Industry exhibitions: watch this space

Get set for a shake-up of business event exhibitions. The sheer cost of exhibiting at these events – not to mention the time out of the office – is causing some operators to seriously consider where they are spending their meagre budgets.
And the result could be a shock for some exhibition organisers.

Events like the Asia Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo in Melbourne (June 6 to 7) exemplifies the pressure some exhibitors are under, with comments from a handful of New Zealand operators clearly cause for concern. To the uninitiated, a company books space at the event, and is then given the option of paying extra for pre-scheduled appointments (PSAs) over the two day event. These are considered worthy of the additional investment by many exhibitors because they are supposed to match the exhibitor with buyers who have indicated they are interested in a particular country, region or service matching what the exhibitor offers.

The disappointment from the exhibitor’s point of view is when they do not receive the type of “buyers” they are looking for in their PSA stream. Prior to the event exhibitors have the option of capturing more of the buyers they want to see until their schedule is full.
For many exhibitors the system works effectively, however, there are exceptions, often through no fault of the exhibitors or the event organisers. Big exhibitors – either country stands or major accommodation and conference venues in these countries – are often the big winners at international events like AIME. The little guys – the visitor attractions or activities-based venues of a destination (which are so important to the overall success of a major conference or incentive) – are the ones who are appearing not to succeed at major events.

And the results, or lack of them, are understandable when shows like AIME are now so internationally based. What began as a show of Victorian meeting and event venues and services now has exhibitors from around the world – Ireland, Moscow, South Africa, to name a few. Hosted buyers are also being brought in from all over the place. And while some may have an interest in New Zealand as a conference destination, they are probably less familiar with the specifics of what New Zealand has to offer in each region and city, and are probably not interested in the first instance.

Whether you can swing off a bridge in Auckland is probably of no interest to a Chinese convention planner until they understand:
1. Where Auckland is;
2. Whether their 1000 pax group can be accommodated in five-star comfort; and
3. How long and how fast it’s going to take to get their delegates from Shanghai to Auckland and back again.

If all the other criteria fit then they might be interested in that bridge.
As the Wellington Convention Bureau’s Eleanor Currier explains (page 24), at future AIME exhibitions Wellington may decide to reduce the number of actual exhibitors of individual product (saving money) and have a larger destination stand to focus more on awareness of the destination first and foremost.
Highly targeted events like Meetings (where buyers are there because it’s a New Zealand only show), will in this writer’s opinion, be the medium of choice for the smaller operators. Expect to see a few more copycats in the coming years.

We welcome your feedback,

MANAGING EDITOR