Apple withdrawing from MacWorld
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Yesterday I wrote a post about my departure from the trade show / exhibition business, then after I posted I read about Apple withdrawing from MacWorld. Today the Blogosphere and Twitterverse are all a Twitter about this development.
To me though it comes as no surprise. When I left Multimedia Trade Shows in December of 1998 I had 10 years experience producing conferences and exhibitions. Exhibitors started questioning the viability of events in 1996 after the internet started to gain traction. The marketing departments were not seeing the ROI of sending people to trade shows. After all there was more to participating in a show than the three or four days you were on the show floor. A successful trade show could take months of man hours of pre-planning before the exhibit even went up.
Then there was the costs of the exhibits themselves. At the new media shows our largest exhibitor was Apple. I think they had a 400 x 600 sq. foot booth. They always had great displays as did other major exhibitors like Adobe and Avid. The booths for these exhibitors made the rounds of shows, but it still took a crew of dozens to set them up. All of this takes money.
Let’s not forget the swag. Every exhibitor has swag from T Shirts to stress balls and all sorts of tacky stuff in between.
After 9/11 attendees and exhibitors alike re-evaluated the cost and viability of flying staff to events. Now there was more at stake then just being out of the office for 3 to 5 days, there were security issues. The cards were getting stacked against trade shows and the internet was starting to look like a viable alternative to the expense of exhibiting at events. I’m trying to remember, but I think the exhibition industry estimated that floor space was only 30 - 40% of the total investment a company would make in an event.
Now the marketing department could put a website online that promoted their products and services 24/7/365 and at a fraction of the cost. Trade show days were definitely numbered. The large shows started to crumble, COMDEX was one of the first major show to bow out.
I’m actually surprised Apple lasted as long as they did. Of course, MacWorld is their exclusive domain. Apple today has so many other avenues to reach potential consumers. Between their Apple stores, iTunes and having their product sold in every major retailer, Apple really doesn’t need to splash out big bucks at events anymore. If they want to roll out a new product, all they have to do is leak it to the blogosphere or the Twitterverse and get publicity and press money just can’t buy. Remember the iPhone launch? Sure it was announced at MacWorld, but a press conference or just a soft launch to the masses would have been just if not more effective.
Although I have many fond memories of my exhibition/conference producing days, sadly those days are over. Just like honking tailfins on cars, unnecessary trade shows are appendages no one cares about or need.
