Leica at Photokina

[marknorton]

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Beginning to plan my visit to Photokina, stands to vist and so on. Turns out Leica are making quite a big splash, more than 600 sq metres of floor space across three stands - 2 square and 1 L-shaped. Judging by the pricing on the Photokina web-site, the space alone will be costing them at least €100000.

 

Then you have to add the cost of fitting out the stand, the furniture, carpets, kiosks, signage and all the other stuff which make the bare spare into somewhere worth visiting. Add the cost of putting - let's say - 50 people on the site for 6 days, travel, hotels, cost of equipment, brochures, insurance, waste disposal, engineer's checks, equipment hire, promotional costs and the rest, and I think the final cost to them will be approaching €0.5m.

 

The costs really do add up. I'm doing a trade show at the NEC next month (UK's equivalent of Koelnmesse), much smaller scale and just for 2 days, but the budget for a 21 square metre stand is more than €30000. Makes an M8 seem a positive bargain.

 

What's incredible about these shows before and after, if you have never been there, is the chaos the night before it opens while everyone works to get ready and it always seems to come together. Even more incredible is the speed with which the whole lot is dismantled, starting 5 minutes after the show closes. An hour later, and you can scarcely recognise the place.

 

Here is what Leica are saying about the M8 in the exhibition catalogue - rough translation from Babel Fish but you get the gist of it:

 

"Highest resolution the low-noise CCD image sensor was optimized consistently for the characteristics of the m-Objektivsystems and offers a high resolution of 10.3 million pixels. The special adjustment of the sensor with micro lens disalignment avoids disturbing vignettierung in the picture corners. A particularly thin cover glass prevents unwanted refractions of light with diagonally hitting rays of light. Make full luminous efficiency possible now the highest adjustments of the sensibility of up to ISO 2500 clearly more detailed photographs, than it was feasible with similar films ever. Thus the M8 opens a new chapter in the Available Light fitness of the m-photography. Concentrated and intuitively with the development of the M8 consistently only the photographically relevant digital possibilities were merged into the control concept. The elementary function range, as the automatic timer and the manual focus in combination with the proven Messsucherprinzip became maintained. A simple and intuitive menu guidance makes possible it to change attitudes over the 2.5"large monitor with only few keys."

[Guest smep]

Advertisement is expensive. No Advertisement is more expensive.

 

(I have worked as designer for international trade show booths and know the prices...)

[stuny]

Mark -

 

Your trade show experience and cost estimates track with my own.

[dugby]

I've lost count with how many trade shows I've set-up, worked at and dismantled.

 

But your observations about setup time and dismantled has been a long-standing joke amoungst me and my work buddies........if we can dismantle our displays and booths in 15mins,....why does it always take us 1 to 2 days to set it up, and it's not like it's our 1st time at this....!!!!

 

ps... don't just love those folks who siddle up to you to try n squeeze that freebee outa you....see how fast they run when they've scored it....!!!!!! HAhaha

[frc]

I've done a lot of furniture-building for trade shows. Audio and radio stuff.

Also doing things in the studios I often noticed the peaces built by me were saved for future use. Trade shows and location broadcasts.

The materials used for the stands are often recovered by the building contracters.

No money is wasted although the chaos may give this impression.

[leicapfile]

I seem to recall a quote, from over 100 years ago, where while discussing the effectiveness of advertising a someone said:

 

"I know I waste 1/2 the money I spend on advertising. What I don't know is which 1/2."

 

Improvements in marketing science aside, I suspect the same holds true today.

 

Jerry

[albertwang]

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Looks like pictureline in SLC will be offering the M8. I may consider it since now that I don't have to travel all the way to NYC to grab it! Hmm... one year's worth of savings.