Suggestions for DEMA organizers for a better show!!!

[mselenaous]

1- Until there is a greater than 50% turnover of the old guard at DEMA with the future movers & shakers of our industry (< age 30 or 35), I don't believe we will see change.

2-Helpful people at booths, some get it, some do not. Pete has this experience at one booth.
A well-meaning lady was apparently trying to be her most efficient to screen visitors from interrupting her boss and using his time frivolously. Conversation went something like this:
Sir, do you own a dive boat? No. Then this isn't for you. OK. Pete continues to loiter around (usually he's listening so he can post about something new - she had no clue).
Sir, really this isn't for you. That's OK, I'm just waiting to see him (points at the boss who is in a conversation). Well he is very busy, Sir. I'll keep waiting, he is a friend from Linked-In. OHH!
I wonder how many people she ran off who might have been interested in encouraging their favorite dive boat owner toward this product, or future boat owner, etc.
It's an industry show. We all know about dive boats and know dive boat owners and like new innovative ideas. Oh, and how many were considered Media - you know that free advertising that comes from someone getting excited and writing about your product.



3-Fun - Now these guys were fun

 

[cerich]

2015 DEMA Board of Directors Election Slate Announced - The Diving Equipment & Marketing Association

Here are the folks running for the DEMA BOD, same old, same old.

Waste of time to try and change them...it was tried, we should have killed them when they were on their knees.

Let them die, the math won't lie and let somebody who can do a better show step in

 

[scubamarketing]

Oh, and how many were considered Media - you know that free advertising that comes from someone getting excited and writing about your product.

I'd walk an aisle with my media badge, stopping briefly at every single booth. Reps would look at me, then turn away to do something else. Did a 180, put on my buyer badge, did the same thing, almost everyone spoke with me.

Sure, getting a store to carry your item is great, but wouldn't you also like tens or hundreds of thousands of divers to be told about your product too? It's not just the old guard at DEMA that should be shown the door, it's most people in this "industry".

 

[Wookie]

Sir, do you own a dive boat? No. Then this isn't for you. OK. Pete continues to loiter around (usually he's listening so he can post about something new - she had no clue).
Sir, really this isn't for you. That's OK, I'm just waiting to see him (points at the boss who is in a conversation). Well he is very busy, Sir. I'll keep waiting, he is a friend from Linked-In. OHH!

Well, I own a dive boat, but I didn't get out of my booth for the first 3 days, and wasn't in much of a mood to do else but wander the floor and see friends and competitors the last day. I wonder if she came to see me?

 

[RJP]

For me, the best way DEMA could improve the show is (as I already mentioned) by having decent seminars. I honestly don't mean this to be arrogant, but it's doubtful they could put on a seminar that teaches me anything about online marketing, but I believe in the whole rising tide lifts all ships concept and I'd like to see other people learn something valuable.

I attended a great many seminars... wanted to learn what people were wanting to learn. There was a full spectrum - from very good to abysmal. Some of the online-marketing things were pretty basic, but the fact that those seminars were full of shop owners taking copious notes tells you something. (Several of them were very good "basic" presentations. Others were of the fast-talking "I'm known as the 'The Search Word King' so buy my book" sort.

The absolute worst was a "Simple 5 Step Process to Growing Your Business" sort of thing. Wasn't DEMA sponsored. Reminded me of this guy...

[video=youtube;wVQPY4LlbJ4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVQPY4LlbJ4[/video]

It was so bad I literally thought it was put on as a parody, and I kept waiting for the switch-over to the real content. 50 minutes in, I figured that wasn't going to be the case.

The gist of the guys presentation was that you can grow your business by 50% in one year... all you need to to is "grow your business 1% each week and take two weeks off. It's that simple!"

Of course he didn't have any advice as to HOW to actually do that, other than to suggest that the attendees "focus on those things that will grow your business at least 1% each week." But he did have a spreadsheet model that proved that would work. (And a series of DVDs you could buy...)

I didn't have the heart to tell him that his "50% growth" math was a bit off:

• If he meant grow "1% each week vs same week a year ago"... your business would only have grown 1% after a year
• If he meant grow "1% week-over-week"... your business would grow 63% after a year. (Assuming that Week 1 was an average week.)

Oh, wait. He did have one idea for how to grow your business. He suggested at one point that you should consider giving your loyal customers discounts of up to 30%. Apparently, that will "keep them coming back" according to Alec Baldwin. Though, he didn't explain how starting out 30% in-the-hole with your best customers versus last year was going to help you grow your business by 50% this year. Maybe you just need to start 30 weeks earlier? After all... Mitch and Murray paid a lot of money for those leads.

