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Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The End of an Era
Scott Gentry | 12/16
Are trade shows also going the way of the printed magazine and Dodo bird? Apple leaves MacWorld effective 2010.
Print is (near) dead, trade shows are on life support
Most people know that I ran DV magazine, DV Expo, and the like, for ten years. From there I went on to AV Video, and with the help of a very talented team, turned that into Studio Monthly and StudioDaily.com. Back in the day each of those magazines were easily doing 160+ pages per issue, with about 60% of those pages going to advertising. Yes, because they are trade publications and offer free subscriptions to those that can fog up a glass, um qualify, they run their business from advertising. Creating an editorial environment that can separate advertising form editorial (also know as Church and State), proved to be a challenge, but always paid off in the end.
The world has changed. Publishing has changed, and the models that support a successful publishing business have also changed. Many of my favorite magazines in this market, and others, are no longer able to deliver what they used to. It’s not their fault, there isn’t enough ad revenue to support it. The lack of advertising supporting print means that there are ultimately fewer pages to read. As a publisher you may only get 12 issues a year, and of course you need to cover everything. When times and markets were flush with cash, you simply printed more pages and made the 2 page review, a 4-5 page review. Gone are those days, at least in print.
Online of course is much different, we can electronically “print” another page at will, without the printing, postage and associated costs of ink, etc. If a review needs to be 12 pages long, it can be without costing and arm and a leg. In fact, multiple online pages provide more advertising inventory by allowing for more page loads.
Trade shows, and the need for a new model
Print is not alone in it’s death throws. Apple passed on NAB last year, and Avid has done the same. As of today we learn that Apple will now pass on MacWorld for 2010. In fact, according to a statement from Apple released today, this upcoming MacWorld will have Phil Schiller delivering the address, and that means that days of Steve delivering “One more thing...”, are past us.
What does this all mean?
I for one, bet that this signals that Apple will have powerful news this year at MacWorld. It’s one thing if Steve failed to deliver on exciting new products we all hoped for, but with Phil now leading the charge, I’d bet that he’ll be given some great new products to share with the world for his first time out of the gate. Take our minds off of missing Steve at least for a moment. Geez, bring me a new version of Final Cut Studio, a new 30” LCD, a new 17” MacBook Pro, and my personal dream...an iPod Touch in the form factor of 7” diagonal with full Mac OS capabilities...Steve who?
So what model works for trade shows moving forward? Trade shows brought many things to users and vendors alike. For one, we could all have hands-on with the tools vendors we’re selling. Nothing like comparing the feel of a shoulder mounted camera in person, then ordering from (insert your favorite retailer here). Besides being able to touch and ogle, you could always speak directly to the product managers. Ask deep questions, and rub elbows with mucky mucks. Of course, you could also stand in line for an hour at the RED booth just for fun. Perhaps the biggest benefit of trade shows, besides being away from the office for a while, is networking. Whether it be at a vendor booth, restaurant, bar or cab line, networking always just works at trade shows, and is priceless. I am actually going to miss it. Can’t believe I just wrote that!
Wait a minute. Online I can network via forums and comments. I don’t have to get on a plane, be away from my family, eat crappy trade show food, or stand in line for anything.
Often I can reach out and chat directly with product managers (hint...coming soon to PVC), and learn from the experts first hand.
So in the future, if Apple and others continue to remove themselves form the trade show space, I figure I can still get most of the best of what trade shows have to offer. Perhaps rather than go to MacWorld in 2010, I will stand in front of my computer, eat a terrible hamburger and charge myself $11 for the privilege. I’ll iChat a few friends in the industry, and caress my screen as it peruses the digital Apple store. Hmmmm...maybe not.
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It has been interesting to watch how the face of trade shows have changed. I think that the only thing in the future that I will miss is the touching and feeling of the gear. I would agree that it is easier to participate in a “community” on-line. Excellent piece.
Posted by vdeoguy on 12/16 at 04:29 PM
Communicating online via forums and/or iChat is a wonderful thing, but can never replace face to face human contact. Despite creative people being more comfortable alone in front of a computer screen rather than in front of a face, we all still crave the need for verbal interaction and touch.
