Demand for convention space waning

The sky is falling!

There seems to be a general cry about how the convention and exhibiting business is in decline and has been for a number of years. My personal feeling is that its kind of difficult to call the trend accurately given the lack of quality data. Recent reports have demonstrated that Las Vegas and Orlando have become the premier centers for large scale shows in recent years.

However, this is a good old fashioned example of good marketing verses poor marketing. Good marketing has a clear view of the intended market, a clear view of the problems faced by that market, and a clear statement of the offering of the convention facility to solve the problems of that market. Bad marketing is "build it and they will come."

It reminds me of the old joke where two hunters are confronted by a hostile bear in the woods. One hunter calmly takes off his boots and puts on a nice pair of nike running shoes. His buddy says. "Are you crazy, you'll never outrun that bear." The response. "True, but I don't have to outrun the bear, I only have to outrun you!"

I think Shreveport has the right idea. It is targeting a specific segment of the market for shows and therefore I think has the right idea.


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