Neil Felton of FESPA comments on Laurel Brunner's response to the Question of the Week, Is it worth travelling abroad for trade fairs? What do you think? Use the comments form below to give your opinion.
'Is it worth travelling abroad for trade fairs?' A good question which actually – despite my obvious bias – is not a simple 'yes'. More like a 'yes, but after careful consideration'.
The key is to work out what you want to get out of visiting a trade exhibition. Good organisers invest substantially to help you do this. Exhibition websites are valuable sources of information for advance planning, offering detailed hall maps, exhibitor descriptions, conference and seminar timetables, as well as comprehensive sources of tips for making the most of time in the host city.
Many exhibition organisers, FESPA included, go to great lengths to source preview information from their exhibitors, publishing this in the form of stand-by-stand guides, on their website and through their media partners. The specialist trade media, printed and online, are also invaluable. Reading their preview coverage of a major show will help you make sense of trends and opportunities, and give you the 'heads up' on major technology launches that justify your attention.
Likewise, social media networks, particularly special interest groups like FESPA's Wide Network and relevant groups on platforms like LinkedIn, can give you a firm steer as to what's hot and what's not, and enable you to coordinate networking meetings in advance.
Navigating your way round a major exhibition can be a challenge, and it's here that advance planning will pay dividends and save you time. Organisers often create trails and guides, and send these to pre-registered visitors in advance. For FESPA Digital we even now offer a mobile app so visitors can use their phones to optimise their time at the event. Once on site, catalogues, pocket guides, marked trails, signage and floor graphics, personal guides and helpdesks, and daily news publications are all designed to improve your experience and help you profit from the visit.
The best exhibitions can show you a wide variety of new products and services, offer excellent networking opportunities and give you insights into what is happening in the market now and the future. What is more difficult to measure is the positive attitude a good exhibition can engender, which in turn will positively impact your business. A recent survey by the Association of Exhibition Organisers highlighted that before attending an exhibition 38 percent of visitors were expecting to explore new opportunities, with this positive attitude rising to 80 percent after the show. That makes a good exhibition like the entrepreneurial equivalent of a double shot of Red Bull.
Relevant, clearly targeted exhibitions help business people to gather information efficiently, use their time effectively to meet multiple suppliers, and broaden their commercial horizons. If visitors to FESPA Digital 2012 in Barcelona approach the show wanting to explore the wider opportunities and come away having unearthed solutions that will propel their business forward, then the travel, the hotel and a memorable night out in one of Europe's most beautiful cities will have been money and time well spent.