Andrew Porter. Events Director, Europe TechInsights organiser of the Embedded Systems Conference 2009 event (6 - 8 Oct, FIVE International Show Centre, Farnborough), talks to Electronics Weekly about what makes the best electronics exhibition and conference in the UK.
1. What makes the ideal UK electronics event?
The UK still has a thriving design community which is hungry for information from expert sources in an environment where ideas can be exchanged and explored on the spot. Events need to attract the highest possible level of expertise for conference presentations and on exhibitor booths.
Everyone is watching costs so attendees often have to justify their time at shows and conferences to others in their organisation. Events therefore need to have a clear focus to attract enough attendees to satisfy the exhibitors.
2. What are the limiting factors on creating such an event for the UK high-tech engineering sector?
The changing nature of the UK electronics industry has created challenges for event organisers. We have a few very large companies, but the industry is dominated by SMEs, for which day-to-day work pressures mean it is now more difficult for engineers to justify time away from their desk.
Over 30 years ago we had a few thriving exhibitions for the electronics industry in the UK, but the pure exhibition format, with limited technical content, has fallen out of favour with our engineering community. It is a challenge to change attitudes and habits.
3. What should be done to attract more exhibitors and visitors to UK events?
The Intellect report commissioned by BERR and published in April this year summed up what needs to be done very well. Firstly, we should not try to invent more traditional trade fairs. We need to create events that are founded upon strong technical content, with the exhibition element being subsidiary. The events have to be seen as an opportunity to acquire a lot of genuinely useful information in a short time.
According to the report, there is still plenty of demand for such events among the multinational and SME business communities, academia, public sector departments and service providers. The report recommends an event that combines technological innovation and knowledge transfer between sector-specific disciplines.
4. What factors determine the best location?
Accessibility is an obvious one, but not the only one. South-east England has the highest population density of electronics engineers, so that is often the first choice. Larger events typically look for venues around London or go to the NEC. But for smaller, niche events, it is also important to get in among as many potential attendees as possible by identifying the location of those companies that could supply the most visitors.
5. How can exhibitors measure the value of a show?
The traditional method of counting leads is a waste of time, particularly when comparisons are made with other statistics such as enquiries from a direct mail shot or advertisement.
It is not comparing apples with apples. A lead generated at an event is more like a face-to-face sales call; it is interactive and gives you an opportunity to answer questions and overcome potential objections to doing business.
See also: Q5 - Interviews with electronics industry leaders
Read all the Electronics Weekly Q5 interviews. From ARM's chairman, Sir Robin Saxby, to touchscreen technology firm Zytronic's MD, Mark Cambridge, the business leaders share their particular insights on the UK electronics industry.