Would like to know what you thought this 2015 DEMA show, was it worth going to ?

[Z Gear]

I wanted to get your opinion on what you thought of this 2015 show. Would you say it was an improvement from the last DEMA show you attended. As an exhibitor from the 2014 show in Las Vegas I am interested in listening to opinions from other exhibitors as well as attendees on what they thought of this last show.

Do you think it was worth going to?

tanks,
Frank G
Z GEAR - Z Gear Dive Mounts

 

[Zippsy]

Hmmmm.... No reply so far so I'll chime in with my limited input. 2015 was my first DEMA show so I can't do any comparison but I did find it tremendously useful to be there. We had a small booth introducing the Blue Manta, the newest and most luxurious ship of our small fleet. On the first day, I sat there like a dufus waiting for people to come to the booth. Only a few people did; they showed great interest but I wondered why I was there. On the second day, I finally figured out that I needed to go out and talk to agents, shop owners, retailers, etc. and that was greatly beneficial. The booth came in handy only by the last day when I could not get away from it. It seemed as though all the people I spoke to on the earlier days were sending their clients over to see the photos of the ship and to talk me about the trips. We've gotten a lot of business from the show so we're happy with that.

....the infrastructure and cost, on the other hand...

 

[Colliam7]

I wanted to get your opinion on what you thought of this 2015 show. Would you say it was an improvement from the last DEMA show you attended. As an exhibitor from the 2014 show in Las Vegas I am interested in listening to opinions from other exhibitors as well as attendees on what they thought of this last show.

I can't comment on this show in comparison to LV last year. Compared to Orlando in 2013, I think it was comparable, although I had a vague sense that attendance was slightly down. If anyone else has statistics that support or dispute that subjective sense, I would like to see them.

Do you think it was worth going to?

Yes. I had an interesting, and very good, experience this year, but I changed my approach. First, I went for virtually the entire show, arriving on Monday and leaving Saturday. In the past I have 'dropped in' for a day and a half, maybe 2 days. Second, I mapped out my hour by hour schedule in advance, and STUCK TO IT. Too often in past meetings, I have missed seminars / presentations that I wanted to see because I ran into friends / colleagues, etc and ended up 'hanging out' with them, often wandering aimlessly in the exhibits, or so it seemed. Third, I stayed in accommodations that were not within walking distance and drove over early each morning with friends, and stayed all day, and into the evening (for social activities at Rosen Center), rather than going back to the room in the middle of the day as I have (too often) done in the past, and therefore missing things that I originally planned to do.

I cannot comment from the perspective of an exhibitor, only as an attendee. For me as an instructor, the exhibits are valuable, because I can see, and touch, gear that I have some interest in, and talk to manufacturers / dealers face to face. But, I knew in advance which exhibits I wanted to visit, and kept my sights focused on those. In doing so, I quite probably missed some learning opportunities but that was my choice. I do wish there had been more detailed information available online in advance about exhibitor seminars (and I don't understand why there wasn't).

The bottom line - for me, this was probably one of the most productive DEMA experiences I have ever had. I participated in some (paid) training, I attended every one of the exhibitor seminars that I planned in advance to attend (with one exception, a regulator service seminar that I learned was closed out before I even got to Orlando). I saw what I wanted to see, and made the contacts I wanted to make, in the exhibits. Whether DEMA was smaller or larger this year, whether the attendance was more, less or the same, didn't make as much difference as my actively preparing to get out of it what I drove 10 hours each way to get. Others may have had a different experience.

 

[BDSC]

This was my 4th DEMA show and for me it was worth it. I go mainly looking for travel opportunities for myself and the group that travels with me. I was able to book the Sun Dancer II, which is now the Belize Aggressor IV, for the spring of 2018. Also looked closely at going to the Solomon Islands in the future and had a great talk with the folks with the Bilikiki liveaboard.

I do enjoy looking at new equipment as well even though I'm not in the market for that. Also sat in on a few travel seminars that I found useful.

Like Colliam7, I think the attendance was a little off compared to the last Orlando show but I haven't seen any numbers to back that up.

 

[mdb]

I attended the first DEMA show in Miami and most thereafter.

At first, Diving Equipment Manufacturers Association consisted primarily of Dive Manufacturers and Distributors
and, attending, were Dive Retailers. It was very good combo. Dive Retailers could see new products, prototypes etc.,
and vote with their pocketbooks. Good for the Manufacturer who left the show knowing what products to build for the coming
season and what others needed work or discard. Efficient system-good trade show.

DEMA, over time, morphed into Diving Equipment MARKETING Association. Every one was now solicited to exhibit.
Little screening of attendees. Friends of the Dive store, instructors @ all levels, anyone who could scam a ticket, they all
began to attend. Folks looking for a travel bargain, a free hat or key chain or a deal on products that the exhibitors did
not want to ship home.

It changed from a real buying show to Travel, Training and Trinkets. Fam trips, dive jewelry, hats, clothing, foot support inserts,
-anyone who would pay for a booth was now welcome. Like diluting a fine wine, the show continued to lose meaning.

When the '08 recession hit attendance steadily declined. Quite obvious at the latest show in Orlando.

The good consumer trade shows are a much better venue to reach the dive consumer and network with local Retailers.

Our World Underwater, Beneath the Sea, SCUBA show Long Beach, all attract bigger crowds than DEMA @ way less expense
and are more productive @ all levels.

IMO.

