Trying to be everything to everyone is evidently not the answer. Knowing who you are, what you’re doing and who your audience is, and then doing that well is a far better idea. The traditional hotel style Hi-Fi show is a proven model, and has enjoyed reasonable attendance (both industry/exhibitors and consumers) in previous years, before completely dropping the ball last year. The absence of marketing, that stuff that tells people “hey there’s something going on that you might want to know about” was the catalyst last time and from where I sit, was certainly the case once more.

One industry member commented that even from the allocated car park at the venue, it was not apparent how to find the actual show. Another report claimed that an enthusiastic attendee who travelled from Brisbane and invested in a 3 day pass demanded their money back.

Photo taken 12:30pm Sunday afternoon - showing the poor attendance.

Another reader commented:

This event was a non-event really, such a disappointing experience, at least for me.

Continuing:

 … what I found was a chaotic cacophony of sound(s), with some exhibitors confusing High End sound with PA systems.

And finally from another attendee:

The venue couldn't be more wrong for an AV / technology show, with only a few dedicated rooms available for exhibitors, and the crowd attendance reflected the poor promotion as well as the non-ideal location for this type of event.

Kudos to the exhibitors that did pony up and understand the importance of marketing and showing consumers what can be achieved, something our industry desperately needs in any case.

What the future holds for the current show is not known at this stage. There’s no doubting Chester Group, the co-organiser based in U.K that has likely organised more Hi-Fi shows than any other entity world-wide, is not out of ideas yet.

Watch this space.