Exhibitions Archives -

One couple’s day out in Birmingham – at the BDIA Showcase

chris@precisionpr.co.uk — Sun, 20 Oct 2019 12:57:54 +0000

A review: BDIA Showcase, NEC, 17th-19th October

Apparently, people we know think we’re a bit weird. “What are you doing this weekend?” they ask. “We’re going to the BDIA Showcase at the NEC,” we reply. “Oh! Why?”

Why indeed? Including the trip to Colchester to drop our youngest son at his brother’s house for the day, the NEC is 156 miles from home. So it better be worthwhile as we’re investing a whole Saturday.

After Cary’s obligatory McDonald’s breakfast (amazing what she’ll agree to for one of these) and a stop off at the surprisingly pleasant M6 Corley services, we hit a bum note.

We arrived at the NEC as planned just after 11:00 am. And it seems that the entire UK caravan and motorhome community chose the self-same time to visit their trade show. A queue to get onto the site, queues for the carparks, queues for the transfer bus. Not a good start to the day.

We finally made it into the building just before noon, and dodged the bag search. NEC, please take note – Security didn’t have their A-team on duty. It was then an easy walk to Hall 3. The bus driver had announced Hall 5, but he wasn’t part of the A-team either.

Bags we collected at the BDIA Showcase (but NOT at the entrance). We think one is cool, one is ‘hot’, and the other we would be very happy to quote for new artwork.

First impressions

Registration was in the hall entrance. This is a good thing as you don’t have to wander around the atrium trying to work out how to register and get in. Note – the A-team weren’t issuing the passes, but it was such a simple process they couldn’t muck it up too badly.

Walking in, the walkways were clear, straight and wide, decorated with a pleasant cerise carpet. BUT no pre-made packs, no goody bags, and the show guides seemed hidden (we found ours on the way out!).

Plenty of space for the ‘crowds’

Crowds

‘Crowd’ might be a bit of an exaggeration. We spoke to several exhibitors who said Saturday was the busiest day, but it certainly wasn’t what you’d describe as crowded. One said he thought seriously about pulling out of Saturday as Thursday and Friday had been so quiet. Others thought Thursday had been acceptably busy, but that Friday was a write-off.

Halls 3 & 3a are not the biggest halls at the NEC, and it was difficult to see how much had been occupied by the show. There were several theatres which were large, and these made it difficult to see how much space was used. We certainly don’t think the halls were fully utilised. That said, the back of the exhibition was very close to the back doors.

Exciting new things!

Well, more like one exciting new thing. 3D-Printing is about to come of age in dentistry. We spoke to a couple of suppliers of 3D-Printing kit who told us that a number of processes and materials have been approved by the FDA for use in the United States. Certification is currently underway in Europe, and once complete, 3D-Printing will be available to both laboratories and dentists for making appliances such as dentures and clear aligners.

Beyond that, there wasn’t anything particularly exciting to shout about.

We only found Dentally, SFD & SOE out of the PMS suppliers

Things that were missing

Carestream! Not a sign of them. They were completely absent. So were all the practice management software vendors apart from Software of Excellence, Dentally and Systems for Dentists. If anyone else was there we couldn’t find them – which amounts to the same thing (only more expensive).

Several of the big kit suppliers were also missing, though several others were exhibiting (Planmecca, Durr, Belmont, Acteon, etc).

Nobody had ‘stupid’ attention-seeking stands either – certainly no scantily clad Santas or inexplicable ‘dwarfs’.

The MOD recruitment stand was empty too, which was a shame as we wanted to talk to them. Right at the back of the show, they probably gave up after the poor audience on Thursday and Friday.

SFD’s goody bag – we think they’ve read what we have to say about branding your exhibition investment

Conclusion

We went to the BDIA Showcase last year at the London Excel, and we thought that was a great show. This wasn’t. The audience was poor, and exhibitors were relatively thin on the ground.

Did we achieve our aims? Yes. We met the two organisations we had planned meetings with and our discussions will progress. The fact that the crowds were so thin on the ground probably helped. We also had a chat with a few other interesting organisations. But if we had been going for some other purpose I don’t know that we would have thought the show a success.

