Last week, I
attended and we exhibited at our first tradeshow in 1 and ½ years; WestPack.
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| CLS booth at the end of the show |
And I learned
that WestPack was the first tradeshow at the Anaheim Convention Center since
the Covid-19 shutdown in March of 2020. Having
exhibited at this show for years, it was great to get back to some sort of
normal. And I attended all 3 days of the
show seemingly without catching Covid-19.
At the event, we showed the PAC 5 Print/Apply Device. And the FP230 Print On-Demand Flexible Packaging Machine.
As some of you
know, we’ve had tradeshow providers as customers for years. In 2017, I wrote about tradeshows first here.
And then again
about the Consumer Electronic Show here.
After this
shutdown, I find it amazing that these companies are still in business at
all. After zero revenue for 1.5 years,
I’m surprised and happy these companies are still in business. Given the shutdown’s impact on these
companies, I urge you to support this market by attending any and all
tradeshows you can. For example, we’re
exhibiting at White Label Expo in Las Vegas September 1st and 2nd,
2021.
And we’re
exhibiting at MJBIZCON October 20-22 in Las Vegas for those customers in the cannabis market.
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| Google Pay Tradeshow Certificate |
Prior to the
event, I learned something that was very troublesome; the organizers decided to
make the event “contactless” which meant NO BADGES. This decision bother me on three levels.
First as an exhibitor, we spent a lot of money to meet people and gather
prospects for our products and services.
With no name badges, I was concerned this decision would inhibit people
from sharing their name and contact information; thus reducing the return from
exhibiting at the show.
Second, as a
badge/printer provider, I hated to see this business/market disappear. I believe badges add value to exhibitors as
well as attendees. Plus badges offer
means to add even more value through color-coding, imaging and messaging.
Third, as a
person who believes in science, I understood that Covid is spread primarily by
airborne particles and spray droplets that are inhaled or swallowed; and not by
surface contact. In fact, I don't understand how badges would increase contact at all.
When I learned
of this decision, I immediately contacted our event sales person to
complain. In addition to the idea of
contactless, the show organizer tried to explain the contactless decision as
sustainable. As we sell paper badges
made with sustainable forest materials, I found this rationalization
absurd.
Once the event
started, I noticed several affects of not only the decision to go contactless,
but also of people complaining about no badges.
At the entrance of the tradeshow floor, many people had issues opening
up their Apple or Google Pay to get the certificate.
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| Attendees Attempting to Open Entrance Certificate |
In my case, the
certificate did not show up at all in Google Pay. I had to download the certificate a second
time; and take a picture of my phone screen.
And during the show, I met several people who just printed the certificate.
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| Exhibitor Wristband |
Given the
difficulty to open the certificate, the show organizers offered wristbands to
prevent the requirement to open your phone each time you entered the show
floor. However, the wristband supply was
gone immediately.
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| Name Badge Station |
In addition, it
seems my and other exhibitor complaints about no badges was “heard” by the show
organizers. They implemented a Name Tag
Kiosk inside of the show floor to print badges; but without any way to scan.
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| Name Badge W/O Lead Info |
In addition,
they decided to print badges for attendees as well; still without any QR codes.
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| On-Demand Color Badge Printers |
By the second
day, new attendee badges had a QR code on them.
I appreciated the fact that the show organizers responded to the
concerns of the exhibitors and probably even to the attendees.
After
completing this first tradeshow since the start of the pandemic, I’d appreciate
your support for tradeshows and for the industry as a whole. The companies who operate in this market have
been crushed; but have survived. And I was able to exhibit and attend this show
without getting sick. Please support this market by attending tradeshows; but please make sure
everyone has a badge!
Guy Mikel
855-962-7670
