Marshall Yard:

RSNA wrapped up this week - Surely you know, since we referenced it here, here and here. The horse is dead, I know.

Siemens‘ booth, sized 110′x220′, was located in the south hall. At McCormick Place, the South Hall is the absolute least-trafficked and smallest hall. Even though we were all excited about the design, you never know how a show will go until it’s all said and done. The verdict is in!

For the first three days of the show, leads were well above 2007 numbers! Spend less, get more. I like the sound of that. They did, too. Happy clients are good clients.

Ok - Enough of this rubbish. It feels very “propogandish.” I forwarded the professional photos to a friend of mine who is in the medical field. I had gushed to her about the Siemens booth over the past few months.

Her reply:

>>WOW! that IS huge!!!
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>>p.s. That’s what she said.

In the 1990’s and early-to-mid 2000’s, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler survived based on the unbridled success of the Sport Utility Vehicle. Heck, Chrysler acquired AMC, who built the first “SUV,” the Jeep Grand Wagoneer, which then became the Jeep Cherokee. And the Tahoe/Suburban and Ford Explorer are still synonymous with our concept of what an SUV “is.” What’s my point?

SUV’s have been a largely successful enterprise. They captured the rugged individualism that many American’s espouse, and made it into the “BIGGEST” automotive fad ever. The big 3 were successful in developing, producing, marketing, and selling their SUV products to consumers. They may have suceeded in spite of themselves, but one can’t deny the stated premise.

The SUV wasn’t the sole cause for the peril that Ford, GM and Chrysler are exhibiting- there’s the economic slowdown, and greater challenges that I wont get into here - but the continued reliance on SUV and light truck sales, amidst competitive and market forces that demanded a new strategy, contributed to their present woes. SUV’s shouldn’t have been their “bread & butter” product in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. $4 gas, remember?

So what on earth does this have to do with Trade Show Flexibility?

Let’s suppose that you find the perfect design for this year’s BIG SHOW. Should you try to sell the same SUV at next year’s show? What if all of your competitors come to next year’s show with a copy-cat booth? (it happens!) What if your business changes and you radically change how you’d like to approach the show? Important questions.

Here’s one: What if you make a big impression with show attendees - they’ll be looking for you at next year’s show. Do you want to DO SOMETHING with all that attention? Or bore them with “oh, they did that last year… What’s new?”

Are you sure you want to build another SUV?