Trade expos, association events and conferences moving forward....what do they all look like?
Incoming rant warning!!!! I want to discuss trade shows and events, and what the industry possibly expects moving forward.
There is no doubt that 2024 has seen a veritable tsunami of events, expos and conferences, as event organisers try to realign their diaries after the pandemic in 2020-2021. The year we all crawled out into the sunlight again saw some organisers swallow hard and try to put on events – none of them really delivered in all honesty and the organisers themselves were all too well aware, but financial obligations meant it was better to do ‘something’ rather than simply do nothing.
Fast-forward to 2024 and it seems the corrugated and folding carton industries around the globe has been bombarded with events as trade associations and event organisers scramble for the high ground. I am not singling any event out, as they have largely hit the audience meaningfully, but let’s look at what we have done this year: FESPA Middle East (February), AICC 50th Spring Meeting (April), FEFCO Summit (May), drupa (May-June), SuperCorrExpo (September), Printing United (September), ECMA Congress (September), UK Corrugated Industry Trade Show (October)….and those are just the ones I (or members of my team) have attended! Others in China, India, Latin America, South Africa, Scandinavia, Germany, Spain and Italy.
The latest news on our daily news feed shows that 2025 is set to be just as busy: FESPA Middle East (January), CCE (March), AICC Spring (April), Print4All (May), ECMA Congress (September), AICC Annual Meeting (October), FEFCO Technical Seminar (October), TAPPI CorrExpo (October)...yes, you read it right – three events in October alone!
I know that it is hard to plan events a long way out, but I am really just asking – on behalf of the OEMs and various solution suppliers who bear the biggest proportion of the costs as exhibitors or associate members – please can we get some kind of collaboration going between associations and event organisers?! For three of the events in October, the same suppliers will need to be in the US, Europe and then US again in the space of 2 weeks – this really seems crazy, especially at a time when expo budgets – let alone advertising budgets – are stretched to the point of breaking.
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Please don’t get me wrong – every event has its merits and you will always find very happy and passionate exhibitors as well as those who say “it should have been a lot better” – I just plead everyone to look at the calendars and help protect the precious dollars and euros being allocated by the suppliers. Following a rather grim year with tight order books, I know that the OEMs are having to carefully look at their overhead costs for marketing and promotion (always the first things to get hit hard when the economy wobbles!). I was at one event a few months ago where an exhibitor spent over €1m in presenting themselves to the audience – I asked the CEO if he felt he would get a return on that investment – “maybe in the next 10 years we will” he said – is that sustainable??
It also leads to asking what the converter – the visitor – wants today. Online meetings, video demos, virtual presentations – the pandemic made us realise we had some great tools with which to communicate (and reduce our carbon footprint by not having to fly/drive as much). Of course, as humans, we like interaction and to see/touch new machines – but does it make sense moving tons and tons of metalwork around the world to show it off in the flesh? The car industry would suggest not, as one leading brand, Audi, has confirmed that in 2024, more cars have been ordered via online spec-builder today than via their showrooms. Do we need to learn from this?
And what do visitors really want when they come to a show – networking, machine demos, content?? As an industry, we need to TELL the organisers what you want, so it can be delivered.
So I guess what I am asking is that if you find expos and events are critical to your way of operating, please be sure to offer regular feedback – because the suppliers can’t keep footing the bills for far too many events all around the world!
Paper and Board market veteran, advocate for sustainability
2 周Correct and even kinder than should have been. I'm currently in Paris, All4pack for meetings and at the same dates (!) we have pack expo in Chicago. Why so unplanned I'm wondering.
Founder/CEO at Origination
1 个月Great article Dan. As an organiser, I completely understand your concerns about the overwhelming number of events in 2024, which can dilute their overall impact and stretch exhibitors' budgets to breaking point. Collaboration among associations and event organisers is essential to avoid logistical challenges and ensure meaningful engagement opportunities. Your example of a €1 million investment with uncertain returns highlights the need for a more strategic direction in event planning. We should also focus on innovation and creating unique experiences that captivate our audience while meeting their evolving expectations. The pandemic has shifted how we engage, showing the effectiveness of virtual meetings but reinforcing the importance of tactile experiences at expos. By communicating our needs clearly and prioritising quality over quantity, we can create events that truly resonate and foster valuable connections.
Well written and well said Dan. Yes, too many is correct. Each event organiser has good reasons to make it but this is not reasonable nor sustainable. Some events should become every two years. There is value in f2f and probably for manufacturers to display less hardware - only what is new/new (and we always have some). In all cases, events organizers should sit together and share a calendar being realist and pragmatic. This is not because you can do it that you need to do it.
Director at The Publicity Studio Ltd
1 个月Expos are all part of the changing media scene - organisers must put vfm as top priority and not continue to rely on 20th century practices to justify their business model ??
Think B2B Marketing account manager and copywriter, principally serving print and packaging; retired B2B editor and active bingo player
1 个月Content will be key going forward to events and expos. Expect less of the "Big New" shiny, shiny launches, more process improvement and refinement. This was already happening at many shows but is reaching mission-critical now, Labelexpo Europe moving to Barcelona has a novelty factor so that'll likely create a false sense of reality in September 2025 but Printing United with its convergence play seems to be doing something right. I do hope they bring that mindset to drupa and shake it up for 2028.