Which is worse, being unethical or stupid? And on another note -- an important message for MAGIC.

(Yes, it's been quite a awhile since I posted to Lean Exhibiting. I've been posting my Ramblings on my other blog, TwoHat Marketing. Marketing is marketing, whether you focus on everyday stuff, or a trade show. Check it out.)

Google Alerts is a terrific research tool for keeping abreast of what the e-world is doing and saying about a particular topic. I use it to monitor what's being said about marketing, strategy. and the trade show industry. It's easy and free. You enter a search phrase and Alerts does the rest. In addition to searching through news outlets, press releases, videos, and group discussions, it also monitors the blogosphere.

Most of the time, the information has no use to me. Occasionally I get some good nuggets. Too often I receive links to both bad and just plain unethical advice. Let me give you an example of each I've seen in the last week alone.

First, bad advice:

The Fishbowl -- A Great Trade Show Traffic-Builder!

"Take a fishbowl to a trade show to catch more leads than ever before!

What's the catch?  The Giveaway!

One proven way to attract distracted attendees at a trade show who are zooming by your booth is to run a "Win a Free (Hot Item Here!)" contest.

It's simple. Just make a big poster telling people they can win a new Plasma TV, Set of Golf Clubs -- whatever you think is the best bait -- and all they have to do to have a chance to win is drop their business card off...in the fishbowl.

Depending on your prize budget and the size of the show, you can get hundreds of potential now leads that otherwise would have passed you by.

You often need to get approval from the trade show management, so be sure to ask in advance.

So give it try at your next show.  You could reel in some real big fish!"

This was written by a Director of Marketing of an industry publication who apparently doesn't know the difference between a qualified lead and a business card thrown in a fishbowl. This simply perpetuates the old myth of confusing Busyness with Effectiveness. I often tell audiences about the exhibitor who said to me, "I gave out 5,000 brochures, I must have had a successful show!"

The second example is just plain unethical advice:

Sales Technique: Be a Trade Show Attendee not a Booth Owner

"You can find your very best prospects at trade shows if you know how to take advantage of the opportunity. Rather than spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars renting a space at the event you can reap the benefits without having to rent a booth. The problem with renting a booth is that you are trapped in your booth unable to roam the event and mingle with the other vendors. As you begin to investigate trade shows you'll find that most are annual events making it easy for you to plan a year in advance. This gives you you plenty of time to plan your sales strategy for using this sales coaching tip. In most cases the event will be held at a hotel or a convention center connected to a hotel. That's great for you because you can rent a meeting room during the event and use a pre-event direct mail campaign to invite prospects to visit you and get a special valuable gift. You could even host a private cocktail hour at the end of the day just for your best prospects.

You can walk the trade show making sure you meet as many potential prospects as possible, and then always have something of value to offer them to make a connection. Whatever your plan, make sure you have your entire marketing and sales strategy mapped out for the event far enough in advance to have everything prepared for the big event. That way you can get the most value from this sales technique in terms of real leads with real potential..."

If this type of advice from an "expert" doesn't piss you off, you just don't care that much about the industry. Yet I see articles like this all the time from Alerts.

For those of you reading this who don't understand why this is unethical, let me put it to you this way. Imagine putting on a private event in your city where you pay for all the advertising; you pay for the promotional materials; you sign the room block agreements with the local hotels; you arrange the transportation; you arrange the educational sessions; you take all the financial risk; and you create all the buzz. Then some low-life comes along who pays no money for the privilege of being around your event; arranges for a suite off-site; sends invitations to people to leave your event; walks your event inviting people to leave your event; and rides your coattails. In the industry that's called suitcasing and it is UNETHICAL.

The reason I'm ranting about this is nobody else is watching the Internet, particularly the blogosphere, and trying to stop this stuff. Why doesn't the IAEEEEE (I can never remember how many E's it's supposed to have) or TSEA (are they still around?) have a watchdog or advocate who's fighting this stuff (especially the unethical crap). And, okay, I admit I'm being unnecessarily mean to IAEE and TSEA, but frankly, this stuff is putting me in a bad mood.

...and speaking of Bad Advice

...in yet another Google Alert I came across the following posting on Dobizo.com's blog:

Magic Trade Show is Considering Shortening Show Cycle to Three Days

"I wonder if this will lower the price on booths and admission so exhibitors can get more bang for their buck? If not than I really see nothing to get excited about.

Fred Stollmack, president of Weatherproof Garment Co is pressing MAGIC International to decrease the number of days in the Las Vegas apparel trade show from 4 to 3 and if they keep at it MAGIC just might make that change, being that they’re already considering it.

Vice president of MAGIC Christopher McCabe says there will be questioning in the form of feedback from multiple vendors and manufacturers before any concrete decision is made, because pleasing the majority is the solution."

Aaaack! Don't do it, Chris! Don't listen to them!

Look, those of us in the trade show industry know and understand there will ALWAYS be a last day of a show (wait a minute, now I sound stupid). And that last day will ALWAYS have a lot less traffic than previous days. It doesn't matter how many days you have, there's always a last day.

Very few events get over this, but cutting the number of days isn't the answer. In fact, cutting a major event, like MAGIC, to three days could be the move that kills the show altogether. I once consulted for a national event that was four days. Exhibitors demanded the show drop to three, which they did despite my protests. A couple of years later, exhibitors said the last day was still bad and they cut it to two. Guess what? That event doesn't exist anymore. I also consulted for a European trade fair that was seven days. When I asked why, they responded, "because we want a six day event."

An interesting sidebar to this discussion... in focus groups at several different events, attendees have told me they don't come to the last day BECAUSE TOP MANAGEMENT FOR EXHIBITORS ISN'T THERE EITHER.

Exhibitors don't like the last day because attendees aren't there...attendees aren't there because the exhibitor personnel they want to talk with aren't there...a vicious circle.

But cutting MAGIC from four days to three because the majority of exhibitors want to is a huge mistake, IMHO. Exhibitors ALWAYS want the show shorter. The problem is, exhibitors don't always understand the ramifications of such a move.

Comments

[Bill Geist]

Regarding suitcasing being unethical, I couldn't agree more.

BUT...what does one do when tradeshow attendance drops like a stone? Stand in my booth (i.e., the deck of the Titanic) with my violin?

This is a huge issue in our industry...and I'm not smart enough to figure it out. It is truly a philosophical dilemma.

[Steve Markowski]

Dear Steve:

Good read.

IMTS has gone from 9 to 8 and now 6 days. And they still haven't eliminated that darn last day.

Regards.

Steve Markowski

[Steve Miller]

First, to Bill. The attendance issue is not simple. Yes, in many events attendance has dropped, but it has also culled out the low quality lookie-loos and left serious buyers. In other events, attendance has dropped, taking with it both low and high quality attendees. I can't say which has happened to your event, but it's also true there are events that haven't kept pace with industry shifts and simply try to do "more of the same, but better." Doesn't work that way. No easy answer to fix such a situation, to be sure, but suitcasing isn't the answer, either.

To Steve: But didn't you notice we DID drop the last day? :)

[Promotional Products]

You bring up some great issues that trade show newbies should take to heart. Being ethical is a huge issue I see it all the time as well and it is just not a good way to prove to clients that you are a respectable person or businessman.