Can any folks help me figure if there was a big drop off in attendee numbers at IFSEC in London, England? Did other exhibitors see a dip in scanned data? Seems to us there was a big drop in visitor numbers but published materials are saying different. It's budget planning for us guys soon and we're not clear right now if this is the show to go to target the UK/European market for next year. We are also getting conflicting messages from our dealers and tech partners.
I was actually looking at that myself when I saw this IFSEC 2018 infographic:
I have never seen a show market an increase in 'visitor density'. That seems like a fancy way of saying stands booked declined even more than attendance ;)
I also checked their 2017 show report that lists 300 more attendees last year:
That implies attendance dropped 1% but total booth area booked went down nearly 10%. Is that better or worse than the opposite? :)
One other thing from the 2018 infographic that surprised me was how UK centric the show is:
Thank you John. We've now taken a look at these and we are even more confused but maybe that's the plan! I guess we'll have to keep asking the right questions and wait a while and see if the main players sign up for 2019. Today a tech partner told me that Hikvision have cut their booth in half, but we've not seen a floor plan so don't know if this is true. I don't think we have been to a show where Hik has cut its booth--usually the opposite.
I don't think we have been to a show where Hik has cut its booth--usually the opposite.
So you're not coming to ASIS GSX 2018 next month? ;)
Related: Hikvision Drops ASIS / GSX
We are but that one didn't surprised us. It's a downgrade in Europe/UK that is more bewildering if indeed it's true. This year the Hik booths at Intersec and IFSEC were gigantic and my sales team reported the company's stand in Dubai as very busy and not just with staff So we don't know if the downsize at IFSEC is just rumor or the show really was just poor for them just as other are reporting. We were expecting a larger presence outside of the US to compensate for the challenges here in the US...
From having been at IFSEC 2018 and passing by Hikvision's booth numerous times, I think their traffic was good but not exceptional. The main reason was just the booth was so big, it is hard for any company to fill it. Indeed, if they cut the booth in half, it would still be one of the biggest on the IFSEC show floor (even assuming IFSEC 2019 does not shrink again).
For others, for reference, show floor plan screencap:
And a video of the Hikvision 2018 IFSEC booth:
Today a tech partner told me that Hikvision have cut their booth in half...
They’re splitting a large down the middle...
I attended all three days and rather than a stand this year, we supported a technology partner. Visitor numbers definitely down in my opinion and probably the worst attended IFSEC in the last 5 years. Many key personnel of UBM now left the company, including the Sales Director - Peter Poole, who has joined The Security Event at the NEC 2019. I would suggest IFSEC 2019 wouldn't be a wise investment for your exhibition budget, next year will be even worse now many of the big players have migrated to the NEC event.
#1, thanks for your first comment.
Related: IFSEC Competitor The Security Event Launches, Same Week As ISC West
Hi #2, Thank you for your feedback. This is what we are hearing although folks say the first two years were pretty good and after that things have been on a downward slope. If Hik really has halved its booth at a UK/Europe show then that says a lot to us guys. We will definitely take a look at The Security Event--thank you for the heads up. Everyone tells me that when IFSEC was in Birmingham NEC, UK it was better for dealers and that's who we want to target right now. We know that a bunch of people left and currently we don't seem to have an account manager so waiting for someone to be our main point of contact. Hopefully soon!
The NEC Birmingham is a much better venue from a transportation and accommodation stand point. Excel is so difficult to get to for most people outside a 60 mile radius and a visit usually means an overnight stay with the incumbent cost and time factors prohibitive.The IFSEC show is now being run by people with little or no security industry experience and as a consequence the balance between service to exhibitors and commercial drivers has heavily skewed in favour of the latter.
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