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2nd September 2013, 02:31 PM #76GOLD MEMBER
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I am sorry to hear that the Canberra show was disappointing to some and yes it is obvious that stall costs are the main discouraging factor. It reminds me of when the Newcastle guild handed its show over to a professional event operator so it could be better organised. The new manager then put the price of stalls up so high that the Newcastle lot could no longer afford to go to their own show !
Maybe country showgrounds are the go. Good luck Bungendore. Maybe they could host the canberra show, with enough advertising.
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2nd September 2013 02:31 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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2nd September 2013, 04:05 PM #77
I think the declining shows have been greatly affected by the shrinking world. I can order tools and machinery from all over the world and forums like these can provide more than enough feedback on products which are available and their level of quality.
I'd like to touch and feel a product before I buy it but if enough people who I trust and respect tell me an item will do what I need, and to touch/feel the item is a six hour drive (return) then I'm going to save my time and buy online.
I don't know what the solution is or if there even is one but trying to find people or groups to blame isn't going to help anyone.It's only a mistake if you don't learn from it.
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2nd September 2013, 04:16 PM #78Deceased
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Like others, I made some suggestions on improving the shows. There are a lot of ideas in this thread that could be developed with input of the organisers but so far there have been no input and this thread was languishing until now.
A shame that apparently our collective input is wasted.
Peter.
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2nd September 2013, 04:19 PM #79Novice
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- Sydney
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- 18
Improve the shows
The late Les Miller used to have a corner where he demonstrated new or improves products. There are loads of new things each month in the Woodworking mags, so why not have a What's New stand. Get someone like Stan to do it, and make it fun.
I know someone who came to Canberra Show to see table saws. He was very disappointed.
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2nd September 2013, 04:57 PM #80
i cant remember a bad suggestion on this thread. I have not re-read it all but it is full of good suggestions that 'could' be applied IMHO
Also another idea would be to offer forum members some kind of special over and above any special each stand might have on offer. To receive this special a member would have to wear a site lapel with their user name displayed. This would build a greater comradely amongst the members too.
A forum member could be responsible to approach each stand on set up day and post all the offers under a " ________ Show Specials"
Well coordinated a forum member would not even need to mention they are a forum member. The stand holder and workers / volunteers should automatically apply the special on seeing the displayed lapel.
Venue ... Jerilderie Race Course I believe is available for about $500 per day
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2nd September 2013, 08:36 PM #81GOLD MEMBER
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I think we are going through an evolution of shopping, in fact I am sure that most would agree with that view. I can recall when TV killed the suburban picture show and my fun on a Saturday arvo and I use that as an illustration of what I mean. Expos of all types, boats, cars, etc are all slowly dying and the recent abandonment of the Sydney Car Show is a vivid recent example of where things are going. I doubt there is anything apart from the complete abandonment of internet shopping that will prevent the demise of these types of shows and there is nothing that the organisers can do about it as they are caught between a rock and a hard place. I wish them well in all their endeavours but I can only see a dismal future ahead.
CHRIS
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2nd September 2013, 09:10 PM #82
During the Sydney Show there was a discussion I had with one of the members so these are not my original thoughts.
The member mention that there used to be competitions in the past at the shows and the items created were displayed. I like this idea and I might expand a little.
Now the competition could be made up in two parts one that is judged by a panel of judges and one that has the people choice award like they do in the Archibald. My thinking is that everyone that submits something must not be known to the general public so anything submitted will be judged on it's own merits.
So every location that the wood show is held could have a different competition and I would suspect most would be locals that enter.
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2nd September 2013, 09:25 PM #83GOLD MEMBER
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Christos, you can dress it up any way you want but the people won't attend simply because there is no need, not like in the old days of limited access due to no online shopping. The world has or is changing, it is as simple as that. Magazines are another example, I literally can't remember when i bought my last magazine, there is no need as anything in them can be read online. There is so much information online that it overwhelms the traditional methods of delivery and shows/expos have been caught up in that.