Shows rise and fall in a complex cycle. Each grows through investment, success and rinsing phases.

In the investment stage, the organiser goes above and beyond to create a ‘show brand’.
In the success phase, they deliver on their promises – audience, promotion, value.
In the rinsing stage, they believe the brand is self-supporting – pricing creeps up, promotion slows down and value plummets.

SOE Piggy Banks – the cutest give-away we found

The BDIA showcase at the NEC is in serious danger of moving into the rinsing phase. I would recommend to the organisers (and to exhibitors) to ignore the NEC and focus on London Excel.

A note to all organisers

Dentists earn money by seeing patients. Some of them earn A LOT of money. If you want them to give up money to attend, better make it worth their while and tell them WHY they should be there. The same applies to persuading them to send their staff during the week. And also the staff themselves if you want them to attend on a Saturday.

Likewise, picking a date during a major religious festival (Diwali) celebrated by a significant part of your target audience is dim.

Some parts of the BDIA Showcase were busy

Are exhibitions in fashion?

Outside of the efforts of individual shows, exhibitions as a whole go through a success cycle.

We’re not entirely sure where they are in the UK. Some shows are succeeding, some aren’t. They are definitely doing well in consumer markets – B2B is more of a mixed bag.

On the continent, European mega-shows in Holland, Belgium and Germany look like they are maintaining their popularity and value.

But what do you do if you are focused on the UK market? If you’re not a European-wide brand, the pan-continental mega-shows are just too expensive, and the audience too disparate.

1st class (Hons) in Fine Art (ceramics and sculpture), but 4:58 to complete a child’s puzzle – Cary on the stand of of Morris & Co (specialist dental accountants)

Our advice

We continue to recommend that dental businesses exhibit. However, we would suggest that the London Dentistry Show and BDIA Showcase in London are better exhibitions than BDIA Showcase at the NEC.

The organisers of the Dentistry Show at the NEC during the spring have assured us that they are taking action to correct the deficiencies of this year’s show, and that may well make it a recommendable show next year.

But at the moment, we recommend using your exhibition budget to also create your own smaller events. More effort – possibly. More manpower needed – definitely. But success will be due to YOUR marketing efforts, and focus will be on YOU.

So what do you think?

If you attended or exhibited at the BDIA Showcase at the NEC, we would love to hear your views. Contact us at cary@precisionpr.co.uk or call Chris on 07432 189149.

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3D-Printers everywhere – a review of the TCT Show

dawn0206 — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 13:43:16 +0000

My impression of the TCT Show, September 2019

I’ve been to many CAD/CAM and Manufacturing shows, but I think yesterday was my first visit to the TCT Show in Birmingham’s NEC.

The TCT Show – busy on Tuesday & Wednesday – not so busy on Thursday pm

The show ran from Tuesday 24th to Thursday 26th September. I chose to visit on the last day because I hoped it would be quiet. However, I wasn’t quite prepared for how quiet it was. Admittedly I didn’t arrive unto after 12:15 (due to an argument with an ‘upgrade’ on my ‘phone), but it was very quiet. Good news is that Wednesday had been very busy, and Tuesday was also reasonably brisk.

The organisers had chosen Halls 3 and 3a, and the show certainly didn’t seem lost in the space. Most of the 137 exhibitors had decent sized stands. One or two were spectacular (Stratasys probably won that little battle), but most were not overpowering and were nicely put together.

A point I must take issue with is the organisers claim on the website that there were 300 exhibitors. If there were, then 163 didn’t make entries in the catalogue. In fairness though, something that I quite liked was that several of the big stands had a lead-brand and then a number of others making-up their ecosystem to provide a more complete service offering. So if that’s how they reached their total of 300 exhibitors then maybe, but I think it’s a hard claim to justify, as is (I suspect) the 10,000+ visitors they claim. But that’s just a niggle worth remembering when you negotiate for a stand next year.

A benefit (for me) of the show being quiet was that people staffing the exhibition stands were not pushed for time and were happy to talk, even though they knew I was ‘selling and learning’.