I’ve never understood trade shows until I went to one. Only then did I understand what they really are all about. It’s not just sales or new products or bad food. It’s the people. That shared experience with like minded people are what drive us to these events. Kind of like going to a movie where you and several hundred friends are privy to what no one else understands.
Macworld and NAB and IBC and DV Expo and HD Expo won’t go away as long as like minded people feel the need to get together. And since we are all human beings, we will always have that need.
Posted by on 12/17 at 01:45 AM
I have attended NAB for nearly 15 years consecutively and every year I still enjoy myself. It’s a pain to go, but everyone I know is there. As a video guy, it can’t be beat to see all the tools in one place. Compare and contrast, touch and feel, and have a drink with friends you haven’t seen since last NAB.
I really love the ability to network face to face. However, I ultimately find going to a trade show much like going to the gym: once there, I am happy and busy, and very glad I went afterwards. Getting there in the first place is the hard part.
Posted by on 12/17 at 12:06 PM
It’s a pain to go out to dinner here in LA what with the traffic. All I can say is that if I never had attended any of these shows I would not know the people I know today. I now count many of these people as my best friends. No way could I say that by purely interacting with them online.
I Co-Produce the FCPUG SuperMeets at NAB and next month at Macworld. For this next Macworld SuperMeet we sold out of sponsor tables in 3 days and are on track for another sell out. We intend to be at NAB too. Last year Apple had no booth at NAB and no major announcements, but we still had record attendance at our SuperMeet. This past Sept at IBC in Amsterdam Apple had no booth and no major announcements and we had over 600 people attend our very first SuperMeet in Europe.
This says something.
Posted by on 12/17 at 12:33 PM
Face to face meetings are the best part of trade shows. For myself, being able to walk past the booth babes, ask the demo guy 3-5 questions before he starts looking around either for a beard/ponytail or a suit, was one of the best things going about getting nitty gritty answers to how this stuff REALLY works (or is going to).
That said, yeah, the model is dying. I personally am reading this as NO killer new gadgets - I’m SURE more people watch the Stevecasts online than do in person. The “investing in the venue” quote didn’t quite sit right with me.
New toys? I hope so, but doubt it. If Apple is ready with Final Cut Studio 3 at NAB 2009, they could just hold a (big) press event then put all the info online...we’d all know about it anyway.
-mike
Posted by Mike Curtis on 12/17 at 04:11 PM
Having run trade shows and of course exhibited at too many to count, it’s a crazy business. For the most part, vendors hate them. GES, the guys with the bent noses that require three men to get your box of 50 magazines from one end of the hall to the other end, make a killing (so to speak). yeah I’ve heard those stories too!
Why three guys to move a small box? One to lift and carry it, one to be a back up in case he hurts himself on the journey, and the third to clear traffic. No kidding.
One year I did a trade with NAB for a 30x30 booth. We received the booth for free of course. A month after NAB I was racked over the coals by my CEO because I spent over $60,000 on my booth at NAB. How you ask? Electric, shipping of the booth to NAB, GES, a carpet with a small pad underneath, and before you know it, $60k. No imagine the booth that Apple maintained, along with people to man it, hotel rooms, etc. It’s been said that of the 80,000 or so that attend NAB, if you remove vendors, remove folks that aren’t appropriate for your stuff, you’re left with very little.
That said, ProVideo Coalition won’t ever have a booth, but we’ll be there in force. Same with MacWorld and every other show.
Posted by on 12/17 at 04:37 PM
Although I am one to root for the advancements in tech and trades, I am also saddened to hear that other business ventures have gone down the drain because of the new changes.
- From hdtv antenna & indoor antenna
Posted by on 04/03 at 05:13 PM
Hi,I seriously don’t know about trade shows until have been watched.It’s a great experience to know about this.And lot of changes can get by these kind of shows.
Posted by natural gas on 05/20 at 09:24 PM
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