ISC West Mini-Booths

JH
John Honovich
Mar 04, 2017
IPVM

ISC West has recently started to offer what are effectively mini-booths.

The smallest booths historically have been 10 x 10 and now they are priced in the $8,000 to $15,000 range.

The mini-booths are 5 x 10 and are just $2,600 to $3,300. It does not come with any electricity but it does come with being listed in the show guide and getting the lead / badge tracking system.

Not surprisingly, they are way way in the back:

You can check it out on the exhibitor floorplan.

The goal is to help startups and smaller companies to get a place on the floor.

So, what do you think? Worth it? Not worth it?

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Bob Kusche
Mar 04, 2017

Why not? Not flashy, but neither is a 10x10 booth.

I remember going to a show a LONG time ago where Google (yes) had a tiny booth with a stark white backdrop with their logo on it (just like the main browser page). Their only goal: onsite ad hoc job interviews and taking job applications from the ones they liked. Humble beginnings, for sure.

At ISC West, if you are finding people that might be interested in something new you have to sell, having a home base to meet with them might be helpful.

And besides, filling out ISC West's offering with a Big Mac Jr.sized booth just makes sense. I'll be interested in checking out how many they sell.

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UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #1
Mar 05, 2017

May be worth it depending on your show strategy.

A small company hoping to get visibility just by passively being there won't work - the "back lots" don't get much foot traffic of consequence. BUT if the company has set up meetings prior with known visitors - or has a really good, connected roaming salesperson out trawling the bigger booths - then its a cheap way to be at the show.

You know that it's the most important show to be at for the range and relevance of attendees, so worth being there if you have a way to actively bring people to your booth, just so long as you know they won't be coming past by themselves and you can't just sit there and hope.

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Carter Maslan
Mar 12, 2017
Camio

If they had a power supply, it could work. But it feels like a mini booth - without electricity for big screen demos - is worse than visiting the booths of the partners we want to meet. As an integrator, manufacturer, or VMS provider, wouldn't you prefer that an aspiring startup partner just come to your booth? (asking in earnest to decide)

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JH
John Honovich
Mar 14, 2017
IPVM

Carter, feedback from ISC West:

The price for a 500 watt electric drop is $99. That price is the Advance Rate, which is good through tomorrow. However, we are willing to work with exhibitors who sign up after that deadline, if they need assistance.

I'll send you their appropriate contact person if you want to discuss with them.

As an integrator, manufacturer, or VMS provider, wouldn't you prefer that an aspiring startup partner just come to your booth? (asking in earnest to decide)

On the manufacturer side, sure. Better to go to their booths and talk to them. And if all you want is manufacturers, that make sense.

However, extremely few integrators have booths. No end users, even very large ones, have booths.

In your position, the bet is that having a booth gets you 1 big lead per day that you would never have gotten simply because some large integrator or end user or telco, etc. happens to walk by your booth, you strike up a conversation, etc.

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Undisclosed #2
Mar 12, 2017

That's too small to hold an IPVM Dunking Booth

JF
Janet Fenner
Mar 12, 2017

Our market is constantly changing and we are seeing new players and companies emerge. These mini booths are a great way to test the waters and take part of the event without an enormous investment. Helping those smaller companies that may not normally have the budget to exhibit is also a great way to invite business. 

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Sean Nelson
Mar 14, 2017
Nelly's Security

I think itd be worth it but you'd have to have someone standing outside the booth trying to bring people in to check it out. Otherwise not worth it and most people would walk right by to the flashier booths.

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Undisclosed #2
Mar 14, 2017

 

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Sean Nelson
Mar 14, 2017
Nelly's Security

BTW, is IPVM going to ISC west this year?

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Campbell Chang
Mar 15, 2017

They'd be extremely remiss no to.

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Rick Caruthers
Mar 14, 2017
Galaxy Control Systems

I think it is a great idea..I get invited to companies "Tower Suites" that cost about the same money as the new booth prices. I think it makes good sense to offer these as a way of bringing companies out of the upstairs guest suites and on the floor..I never attend those upstairs meetings due to the time it takes away from my booth on the show floor.

JH
John Honovich
Mar 14, 2017
IPVM

Rick, good feedback.

I get invited to companies "Tower Suites" that cost about the same money as the new booth prices

Do you mean the type of partner setup that Axis and Milestone, e.g., do?

If so, I would take that over this mini-booth. Main reasons being - much more central location plus you get an opportunity to pull or be referred over by people from the 'parent' exhibitor who gets lots of traffic.

As for the suites upstairs, I agree. Those only make sense if you have an appointment for a specific deal / opportunity.

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Rick Caruthers
Mar 14, 2017
Galaxy Control Systems

John, 

I was referring more to the companies that opt out of a booth on the floor because of the cost and try to hold product demo's in private suites. We have used the rooms upstairs for private meetings when needed but never as our only venue for product displays. Several years ago I visited one vendor in one of their suites and they had a full 10x10 popup display in this suite...Just feels strange to me...Also, you could tell that an employee was using the suite as the door to the master bedroom was open and the bed had not been made and clothes were all over the floor...No one needs to see that, I never did any business with that group..

