RMweb Premium Mike Bellamy Posted September 20, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 20, 2014 someone can either bring something along they've been struggling on - or can buy the things they need at the show - and work on it under the watchful eye/guidance of the experts. (So for example someone could bring along a brass kit they've been struggling with and the expert can help them with their technique). Just a thought... The O Gauge show at Telford had a "Loco Clinic" but with being there on a trade stand, I didn't get to see what was going on but I assume that it was for "experts" to help those who were in need of assistance. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PaulRhB Posted September 20, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 20, 2014 "Except they need to get interested in the first place to return." I actually said for a 'first time' or 'returning' - so some are getting interested in modelling quite late in life for the first time. And of those 'returning' they don't have to be first interested as a young child - many people get interested in transport as young adults Grahame, I was only intending to refer to those who were inspired as kids returning, not inferring they had to have been interested as kids All I was considering was making it appeal to as many as possible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahame Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Yep - I was only clarifying what I had meant by 'first' and 'returning' as I'd already considered that it might be thought by some that I was referring to kids returning to the hobby. Cheers. G. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
terry.ecmr Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Some posts in this thread have made comment about the entrance fee to this event. Yesterday I went to a local, club show. 12 or 13 small/micro layouts, one trader (smaller stand than they normally take to shows) and about 3 stands selling club books/second hand items. Perfectly good show. Entrance price £5.00 each....no problem with that, especially supporting a club. Time spent there, including a cup of coffee 45 mins- 1 hour. My local cinema. Cost about £10.00, duration 2 hours. My nearest Pub. 2 pints £8-9.00, duration about an hour or so. Rare chance I get to go to a Premier football match (QPR). Cost approx. £45.00, duration 2-2 1/2 hours including build-up etc. Some people have stated that they spent many enjoyable hours at RMWeb live, and I know that I kept seeing people on their second, third or fourth trip round the venue. So value for money................you decide...............I know what I think! Terry 'Earl's Court' Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Parker Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 A bit late, my excuse is I've been very busy, a few photos from RMWeb Live: https://www.flickr.com/photos/45131642@N00/sets/72157647383105630/ Not many as I spent the entire show on my stand chatting to people! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 RMWeb Live sounded like good "value for money" - I think it's just the fact that it's more expensive than we are used to. However, does that mean the average club £4-£5 show is underpriced and perhaps why so many clubs/shows struggle financially? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckjumper Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Some nice photos Phil, particularly Earls Court. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
terry.ecmr Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Smashing photo's. Would you mind if I added them to my website? Thanks Terry 'Earl's Court' ecmr.webs.com Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kal Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 RMWeb Live sounded like good "value for money" - I think it's just the fact that it's more expensive than we are used to. However, does that mean the average club £4-£5 show is underpriced and perhaps why so many clubs/shows struggle financially? Maybe.... But forget the show itself for a second, and consider venue. NEC vs Ricoh, no contest for me in a like for like venue. Ricoh, free parking close to the hall, better and much cheaper food, better facilites, lighting was better, easier access by car. I hate the NEC, sorry, and will avoid in the future. Ricoh on the other hand was a pleasure, and the football match had no impact at all on my enjoyment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Parker Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Smashing photo's. Would you mind if I added them to my website? Thanks Terry 'Earl's Court' ecmr.webs.com Terry - Go for it. You should be able to share them straight out of Flickr to make things even easier. I just love the detail in your layout, makes it easier to bag a good snap! Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickL Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Sorry to be so long posting this, but I've been away for most of the time since the show. My wife and I attended on the Saturday. Although I have an RMWeb ID, I'm an occasional lurker, rather than a regular contributor. These are my thoughts: Our initial impression on arrival was poor - the show seemed a tad expensive, the hall was dark and attendance was low. But we stuck it out, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, staying an hour or more longer than we normally do at shows. Pre-show information was spotty and difficult to find. Why wasn't it in BRM's own Event Diary this month, for heavens' sake? I never found decent instructions on where to park the car, for example. Probably buried in a thread somewhere, but I couldn't find it. Why wasn't there any show-specific signposting on the roundabout outside the Ricoh? Not knowing which car park we were aiming for, I missed the correct turning. Then, still concentrating on finding a sign, missed a red light and nearly hit a police van! Not a good start to the day. Neither was ending up in Tesco's car park... Ho hum. Many of the comments on here seem to boil down to "it was different from other shows". Well, wasn't that the point? It was certainly my initial impression, but once I got away from that and started judging the event on its own merits and in its own frame of reference, rather than as a standard layouts/traders exhibition, I realised I was thoroughly enjoying myself and getting a lot out of it. I learned very useful things from the demos and the chance to talk to operators in a relaxed manner. Usually I leave shows with a feeling that I've spent too much and am rather disheartened by the standard of layouts, which I'll never be able to achieve. This time I went away feeling positive Very nice venue, so refreshing to go to something which has clearly been organised by professionals, who know about design and layout, and organisation. Liked the banners - so many commercial exhibition use them, it's a wonder they haven't appeared at model railway shows before. Initial impressions notwithstanding, I thought that the subdued lighting level worked very well. I don't remember a big problem with seeing layouts, many of which have their own lighting set-ups anyway, and those are improved by low ambient lighting. Loved the zoning. So much better than the usual mish-mash. Also loved the layouts being integrated with the traders. All too easy to concentrate on one aspect, get over-tired and end up not doing the other properly. The talks were excellent. Thoroughly enjoyed the ones I attended. The organisers obviously know what the financial impact is, but I was delighted that it was quiet and spacious. If it had been packed, it wouldn't have been anything like as good. This is a conundrum, not easy to solve, I appreciate. Re the cost. Yes, it initially seemed expensive, but stopping and thinking afterward, not really. A couple of quid more than TINGS, which I also attended that weekend. Small beer in comparison with the cost of getting there and purchases for most, I suspect. TBH, if it would make a low attendance financially feasible, I'd be prepared to pay more! People have criticised the date and the clashes. But it cuts both ways. I wouldn't have been there if it hadn't been on the same weekend and close by to TINGS, for example. I wouldn't have made the journey up from South Wales twice, but we made a weekend of it. (Admittedly, our son lives only a few miles away which facilitated that.) I know a number of other people who attended both RMWebLIve and TINGS though. The football match wasn't an issue at all. There were crowds outside when we left but they were happy and good-humoured and no problem whatsoever. So, a good event, glad I went. Whether I'd go again if it didn't coincide with TINGS, I'm not sure. Also, not sure how the concept will work if the numbers go up and it's rammed full of people so that you're shuffling around dodging backpacks and maniacs driving mobility scooters like other events can be... Thanks to Andy and everyone else involved. Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaz Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Watching some of the demo stands at the Woking show today got me thinking - what I've never really seen at a show is an area with a couple of experts/demonstrators in it and plenty of spare table space so someone can either bring something along they've been struggling on - or can buy the things they need at the show - and work on it under the watchful eye/guidance of the experts. (So for example someone could bring along a brass kit they've been struggling with and the expert can help them with their technique). Just a thought... there is the question of tools though.....and hopefully them not going walk about...... although the idea is very appealing.... but making something takes a good while...... but i think a think tank is a real fine idea.... somewhere where you can put up a picture of how you are stuck and ask for help.....oh yeah there is RMweb .... anyone starting a thread and screaming HELP is likely to get it without much difficulty. But what might be nice, is to pay a nominal fee to learn how to do ...say soldering..under a guiding eye. Some thing that should be reasonable to do in say 5-15 minutes. You pay that small extra fee....and have a small task to master..... no more.. ... the fee allowing you to take your handiwork away with you would be nice. Small trees in different stages of a build, soldering, bringing along an upgrade for a loco....but you have to accept accidents happen.