What sort of sponsors actually gain anything from their booth? Content providers with product to sell, hard goods provider with product to sell, that sort of thing.
I simply cannot, do not, and will not see where the average sponsor program gets any real return on it.
One of the larger sponsors did a giveaway awhile back, a large prize, well publicized deal. The guy that won? Stopped sending them traffic a week or two later.
This is typical.
Now I realize that some shows really should have floors and booths and stuff like that -- but two a year is more than enough. And yes, I do think the sponsors should dictate the hotel and the environment.
You want to find newbs? Do it on a chat board.
You want to get real business done at shows? You better hope you can unchain yourself from your booth long enough to visit with the guys who are stuck in their booths.
One sponsor, a very large one, had their smallest booth ever -- still a booth yes, but no bells, no whistles, just their employees using it as a home base -- they had a scheduler there, you could book time with whomever you dealt with there, but they had no flashing lights, no loud music, no cars, none of that shit. Now that was a wise way to spend money.
I wouldn't have a sensitive conversation on the show floor personally -- I get as far from it as is logistically possible -- somewhere quiet with no prying ears and eyes. And it's not the hospitality section either.
I've done all manner of trade shows in previous incarnations -- furniture, jewelry, domestics, gift products, and its always the same thing. If you aren't actually demonstrating a product or showing something that needs to be viewed in real life to decide to buy, its very hard to justify the return on investment.
|