The 2015 Vegas Show was, once again, great. Good attendance, lots of networking. Not a lot of bombshells, no real big announcements. But, a good show overall.
One quick thought. As the show was finishing up on Thursday, I realized how many people I would still have liked to have visited. I even texted a few people letting them know I had stopped by their booths but had missed them. It’s hard to even fit in a lunch because the show is so busy.
As with a lot of shows, the second day is a lot slower than the first. And, I heard from several exhibitors that Friday was much slower than Thursday. I think Thursday can be a pretty rough night for a lot of people. Too much food, drink, gambling and staying out late. If you don’t have booth duty the next day, I imagine a lot of people sleep in or skip the show all together.
The dilemma is that there are so many people to see and so many meetings one would like to have that it is hard to jam it all in. And Friday (the second show day) is just tough because so many people check out.
So, it seems to me that the day before the show is the day where you could do more networking. The day before the show, people still are energetic, not all hungover and still have interest in conducting business. As I mentioned in my last post, the Young Fastener Professionals held a networking event that really worked out well. And, even though there was a bar in the room, all participants were still lucid and active as they had not attended the show yet, nor hung out at the hospitality suites and Bourbon Room yet. I think there is a good opportunity to do more networking the day before the show starts during the day before the opening cocktail hour. And, that show sponsored hour is just too short of a time to meet up with as many people as are at the show. There should be a two hour networking event, maybe from 3-5 p.m. where people who want to gather to talk business could gather to talk business. Cause, let’s face it, we lose a lot of people by Friday.
TS – You can second guess yourself forever trying to figure out how to get people to attend and stay at a show, but in the end it’s like any good party. People have to have a good reason to be there. Provide it, and there will be a great crowd. A few well designed and well timed events would seem to fit the bill.
Changing days of the week doesn’t solve the dilemma. Some will like the change and some won’t. Show management can’t win here.
It’s a good show, and people will be there next year. I will.
But with the existing schedule, and with the day change alone, the hardcore group will be there and will begin dismantling early unless there’s traffic.
Eric
You make valid points. You can lead them to the water but you cannot make them drink.
Dear Jim,
Have you thought about extending the duration of the show to 2 and a half days? For example, two full days on Wednesday and Thursday and half day on Friday? I believe that the greatest fastener show in the US deserves a reasonable duration. We come to the US all the way from Spain and it is a pity that the show is so busy only on Thursday.
Honestly, I do not think that moving the show to Wednesday and Thursday is really convenient (at least for people like us that travel from so far). We usually land in the US on the previous Sunday, visit customers on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning, and go to Vegas for booth set up on Wednesday evening. If the show starts on Wednesday, we would only have Monday and Tuesday morning to visit customers and if the show will continue lasting 1 and a half days, I am pretty sure that Thursday will still be a slow day at the show. I am afraid the new schedule for the 2016 will make our trip (and efforts) less interesting.
I would appreciate you could give it a thought…
TS/All:
One of the big changes we are making to the Expo going forward is moving the conference day to Tuesday and the show to Wednesday and Thursday. We believe that ending the Expo on Thursday rather than Friday will encourage everyone to stay longer. There will be no need to start dismantling booths early. Exhibitors can stay busy until the show closes . . . and no one will need to be in a hurry to get out of ‘Vegas and home for the weekend because this is what Friday is for 🙂
We are also expanding the Expo to Halls C and D at the Sands Expo Center, which will be 1.5 times larger than the previous space in Hall A. Lots of companies have requested more space. We have responded.
Mark your calendar NOW for October 25-27, 2016. For more info visit our website at http://www.fastenershows.com or contact Susan Hurley, General Manager, at 614-895-1279.
Very interesting. The move makes some sense. Like I wrote, I feel like I run out of time and don’t always get to meet with everyone I want to meet with. But I also understand that people like to get home to enjoy their weekend. Maybe this will work! I give you guys credit for trying. Maybe some company will serve bloody Mary’s on Thursday morning and others can host post show gatherings.