TV Trade Shows: Re-Thinking How the TV Industry Does Business
Our grand kids will think we were nuts.
We’ll tell them that back in the olden days, we’d get on a plane to fly far away, schlep our luggage to a hotel, make a mad dash to get to our industry event, run around frantically for several days, miss out on most of the stuff we were supposed to see, not meet even a fraction of the other 60k or 100k people also there, and, then, we’d go home thinking we had accomplished our business goals.
Right.
Certainly, I’m not the only one who has been re-thinking how the TV industry does business. In the past, our calendar has been dominated by two major events. One in Amsterdam, the other in Las Vegas. No sooner would we finish one then we would start getting ready for the next. But now, all that’s gone. Not only have virtual events replaced the physical ones, but, we are getting used to them, too.
We have more breathing space, more time to read, research and review. We consider all our options more carefully - all while wearing way more comfortable clothes!
Having participated in a great number of webinars, full-day conferences, and multi-day events over the past few months, it is plain to see that major conference and industry event organizers have been slammed by the pandemic. Their business models have been totally overturned. Indeed, everyone has been scrambling, and the results aren’t always pretty.
Conferences and trade shows have traditionally been offered as a bundle with pay-to-play slots for advertising, booth space and sponsorship. But replicating this format in a virtual setting just doesn’t work.
It’s painful to pay attention for a full day of back-to-back events, and it is especially laborious if you have to log in multiple times to register for each session or different functionalities.
Most of the time you are multi-tasking at your desk (even if you are really on the sofa). Being physically present in an audience, focused only on the presentation, yes, of course, that worked in a cozy dark room. But when you are at home with your computer, your attention definitely wanders.
Expecting an entire industry to log in to a virtual event that takes place on a specific number of days doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, either. Virtual events should not tie you to a schedule. Given that we are in the TV business, after all, we should be able watch the content any time we want, on demand. (Incredible too that 70% of the virtual events we followed in Q2 2020 did not even enable a replay).
The vast majority of the virtual events that have taken place these last months are, of course, also free.
Virtual events have truly democratized the industry. Suddenly, there is a conduit for even the smallest players to make their voice heard. Those with a modicum of marketing savvy can now compete for attention with the dominant players who traditionally had the biggest stands and advertising budgets. Not only that, but they can be much more targeted about how they go about finding customers.
Many say the big shows will be back. By the time that might be possible, the world will have moved on quite a lot.
The last few months have been like a baptism of fire, harking back to the days of live TV, with all kinds of virtual event glitches to contend with and overcome. We all now need acting, diction and video presentation skills. Not everyone is equally gifted or trained in that area, so performances vary.
TV Trade Shows are Like TV Sex
(And just about as satisfying.)
Besides consuming a glut of webinars over the past months, like everyone else I am also watching more TV these days. I observed that physical trade shows are a lot like mainstream TV sex:
1) You know far in advance that it is going to happen
2) There is lots of build-up and drama getting ready for it
3) When it finally does happen, it’s all wildly urgent
4) Alas, there is no way to explore everything in the time given
5) It’s over very quick (usually we count 15 seconds)
Sure, it’s true we enjoy it while it happens. That “special” feeling lasts but a moment, and afterwards has you wondering, was it really that great after all?
I wonder whether our grandkids will ask us, why, if we just wanted to do business, we didn’t just nominate a different city each month, and go there to gather? Why we didn’t use a recommendation algorithm to engineer the serendipity that we were so sadly missing, when everything “AI” was so up and coming at the time? Why the need for a “booth” and a physical “trading floor” when you could have gotten all that done in advance? Why, if you truly wanted to meet face-to-face and get deals done, why not just meet in a friendly and pleasant setting? Over drinks, lunch, dinner or perhaps a nice reception?
Unfortunately, nothing will get us back to our trade shows anytime soon. We are now settling in for the long haul.
Virtual events have replaced physical events, so validating the need to travel will be top of mind for years to come, considering also the health, safety and environmental impact of the big shows and international travel.
We all miss seeing each other in person. The opportunity for chance encounters, too. Trade shows provided the glue to get us together.
We all look forward to the return of our urgent TV trade show encounters. I admit it, I miss them, and I will always support them, even if I do not agree with the way things are going right now. Ultimately it may be the right moment to embrace a new form of serendipity, re-engineered.
We really do look forward to seeing all our friends again and to the return of physical events that underpin the solidarity we all feel in the industry to support one another.
How has it been for you?
Personally, I feel like the “performance” of TV trade shows and virtual events has to become more deeply satisfying.
Broadcast Projects would love to hear from you, to understand how all these developments are affecting your company strategy for planned launches and hitting sales targets this year.
Feel free to reach out for a friendly chat. We would love to help. Until then, see you online.