Have you ever been to a restaurant where the food wasn't exactly as expected? Or what about a very expensive restaurant, and regardless of how expensive it was, still a bit hungry after leaving the place? Or what about a restaurant serving disappointing food, but because it has excellent reviews, outstanding awards, and maybe your companions find the food oh so god, and oh so fantastic, you think your disappointment is only you? I have tried all of the three above, so why this anecdote? Read on!

By Editor Morten B. Reitoft

If you book a hotel, you expect the hotel to be at least somehow aligned with the descriptions and photos from the web. You wish for something and get upset or disappointed when expectations aren't met. When Tarsus canceled (I know they prefer to call it postponed) LabelExpo, they pissed off many customers as they canceled on short notice. Still, they also promised exhibitors that the event would take place as late as January. They even sent out reminders to pay the last installments no later than February 28th, which eventually happened to be the last day before the event was officially canceled on March 1st. To make it worse, Tarsus didn't offer repaying the payments but only provided vouchers for the 2023 edition.
This leaves many exhibitors in a vacuum.

The reason companies choose to exhibit is not because it's fun (it's also hard work) but because they need to meet with prospects and customers. In the "old" times (essentially pre-COVID), this was how products were introduced and what justified the millions of Euros spent on trade shows. However, time has changed. Many of the larger exhibitors many months ago chose not to commit to LabelExpo, and Tarsus convinced these exhibitors not to make any announcements. This would leave many other exhibitors believing that LabelExpo was supported by companies like BOBST, HP, Gallus, and others - at least for a very long time!

Several exhibitors are now busy organizing their events, inviting customers and prospects to events on the exact dates - and to various addresses across Europe! They do what we have preached since the cancelation of drupa. When the large exhibitors can't attract enough exhibitors, they most likely know it will be more challenging to attract an audience, so what could they do?

Before answering that, let's look at the ICE/InPrint in Munich from last week! I was there only for one half-day, but my colleague Henrik Klem Lassen was there for the entire show. As I also reported when FESPA Amsterdam took place in 2020, going to these shows is almost like time-traveling. The events are organized precisely like in 'the good old times,' which has more effects on the experience than I would have thought. On the plus side, seeing customers, prospects, friends, colleagues, and people, in general, is fantastic! Learning about equipment and from the "stage" is also great. The positive approach is that this is precisely what ICE/InPrint delivered, but why were the halls almost empty if this was the case? On the minus side, prospects and customers get their information from other sources and therefore judge the value of the plus side as less important. Remember, the cost of going to a tradeshow is exceptionally high for exhibitors and the attendees. We spoke to a HUGE vendor during the week that added to the tradeshow discussion that they would NEVER EVER be able to justify their participation at, i.e., drupa looking only on ROIs, leads, sales, etc., generated explicitly at drupa!

The exhibitors at ICE/InPrint have been quite positive on LinkedIn, but are they still a bit hungry? Are they justifying their investments because of a high price tag and have a similar emotion as I wrote about in the intro?

So back to LabelExpo - if they had let the show go on, would it be a show with empty halls and empty aisles?

Nobody can, of course, know, but as the count-down for drupa is only two+ years away, everybody thinks about what to expect. A few scenarios to consider for drupa could be. Fewer days? Smaller booth space? Fewer exhibitors? Fewer attendees? - or any combination of these?

We know of exhibitors who won't exhibit at drupa because there isn't any commercial reason. We know many considering smaller booth space, some event to exhibit without equipment. What drives the decisions depends on who you talk to, but I wouldn't be surprised if drupa will have less than 100,000 attendees in 2024. Exhibitions have a massive impact on the cities they are part of; it will influence everything from the red-light district to hotels, restaurants, airports, shops, etc.

According to Messe Düsseldorf, the exhibitions affect a 3 billion Euro market supporting the importance of the tradeshows for the cities - but NOT a word about the value for the exhibitors.

The German organization AUMA has an article, 'Exhibitionsuccess - restart for the trade fair industry,' describing how trade shows can be drivers for post-pandemic growth. Germans like using the word "Future" a lot, and the question one may ask is whether tradeshows are a part of the future and, in case not, then what?

As I said in a short film, I did in the Munich airport, after visiting ICE/InPrint. Being at a tradeshow again was an extraordinary experience. It's not that I didn't like it, but I felt that I was exposed to things I at the time didn't need, and even the booths I knew, they didn't tell me anything I couldn't find elsewhere. I would probably be able to see/learn more about specific products online than going to an event. When I left the show, my greatest takeaway was the networking side of the show. The people I met were worth the cost of going there, but being an exhibitor? I am not sure the cost could be justified, but time will show. If the tradeshows DO return to the once-upon-a-time glory, the speculations here are nothing but wrong.