Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Are trade shows a dying breed?

Maybe DM Days was just a slow show, a down economy sparking temporary cut backs in travel and registration expenses. But I'm beginning to wonder if this is more than just a bear market trend.

Everyone remembers when the DMA exhibitions were in their glory days. People would flock to the conferences for networking, sessions, and meetings. But in today's digital world with social networking, webinars, email, and video conferencing - are exhibitions as much of a vital element in relationship building, development, and productivity?

And it goes without saying that search engines have single handedly altered our lives, companies and methodologies. We no longer need to gather buyers and businesses together under one roof to play cat and mouse when a simple Google search can deliver prospect lists in a matter of seconds. (The DMA itself may have even hammered a nail into to their own coffin through their vendor search.)

...Not to belittle face to face interaction. If you know RMI we have always focused on fostering in-person meetings and building relationships. However the 21st century offers so many ways to engage with our colleagues, to be productive, and to further our education that trade shows seem like an extremely expensive alternative.

I posed the question on Twitter and received two polar responses - one from @JoyceMcKee referencing a post arguing the necessity of trade shows and another from @ctstew who shared my point of view.

Some friends and family have also attested that construction and firefighting trade shows are still going strong.

So in my conclusion - it appears that the vitality of exhibitions all boils down to the trade. If you're in an industry that requires live demonstrations so your customers can examine a product in person, then trade shows will live on. Otherwise, maybe today's technological alternatives will prevail. Or one-on-one, in person meetings without the necessity of an entire exhibition will suffice.

What do you think?...

Labels: tradeshow marketing

posted by becky terhaar at 9:28 AM   0 comments