At a search marketing event in late 2008, 67% of pre-registered attendees attended, leaving a whopping no show of 33% of pre-registered attendees. As the economic recession has burdened families and corporations alike, and as companies are adjusting budgets to cut corners, I can’t help but ask, has it also affected the attendance at tradeshows and industry events? Are companies looking to save dollars? Are they not willing to put forth the costs associated with sending staff or having presence at shows because of the economic slow down?
As an attendee of last year’s SES San Jose and SMX East, I felt that attendance at these shows has dramatically dwindled compared to similar or previous events. Could it be that the content of the sessions is outdated? Are there so many interactive and search-focused shows that content seems redundant? Is content not in tune with the attendees needs? Or is it that advertisers are looking for vendors and partners through other channels?
At search marketing events in 2008, I personally found the session content to be valuable and the speakers to be knowledgeable about the latest trends and technologies in search. That being said, as I walked the exhibitor floor of SMX East (yes, I was looking for more than cool swag to take back to the office), I noticed that there were not as many attendees walking the floor as there were at SES San Jose; other exhibitors I stopped to speak with, who also attended the same shows agreed with me. SMX is newer and is a different event than SES, and there’s something to be said about a smaller, more-focused crowd. But this observation led to discussions about the cause for lighter attendance at recent events. Most obvious is the conclusion that companies are starting to cut costs where they can because of the economic recession and that they are willing to absorb any pre-registration costs to save on the other expenses that are associated with attending the show, such as the added cost of travel or the $5,000 to rent booth carpet.
The economy gets enough blame for things, so let’s look at another realistic possibility. Attendance might also be impacted by the spike in options of industry events to attend, driving companies to be more selective as to which shows to send employees to. I sense that companies are more apt to send their employees to larger tradeshows, such as a SES, because there are more sessions and broader content to choose from, as opposed to a smaller, vertical-targeted tradeshow that has content limited to that topic and may be less relevant to their business.
To drive attendees, sponsors and exhibitors, are tradeshow organizers going to explore restructuring in the future so that they receive maximum attendance while still delivering on content? When I say restructured, I am not talking about revamping the entire show, but maybe cutting back the life of the show and being more selective with location. We might see a spike in attendance if tradeshows are two-days long as opposed to four. And we all know that tradeshows on the East and West coasts are more expensive for attendees and exhibitors. Would anyone be opposed to traveling to the Midwest more often to help cut back expenses for those attending and exhibiting?
What would this mean for advertisers and those exhibiting at the show? Will they get as much out of the show if the life of it is cut in half? Are exhibitors going to be talking to more or less potential clients? Will companies defer to newer, online (virtual) tradeshows to offset the cost of attending in person? I don’t have all the answers, but as an exhibitor and attendee, I hope someone will listen. Tradeshows and search-specific events have their work cut out for them to maintain success and a steady flow of attendees in the future.