 

[widget]

I attended the first DEMA show in Miami and most thereafter.At first, Diving Equipment Manufacturers Association consisted primarily of Dive Manufacturers and Distributorsand, attending, were Dive Retailers. It was very good combo. Dive Retailers could see new products, prototypes etc.,and vote with their pocketbooks. Good for the Manufacturer who left the show knowing what products to build for the comingseason and what others needed work or discard. Efficient system-good trade show.DEMA, over time, morphed into Diving Equipment MARKETING Association. Every one was now solicited to exhibit.Little screening of attendees. Friends of the Dive store, instructors @ all levels, anyone who could scam a ticket, they allbegan to attend. Folks looking for a travel bargain, a free hat or key chain or a deal on products that the exhibitors didnot want to ship home. It changed from a real buying show to Travel, Training and Trinkets. Fam trips, dive jewelry, hats, clothing, foot support inserts,-anyone who would pay for a booth was now welcome. Like diluting a fine wine, the show continued to lose meaning.When the '08 recession hit attendance steadily declined. Quite obvious at the latest show in Orlando.The good consumer trade shows are a much better venue to reach the dive consumer and network with local Retailers.Our World Underwater, Beneath the Sea, SCUBA show Long Beach, all attract bigger crowds than DEMA @ way less expenseand are more productive @ all levels. IMO.

I am a little surprised there are so few comments.

Although I did not attend this year, like yourself I am a 25 year Dema veteran and also know a number of people that did attend this year. Mostly, as you mention, they confirmed numbers were down as was written business. Some still feel its relevant as there is no other real option for them to personally meet with many of their international customers in one place, but its an expensive exercise with all the required travel and accommodation etc eating massive holes in their budgets.

Some I spoke to said they are seriously considering hosting a personal exhibition if you like, where for say, three days they would rather host all their international customers at their places of business. They feel this could be a lot more beneficial for them as its more personal and they could do product launches, workshops etc specific to their product in a more relaxed atmosphere, plus of course all their dealers from around the world could network and get to know not only each other but also all the different requirements markets around the world demand, the various marketing strategies and incentives used and of course, if there are product concerns or requirements / issues they can be ironed out there and then with the relevant staff / departments who may not always be at the Dema show.

I think trade only shows are becoming less and less relevant, especially in small markets like Scuba, and, as there is very little new business been written there now companies, as we see, are adapting their strategies for example, by increased presences at consumer shows and hosting personal workshops for established customers at their premises, to name just two.

 

[KaizerWilhelm]

As an exhibitor I will say that I was surprised by how slow the show was. That being said, I got a lot of business done. I mean a lot of business. It has been our most successful DEMA in the last 5 years. However, I will echo widgit in saying that trade shows are becoming less and less relevant. I could have skipped the first and last day of the show and not lost any business. All of the exhibitors around me said similar things regarding attendance.

Luckily we have an international marketing budget that we get to use. It is significantly more useful for me to support my distributors in person in their country than going to BTS or DEMA. In fact, we're not going to BTS this year. In stead, I'm heading to see my distributors in China, France, and Singapore. I can make better inroads in those countries and sell more product and make more money traveling overseas 4 times than I can going to BTS or DEMA.

I believe that DEMA needs to change their format or they will slowly fade out of relevance.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

We skipped a few years prior to this one, but this year's DEMA was the least attended show I've been to over the years.

There's a comment or two above about attendees rather than strictly retail buyers. That's certainly on the increase, and I did note they were not asking for business cards this year when picking up a ticket. However, DEMA isn't just about retail buyers - and that's not new as DEMA has functioned for a couple decades (that I am aware of) as a venue for repair clinics and other training that otherwise would be less cost effective for manufacturers to hold. The seminars also tend to be higher quality as you get the first team rather than regional staff, so it's a decent deal for the attendees.

One thing to consider regarding the value of attendees is that when dive shops send other staff to DEMA those non-retail buying staff still usually have a significant impact on the shop's purchasing decisions and product lines as they are the staff promoting, selling, instructing or servicing what the shop is purchasing from vendors. Impressions and opinions get discussed. Another thing to consider is that many of those other staff are often just part time employees with real jobs somewhere else - meaning they tend to also tend to be involved in the shop because they are die hard divers in the shop, and generally people who spend a great deal of money on dive equipment, training and travel using the shop involvement to offset some of the expense. If an attendee isn't a retail buyer but does over $5K in business at DEMA in 2 or 3 days, is that a bad thing?

I guess that regardless of your expectations, if you show up at DEMA with an "it's all about me" attitude, DEMA is probably going to disappoint you.

 

[Wookie]

Does anyone really care about DEMA? I have had a booth since 1998. Now, if you don't have a booth you are irrelevant in the Scuba business. So I continue to have a booth. I don't expect to do any business, so I am pleasantly surprised when I do, and I was pleasantly surprised this year. Actually, very surprised.

If DEMA disappeared for a few years, it wouldn't bother me in the slightest. It used to be a place to party with clients and friends, take them out to the Acme oyster bar, get them into compromising photos on Bourbon Street Or better yet, Polk street. We've all gotten older, and many of us don't party that way any more. Borelando is the house of mouse, catering to the 2-12 year old crowd and their grandparents, and Las Vegas is old, worn out, and just no fun. Las Vegas used to be all about the strip, but now with the mega hotels, the strip isn't any fun to walk. Obviously, the mega hotels are trying to keep you captured. Just like all inclusive resorts.