 

[scubamarketing]

I saw every DEMA sponsored "marketing" speaker on the list at least once. I had planned to see a few more than once, but after seeing how terrible they were the first time around, I cut my losses and did something productive.

From what I saw, the gamut ran from old information that's no longer useful to current information provided with so little actionable steps that no one will do anything with it to throwing around buzzwords and irrelevant social network names to sound hip and cool but still providing zero actionable ideas for participants.

And I'm sorry, a full crappy seminar with people taking copious notes doesn't make it a good or valuable seminar, it shows just how screwed most people in the industry are.

 

[Z Gear]

Okay, I've been slammed since the first day of DEMA so my head is in a hate-the-world mindset right now, so I apologize if I'm not able to restrain that well.

Perhaps it's all the time I've spent in Mexico cave diving, but I absolutely hate loud music for no purpose other than "excitement" and I doubly hate people bugging me to buy their crap. You (or someone from your booth) was awesome when I came by, I was thinking you were going to be one of the annoying salespeople (like the solar charger and massage idiots), but you actually wanted to show me the booth across the way's housings because they had stepped out for a moment. I appreciate that. I appreciate booths that when I walk up, they offer to answer my questions. I do not like booths where the reps just force a brochure into my hand as I walk by.

For me, I'm on the show floor for business. When I see a crowd forming due to free drinks/food or entertainment, I make a note to come back later when it's less crowded.

For me, if I want a party, I go to one of the many parties after the show is over since the work day is done. I kid, I still have hours of work to do back in my hotel room, but that can wait until the wee hours of the morning.

For me, the best way DEMA could improve the show floor is by not allowing those idiot a$$hole solar charger and massage salespeople every block or two, preferably not at all.

For me, the best way DEMA could improve the show is (as I already mentioned) by having decent seminars. I honestly don't mean this to be arrogant, but it's doubtful they could put on a seminar that teaches me anything about online marketing, but I believe in the whole rising tide lifts all ships concept and I'd like to see other people learn something valuable. The other thing would be not to have it in Vegas and if it's going to be in Vegas, go to the fun part of Vegas. The Westgate neighborhood sucks, sorry.

As it all stands, for me DEMA is what you make out of it. I learn something each time (don't waste time on DEMA sponsored seminars and make sure I have a buyer badge since no one cares about the free publicity behind a media badge), they all get progressively better because networking gets better every time you're around the same people. In my position, I'm finally starting to see a change within many of the manufacturers (maybe destinations will get on board too some day) to actually embrace marketing partnerships, so that's exciting for me.

And finally, here's my thoughts on trying to give ideas to DEMA: as Wookie has already made clear, they just don't care. Phrase it as "what can WE do to make it better" all you want, but hoping that this feedback will have any actual change from the DEMA side of things is about as likely as growing gills. I don't say that because I'm negative or pessimistic, far from it, I say it based on years of observation.

That was me! I took over you over to see Toshiki's Booth! Thats great! I hope you were impressed by his awesome camera housings, he was like a hidden gem.
Thank you for your compliments and giving us the opportunity to spend some time speaking with you,we appreciated that.


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---------- Post added December 1st, 2014 at 08:49 PM ----------

What do you think about at least focusing on one very important item: NEW PRODUCTS.

Now if they would do more in this area at least it would be a step in the right direction wouldn't you agree?

It simple the new show case area needs to be in a better location at the show. It should be one of the first things you see when you enter the show. It can be better exhibited and displayed. There would probably more interested exhibitors wanting to display their new items as well as attendees wanting to see what is NEW!! I am trying to get to the heart of what is really wrong here. Most want to see new products and if they are not going to see anything new, then why should they even attend the show, correct?

Could the real reason the show did not meet most people's expectation be due to the show's handling of the new products show case. I believe this to be the root of the problem. A problem that can be easily remedied. If this subject is addressed first, it can be the beginning of change for DEMA. This is just my opnion.

 

[RJP]

Some of the online-marketing things were pretty basic, but the fact that those seminars were full of shop owners taking copious notes tells you something.

And I'm sorry, a full crappy seminar with people taking copious notes doesn't make it a good or valuable seminar, it shows just how screwed most people in the industry are.

And I'm sorry that you didn't get my point. Which was essentially the same as yours.

