It’s Showtime! Or Is It?

As we all arise from the bunkers and head out to industry events, it’s common to greet old friends and colleagues with, “It’s great to be back at shows again!” And yet, the existential question we keep asking ourselves is, “What is the future of shows?”

I haven’t pored over attendance data from the shows and events that were held this year, but I do know that event organizers fretted turnout more than in the "Before Times."

Whenever show attendance is low, we always hear the rationalization, “But the right people were there.” Sure, some of us have been around long enough to roll our eyes, but there is a kernel of truth in it.

The recent Americas Print Show, held in early August in Columbus, Ohio, didn’t quite attract the numbers they had hoped, but some of the exhibitors I spoke with were happy that they could engage with booth visitors longer and have deeper conversations. One exhibitor sold half a million dollars’ worth of equipment. Yeah, more bodies would be nice, but solid leads are good, too.

Still, these are not problems unique to one show; I think all event organizers will wrestle with attendance challenges, at least for the foreseeable future.

You have to ask what the value of a physical show is. What can your average printer get from an event that they couldn’t from a webinar or other virtual venue or from online research—or just reading this WhatTheyThink regularly? Is it worth getting on a plane or taking a few days away from the business?

“Name brand” mega-shows are going to have an easier time of it than new or smaller shows, and it’s usually at these mega-shows that major product launches are made. But even then the future isn’t entirely certain. We’ve heard rumblings that vendors question the value of the big shows, but they still show up. How long will that remain the case?

At the same time, specialty shows and events may have more appeal for some. The debut Amplify Print show focused on finishing, and was by all accounts a success. So a “long-tail” approach to shows may end up being a sounder approach than a mega show.

None of these are new questions; we’ve been having these conversations for years. Ultimately, it’s going to be a case of the industry “right sizing” the event landscape and deciding how many shows it really needs and can support, and what those shows will look like.