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dana Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Warner's Has other titles in thier publishing empire so it would make sense to have a mini pamphlet or mag (RM WEB LIVE advertising in it ) along with the needed mag at the trade ex they are at , whether its a vintage tractor & car show or a home & garden show ( some one in that house hold would check out this site or attend the next show if interested ). Of course it's up to advertising & sales but it makes sense as the more people know about BRM or our hobby the more sales BRM and its advertisers get . Internet & digitization is great but old fashion ways of sales dose work ( my mom often gets me to type in the web address of the site she's interested in because she saw it in a mag or a sales person at a trade ex handed her a card and said check out our website ). i'm sure the sales department has done study's of this type before but it does work ( A smile and a polite " come check us out " works every time) . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Does anyone know which way the inhabitants of Craigshire voted yesterday? I can't find it on BBC News anywhere.... I always thought that Craigshire was somewhat of a Scottish backwater not even appearing on many maps.I wouldn't be surprised if they were overlooked and didn't get a vote.However living under the benevolent and railway friendly Lord Craigshire I doubt they cared much. I should imagine the good people of Craigshire were utterly amazed to find out that they weren't actually Independent in the first place...!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Shedman5 Posted September 22, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2014 Maybe.... But forget the show itself for a second, and consider venue. NEC vs Ricoh, no contest for me in a like for like venue. Ricoh, free parking close to the hall, better and much cheaper food, better facilites, lighting was better, easier access by car. I hate the NEC, sorry, and will avoid in the future. Ricoh on the other hand was a pleasure, and the football match had no impact at all on my enjoyment. Having been to both venues for non railway events I would concur with the above. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nile_Griffith Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 I suspect floor stickers would be expensive, a pain to remove if they were sticky enough to survive the weekend and be mostly obscured by feet. The big roof hung banners worked well even though I just looked to see what zones there were and then systematically trundled around. We don't need flashy interactive extras unless the exhibitor wants to provide them, a QR code or a little A6 size flyer as I've done for each of my layouts would work just as well, as they want to see what's there and then be able to refer to the rest later when they can't access the real thing. I also think forcing people to present a verbal piece would be difficult, much better to leave it to those who volunteer because they enjoy it and can talk well to an audience. No reason there can't be a mix of theatre, demos and layouts with a regular presentation or timetable of them like the theatre. We also need to not overdo the talks unless they can all be videoed for later consumption of the ones you missed as you needed to see the layouts Possibly a project for one of the BRM crew at the next one would be to video all the theatre talks one day and the demos etc the next for a BRM free DVD or BRMtv later? OK! Going to admit that I didn't make it. Work (and the fact that it was an opportunity just to good to miss) meant that I spent the weekend at the Goodwood Revival, indulging another of my interests and getting paid handsomely too! So it has been interesting reading the various comments etc from those that did take the time to visit. Congratulations to Andy and all his crew. I can speak from experience that even after the thousandth event organised, it's still a nerve wracker. So creating a new concept and seeing it through to completion deserves a lot of kudos in Andy's direction. I was most drawn to comments about signage and availability of information at stands, layouts etc. For the average person looking up at a sign hanging in an exhibition venue, it would be easy to think that the cost per sign is quite low. The reality is surprisingly different. All up, by the time you've had a half decent graphic put on a bit of nomex board and then paid the venue's rigging department to suspend it from the ceiling (The H&S brigade have a field day) you can write of a couple of hundred quid without blinking an eye. Repeat that exercise ten or twenty times, you've munched through a couple of grand that you start thinking might have been better spent on other things. Adhesive signage on floors comes with it's own problems too. by comparison it's expensive to make and rather time consuming to lay out (Time that has to be factored in when setting up the event and set up days have to be paid for just the same as show days). Importantly venues don't like them and usually charge significant costs for making good of floor surfaces or removal of overlooked floor graphics come the de-rig. As for the iPad idea, well it's a nice one and a presentation set up that is growing in use. Yes you can rent iPads for what is a reasonably modest amount, but then get spanked quite badly for the cost of secure mounting hardware and power supplies (you wouldn't believe how quickly an iPad battery runs out when numerous exhibition visitors have been trying to access the tinterwhizzle to no avail). You also need to pay someone for a couple of days efforts making the rather elegant Apple devices idiot and expert proof. So that visitors can just access the information you want them to access and not while away an hour or two playing Sudoko or taking supposedly hilarious selfies. Yes all this wondrous visit enhancing splendour is easily available (and idiots like me spend many hours looking for new and