Maxcess International -Fife, MAGPOWR, and Tidland present Converting Blog

From an exhibitor's perspective, Rosemont is much easier to deal with when setting up a show. The labor is customer-focused, the accomodations less expensive and since our hotel and restaurant needs are within walking distance, we save a great deal on cab expenses.
I am concerned about the multiple halls within Rosemont, which makes the show more spread-out, as well as the perception that the show is 'shrinking'. This perception, of course is not supported in that Rosemont can house many more exhibits than the South Hall of McCormick.

As a supplier to the Converting Machine Manufacture industry, having our drayage cost rolled into the cost of floorspace is almost a wash, however it is tremedously beneficial if we can get more RUNNING machinery on the floor at CMM 2007 (key here is to have the equipment running, not just 'placed').

What to do about CMM?

I've attending almost every CMM since 1983. As a frequent CMMer, I can "see" the show in 1-2 days. It's not that you can meet everyone and see everyone in this time, but that you can "afford" that amount of time and do the show "justice" in 1-2 days.

Is this different that in years past? Not for me, but that's from someone who's been a CMM-devotee for a long time.

How about for a new person? Is there any reason, looking at it from the outside, to think you need more than one day at the show? I'd be interested in learning from attendees what they think. I would expect that many first-timers think 1-1.5 days is enough. Remember, everyone is busier these days. Second, what do repeat CMMers think they need? I expect many think like me.

Side note: I was DELIGHTED to have 100+ folks attending my Monday morning seminar starting at 8:30AM. I gotta give "props" to Dr. David Roisum for drawing a similar crownd for Tues AM for the 3rd (maybe 4th) year in a row. Maybe CMM should re-evaluate what the attendees need. Can technical seminars help draw more people to CMM? AIMCAL has a good track record of coordinating education and CMM. I'm biased on this topic, but that doesn't mean it isn't valid.

ONE LAST QUESTION: CMM can't be the only manufacturing-oriented trade show that has waned with the outsourcing of US manufacturing to OUS locations. How do the other manufacturing shows adjust? Are there any success stories? (OK, that was 2 questions). +tjw

Regarding Stephanie's comment on the spread-out layout of Rosemont. . . Personally, I get lost easily in the Stephens Convention Ctr. Maybe they should give out compasses upon registering (only kidding). Seriously, could the multiple hall setup promote division of the show into processes more easily?

As for Tim's comment, I think people can see the show at a leisurely pace in 1.5 days or less as it is now. But WORKING machinery must be more prevalent in the next edition. With more working machinery, it could actually necessitate the extension of a person's visit to the show. And I agree with you, Tim. Show organizers must evaluate very closely the type of visitors the show is getting to help conference planners determine the right mix or type of sessions. Also, other shows have experienced a decreased number of eexhibitors and attendance. Interestingly, some of the commercial printing shows have added on a "converting pavillion" to either "get a piece of the converting action" or give the appearance that the show hasn't really shrunk but grown.

I have attended the last few CMMs and was suprised by the low turnout. From what I heard leading up to the show, many exhibitors were quite optomistic that the attendance losses would come to an end and possibly be reversed. Well I guess the attendance is still lagging.

I have been monitoring this show as a prospective exhibitor but hoped to see a show "on the rise", rather than one going down the drain, before jumping in. I'll wait and see what happens in 2007.

I feel that the only way to turn these shows around is to create a strategic alliance with a few other shows to deliver an improved SHOW VALUE for exhibitors and visitors alike.

For instance, possibly combine Label Expo, or other similar "narrow web" type shows with CMM. Give them a separate Pavillion or some other way to provide focus, but utilize a larger pool of potential visitors and a larger combined marketing punch to turn this show around. For example, I noted that Rotoflex (http://www.rotoflex.com/), who exhibited at the recent Label Expo at Rosemount did not exhibit at CMM. However, they placed several ads in the Exhibitor Guidebook so clearly there was interest to get in front of the CMM audience. Attending CMM was probably deemed too expensive so they settled for several ads instead.

Alternatively, if the show organizers can't manange to create a cooperation with other shows, I think this show is, like many others, is in big troube!

I hope my comments ar helpful.

The show was horrible. I will never return.

We exhibited this year, although indirectly, in that we had a working piece of equipment on someone elses stand.

We used to exhibit in CMM but as our margins continue to erode, we, like others, have had to take a close look at which trade shows we will take part in. Put quite simply: there are too many trade shows. I agree with the person who would like to see shows join efforts. In the year of PRINT, there should not be a CMM. In the year there is a CMM and no print, combine the show with Graph Expo.

Look at what has happened to the Gutenberg show and the Charlotte Show to name but two that are experiencing troubles. I think the vendors have already spoken. Less Shows Please!

As a consultant to the trade show industry and someone closely involved with CMM for many years, I think there are two very good reasons while attendance is down at CMM International and many other leading industry events. • Industry consolidation and a flagging economy in several sectors has reduced the number of potential attendees and exhibitors at many shows. Companies that used to send 30 people now send 5. Companies that used to send 5 people now send one or two. The good news is that these attendees are highly qualified, serious buyers who come prepared to do business. • As a couple bloggers have already mentioned, competition is confusing/hurting the marketplace. Ironically, new events are popping up in some marketplace segments that are struggling to support one major show. Many of these new shows will go away after the first event or two but in the meantime, they cause confusion.