CHRIS
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2nd September 2013, 09:43 PM #84Member
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I enjoyed the Canberra woodworking show. Lots of demos and gear for sale. But I would not have known it was on but for this forum. Surely the secret to having a good show from an exhibitors point of view is to get lots of people through the gates and those people become inspired and eventually they want to buy tools, plans, machines and timber. The demographic I saw at the show probably doesn't listen to pop music radio or watch rubbish on TV so it would be good to see somebody get on ABC radio with a story or in Canberra Times. These media outlets are always looking for fillers and it costs nothing. Do the organisers just sit back and relax once they get the exhibitors' fees?
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2nd September 2013, 09:58 PM #85
Chris
I agree with all you've said - it is too easy to simply jump online and buy whatever you want/need. There is a surplus of info as you said.
What strikes me as odd in this whole thing is that we work in a tactile hobby. Our products are not homogenous. As small shops (like woodwork shops in Canberra for example) go out of business in favour of carbatec and lee valley etc, there is nowhere to see/test/taste/fiddle with/drool over some of these higher end machines where we are literally spending thousands of dollars. It seems to me that the more we move online for purchasing, the more important shows like this become for vendors to demonstrate different products in places where it is unviable to have a real shop. But instead of becoming more important, they are dying off. Less people go because there are less vendors and less vendors go because there aren't enough people.
Personally, I'd be happy to pay more for entry tickets if it meant that more of the major (and minor) suppliers were present. I'd love to see clearvue at the shows. I'm very interested in improving my dust collection but I've never even seen a clearvue in the flesh, let alone seen one operating. But I take your point about the cost of visiting the shows and the number of sales to make it worthwhile.
As others have suggested, the model we have at the moment seems fundamentally flawed, and something needs to change or these things will simply disappear off the map, to everyone's detriment.
TravSome days we are the flies; some days we are the windscreen
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2nd September 2013, 10:05 PM #86
Having sat at the Canberra show for approx 8 hours I would say that the majority of people I saw were retired.
We need more younger people that have an interest exceeding the use of an allen key from Ikea
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2nd September 2013, 10:22 PM #87GOLD MEMBER
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I don't think so but they have to make choices regarding how the information is to get out there. Take me for example, I do not buy magazines or watch TV or buy a newspaper. How do they reach me? apart from this forum they can't unless it is by direct email contact. They really do have an uphill battle reaching their target audience. Up until recently all that was needed was a few adverts in newspapers and they reached most of those they needed to. In spite of the the move to online in some ways it is a far harder thing to get a message across as those you need to reach have to come to you. if you weren't online and involved in the woodworking discussions on a forum such as this it would be sheer dumb luck to know the show is on. This is not to criticise but to highlight the problems the organisers face.
CHRIS
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2nd September 2013, 10:35 PM #88
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2nd September 2013, 11:03 PM #89Deceased
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We seem to be going of topic. This thread is about bright ideas to rejuvenate the shows, not to pass a death sentence.
But some points raised could be overcome by clever strategies.
The internet is a threat to the shows but it need not be so. If more stores attend, as it used to be, then you would go to compare say TS or BS and select the one you need rather then purchase online. Of course this raises the cost to exhibitors and the cost and location of the shows. Maybe site rental to stores should be like shopping centres, being a low fixed cost and a fixed percentage of turnover at the show. Then smaller stores could come, eg Clearvue.
Advertising in local woodworking mags doesn't work very well. As a turner I subscribe to the English woodturning magazine and not local ones. Many of our woodturning club do the same. Maybe an adv or notice in that magazine would be better.
Also I have never seen any correspondence at our club from the organisers advising details of forthcoming shows. A few letters would not go astray.
These are some more positive ideas, even though my opinion on the Melbourne show venue shift is known.
Peter.
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2nd September 2013, 11:17 PM #90GOLD MEMBER
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As Peter says, advertising through clubs is a valid way to reach the audience. Men's Sheds would be the obvious first choice but perhaps they already do. I know of one Men's Shed that hired a bus and they all went which is a great idea.
CHRIS
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