interesting ways to expand on them). But unless you have a very accepting trade sponsor with equally accepting pockets. This kind of stuff can start to feel like a bit of an indulgence when there are a lot of other things that need to be addressed first. As for a video of the days presentations (now we are in my area of speciality...... Ha Ha ha). Well the world is your salt water crustacean as my old boss used to say. You just need the money to afford it. I have shelves full of video's shot at live events, captured by an enthusiastic amateur with a single camera or maybe even two. Why have I got them? Well they usually turn up at my office with a request o tidy them up a bit........... Well tidy them up a lot is the reality. Producing something that people will watch at home is about a lot more than pointing a camera at it. Especially when it comes to stuff demonstrated on a stage. As my esteemed RMWebber Dagworth will tell you. Lighting for TV/Video is a demanding task and as good as todays camera's may well be. A well lit stage takes your camera image from being mildly tolerable, to being something you can watch. If I can appear a little snobbish. I am not sure that BRM's usual technical approach to producing a watchable, informative and durable production of RMWeb live would be ideal. The other problem with offering the "Live" DVD or using channels such as YouTube is that managed badly, people will just watch at home rather than making the effort to get out and participate. So it all takes money. And on a first outing, money isn't in great supply. Commercialy a debut event has to prove itself on very meagre funding and this draws me to the last observation. It's been commented that numbers where lower than hoped for, that a good proportion of attendee's where the usual RMWeb suspects. Actually I interpret that as rather a good sign. To my mind it means that the event itself has hit it's target audience. The trade likes to call them "decision makers" Those who have a keen interest in a specific market place or trade. If those decision makers felt the venture was a worthwhile one to visit and not sit back and wait for the opportunity to say "I told you so" then that is a good thing. What it means is that for the much larger number of people who where interested in visiting but unsure, they will now see a degree of validation by those decision makers on this years event and will make that mental note for next year. In twenty odd years I don't think I've come across an annual event that rang the bell first time. I remember events that received significant funding first time out with all the bells and whistles, but then failed to make it past year two when funding returned to more austere levels. Successful events are steady builders. It would be nice to have a big cheque book but sometimes it's not all about the money. It's about steady organic growth and I think Andy and the boys have that in sight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IGRL Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 OK Ricoh is very good. Yes. Now why not try to figure out how to get PEOPLE there if another time? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted September 22, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 22, 2014 Maybe.... But forget the show itself for a second, and consider venue. NEC vs Ricoh, no contest for me in a like for like venue. Ricoh, free parking close to the hall, better and much cheaper food, better facilites, lighting was better, easier access by car. I hate the NEC, sorry, and will avoid in the future. Ricoh on the other hand was a pleasure, and the football match had no impact at all on my enjoyment. I disagree with some of that Ricoh, not so easy to get to on public transport. At least we got a shuttle bus, without it it would have been a nightmare! Lighting was patchy. Golden Age Models were shrouded in gloom. I don't buy the food so that is irrelevant. Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Endacott Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 What's all this lark about eye-pads? Did lots of people get poked in the face by the hanging sign boards? Geoff Endacott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Huw Griffiths Posted September 22, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2014 Ricoh, not so easy to get to on public transport. At least we got a shuttle bus, without it it would have been a nightmare! I actually like the Ricoh - seems pleasant inside - and the people I've come across who work there seem great. As for public transport - well, it would have been extremely difficult without the shuttle coach - but I would have preferred it if this had run to something like the advertised timetable / frequency. Mention has been made of a railway halt - due to open for business some time next year. This might be usable for getting to / from exhibitions - or it might not - all depends on how long we've got to wait for connections from other trains at Coventry. 15 minutes - even 30 minutes - no worse than waiting a similar time for a shuttle coach to turn up / leave - a full hour would be a different matter. Of course, this assumes that the fares are reasonable - and that the pedestrian route between the Ricoh and both platforms of the new station is safe. Time will tell. I also didn't buy any food this time - mainly because I'd brought some with me - there was also the matter of no real lunch break - and needing to rush away at the end of Saturday's show (because I didn't want to miss the last shuttle back to the station). As for next year - I hope the show runs at the Ricoh - if it does and I can get there, well, you get the idea ... Huw. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