The "good old days" of sending several people to walk the show floor during the day and to have a good time out on the town at night are gone the way of the dinosaur. Likewise, talking about the good old days of people filling the aisles of a four-day show are pretty much dead as well.

However, this doesn't mean trade shows are not a good investment of companies marketing dollars. In fact, trade shows are often the most effective and efficient use of marketing dollars. Where else can an exhibitor see so many qualified buyers in one location at one time? Where else can converters see so many different suppliers and technologies to compare side-by-side?

Instead of complaining about traffic being down and reminiscing abut the good old days, trade show exhibitors and attendees need to ask if they are getting their return on investment. If they are selling equipment and getting good sales leads that will turn into sales, or seeing new technology and seeing companies and people they wouldn't see anywhere else, then it is probably a very worthwhile investment for them.

I talked to many exhibitors and attendees who had a great CMM show. Once they can get past the fact that there aren't as many buyers as there used to be, they realize that their ROI is still very good. I think CMM will continue to be the leading industry event and continue to grow as smaller shows fall by the wayside.

CMM 05 was a disappointment in just about every respect. While the overall quality of visitors was quite good, the number of visitors was entirely unacceptable. When we invest in any show, our expectation is for both quality and quantity of visitors as both will drive the ROI of our investment.

There is no way we can continue to justify the expenditures and the time requirments for all our people on any show that does not delivery.

I have been an avid supporter of this show for many years, but CMM is no longer a viable marketing alternative for our company. We will not participate again.

Personally, I found CMM to be very productive! As with most things the return is proportional to the investment and preparation you expend. At the very least, CMM provides a common platform/location from which we all can operate. Perhaps it is the nature of my business and position, but I accomplished more during the "one week" of CMM than I could in several weeks, if not months.

However, I did miss the excitement generated by the crowds present at past shows and the furor created by the humming of operating machinery. It was just too quiet!

We were pleased by the quality of leads we received, but due to the lack of traffic, the quantity of those leads was down. Goldenrod management had predicted lower traffic and ajusted expenditures accordingly. I am happy we did because the dollars spent per lead came out far better than in 2003. I feel sorry for those who spent a great deal of money on large booths and advertising.

This is turning out to be an excellent post and hopefully the show organizers will view everyone's comments and take actions to keep the shows going or to work together to get one show for the entire industry.

I believe trade shows are an excellent way to meet with current customers, have access to new customers and show off our equipment line. The problem is balancing the cost/reward factor to ensure your dwindling marketing funds are properly spent. There are some great established shows out there that the industry is aware of and familiar with. While I agree the attendance has dropped at most show we still see quality leads from many new companies that are not our current customers. We just see less people from the same company. The day when 5 people from the same company attended the show together just doesn't happen anymore.

I also agree that there are too many trade shows. We were recently offered an opportunity to exhibit in another show with little or no initial booth cost, which seemed attractive at first, but after careful consideration we didn't want to spend the money to ship our equipment or just have a booth with no equipment because we did not know what type of attendees the show could promise in return for our investment. Even if the booth is free you still have to ship out your equipment, pay for a hotel and meal and the time away from the office doesn't help matters.

We would love to see one show that covers the entire printing industry that we could participate in. This would save us, and I'm sure other exhibitors, tens of thousands of dollars and probably increase attendance because printers wouldn't have to worry about what shows to attend. We need a show where exhibitors bring their equipment because in the end I doubt we would see 1/4 of attendees we now see in our booth if we did not have running equipment on the floor. Attendees spend their valuable money and time to go to a show that has equipment, not literature. They can get literature off the internet!

I also happened to catch a comment from someone on another site that said "How many times do they have to prove that converting and commercial printing simply don't mix." That statement couldn't be father from the truth. We're finding that many of our leads and new customer happen to be "traditional" printers who are looking to expand their profits and product lines in order to attract new customers. I believe many "traditional" printers realize that commercial printing is not a huge growth area and in order to survive they are looking for new revenue streams and were more then happy to work with them. We believe this is an untapped market that is begging for equipment manufacturers to help them out.

The trade show delimma is not just for exhibitors. Companies are sending fewer and fewer people to the shows. The answer lies in providing value to the attendees beyond just walking the show and seeing who is there. Quality seminars and educational content that can not be found elsewhere will induce people to attend and maximize their vendor visits and gain important competitive information at the same time.
Many of the older shows need an influx of new ideas. Just doing business the same old way is not working. Nor is cultivating the same audience the "good old boys network." You still see very few women at these events in comparison to the number of women actually working in the industry and making the purchasing decisions. Just a fact you might want to consider women either make or influence 80% of all purchasing decisions. Reach out to a more diverse audience through targeted progamming and events and you will bring some new life and new blood to these shows.

I confess I did not attend CMM, and I do not attend trade shows generally. The "Converting" industry is diverse, and it means different things to different people. My company "converts" pressure sensitive adhesive products, laminating adhesives to films, foams, and foils; and we die cut these materials to various shapes and sizes for sale to industry. We also slit tapes and sell roll goods, acting as a distributor. Are we unique? Yes, but there is no clear delineation in this "converting" industry between who does what. Someone needs to canvass all the companies in this industry and define what they do, segregating categories of business so that vendors and customers could pinpoint areas of interest. Otherwise, trade show attendees are barraged and consumed with information that is not relevant to their business or interests. And, attendance is a waste of time. In fact, I'd like to know where to look for information on who's who in the various categories of converting, without spending a lot of money for this data. Any ideas?