felt their money was better spent in other ways.
Similarly spirited questions could be asked from the perspective of the attendee. Is this the best vehicle for my company to get the information we need to make purchasing decisions? What am I going to find at NAB that I can't get other places? What is the return on investment for us using valuable company resources attending this trade show? What is the trade off for attending? As for an exhibitor, the costs for an attendee are not an inexpensive proposition. Between the outright costs of attending and the revenue opportunities lost by being away from the studio, things can add up quickly.
Charles McConathy, the founder and former President/CEO had some strong opinions on this. Charles had an uncanny ability to anticipate industry trends and made many risky and successful decisions based on his intuition. He used to talk about the changing face of the trade show and how technology would create a virtual trade show and make obsolete the traditional monolithic and costly venues.
The Internet and new media have already realized much of his vision of the virtual trade show. It's not just images, features, and specifications on a static web page anymore. Now there are videos, peer and industry reviews, how-tos, testimonials, user groups, forums, and the list goes on. In fact, often times there is too much information from which to choose. Add to that the concerns of source credibility, whether it be guerilla marketing or just a misinformed but well-meaning contributor. Wikipedia seems to have a page for everything these days, but it is prudent to be critical of the sources of information found here.
In light of all this, we here at ProMax asked ourselves these same questions. NAB has always been a demonstrable success for us. But of all the marketing opportunities out there, is NAB the best thing for our business and, more importantly, for our customers? We still plan to exhibit in 2008, and are still hosting our 13th Annual Digital Café as well. The NAB forum gives us our opportunity to see our customers – many of which have been coming to NAB for more years than we have – face-to-face, and conversely affords our customers an opportunity to see us and put a face to a name and to personalize our relationships. It allows us to meet prospects and show that we are a bona fide, established entity that has been around for more than 13 years and will be there for them 13 years from now. When they need support, additional services, or advice on how to grow their business, we’ll be there to provide them with the right solutions and information to meet their needs. As with NAB, our Digital Café is all about relationships. It’s about camaraderie and getting away from the office to wallow in lust for the newest technologies and innovations in our industry, to touch the gear and see it work (or not) in person, and share some quality time with our otherwise virtual-only brethren.
Apple and Avid both plan to be in Las Vegas during NAB and will have some presence off the show floor, but pulling out of NAB proper has some pretty far-reaching, broad implications. These are the big boys that make the headlines, which begs the question of how many smaller companies, at least in the post production segment, may have changed their plans for the show, if not this year then in 2009. We’re certain that every exhibitor has had the same discussion we’ve had here at ProMax, and that NAB and trade shows in general will be more carefully scrutinized as marketing vehicles. It will be interesting to see the effects on NAB in 2008 and into the future.
What's your take on NAB and other trade shows? Let us know what you think!
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