Trade Show Season: How to Get the Most Value for You and Your Employer | Business of AV
Trade Show Season: How to Get the Most Value for You and Your Employer
Business of AV
Joe Way, PhD, CTS
For higher ed tech managers, the spring semester is the hotbed for the most important trade shows in our vertical, with ISE in January, HETMA in February, NW/MET and MCUAV in March, NAB in April, and InfoComm topping it all off in June. Not to mention, HETMA Roadshows, CES, NAMM, Enterprise Connect, CAVLO, SAVe, and miscellaneous others are all thrown in the mix. This is an important time on the higher ed calendar because we have all submitted our budgets and starting to focus on upcoming summer install projects. This makes being informed the most valuable asset we can have.
It's likely that departmental budgets will only allow us to travel to one or two of the various trade shows, so how do we get the most value out of the experience? I actually get this question asked of me all the time. So, I'm going to give you two answers: (1) what I do as an industry veteran; and (2) what I suggest most people should do. Yes, there will be contradictions, but I will explain why in each section. I will break it down in to a few main topics: (1) HETMA Virtual Conference; (2) selecting which shows to attend; (3) pre-planning; (4) navigating the show floor; (5) professional development and educational sessions; (6) networking and after hours; and (7) travel tips.
HETMA Virtual Conference
I will die on my sword proclaiming that the HETMA Virtual Conference is the single most important and influential conference that exists... and has ever existed... for the higher ed vertical. Period. No other discussion needed. Done deal... And not just because HETMA is the official advocacy organization for the higher ed vertical.
Let me prove it... The HETMA Virtual Conference is the only 100% FREE conference to attend. The motto of "We Were Virtual Before It Was Cool" is not just a slogan, it's a declaration that HETMA will provide resources to anyone anywhere who serves in AV for the higher ed vertical; It was a founding principle. Likewise, it is the only conference that after being publicly called out, created the HETMA Prism Scholarship to ensure that underrepresented voices can be heard... And, had attendees rise to the highest levels of the AV industry in leadership and new roles. Oh, and HETMA will only turn five years old this March.
Agian, the HETMA Virtual Conference is the ONLY higher ed focused event that cost exactly zero dollars and allows you to attend from you office at work. I happens every year over President's Week. It is the one time every year that the entire higher ed vertical is able to come together to learn, share, collaborate, and celebrate. Registration for the 2024 conference Feb 21-23 is AVAILABLE HERE. This is a great opportunity to show your leadership that you value professional development. It can be argued that your employer shouldn't pay for you to travel to an event if you don't take advantage of the opportunities that cost nothing.
Trade Show Selection
Deciding which trade shows to attend is just as important as what you do while you're there, if not more important. There's likely one to two to ten possible conferences you could attend every year. The reality is, departmental budgets and application to your daily role have a direct impact on which, how many, and where, you can attend. Every institution has a different policy on professional development, and it's important to respect that and take seriously every opportunity that we are given.
For the higher ed vertical, there are two non-negotiables for "travel-to" conferences: InfoComm and ISE. These are the first two shows I pencil in my calendar every year and the first two anyone in the AV industry should. It does not matter that one is in North America and the other is in Europe. They are both must-attends. Let me reiterate... if you are given the opportunity to travel conferences, these two must come first. While InfoComm is either in Las Vegas or Orlando and ISE is in Barcelona, the fact is, the world is smaller and the total cost is pretty much equal to all three destinations. In fact, my nonstop flight to Barcelona from Los Angeles costs less than my flight to Orlando. Hotels are the same price, and then take in the fact that Spain is a non-tipping country, all meals and transportation are actually cheaper than the United States. ISE is the best time of the year for higher ed summer planning, and it's the start of the fiscal year for most manufacturers, and therefore where they will present most of their new technology as well as bring out their engineers and designers. The most valuable "tech planning" happens at ISE than at any other show. That said, InfoComm is the best show for networking and education, and there's no other show even close. Between the HETMA Education Summit (that will be two full days starting this year) and the AVIXA and manufacturer classes, InfoComm is the "who's who" and "what's what" for our industry... and even more so for the higher ed vertical. It is the single opportunity for higher ed professionals to achieve the trifecta: learn, find, and connect. It's the only conference that provides certification training and testing, the ability to discover new technology, and provide professional social activities tailored specifically for our vertical, including HETMA having a booth on the trade show floor. And with the fact that in 2024 InfoComm will have a 2-day Higher Ed Summit and the Higher Ed AV Awards even before the show floor opens, InfoComm is the best "bang for the buck" for both you and your employer.
