Exhibit Update
IMS Insider Exhibition Corner – September
What does the exhibition mean to you?
The IMS exhibition is strongly woven into the IMS fabric and plays a significant role in serving the commercial needs of the microwave industry. Annually, thousands of engineers pour onto the exhibit floor in search of the latest and greatest products and equipment. They are looking for new tools to enable the creation of the remarkable products supplied by our industry.
People attending trade shows generally cite a variety of reasons they participate, but most often their primary motivation boils down to seeing what’s new. What’s new with friends and colleagues, what’s new from current suppliers, what’s new with competitors… you get the idea. Finding out “what’s new” at an event the size and scope of IMS can be a daunting challenge. Over 500 companies are expected to participate at IMS 2009 in Boston. Exhibitors will be displaying a wide variety of products from amplifiers to filters to test and measurement equipment and RFICs. Keeping up with of all this plus tracking down colleagues and attending sessions can challenge even the most veteran of attendees.
Our conversations with attendees on the show floor often drift to the questions of what we can do to make the event experience more efficient, easier, or more useful. This is the point where we usually begin to hear about bad coffee and $7 hot dogs. When pressed, though, most people will offer up useful gems that can help enhance the role the exhibition plays in events such as IMS. It may be something as simple as a comment on how the aisle signs are positioned to more complicated suggestions on new market segments or projects. Whatever the suggestion, the goal is to take the collective input of the users and find a way to improve the show experience.
What are your suggestions or comments on the IMS exhibition? When you plan your trip do you feel like a kid packing to go to the proverbial candy store? Do you have your elevator pitch honed and are you ready to network? Or, do you go with a sense of entering the lion’s den? Attending IMS should be enlightening, educational, fun and, if done correctly, mentally and physically exhausting. Your feet should be screaming for mercy and your head should be full of ideas to improve your job or business.
etworking, technical presentations, competitive analysis, industry insights, and new products are all available to motivate you to excel. If not, let me know why and what you think we ought to do about it. Send your thoughts and suggestions to me at lee@mpassociates.com.