German Exhibitors Roundtable Spawns American Version
By Gary Tufel -- Tradeshow Week, 1/10/2005
There's been plenty of talk recently in the tradeshow industry about the pendulum of power swinging back to the exhibitors' side. And the anecdotal evidence to support that talk continues to build.
Recently, a group of companies in the glass manufacturing business have been getting together to strengthen their collective voice as exhibitors and get show management to make changes they want.
Schott North America this fall hosted a North American Exhibitor Roundtable in Suwanee, Ga., modeled on a similar roundtable the company's German equivalent has done in its country for several years. Schott, an Elmsford, N.Y.-based manufacturer and distributor of special glass and glass-related systems, invited participants, while Expotechnik provided the space and assisted with some logistical matters.
The North American roundtable attracted eight marketing managers and exhibit coordinators from six international companies, and two attendees from Expotechnik. The gathering was intentionally kept small to gauge its effectiveness and whether there was interest, said Brian Lynch, Schott marketing associate. The plan is to grow participation at a measured rate.
Non-Schott attendees said they benefited from the discussions and looked forward to increased participation, so it was decided to hold the roundtables every six months, with a different participating company organizing each meeting. The next one, in early February in Malvern, Pa., will be sponsored by Siemens. Between 15 and 20 attendees are expected.
Presenter Joerg Messwarb of Schott AG in Germany said the original version of the roundtable was successful in the number of attendees and ideas discussed, and in how the ideas were implemented. As a result of one roundtable, major German tradeshow organizers were successfully lobbied to reduce their requirements for advance payments, resulting in huge benefits for exhibitors.
The Suwanee meeting included sessions on lead generation, local shows, show daily advertising, actual show sales and previous roundtables' results. In addition to Schott, presenters were from Siemens, Carl Zeiss IMT and Johnson Controls.
"I think everyone took away something different from the meeting," Lynch said, adding that Schott is developing a more streamlined lead retrieval system based on presented ideas. "It's always interesting to hear what other companies are doing so you can benchmark your efforts and achievements. Exhibitions and tradeshows are expensive, so having this forum is a great way to help reduce expensive errors in trial situations."
Joachim Kulla, director of congress management for Siemens Medical Solutions and one of the session presenters, called the roundtable a useful platform for companies to exchange the latest information and share best practices.
"This helps save time during my planning process and allows me to be as efficient and effective as possible," Kulla said. "All the participants gained valuable knowledge and enjoyed serving as a resource for each other."