[Follow all the ISE 2024 higher ed coverage on the Higher Ed AV microsite at: https://www.higheredav.com/ISE2024. And get a free show floor pass: here.]
After InfoComm and ISE and/or if you are not able to travel, pick a regional Higher Ed focussed AV conference. NW/MET, Midwest AV Summit, and ETC are the only places you'll be able to organically connect "with our people" and you should attend at least one each year. NW/MET is always on the West Coast (Oregon State University in 2024) and MCUAV is in the Midwest (at Carleton College in 2024). ETC travels from college to college each year in the fall (most recently at USC in 2023 and at Iowa State University in 2024).
HETMA Roadshows and manufacturer/distributer roadshows are great opportunities to see new gear and meet your local colleagues, manufacturer reps, and integrator partners. These are how you connect with those who can help make you successful on a daily basis. Likewise, they are usually only one day and within a close driving distance. Usually they are free or a very nominal cost. Often, you can attend just for the cost of gas and maybe one night's hotel.
After those, I suggest role-specific conferences. If you work in UC area, then hit up Enterprise Connect. If you oversee live events, got to NAMM or NAB. Instructional designers might want to hit up Educause, etc. These are opportunities to see gear that can directly impact your daily role, help see the direction of your vertical, and meet and learn from those who are doing exactly what you do everyday. While the cost is likely the same as traveling to an ISE or InfoComm, they can be more valuable in helping you climb the career ladder and become a subject matter expert in your specific area. They are also great opportunities to meet people who can help you find new mentors and career path growth.
Preplanning
The most important question you can answer before attending a trade show is: Why? Why do you really want to attend? Why should your institution/employer pay for you to attend and what's the value can you bring to them afterwards? Attending a conference is not a paid vacation to just hangout at. It is work. It's a lot of work. And it should actually be a lot more work than staying back at the office. It's your one chance to get information, training, and make connections that you can't get at your desk. Not taking full advantage of that means not doing justice for yourself or your institution. Therefore, the preplanning is probably the most important part of the entire trip.
So let's answer the "Why?" I suggest making a list of 3-to-5 items you would like to accomplish while you are there. Maybe it's find new gear for an upcoming summer installation project. Maybe it is to get a certification or training class so you can improve your craft. Maybe it's to meet the movers-and-shakers in your specific area of interest. There are many reasons to attend, and they are all valuable. Also, ask your boss what they think can help bring value after you return home.
For me--because of my daily role and needs for HETMA--I go to meet with senior leadership for various manufacturers and to network with colleagues who I don't see or speak to often. This means scheduling meetings ahead of time, either in their booths or over coffee or a meal, depending upon the person and need. If I am working on a project with a particular product, I may schedule to chat with the lead engineer to ask product roadmap questions. Or, maybe I'll meet with the top brass of a company to share my institution's vision and let them connect me with the right people after we get back home. It takes having a plan, but also not packing it too tightly. Leave some room for happenstance meetings.
Navigating The Show Floor
It can be overwhelming with all the vendors showing new products. There is no way you can visit each one and see everything in the amount of time the floor is open. So how do you prioritize and decide? There is a fine line between seeing what is coming out from the vendors you use and discovering new products. The first thing I do is block the first 2 hours after the show floor opens to pace out the entire space and halls. No meetings, no stopping. Just hugs and high-fives to people I may know. That two hours gives me the lay of the land. Some conferences, like InfoComm offer higher ed specific floor tours, which are extremely helpful if it's your first time. Once I know where everything is, I will stop by the items that peeked my interest. Was there something that looked interesting that I didn't know of before? Maybe then it's time for my first pre-scheduled meeting?
