IDG Cancels COMNET

Park City, Utah— In another blow for big technology tradeshows, IDG World Expo is eliminating the COMNET Conference & Expo from its portfolio.

IDG World Expo President David Korse made the disclosure earlier this month at the Computer Event Marketing Assn.'s annual summit. COMNET's demise comes just weeks after MediaLive Intl. announced the cancellation of this year's COMDEX.

Korse, who joined IDG about a year ago, said COMNET was well-positioned to serve the communications networking industry during its heyday. But in the intervening years, the event hadn't adapted to a changing industry. "We had a very good solution for 1997 that was not working in 2004," he said.

COMNET peaked in 2001 with a 172,660 net square foot showfloor, 453 exhibitors and 40,000 attendees. The 2002 show — ranked No. 171 on the Tradeshow Week 200 — declined to 155,840 net sq. ft. with 288 exhibitors and 28,350 attendees.

The 25th anniversary show in 2003 didn't make it to the TSW 200 list, despite IDG offering exhibitors free space upgrades and drayage, as well as a number of other incentives.

Then this year's show, held Jan. 26–29 at the Washington (D.C.) Convention Center, was hit by a winter snowstorm. Exhibitors and attendees were unable to get to the convention center when the nation's capital closed under the weight of six inches of snow.

Korse said there's a possibility that IDG will resurrect the event. "We let COMNET slide away after 26 years, and hopefully the show will rise from the ashes like a Phoenix once we have a better story to tell," he said.

Tradeshow consultant Susan Schreiner said the demise of COMNET and postponement of COMDEX don't necessarily spell doom for all large horizontal technology shows. "Certain shows are doing OK," she said, pointing out that the association-run Intl. CES and CTIA Wireless both managed to avoid shrinking during the technology downturn.

At the same time, technology shows must contend with reduced spending and increased consolidation among their exhibitors. "The industry is changing; companies don't have the money they once had," Shreiner said.

COMNET, established in 1978, targeted the communications networking industry. Exhibitors were drawn from among providers of everything from Internet and application services to broadband and wireless.

The telecom industry has been in a slump for the past three years. However, just months ago, IDG's own research arm forecast that worldwide telecommunications services spending would grow by 4 percent to $1 trillion this year, marking a return of momentum. Worldwide spending on telecom equipment, meanwhile, is projected to increase by 6 percent this year to more than $52 billion.

There were signs of that optimism at this year's SUPERCOMM, which experienced a rebound after two years of steep declines. The Telecommunications Industry Assn. show reported that its annual gathering at Chicago's McCormick Place June 20–24 measured 302,820 net sq. ft. and drew 675 exhibitors and 27,650 attendees. The buzz at this year's show centered around opportunities for VOIP — short for voice over Internet protocol — which carriers large and small are vowing to embrace.

SUPERCOMM's growth trajectory nearly matches that of COMNET. The show peaked in 2001, measuring 537,400 net sq. ft. and drawing 853 exhibitors and nearly 53,000 attendees. But between 2002 and 2003, it declined from 484,000 net sq. ft. to 278,000 net sq. ft. During that same period, the number of exhibitors shrank from 816 to 538 and the number of attendees from nearly 37,000 to about 25,000.

The cancellation of this year's COMDEX sparked discussion at the CEMA Summit about whether there's still a place for large technology tradeshows. Indeed, Korse said it's the smaller events that are growing fastest within the IDG portfolio.

Eric Faurot, the Miller Freeman veteran brought aboard last year to re-engineer COMDEX, said that big annual industry get-togethers remain a natural. However, in the case of many shows in recent years, he said, "The rules of the game were, 'Bigger is better.' It couldn't support itself and it collapsed."