04 l October 2012
www.prosoundnewseurope.com news UNITED KINGDOM
ExCeL 2013: a chance to “rework” the PLASA show
One of the main topics of disquiet at this year’s final Earls Court event was next year’s change of venue. Dave Robinson asked PLASA CEO Matthew Griffiths how he can pacify the critics
“NO ONE likes change!” says Matthew Griffiths. “Every time we’ve moved over the last 20 or so years, no one’s liked it. On the other hand, it might be the best thing we’ve ever done for the show, which we all agree needs to look at itself, rework itself, start acting as a show for the 21st century, and start delivering a different package.” Speaking to PSNEurope two
days after this year’s end-of-an- era PLASA show at Earls Court last month, Griffiths was quick to disperse any number of qualms surrounding plans to move to ExCeL in 2013. An exit from Earls Court was inevitable, as plans by the owner, Capital & Counties, to redevelop the site steamroll ahead.
Grifiths also admitted that the PLASA Show has not taken care of the pro-audio sector as well as it should have in recent times; and that an announcement of co-operation with at least one other trade event for 2013 was imminent. PSNEurope spoke to several
manufacturers at PLASA 2012 who expressed a distinct lack of
Matthew Griffiths: “No one likes change!”
enthusiasm for the ExCeL move. Others were at best sanguine, suggesting they would “try it for one year and see how it goes”. Only one company said it was actively planning to increase its booth space. Griffiths insists that “a lot of companies” had booked bigger stand space because ExCeL, a purpose-built expo facility, offers much more flexibility than Earls Court. “No one is looking forward to
moving,” says Griffiths. “Everybody that we have spoken to understands the decision that’s had to be taken.” Griffiths told PSNEurope
that, in some cases, he was faced with prejudiced preconceptions
of ExCeL by people who had not actually been there. “That’s why we are going to be running twice-monthly exhibitor visits, to take small parties down there, and show them ExCeL’s in- house presentations, show them the hotels, the exhibition space itself, and the cafes and the restaurants… and when they’ve done that, they’ll go, ‘Well, it’s not as bad as I thought it was!’ “Once people have a good
experience of getting to ExCeL, [convincing them] is going to be easier. And if they’ve got to sit on a tube for another 10 minutes, I don’t think that’s a deal-breaker.” Griffiths says the venue is
suitable, it’s based near a transport infrastrucure that was heavily improved for the Olympics, but – ultimately – the show’s future success will depend on “content”. And that segues suitably into a second criticism that surfaced at this year’s PLASA: the prevalence of lighting manufacturers, with an obvious decreased support from pro audio. It is content, appropriate for sound engineers and technicians, that will bring that sector back, says Griffiths.
“If we have to be honest and hold our hands up,” he reveals, “we have not looked after the pro-audio side of the market as well as we should have over the last few years, in terms of evolving where we, as an exhibition, are going.” This would perhaps be, in
part, why audio support has noticeably dwindled at PLASA, with exhibitors electing to invest their marketing euros elsewhere. But the move to ExCeL enables PLASA to address that issue. “In the past, audio
manufacturers wanted to be among the lighting manufacturers so visitors can browse around a mixture of the two. It may be now that we need to have a [separate] pro-audio element. We have to speak to the exhibitors about it – but importantly we have that flexibility in the framework we have at ExCeL, without having to work around stone columns or weird-shaped holes! “It lets people take a look at
what they are doing, plus, it gives the audio industry something which they’ve been after for a long time – areas in which they can
ExCeL is said to offer much more flexibility than Earls Court
demo kit in proper surroundings.” Griffiths says he has received
many encouraging reactions to the calendar shift from early September to early October. “Certainly from the audio and video side, people are pleased it’s moved away from the IBC show.” He also reckons it’ll be easier to attract technical teams from rental companies when they are prepping gear for the start of the autumn touring season rather than when they are exhausted after the festival months, which has traditionally been the case with the September dates. Finally, he hints once more that PLASA is actively seeking “other shows” to co-locate at ExCeL. “There are other shows which are looking to target a niche audience; we’re saying, we’re here at ExCeL for this time zone, why don’t you come alongside? That offers better value for exhibitors.” Griffiths couldn’t give any
more details at press time but revealed he would expect PLASA to make an “announcement or two” about future exhibition partners in a matter of weeks. n
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