At the Atlanta CVB press conference Feb. 6, MPI Chair-Elect Ann Godi gave her top reasons companies should be holding meetings.
You can watch the video here:
Hi Mike –
I wasn’t talking about our shows. I wrote the blog “The trouble with trade shows” about what I experienced on the floor of MeetDifferent.
At PYM, we scrapped the traditional trade show model a long time ago and developed a new approach that created an intimate atmosphere that didn’t overwhelm planners but still gave them access to a variety of services. We limit our number of exhibitors and went to tabletops, so now there’s a really casual relaxed vibe, that we’ve been getting raves about.
What I experienced at the MPI show, though — exhibitors complaining, etc, reminded me of what we had experienced when we were still doing big expos once a year, and which was the main reason for us scrapping them. Making the shows smaller and more frequent and more casual was a great solution for us. Although, I don’t know if it would work for everyone.
By the way- Did you mean to post your comments on the blog “The trouble with trade shows? If so, let me know, and I can move them over to the right section.
Kristi
Soapbox
Have an opinion, experience, knowledge or question about this story? Sound off below.
Note: This space is for comments about the story above. General questions to PYM should be sent via our contact page.
February 11, 2009 at 2:08 pm
As a trade show exhibit designer and builder I’d be interested to find out more about your show and why it didn’t work. Trade shows are still the best way to get your message out to new potential customers. You reduce the cost of putting a salesperson on the street, the sales process is reversed and you’re developing leads are a margin of five to one. Some exhibitors don’t actually know how to exhibit effectively or how to get the maximun ROI or even if they should be attending that particular show. Some say there is an influx of shows which dilutes some of the impact. I agree. What’s the answer? Perhaps it’s redefining the travel industry and the meeting planner industry. Are they one? Should they be one? Many trade associations are competing for exhibitor dollars and this is what dilutes the industry.
We are a trade show company and the more shows a cliet does the more we get paid. It is important however to advise clients on which shows might be beneficial and what costs to expect for those shows. This is not hard to do a service we offer.
I would welcome the opportunity to assist any of the exhibitors on how to be more cost effective in the trade show medium.
Sincerely,
Michael F. Hughes
President
MFH & Associates