What I do not do, and I know this is unpopular, but I will not attend classes that are offered while the show floor is open. The day before, fine, but not while the floor is open. The time is usually too limited and too valuable. I want the trade show floor only for seeing manufacturer roadmaps and seeing what's being presented. I'll take breaks by watching a thought leader speaker or two on the main stages or in booths. Often there is a schedule for when manufacturers will be explaining their new offerings, which saves me time. I can hear the official speech without having to block out for a booth tour. Which brings me to the next thing... I will not schedule individual booth tours. I may join a group of higher ed colleagues, but again, my time is too valuable to have someone tour me around each little black box hanging on a wall. If you are an engineer or AV designer, that might be ok for you, but as a department lead, I don't care that the new XYZ box now has one extra HDMI port. If it's a manufacturer that I use, I'll ask to see what's in the whisper suite, again, just to see their roadmap and to be thinking ahead for when my next upgrade cycle comes. But the fact is, most of the gear is in pre-release state anyway, so I don't spend a lot of time looking at it. I'll take a pic of the model number, have them scan my badge, and email my rep when I get home to have them send me a demo to test in my true live environment. I just want the facts, and then I'll test the gear later. The fact is, every projector, display, and audio device looks and sounds great at a trade show. It better! They had five days to set it up, control the environment, and personally tailor the content being played. I don't care until it's in one of my test classrooms.
Next, lunch, water, and happy hours! Many manufacturers will host a happy hour in their booth on one of the days. That's when I will plan to stop by them. Why spend time twice? It's too limited and valuable. Also, these give me a chance to connect with other colleagues. Often, groups like HETMA and Higher Ed AV will post open schedules for when and where the show floor happy hours are. I can kill two birds with one stone by making that networking time too.
Professional Development and Educational Sessions
Always be learning. There are few opportunities to get either specific training on particular equipment or learn directly from your peers who experience the same struggles you do, especially if you are working your way up through your specific craft and if you live in a more remote area where training opportunities are not readily available. Living in Los Angeles, I have nearly every manufacturer's West Cost office and training center near me. I don't need to use trade show time to get a certification. But for many people, that isn't the case, so take advantage of getting certified and being able to ask the trainers questions. Also, a certificate or training course is a tangible item you can bring back to your institution to show the value the conference brought. For breaks, I will often plan out to see certain speakers who I respect. I like to hear from thought leadership on the direction they see the industry going, because it is my job to know.
Reiterating what I wrote above, unless there is a very specific reason, I will not take away from show floor time to go to classes. That one-hour class or panel session is really an hour and half to two hours because of having to walk and find the session and misc chit-chat that might happen as the room clears before I get back to the show floor. I even get asked to be on panels all the time and I will say yes only under two conditions: (1) It isn't in the middle of the show floor time, it must be on a training day or with some exceptions at the very beginning or end of the day, not smack dab in the middle; (2) The panel must also contain a speaker from underrepresented AV demographic (woman or person of color), there are enough things with us old white guys, we don't need more. We need new voices.
All that to say, I do encourage you to submit presentation proposals and ask to get yourself on panels, even if they are during the show floor time. If you aren't a regular speaker, yes, just get your foot in the door; your voice needs to be heard. Our industry needs new voices; and our trade shows need new voices. In fact, I would be more likely to break my own rules to go see someone speak on their unique situation and to hear a new perspective other than the handful of us who speak everywhere, every time.
Networking and After Hours
Forging new relationships, making those connections, and developing friendships among peers who you don't get to see on a daily basis is probably the single best thing you can do for your career trajectory! This is where lifelong partnerships are formed. And it's important to make sure you are planning out quality social time with others in our vertical, key industry partners, and your manufacturer partners. Get on the party lists. Ask you local rep if their company is throwing an after party and get on the list early. Many after parties you can just walk into, but some are so much in demand, that there's only so many people they can get on the list. Also note, the top after parties will often have you stop by their trade show floor booth during the day to pick up a wristband or ticket. Make sure you know the protocol.
Making the most of the after hours is a skill all its own. And I have a very unique way of doing it. Again reiterating something stated above, attending a conference is not a vacation. It is work, and it's work from the time you leave your house until the moment you get back home, not just the hours the show floor and education sessions are open. In fact, I'll likely not get back to my hotel room until after 1am-2am every night, meaning that if the show floor closes at 5pm, there is an entire 8-hour day of work still after the conference day. It's an entire day that also needs to be planned out.
