Organisers and Contractors: Poles Apart?????

I read a brief interview with Jonny Sullens today. An organiser of several shows as well as running LIW. He said that one of his biggest frustrations was as an organiser something like, he creates the market, to the benefit of design and display companies, who then respond by spamming the exhibitors to death without giving anything back.

Firstly I hate unqualified comments, which give no examples, and require no evidence. Everyone tarred with the same brush. Not that he isn't right perhaps.

Secondly, But what more can we give back?? We try to give value, work within the best interests of the show by building exhibits that will prove a draw, give the exhibitor and delegates an experience and a stand that will act as a vehicle to meet the clients brief, giving them the best chance of meeting their targets and thus being more likely to recommit to the show the following year which helps the organiser does it not? So give something back?? What? Help? To the organiser you mean?? A finders fee, because you have created the exhibitor? They would never have live marketed if not for you? If we can add more value I'd like to know how and if we can work more closely with organisers as contractors we would love to do so in the main.

and lastly. I've visited exhibitions. A lot. I do so to get a delegates perspective. Although I've also done so for research for my clients. When you do, my god! A year later the spam you get, about the next show, other shows that might be of interest, have you signed up to this, do you know about that, because you are on the database. Absolutely incredible. Yet you accept it, because thats the job of the organiser, to inform, to beg steal and borrow delegates who boost the visitor numbers no matter their genuine interest, and who create more of a throng in the hall. We all have to sell don't we? I'm sure we don't do it in any different a way to organisers and trade publications who tend to clog up the phones just as much as the mailboxes trying to flog advertising space.

I could at any time moan about reduced tenancies, the amount of shows my clients are attending with falling visitor numbers, and an UK industry that seems to love a niche show, but that in the main has no idea how to run a headline show, a 'wow' event, an event admired globally as setting a benchmark. That we do formulaic very well, and innovation not well at all. I won't because those things are hard, and there are people in the industry that seem to want to work towards those goals.

What I will say is NEVER has an organiser (who has all the contractor details (design and build) because of the health and safety submissions and drawings submitted for approval) approached that group of contractors for any sort of meeting that might take say a morning and said

1. This is how we want our show to work and look, so it has a consistency of brand and works as a practical and visual spectacle. Can you bear this in mind, and advise your exhibitor accordingly.
2. These are the build up times, the regs, and this is why. We know its asking a lot, and we know your designs/build adds value to the exhibition as an experience, but we'll try to help where we can by being flexible. We want a successful even but we all work on budgets. Lets work together to acheive it.
3. If you perform we'd like to look at establishing a list of design and construction companies in consultation with ESSA for THIS show. (not just the one if any, who are normally a shell supplier who have branched out) A list that reccomends you as contractors as being committed to working and producing concepts that are in the best interests of the show, that are sympathetic to the experience we as organisers want to give the visitor so they come back. We might need a fee for managing this list, but if we work with ESSA, reccomend only member contractors who we've developed a relationship with, suddenly other companies would not spam our exhibitors so much. Because it becomes pointless as we are so proactive working TOGETHER with contractors to build our show.

We could work TOGETHER or we can moan about EACH OTHER? I know which camp I'd prefer to sit in.