3D-Printing

The theme that dominated the show was without doubt 3D-Printing. The SLA models I first wrote about 20+ years ago are still there, but they have been joined by a range of other techniques. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, but the most astonishing to me were the systems that print in metal.
Laser sintering of metal has really taken off, with exhibitors displaying aircraft components in titanium, jewellery in gold and many other amazingly complex items that would be impossible to make economically any way other than using 3D-printing technology.

There will always be a place for 4 and 5-axis milling devices. One of them has been an area I’m currently very familiar with – dentistry. However, I even saw one company (Zortrax) that was 3D-Printing dental crowns and inlays. It appears that the range of applications for 3D-Printing is bounded only by what people are prepared to try.

Other Technologies

Another technique that intrigued me was the layered wire system demonstrated by Cranfield University. This technique builds high strength items by layering wire and welding it together. They had a very impressive story to tell.

There were also a number of people demonstrating milling and cutting systems, but I’m a ‘software guy’ at heart, and I was disappointed by the lack (or at least visibility) of CAD systems on show. But I was taken by Open Mind Technologies and their hyperMILL system. This is a focused CAM system. Yes, it reads CAD designs, and yes, it can modify them. But it is focused on making a design manufacturable – turning designs into practical tool-paths that work in a production environment. I like that approach, and it is rare to find a CAD/CAM/CAE vendor leading with the CAM component.

Other stuff

Catering seemed adequate, but it’s difficult to judge with so few people there. But the coffee stall smelled very nice. Less pleasant was the £16 parking fee.
Again, probably because I was there on a quiet day, the busses had seats available, the car park had places to park, and there were no traffic issues with getting off the site – I’m going to start going to the NEC for the last afternoon of shows in future.

I didn’t go to any lectures or presentations, but there was a full programme, so well done to the organisers.

Another nice touch was the TCT Connect meeting area. I didn’t use this because I wasn’t sure what time I’d be at the show, but I’m certainly going to try it next year. Essentially, when you register, you can book a meeting table on the TCT Connect stand and meet exhibitors etc (if they agree) in a quiet, more relaxed space than their stand. Again, they were empty on Thursday, but full on Wednesday – worth a thought for next year.

Yokogawa flow meter

Flow meters on display

My badge for TCT also allowed me to enter ‘Sensors & Instrumentation Live’ next door in Hall 2. This was a small exhibition with about 50 stands. It was running over Wednesday and Thursday and was pretty dead by the time I went in on late Thursday afternoon.

I heard very different opinions about how busy it was from different exhibitors. One chap I spoke to on a stand that was near the entrance said it had been very quiet for both days. Whereas a stand tucked away, right at the back of the hall, told me they had only just slowed down having been busy both days.

Because of the work I’ve done in the past (with Yokogawa), I guess I’m attuned to flow meters, but there did seem to be a lot of people showing flow meters. I really only registered pressure sensors and electronic test equipment beyond this, but I was very impressed by a circuit testing system shown by Devtank. Top Hex’s interfacing system was also of interest, and they certainly had the best presented stand in ‘Sensors & Instrumentation Live’.

So, worth driving 125 miles?

Yes, I’d say so. Even though I was streaming with cold and the person I specifically went to see wasn’t expecting me, and even though my ‘phone was trying to get me to launch it across the half-empty car park, I had a really good afternoon. I learned a lot and met some very nice, unhurried and friendly people prepared to give their time to explain their products, and to discuss any possibilities of working with Precision PR in the future.
And attending on the last afternoon is a strategy I will be following again and would recommend to others.

Precision PR in Computer-Aided Manufacturing

Chris Webb has been working with manufacturing, logistics and engineering design systems since 1984. Having worked on brands such as SDRC-IDEAS, Solidworks, CATIA, Epson, Brother, SSI, SSA, QAD and Adatsys (and many others) he has an excellent understanding of engineering and manufacturing processes, and some great press contacts. For more information, contact us on 07432 189149 or email chris@precisionpr.co.uk

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What I learned at The London Dentistry Show

chris@precisionpr.co.uk — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 18:46:34 +0000

The London Dentistry Show, 13th & 14th September 2019

I visited the London Dentistry Show at Olympia last Friday, 13th September. Far from being unlucky, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Here’s what I learned.