I don't do vendor dinners. It is common for vendor partners to invite their customers out to a nice dinner after the show floor ends. I don't go to them. By all means, you should. Enjoy. Take advantage of the ability have that nice steak or lobster. However, really my time is too valuable to be at a dinner for three hours with a manufacturer rep who I can just see back at home the following week. I understand it is a really nice gesture, and I will gladly set my team up for a vendor dinner if they want one. I know many people don't get a chance to see their reps often, so it can be a valuable time, as well as a great meal. But, if the reservation is an hour or so after the close of the trade show floor, and the dinner is two to three hours, that becomes more than half the night. Instead, I'll party hop and just eat the finger foods along the way from place to place. In the rare case I do attend a vendor dinner, I need to have senior leadership in attendance so the time can be used talking strategy and creating value for my organization, and I'll let them know that "at X-time, I will be leaving." It's not that I don't appreciate the offer, I really do, but there is only so much I can get done in the few days of the show. I have many people to see and talk to.
After you now got yourself on the party lists and know which ones are there, you gotta map it. I start by thinking "where will I end" and "what's the easiest place to start." Throw them in your calendar and start with the ones that begin right after close of the conference session (and are often connected to the floor area or adjoining hotel). Then map it and know how much time you have. I will know that if I have 30min somewhere, that's what I have. And when it's time to go, I go. I see the after hours as an opportunity to "say thanks" to all my vendor partners for their partnership throughout the year. So I want to attend as many as I can in order to shake hands, give a hug, and say cheers to the company leadership and my reps. And then I bounce off to the next one. I can see more people and have better convos through party hopping than from seeing people at the show floor booth where it's all business and they are constantly being distracted with introductions and badge scans. Often, I will gather a group of higher ed colleagues or others in attendance from my institution to party hop as a small group. That makes the night move easier and we can all keep ourselves accountable to the schedule.
Travel Tips
You're in a new city! Take advantage of it! Do what the locals do and immerse yourself! If your conference time is simply getting on a plane, Ubering to the hotel, walking into the convention hall, and then Ubering back to the airport and flying home, you might as well have stayed home. You need to experience what makes the city special. Often the after hours events are at sightseeing locations, which is great, but I highly encourage you to add a day or two onto the trip and pay out of your own pocket to see the city. Maybe have your spouse/partner fly out for the weekend before or after and do all the touristy things (I like doing the weekend before because I'm not exhausted from the trade show, and it also helps me acclimate to the city and weather before I am "working" the show). Also, try the local food and drink. Ask your hotel the great secret spots that the locals go to. Feel the energy of where you are.
Maybe people also don't travel very often and can get flustered. Plan ahead. Travel light. The world is different. If you forget your toothbrush, it's no big deal, the hotel will have one. Didn't bring the right layers of clothing, it's ok, that's an excuse to go shopping in the new city. I never check bags. There is nothing worse than arriving at your destination and not having your bag arrive. I will only do carry-on no matter how far, where to, or long I am traveling for. I may check my bag on the way home if I buy some local wine or something, but that's it. If you do check baggage, throw an AirTag in it. If that means I gotta layer up during travel, then I do that. Also, don't wear a belt, metal, or tie up shoes on planes! They hold up the security line, and are uncomfortable when you're on the plane. I personally wear a hoodie and have my neck pillow, and I get myself into a cocoon.
When packing, think of clothes that work well together. Can I wear the same shoes all week? Probably. Because I want to be comfortable, one nice pair of sneakers may actually work for both the show floor and the after hours. Dark jeans pair well with everything. A blue blazer will dress up anything. Neutral colors all look fine together in multiple combinations. A tie in my school's colors will never fail.
One other thing I do is text myself my hotel name, tower name, and room number as soon as I check in. It's amazing how all hotel rooms and floors can seem the same in a strange country. So have it handy to be able to drop into Uber and find your way after being dropped off. Also, I will text myself the list of all the bars, restaurants, and venues for the evening sessions in order of when I'm doing them. Makes it really easy to get to the next stop by having it handy. That said, when in hotels and convention centers, your phone may drain a lot faster, so keep a power brick handy! In fact, I stay plugged in all day, and then only unplug it at night so that I am on full when it matters and I don't have to carry around the added weight while party hopping.
Last, stay hydrated, especially while traveling in the air and while on the conference floor. The fake air being pushed through can and will dry you out. Having nonstop conversations burns more energy than you think. So keep water and power bars handy.
And really last... have fun and enjoy the experience. Share about it on the socials. These are lasting memories!
Heading to ISE?
Follow all the ISE Coverage at the Higher Ed AV microsite: https://www.higheredav.com/ISE2024.
Get a FREE show floor pass here: https://registration.firabarcelona.com/?cod_prom=QBNFCBQ3#/en_GB/E234024/WEB.
