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Five hours before I was due to fly home from ICAST, I had one final meeting at the show. It not only told me more about the future direction of the event than any other meeting I had that week, but it also explained where I think the trade’s priorities are likely to be in the upcoming years.
Here’s what happened. The client let slip that he had just come from a meeting between the organisers and key exhibitors. There they had discussed how to build on ICAST’s success by better reflecting trends in the trade. I took a guess. “Are they going to open to consumers?” He didn’t answer, but he did smile.
I can hardly claim any great insight because, if we’re honest, ICAST has been edging in that direction for years. Walk the aisles and you will notice more young families than you once did. Dad may be a YouTuber. Mum may have built a sizeable Instagram following. Their teenage son or daughter might already have an audience that tackle brands would love to reach.
Are they consumers? Of course. But are they also part of the trade? That’s becoming a much more interesting question.
Likewise, since returning from EFTTEX, I’ve had several conversations with exhibitors about what they’d like from Europe’s biggest trade show. Increasingly, they tell me they want to meet influencers.
I’m not convinced that’s quite what they mean. It’s not influencers exactly. Much like ICAST and consumers, I think what they really want is to bring in the people who create demand.
For decades, trade shows have done a brilliant job of connecting the supply chain. Manufacturers, distributors and retailers all under one roof. That remains hugely important. But perhaps we have been looking at the industry through only one half of the equation.
What about the demand chain? The people who create awareness. Build trust. Generate excitement. Explain products. Inspire anglers. Turn interest into purchases. For businesses to thrive, exhibitors increasingly want to meet those people. When the supply chains are formed and new products are becoming less distinct, true innovation is happening amongst demand generators – and they need to be brought into the mix in a more visible way.
But if that’s true, then how do we get these ‘demand generators’ through the doors at trade shows? I am sure that was part of the discussion on that last day at ICAST, and I know for certain that the organiser of EFTTEX is open to suggestions on appealing to influencers.
In short, what’s in it for these people? Why should they come? That, surely, is the challenge for the next generation of trade shows. Yes, we can reward them from the awards stage and by giving them exclusive access to suppliers somehow. But from where I’m standing, we could also start measuring trade shows by different KPIs. It would send out a message about what – and who – matters when the trade comes together.
For years we have counted exhibitors. Buyers. Countries represented. Important numbers, certainly. But what if the more important question became this: ‘How much demand did the show create?’
Imagine EFTTEX being able to say that its exhibitors generated 400 million social impressions. That 2,000 creator videos were published. That products launched in Barcelona reached millions of anglers within days. That measurable sales could be attributed to conversations and content that started on the show floor.
That’s a very different ambition from simply asking whether influencers should be invited. It’s asking whether the organiser’s role is no longer just to connect the supply chain. But to ignite the demand chain.
If that’s where the industry is heading – and I suspect it is – that feels like the most exciting conversation we’ve had about trade shows in years.