Olympia vs the NEC

The room was FULL, or at least I wasn’t aware of any unused space. This show has grown from last year’s equivalent and I would expect it to grow again next year, so not sure what venue the organisers will go to in 2020.

But Olympia has its limitations. If you’re not familiar with the building, finding your way in is embarrassingly difficult. When I did find the right door, there was a bizarre need to go up to the show in a lift. Olympia is much older than the NEC, and I have to say it shows in areas like registering and entering the show.

Within the show itself, catering wasn’t prominent but looked more appealing than catering at the NEC. There was also complimentary tea & coffee provided by the organisers, a beer & bubbles stand (sponsored by Durr Dental), and a Bucks Fizz stand (sponsored by Belmont). Toilets were plentiful, easy to find and clean, so another plus point. And the layout of the room was bustling without being claustrophobic, and with a minimal number of stands seeming ‘lost’ on the outer edges.

Travel costs

I live in rural Essex. My journey involved a 55-mile drive to Westfield, Stratford to park my car. I then caught a London Overground train directly to Kensington Olympia, followed by a 5-minute walk to the show entrance (you can enter or leave the station from either side via a footbridge). It took me about 2 hours 15 minutes each way and cost £49.50 driving costs, £7.50 parking and £13.20 for a travel card – a total of £70.20.

Visiting the Dentistry Show at the NEC in May took about 2 hours 45 minutes from door to door, and cost (each day) £108.90 driving costs, £16 parking (and transit bus) for a total of £124.81.

So from a travel perspective, Olympia wins it for me.

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Who was there?

A lot fewer exhibitors is the answer (155 of them). And many of the stands were smaller and simpler than their equivalent at the NEC. BUT there were vendors I’d never heard of who put on some of the best stands.

Some of the stands looked a bit cramped (marketing managers – you need to think about space needed as well as space you can afford). Others were very well thought out.

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CAD/CAM stands seemed to be very busy throughout the 4 hours I was at the show. Vendors selling endo systems were also doing well.

There were A LOT of implant vendors, but few seemed consistently busy. Is that market becoming a bit cluttered?

Few of the Practice Management players were there. Dentally had a strong stand and seemed busy. SOE had a very half-hearted effort that didn’t always appear manned, and Carestream was also a bit low key. Show regulars SFD and iSmile were absent, as was Pearl Dental Software.

Practice sales consultancies and finance companies were there in reasonable force and most seemed to have a steady stream of visitors.

Should you exhibit?

I don’t know how much the organisers were charging for floor space and other facilities, but I spoke to 20+ exhibitors and not one complained about the costs or how busy they were. The show had a real buzz to it, and several of the vendors I spoke to said they not only had several good quality leads but had also made sales on the stand, and that has to be good news.

If you are considering exhibiting in London next year, my recommendation is to contact the organisers (FMC, publishers of Dentistry magazine) and see what deals they are offering. In my opinion, if the price is right then this is an exhibition to consider for next year.

So, well done to FMC – I look forward to next year’s show.

Need help with an Exhibition?

For more information or to discuss how we could help you prepare for and execute your exhibition stand, please contact us by email to chris@precisionpr.co.uk or Tel: 07432 189149

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The Dentistry Show – 17th & 18th May – 10 Things

chris@precisionpr.co.uk — Mon, 20 May 2019 16:27:36 +0000

What we learned from this year’s Dentistry Show

This year, we decided to attend the Dentistry Show at the NEC. Unfortunately, Cary couldn’t make it, so Chris went to both days – on the Friday with Ben Baker of our client Pearl Dental Software, and on the Saturday with our dentist friend, Jules.

This article highlights ten of the things we learned from this year’s show.

