What does a year without trade shows mean for the media tech industry?

TVBEurope asks four members of the media tech industry for their thoughts on a lack of trade shows, what aspects theyll miss, and what changes theyd like to see implemented

By Jenny Priestley

Published: September 7, 2020

TVBEurope asks four members of the media tech industry for their thoughts on a lack of trade shows, what aspects they'll miss, and what changes they'd like to see implemented

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Who would have thought at the start of 2020 the media tech industry would lose both NAB and IBC, its two biggest trade shows?

How far into 2021 the new virtual world of trade shows will spread remains to be seen. But for the moment, how does the media tech industry connect and showcase its innovations without a physical show? TVBEurope asked four industry experts for their views on a year without trade shows.

What does a lack of trade shows in 2020 mean for you and your business? Stuart Russell, senior communications manager, Ross Video: The lack of physical events has been frustrating insofar as everyone at Ross enjoys getting face-time with customers and partners, and we always have cool new solutions to talk about, so it's been a very strange few months indeed. That said, however, there's no doubt that the number of people that we speak to at trade shows and events represents only a tiny fraction of our possible customer-base, and online activities give us an opportunity to speak to people who might not ordinarily make trips to the big halo' events such as NAB Show and IBC.

Ciaran Doran, EVP, Pixel Power: While there have been real drawbacks to the lack of tradeshows there are real benefits to online video meetings - the customer gets to bring more people than could have made it to Amsterdam or Las Vegas and we get to give them more time with more key staff involved in the presentation and demonstrations. Since all our solutions are software defined and virtualisable we can demonstrate anything from anywhere, to anyone.

Mark Birchall, managing director, Tradefair: The past six months have been an interesting, largely unprecedented and, let's be frank, a painful experience for everyone. But, on a more basic note for these purposes, moving abruptly from a physical trade show to a virtual facsimile required many of us to restart from scratch and recalibrate everything we know and apply it to a new now , which is no small undertaking.

In my view, the relative success of a virtual event depends on what is delivered over that virtual platform(s). For me, a virtual event that has live interaction via chat and video and includes live presentations and a degree of business matching can work. But it will work better if conducted in real time rather than as a virtual content basket to be plucked from when convenient. There's a place for the latter, of course, but for engagement you can't replace live , virtual or otherwise.

It's a given that the aim of trade show participation in every case is to do everything possible to increase the odds that the event will work for you. And that requires time, expertise, and most of all, engagement. If you're not all in, you can't expect to get everything you want out of it.

Bob Charlton, Scribe PR: Most definitely a saving in shoe leather and more time spent at home with the family, both of which are good. But seriously, I'm a big fan of the major tradeshows. At these events, my clients get face time with their most important customers, which is invaluable. Without these opportunities, my business has seen a boom - never before has targeted, proactive media relations been valued so highly by my clients.

Let me explain. Normally, at the tradeshows, my clients stage live demonstrations of their latest product developments, as well as special closed-door briefings of what is coming along soon. Without this option, they need to get those messages across using other means, and the trade publications are invaluable in this regard.

What aspects of trade shows will you miss? SR: Definitely the human interaction. I get a big kick out of talking to customers and the press at shows about the new product launches; doing this online is obviously better than not doing it at all, but it does feel a little unreal and it's not quite as satisfying. I also miss spending time with my colleagues - Ross is now almost 900 employees worldwide and the bigger shows are a fantastic opportunity to spend time with colleagues that I wouldn't normally see. We're fortunate enough to have great camaraderie at Ross and we all enjoy getting together and spending time at shows.

MB: Trade shows are very much a part of our lives. We very much miss the planning, preparation, and delivery of the UK Pavilions. It's not just our livelihood. We all experience the phenomenon that, when we're at shows, they become our alternate world. It's show time life. Just like Tradefair, our clients see their existing client base; work closely with new companies, clients, and individuals, and spend considerable time learning, networking, and planning for the next cycle.

Additionally, it's vital to use that time to gain an even better understanding of what's happening in the marketplace and how clients are positioning themselves within that market. Broadly speaking, we generally see and regularly adopt the good things that people are doing, and we're in a position to give advice to those who may be struggling with either their

LINK:	https://www.tvbeurope.com/business/what-does-a-year-without-trade-show...
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