What About Trade Shows?
EE regularly attends and exhibits at a number of
trade shows throughout the year. Some of these include IPC APEX,
International Microwave Symposium, SEMICON West, EMC Symposium,
AUTOTESTCON, and ITC. We contract for booth space at these shows
to enable us to interact with the attendees and, in the process,
acquire new subscribers. Additionally, our editors schedule
appointments with many of the exhibitors who are introducing new
products in the hopes of publicizing them in upcoming issues.
The discussions with the exhibitors on
product introductions are very useful, particularly since most
include actual demonstrations of the products. This allows the
editors a chance to ask pertinent questions while viewing the
demos. Knowledgeable personnel staffing the exhibitor booths are
able to provide the necessary technical details.
As everyone knows, attendance at many trade
shows is diminishing for a number of reasons. Companies are
cutting back on discretionary spending such as sending people to
shows and offsite seminars. Consequently, at some of the shows,
we are seeing fewer and fewer potential subscribers.
A case in point is the recent IPC APEX show
held in Las Vegas the first week in April. Personally, I don’t
think this city is an appropriate venue for a technical trade
show. Yes, I know Las Vegas hosts a large number of them
throughout the year, but everyone who attends must travel by air
or car to the city. There are no walk-ins to the show from the
local area. Also, the casinos can be a distraction for some
attendees, lessening their time spent on the exhibit floor or
attending the technical sessions.
EE promotes APEX to our 68,000 readers in
a couple of issues—January and March this year—prior to the
show. We have made similar arrangements with IPC for the past
several years. In return, EE is provided booth space to
gather subscriptions and engage in conversations with the
attendees and exhibitors.
Our experience at the show this year was
disappointing both in attendee traffic and location of the booth
in the exhibition hall. Not only was our booth placed in the
back of the hall, but also the Samsung booth completely blocked
at least two aisles leading up to our booth, greatly impeding
anyone from venturing past their large exhibit. Other exhibitors
around our booth voiced similar concerns about limited attendee
traffic.
We value our relationship with the IPC
organization, but the recent exhibition in Las Vegas was not a
rewarding experience. We will assess our future plans for APEX
in the next few months, especially since the show will be held
in Las Vegas for the next two years.
And finally, I would like to hear how you view the relative
importance of attending trade shows. Is participating in the
technical sessions and seminars and visiting the booths on the
exhibition floor necessary or a nicety in performing your job
effectively? Do you find trade shows worthwhile? Or, can you get
all the information you need from trade publications, the
Internet, and company websites? Please let me know your thoughts
on these or related topics. My e-mail address is listed below.
Paul Milo
Editorial Director
pmilo@evaluationengineering.com