Car parking at the NEC has gone up 33.3% since last year’s show – from £12 per day to £16 per day. (Thanks to Ben for picking up the tab on Friday).
If you hang around until the end of the show on Saturday you can get some great bargains. Jules was cock-a-hoop with the wisdom tooth forceps he bought just before the end of the show, getting them for £20 when they were priced at £35 earlier in the day.
Not everyone takes cards! We found at least one stand that had thousands of pounds worth of surgical instruments displayed for sale but was only prepared to take cash (and other stands that only took card payments).
The shops at the NEC are still just as over-priced, and just as unfriendly towards customers. From patchy service behind the bar at Witherspoons to someone refusing to take a card payment for drinks and snacks because they had just cashed up and reset the card machine (surely all that would happen is the transaction would appear on tomorrow’s numbers?), even though at least three shows were still running. And when we did get a different shop to take our money we had to duck under the half-closed security shutter to get back out – again, while the shows were still running.
You now buy your parking tickets from little machines in the main concourse, that are not on the route out of the building, and which the staff don’t really seem sure where they are. The tickets are basically a bar-code and are checked manually by someone on the exit gate of the car park. Well, when we say checked …
The Colgate goody tote-bag was better than the other available options, but the handles were about 3-inches too short to comfortably carry over a shoulder. This is a problem if you are also trying to manipulate a show guide, list of people to see, pen, note-book and box of business cards.
Not as many free samples as usual.
Not as many exhibitors as last year, and many of them on much smaller stands. Several of the medium-to-big players that we wanted to meet with were not exhibiting. This is a sure sign that the organisers have found their price limit. Like the car parking fees, many exhibitors were complaining of inflated prices for stand space and poor value for money for the promotional services. We agree, and have therefore switched our recommendation to ‘don’t exhibit’ unless you can negotiate a significant discount.
What on Earth was that ‘Elf’ and all those scantily-dressed ‘Santas’ all about? I’m pretty sure this is 2019 and not 1979, and I’m absolutely sure it’s not Christmas. Must have been good though, because I twice walked onto the stand wearing my Press badge and nobody had the time to talk to me.
On a serious note ‘digital dentistry’ was very prominent. There were several new and many slick digital imaging stands, lots of milling systems, and quite a bit of 3-D printing technology on show. This segment is starting to settle down and the number of ridiculous and over-blown claims are relaxing into sensible uses of the technologies. They are starting to form realistic and sustainable workflows, and the right technology is being used for the right application. And that’s a good thing.

That’s our immediate reaction, coloured by speaking to more than 70 vendors over the course of two days, and the sore throat and feet that resulted. Please tell us what YOU thought of the show, whether you were visiting or exhibiting.

Precision PR has extensive experience in managing PR and promotional activity around B2B trade shows. If you would like to discuss how you can make the most of your upcoming tradeshow investments, please call us.

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IPEX 2017 – A visit to the NEC

chris@precisionpr.co.uk — Fri, 03 Nov 2017 12:39:44 +0000

IPEX 2017 – The UK’s premier international print show

The UK’s premier international print show?

This week I took the time out to visit the NEC for IPEX 2017. Billed as ‘The UK’s premier international print show’, there were several reasons I wanted to go.

The first reason was that IPEX 2017 is ‘my show’. Well, that’s a slight exaggeration, but I feel some ownership of it as I won the contract to manage press relations for the show for my previous employer, and I wanted to see how my initial plans had panned out. Of course, I went on Day 2, and all the press went on Day 1, but apart from that things seemed to have gone roughly according to the plan I laid out a couple of years ago.

The second reason was that I wanted to see a couple of former colleagues, which I did, and which was nice.

And the third was that my colleague Simon Hill and I had been looking to meet up with some prospective clients, and he had set-up three meetings for me at the show. I’m pleased to say that all three meetings went well and produced some follow-up activities that I hope will turn into business for Precision PR. I even got chatting (quite unexpectedly) a manufacturer of after-fit UV curing lights which led to giving a quote for some brochure work..

Busy but not ‘banged out’

Mixed reactions

But my initial reaction to the show is a bit mixed. Firstly because the organisers (Informa Global Exhibitions) missed their target of 400 exhibitors, so the show felt a little bit smaller than expected (but it’s the NEC so it still felt pretty big). Secondly because none of the really big printer manufacturers were really in evidence (no stands for Epson, Hewlett Packard, Cannon – all missing). And thirdly, because while not quiet, by the standards of some print shows I’ve been to, IPEX on Wednesday afternoon wasn’t busy.

