SAN DIEGO, California (17 Apr 2009) — Noting that exhibitors at DEMA shows have been disappointed year after year, NAUI is the latest organization to announce it will join other major dive industry companies that will not attend the 2009 DEMA show or drastically cut back their expenditures. Among high-profile scuba equipment manufacturers that have announced they will not attend the 2009 DEMA show are Aeris, DUI, Force Fins, Henderson, Hollis, Oceanic, and ScubaPro, which also did not attend DEMA's 2008 show. Buyers show or dive industry social? NAUI president, Jim Bram, said that DEMA used to be a buyers show, but over the past few years has gradually turned into a social networking event that left booth exhibitors frustrated and disappointed. "DEMA served this industry well years ago, however the unavoidable conclusion is that it's time to move on and reinvent a show and an association that better represents current realities," Bram said. "In light of this fundamental change common sense demands that our behavior adapt. Instead, and until this year, exhibitors continued doing the same thing hoping for a different outcome only to be disappointed year after year...we were also guilty of spending too much on a booth exhibit." Shifting resources away from DEMA Confirming that NAUI already has moved on, Bram said his organization has been shifting its resources away from DEMA to more effective one-on-one and small group retail store marketing programs. "We've been getting better results with the money we used to spend on our seminar meeting rooms at the (DEMA) show (by) funding one-on-one or small group in-store programs, which are also more convenient and cost effective for our members and affiliated retailers," Bram explained. "I am happy to report that this has been working extremely well with our members and stores enjoying greater success, ordering more material and certifying more divers than before. By additionally reducing our booth and staff expenses at future shows we can continue this more effective use of resources," Bram added. | | Better times when DEMA members were cutting ribbons, not expenses. Bram said NAUI could no longer justify the expense of high-cost, low-value DEMA booth promotion. He said that although NAUI has decided to attend the 2009 DEMA show, it will drastically scale back its expenditures, cutting staff from 20-25 to only four and reducing booth space to only 200 square feet. Despite so many holes opening up in the corporate dike, DEMA's big "executive thumbs" continue to plug the 2009 show and tout booth exhibits as the best way for dive retailers to beat the recession. |
