Are Trade Shows a thing of the past?

[softball]

Originally Posted by LAJ

This is a great thread. And while I do appreciate the kudos... I also appreciate the criticism of trade shows in general and am listening.

It's quite refreshing when the norm is a group of people who "get it" as opposed to the norm being people spouting off who don't.

I'm going to put this out there regarding free badges. There is no way we are going to give everyone free admittance to Cybernet Expo and it just slays me who those who don't put together trade shows or attend one every two years are out there telling us to do it.

1. Free badges bring in riff raff and unqualified attendees
2. Free badges cheapen the trade deals I have in place as well as sponsor packages. Why should Joe Schmoe get to come to the show for free when Oprano is out there actively promoting Cybernet Expo or attorney Eric Bernstein is paying for a sponsorship so that everyone can have coffee, juice or water on their way into the seminars every morning?
3. Our badges are cheap to begin with ... this year we charged $75 all inclusive four months out from the show and then ran a $99 special for the next two months after that. People bitch all the time about tube sites killing the adult pay site model and that people need to pay for their porn. Well... the same could be said about trade shows giving it away for free as well for the purpose of traffic and/or falsely inflating their numbers.
4. This ties in with #3... I'm not looking for a "aww you poor boy" here... but lets face it. Connor and I bust our asses for Cybernet Expo and we need to be able to make just a LITTLE bit of money somehow for our 6 months plus of efforts. Almost all of the sponsorship money we make goes directly into the show... meeting space, hotel expenses, beverages, and a zillion other nickel and dime things... it adds up big time.

Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges.....lol


Seriously, though. I used to attend broadcasting trade shows all the time and I never paid for admission. It was always taken care of by folks like Sony or Ikegami that wanted me to see their latest and greatest. It also worked very well. The last show that I went to, I saw Sony's latest Betacam, and I bought it. It prolly cost them a few bucks for the admission, but the camera cost 62K. I made a ton of money out of that camera and it was a great choice after seeing it and playing with it at the show.
That, to me, should be the end result and purpose of a trade show. We all have to make some money out of our attendance.