Star Tech Journal

STAR*TEcH
Journal
STAR*TECH
July 1996
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John Ridgway
Betson Pacific
Buena Park, California
An article in Replay magazine
brings up an issue that distribu-
tion has been talking about for at
least the last two years. Eddie
Adlum, publisher of Replay,
insightfully pens his thoughts on
this subject and says that "I knew
people needed it, but it turned
out that they didn't want it." How
true it is!
An interesting but admittedly
simple question I think manufac-
turers should ask themselves is
this: What are your objectives at
a trade show? Are your objec-
tives realistic and what are your
chances of having a successful
show based on your projections?
More poignant, what is your cost
factor Vs success factor and does
it pencil out from an accounting
standpoint?
I think I can answer these ques-
tions, though God knows I cer-
tainly don't know everything! A
trade show is an opportunity for
a manufacturer to display up and
coming products to the compa-
nies who will be purchasing the
commodities. That may sound
over simplified, i.e., trade shows
are certainly opportunities for
manufactures and distributors to
get together and further solidify
relationships and make new
ones, etc. But the bottom line is
that they are there to sell prod-
uct. I find it ironic that, particu-
larly in recent years, that the
shows are poorly attended by the
actual customers who will be
doing the buying! Distributors
can place orders all day long, but
if the operators don't buy, what
good is the effort? Let's face it
guys: Trade shows are too incon-
venient and/or just plain too ex-
pensive for the operator to at-
tend. And that brings up my next
point.
I used to own a cabinet company
and displayed my product at a
trade show. I know how expen-
sive it is to merchandise a trade
show. If you need a Kleenex they
charge you a hundred bucks! It
cost you money just to have a
light bulb changed in your own
booth using your own fixtures
( depending on union rules and
the city your show is in). The cost
associated with these trade shows
are utterly ridiculous. And we all
know who is really picking up the
cost of these shows: in the end
the operator is paying through
higher game prices!
I'm not picking on the amuse-
ment industry, mind you! It's this
way in just about every industry.
I went to a NARM show for the
music show for the music indus-
try a few years back in Los An-
geles; the consumer wasn't there,