Plenty of meaningful conversations and people actually looking for real solutions

That said, I think it was a better show because of these points. It meant that the show wasn’t monopolised by glitzy stands draped in huge swathes of designer designed fabric and Formula One cars. And that meant that people were actually looking at the smaller stands belonging to interesting technology companies and businesses that could supply a solution to their ‘now’ requirements, rather than splash the champagne around tomorrow’s answer to next week’s question. And in turn, that meant that people were actually conducting real business and selling real products and services at the show. Surely that is the mark of a successful trade show.

Congratulations

It took me three hours to drive to Birmigham, three hours to drive back, and I was there for three hours. For me, every minute was worth it, and I look forward to the next IPEX in 2019.

So I’d like to congratulate event director Rob Fisher and his team at Informa, and Dave Ingle and the team at Peter Bush Communications for promoting the show so successfully within the trade press. The balance they faced was creating a show that performed vs a show that looked like it performed – they are not the same thing. I think that if any one of the big printer or press manufacturers had broken ranks and exhibited then they would have diminished the show. But how do you judge these things?

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How to manage PR at a Trade Show

chris@precisionpr.co.uk — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 11:33:52 +0000

6 PR tips to make the most of trade shows

I’ve been to dozens of trade shows in the UK, Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands, working in-house and as a supporting consultant. Here are a few things that I’ve learned about PR at exhibitions along the way:

Kolnemesse – the exhibition centre in the German city of Cologne

1 – Start early

Kick off your campaign as soon as you decide that (or are notified about) your organisation is attending a show. Work out how you can link news to the exhibition and develop a time line.

2 – Plan, plan, plan and then plan

I believe that planning is essential, beyond just working out how the trade show will affect your annual campaign.

Agree with your management team the theme of your exhibit, PR objectives that the show might deliver. Consider how much PR resource you can allocate to the show.

3 – Take charge of show guide submissions

If someone else is responsible for the stand there’s a good chance you will become their new best friend if you take on the task of writing the blurbs for show guides, websites, etc. This will also help you get better access to information about the show, including to the the PR team promoting the show itself.

Harrogate Conference Centre – part of a popular town-centre exhibition venue

4 – Talk to product management

Product managers and similar ‘experts’ are far more credible and interesting to journalists than sales staff. If you have a product management or product marketing function, talk to them to ensure you know what they will be able to deliver to the show and how you can craft a newsworthy story.

Ask them to think about new products (obviously), Beta-test programmes, road-map announcements, on-stand demonstrations, new customers – or just being able to talk about new technologies and business ideas or market trends.

Hannover Messe – a truly vast exhibition centre – PR campaigns here need careful advance planning

5 – Make friends with the show PR team

Find out who is running PR for the show and get in contact.

Ask them what they are planning to do to raise the show’s profile before, during and after the show. If they are providing a press office, ask them how they expect it to work and how they would like press materials prepared for that office.

Most importantly, ask them to provide a list of journalists they expect to attend the show – some will, some won’t, and some don’t have one.

ALWAYS offer to help – they often need it.

RAI Amsterdam – an excellent exhibition venue

6 – Treat the journalists with respect

Timing is everything. Think about how you can provide a story that breaks at or just before the show while leaving some element of surprise on the stand.

Journalists attending shows will be busy. They probably have time to do about 12 interviews during the day, and energy to do fewer. Never spend your time chasing journalists around the show – you just make yourself look silly, unprofessional and annoying.

The National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham – journalists often find this venue particularly hard work

Reach out to your key trade journalists early. Ask how they plan to cover the show and if they are planning to attend. Have something to offer them on every call – and if they want the full story in advance agree with them when you should send it.

Make life easier for journalists by giving them a compelling reason to visit you, ensuring your spokesperson is waiting for them, and that they spend their time with you enjoyably and usefully. A decent cup of coffee might also help,

While these points might seem very basic to some, if you find something new here, please call me for free advice. I’m also happy to take on your exhibition projects to help you deliver a great PR result from your trade show.

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