40F Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Of course, this assumes that the fares are reasonable - and that the pedestrian route between the Ricoh and both platforms of the new station is safe. The distance will be 800 yards at the most Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirtleypete Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Can I express the point of view of someone who depends for their living on model railways? I wasn't at the Ricoh (I was still recvovering from trading at the GOG show at Telford the week before) but I have heard a lot about it over the last ten days or so. So, this is my personal view only, for what it's worth: 1. There are too many shows already, far too many shows. To most potential visitors who don't use RM Web this was just another one. We need fewer shows, not more. 2. There are a finite number of potential visiitors; the more shows there are, the lower the visitor numbers will be at each one. 3. As a trader, this is a worry; those finite numbers of potential visitors also have a finite amount of money to spend on their hobby. If they have to spread that spending power over more shows, less will be spent at each one but the trader still has to pay a stand fee at each show. If the traders lose money, they won't come back - they are a business and have to make a living. 4. That is a problem for the organisers; if the specialist trade aren't there the show isn't as attractive for the visitor so numbers fall. If you replace the specialists with tat stands the same will happen. You need the stand fees to cover your costs before the show begins ideally. That's a problem for you. 5. Timing; the week after the GOG show at Telford isn't great if you're an O Gauge trader as all your sales will have happened at Telford. I appreciate that this could apply to most weekends in the year for one scale or another, but it's still an issue. 6. There has been a lot of comment on how nice it was to be able to see all the layouts with so few other people getting in the way. Would you feel the same if your money was on the line as organiser or trader? That layout you were looking at on your own would have needed several hundred pounds in expences at the end of the show if they had travelled any distance and that money has to come from somewhere. My greatest worry is that the smaller shows that clubs depend on for their income will begin to fall by the wayside if we're not careful and that will damage the hobby. Traders cannot be at two shows at the same time and are going to pick the one with the greatest potental sales. That leaves the club show with the local box shifter and a second hand stall, not a great incentive for the visitor. I'm sure that if you visited the Ricoh you thought it was great, with time to chat, see all the layouts etc. Where the other 10,000 visitors are going to come from for next year I'm not sure. Finally, I was at Eurotrack in Southampton this weekend and that was deadly quiet too, so it's a universal problem. Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PaulRhB Posted September 23, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 23, 2014 Peter, I think Eurotrack was also a bit low profile in advertising. The layout was very nice though Valid points on the traders and we moved our club show so it didn't clash with Trainwest as it meant a clash for trade and visitors. I'm not sure trade would always choose a big show over a medium club one as the stand charges can be a deterrent at the biggest shows for the smaller trader while the box shifter will get the advantages of volume. I help a friend with his trade stand and he doesn't do any of the biggest shows as the specialist kits don't sell in any greater numbers than at specialist shows like Telford or ExpoNG to justify the extra cost. As to the number of shows it's going to be demand that dictates it and I don't think most clubs take a huge financial risk after the first show as if they are sensible they hold a reserve from the last one to cover basic costs, we certainly do. Breaking even is ok as it acts as an attraction for new members, we don't rely on the show to pay weekly hall hire for normal meetings either, and a loss would just mean deciding if we take the risk again to restart or knock the show on its head. Staggering shows compared to local area ones is the best solution to the money to spend and it's up to traders to decide if that's going to be viable in their opinion and tell the show why. I know several traders do watch the trade balance very carefully and will vote with their feet if they feel the show is poor in timing or their sector is swamped with similar stalls. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirtleypete Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 I agree with all that Paul. Contikits travelled all the way from Newcastle to Southampton; I don't think they'd go back again. Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nile_Griffith Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Can I express the point of view of someone who depends for their living on model railways? I wasn't at the Ricoh (I was still recvovering from trading at the GOG show at Telford the week before) but I have heard a lot about it over the last ten days or so. So, this is my personal view only, for what it's worth: 1. There are too many shows already, far too many shows. To most potential visitors who don't use RM Web this was just another one. We need fewer shows, not more. 2. There are a finite number of potential visiitors; the more shows there are, the lower the visitor numbers will be at each one. 3. As a trader, this is a worry; those finite numbers of potential visitors also have a finite amount of money to spend on their hobby. If they have to spread that spending power over more shows, less will be spent at each one but the trader still has to pay a stand fee at each show. If the traders lose money, they won't come back - they are a business and have to make a living. 4. That is a problem for the organisers; if the specialist trade aren't there the show isn't as attractive for the visitor so numbers fall. If you replace the specialists with tat stands the same will happen. You need the stand fees to cover your costs before the show begins ideally. That's a problem for you. 5. Timing; the week after the GOG show at Telford isn't great if you're an O Gauge trader as all your sales will have happened at Telford. I appreciate that this could apply to most weekends in the year for one scale or another, but it's still an issue. 6. There has been a lot of comment on how nice it was to be able to see all the layouts with so few other people getting in the way. Would you feel the same if your money was on the line as organiser or trader? That layout you were looking at on your own would have needed several hundred pounds in expences at the end of the show if they had travelled any distance and that money has to come from somewhere. My greatest worry is that the smaller shows that clubs depend on for their income will begin to fall by the wayside if we're not careful and that will damage the hobby. Traders cannot be at two shows at the same time and are going to pick the one with the greatest potental sales. That leaves the club show with the local box shifter and a second hand stall, not a great incentive for the visitor. I'm sure that if you visited the Ricoh you thought it was great, with time to chat, see all the layouts etc. Where the other 10,000 visitors are going to come from for next year I'm not sure. Finally, I was at Eurotrack in Southampton this weekend and that was deadly quiet too, so it's a universal problem. Peter Going to play Devil's advocate with this one. But is Peter suggesting that all future shows be entered into some sort of lottery as to whether or not they should be allocated a date? That lottery being administered by some sort of federation of Model Railway Retailers and Suppliers? Firstly. isn't RMWeb Live supposed to be a departure from the usual exhibition platform of layouts and trade stands. Where the emphasis is as much on sharing skills and knowledge with a range of exhibition features such as demo's and live presentations which go a bit further than the average "Club" show might allow. Sorry Peter but I too work in a very competitive and high value market, where every day it seems there is someone else chasing what feels like a shrinking number of customers with very finite cash to spend. it's called the market place. Market places are never static and neither should they be. My own business has no right to dictate to either customer or other operation on what works best for me. It's my responsibility to determine what commercially makes sense for the future security of my earnings. As for trade exhibitors saying there are too many shows? What would you rather have? twenty shows a year where exhibitors can then charge a premium price for a pitch at their exhibition and where only the bigger concerns can justify the cost. I would have thought that having a wider choice of exhibition possibilities would make life easier. As for footfall, then that is the remit of the exhibition organisers and it is their task to create and present as interesting a show environment as possible. It's the trade exhibitors remit to judge what exhibition date best serves them. As for the diluting of spending power of exhibition visitors. Some very concise research shows that visitors tend to set their criteria by the number of shows they visit rather than visiting as many shows as their personal budgets will stretch too. So your average exhibition visitor will for example only be inclined to visit four shows a year (yes I know there are lots of you out there who visit more). regardless of whether there are twenty or one hundred shows available to them. In turn dividing their own spending budgets across them as they see fit. Suggesting that there should be fewer shows and that new entrants to the market be dissuaded is not healthy for the hobby/pursuit. Like anything else it's the exhibitions who innovate and thrive, that offer examples to other exhibitions to follow and in turn improve. Those exhibitions which opt for the "do what we always do" approach, will eventually fall behind. Ring fencing the current set up in an attempt to preserve some comfortable commercial balance is folly. As said before. All credit to Andy and they guys for getting out there and trying to create something a bit different. As I understood it RMWeb Live was about being more than just another "Warley" show and I think from what I can pick up on by the responses, what the show achieved for those who visited was indeed a successful maiden voyage. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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