 

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Brian Karas
Mar 14, 2017
IPVM

I think it makes good sense to offer these as a way of bringing companies out of the upstairs guest suites and on the floor.

I'm not 100% sure I agree. If I look at it from an exhibitor perspective and I am trying to make a good impression, what is likely to look better - a tiny space at the back of the hall in what everyone knows are the 'cheap seats', or a nice hotel suite where I can tell people we are "spending our marketing dollars intelligently, and trying to create a more relaxed environment where we can do a good demo and have a conversation without worry of being overheard or interrupted"?

As someone who has done big booths, small booths, and hotel suites I can say that the hotel suites have a huge benefit of comfy furniture, room service, and the ability to take a quick nap between meetings. You don't have to spend all day shouting over the noise of the showfloor and dealing with a lot of random time-wasters.

The downside to the suites, as you point out, is getting people there. If your product portfolio is mostly stagnant and you are doing the suite to save money from being on the show floor, it is probably a bad move (and I think for many companies that do the suites this is often the case). If you have something really cool, and a strong marketing person, you can pre-book enough meetings to keep the suite full the entire week. You also have the option with a hotel suite to do meetings outside of show-floor hours, giving you the ability to reach people when the showfloor is closed, particularly the day before the show, or early AM catered breakfast meetings.

 

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Undisclosed #2
Mar 14, 2017

...just make sure to close (and probably lock) the door to the bedroom in the suite.

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Ari Erenthal
Mar 14, 2017

That's why I always make my bed and pick up my laundry when I'm on the road. That, and I don't need the cleaning person judging me. 

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U
Undisclosed #2
Mar 14, 2017

I use the Do Not Disturb door hanger during my entire stay for that same reason.

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Brian Karas
Mar 14, 2017
IPVM

The floorspace for these should be free. There are other costs associated with getting to ISC West, and exhibiting in general, so I am not sure that the discounted rates really do all that much for cash-strapped companies.  

These mini-booths could be a way for ISC West to act as a kind of 'incubator' for startups and 1-man shops. I don't think they are going to make any major money on these, but if they could promote this as a "companies to watch" section, it might act as a benefit for the overall show.

 

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Carter Maslan
Mar 14, 2017
Camio

+1 to Brian's point-of-view. We signed-up for a mini-booth today and will measure our results to see if we made the right decision. Thanks for making us aware of the option to try this.

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JH
John Honovich
Mar 14, 2017
IPVM

We signed-up for a mini-booth today and will measure our results to see if we made the right decision.

Two words for you:

DEEP LEARNING

Have those big and high above your booth because that is the buzzword that people are looking for. That will draw people in for a conversation.

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U
Undisclosed #2
Mar 14, 2017

$650/wk (+ $85 shipping to Vegas) - rent a telepresence device.

Costs = LOW

Wow Factor = HIGH

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Brian Karas
Mar 14, 2017
IPVM

Wow factor = Why am I talking to an iPad on a stick?

Also, make sure your telepresence robot does not get hacked.

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Undisclosed #2
Mar 14, 2017

"Wow factor = Why am I talking to an iPad on a stick?"

Because you can.  And it is different.

As a smaller provider at a big boys show, being able to somehow stand out from everything else has value.

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Brian Karas
Mar 14, 2017
IPVM

If I was an attendee/customer looking into various companies I would not be trying to hold a conversation with an iPad on a stick in the middle of the show floor, or maybe more accurately in the back alley of the show floor.

It would likely also be confusing to people. Is your product something to do with telepresence, or are you just too cheap to get a plane ticket.

 

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U
Undisclosed #2
Mar 14, 2017

I would maintain that having the right person driving the device is the key to it's success.... and if the person lacks the appropriate skills to pull it off then of course the idea fails.

This does not mean that it has no value just because most would tank in the effort.  It just makes those that can pull it off have a higher level of success.

If there were lots of these devices in play at shows, then the value diminishes mathematically.

Billy Harris could pull it off, no sweat.  Though his hair might be too big for the iPad display.

 

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Ari Erenthal
Mar 14, 2017

I may not be the world's best salesperson, but I'm pretty sure I'm more charismatic than an iPad duct taped to a broomstick mounted to a hoverboard. 

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Undisclosed #2
Mar 14, 2017

It's your face that is duct taped to the broomstick - and as objectionable as that may seem to me, you are free to use your charisma... just in a different way.

A different way that is memorable because nobody else is doing it.

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #3
Mar 15, 2017

There is a marketing value of saying "We displayed at ISC West" and then ask a bunch of small investors to give you a hundred million.

i suggest a green booth and maybe a green stick figure guy for added industry recognition. 

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