UK market ripe for smaller exhibitions?
09 September 2011
More than one person mentioned that the UK and German markets are fundamentally different and the exhibitions in each country reflected those differences.
German electronics companies are in general larger than UK counterparts, and crucially, so is the final customer. Looking at the area round southern Germany where most of the larger exhibitions are based there is Volkswagen, Mercedes, Bosch, BMW, Siemens among others, so larger exhibitions make more sense.
In the UK, most electronics companies fall under the SME banner, and UK end users also tend to be smaller, so smaller regional exhibitions make more sense.
Also in the column, I mentioned there were only a very few electronics exhibitions growing in the UK. I, of course, missed Southern Electronics. The exhibition grew 60% this year and had exhibitors and visitors from the UK, Europe and China. Unfortunately I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting the exhibition yet, but I will definitely change that next year on the 15th and 16th Feb.
The Southern Electronics exhibition fits into the format described above by “bringing the show to the audience”. It gives exhibitors a more cost effective avenue to showcase products, and Farnborough’s proximity to one of the UK’s main electronics hubs means attendees do not need to take a full day from work to visit.
And finally on the subject of exhibitions, by the time you get this DSEi will already have started. The show runs from Tuesday to Friday at London’s ExCel centre, and for the first time there will be a pavilion set aside solely for electronics companies. If you are in the area, it will be worth a visit.
I’d still love to hear any more thoughts on exhibitions in the UK or abroad, or even stories from exhibitions. As usual you can get me on email: alistair.winning@imlgroup.co.uk or on Twitter; @EMTNewsdesk.
I hope to hear from you soon!
Ally
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