:d

However, it seems to me that someone in the internet scuba marketing business would call that "opportunity" rather than "how screwed most people in the industry are." (Nick - you're far, far too young to be jaded.)

---------- Post added December 2nd, 2014 at 10:30 AM ----------

What do you think about at least focusing on one very important item: NEW PRODUCTS.

Now if they would do more in this area at least it would be a step in the right direction wouldn't you agree?

It simple the new show case area needs to be in a better location at the show. It should be one of the first things you see when you enter the show. It can be better exhibited and displayed. There would probably more interested exhibitors wanting to display their new items as well as attendees wanting to see what is NEW!! I am trying to get to the heart of what is really wrong here. Most want to see new products and if they are not going to see anything new, then why should they even attend the show, correct?

Could the real reason the show did not meet most people's expectation be due to the show's handling of the new products show case. I believe this to be the root of the problem. A problem that can be easily remedied. If this subject is addressed first, it can be the beginning of change for DEMA. This is just my opnion.

Interesting? What new products did you see that warranted more prominence than was provided? Anything innovative? Truly innovative?

All Innovations Are Not Created Equal ? AQUIS Strategic Marketing

Build a better moustrap... and the world will beat a path to your [-]door[/-] booth.

Rehash the same-old, same-old... and the industry's "New Products" showcase will remain in the far back corner of the exhibit hall, with a smaller footprint than the people hawking Wyland prints and wind chimes made out of old scuba tanks.

 

[Z Gear]

And I'm sorry that you didn't get my point. Which was essentially the same as yours.

:d

However, it seems to me that someone in the internet scuba marketing business would call that "opportunity" rather than "how screwed most people in the industry are." (Nick - you're far, far too young to be jaded.)

---------- Post added December 2nd, 2014 at 10:30 AM ----------



Interesting? What new products did you see that warranted more prominence than was provided? Anything innovative? Truly innovative?

All Innovations Are Not Created Equal ? AQUIS Strategic Marketing

Build a better moustrap... and the world will beat a path to your [-]door[/-] booth.

Rehash the same-old, same-old... and the industry's "New Products" showcase will remain in the far back corner of the exhibit hall, with a smaller footprint than the people hawking Wyland prints and wind chimes made out of old scuba tanks.

I cannot list every booth whom had new products to show case, but to imply that manufactures had nothing new to offer is just not correct. As a manufacturer it is imperative that you always have newer updated items or break through items as your goal to bring forth to the industry. I believe the perception of most that there were very few items of interest was more of a misconception than fact. I am not implying that every manufacturer had something new but alot of them did!

 

[scubamarketing]

What do you think about at least focusing on one very important item: NEW PRODUCTS.

I don't know the pricing/politics behind the new product showcase, but I'll completely agree with you that it's in a terrible location (as long as you agree with me that pictures should be allowed ). Yet there's one accessory manufacturer that I won't name that has the exact same product (New Color!) in there every. single. year. DEMA treats it like a joke, so there are joke products (for the most part) in there.

However, it seems to me that someone in the internet scuba marketing business would call that "opportunity" rather than "how screwed most people in the industry are." (Nick - you're far, far too young to be jaded.)

After beating my head against the wall for years trying to get players in the industry to not invest in crap marketing and instead do something that works with the typical response of "Oh, this costs money? Not interested.", I decided to just be thankful I work for a big player in the industry who lets me play with all kinds of marketing ideas My team still helps a ton of people who contact us, but I'm jaded enough to value my time more than trying to convince dinosaurs there's an asteroid coming.

Interesting? What new products did you see that warranted more prominence than was provided? Anything innovative? Truly innovative?

Does it really need to be "truly innovative"? Apple packs a room just by adding an 'S' to the end of last years iPhone model. Is the Dive Rite Nomad LTZ "truly innovative"? Is the GoPro Hero 4 "truly innovative"? We can debate both, but as a buyer coming into a show, I want to know quickly what to check out first because it is a new product that consumers want. Yes, the iPhone of SCUBA (and I don't mean just another housing for an iPhone, I'm not taking mine underwater) would be awesome and would keep the new product showcase exciting, but there were plenty of "new" products (models, materials, designs) on the floor, yet most weren't in the new product showcase.

I cannot list every booth whom had new products to show case, but to imply that manufactures had nothing new to offer is just not correct. As a manufacturer it is imperative that you always have newer updated items or break through items as your goal to bring forth to the industry. I believe the perception of most that there were very few items of interest was more of a misconception than fact. I am not implying that every manufacturer had something new but alot of them did!

Agreed.