NEW SHOW ON THE MAP? Every journey starts with a single step
The organisers of the MAP Live turfcare demo series will surely be relying on that old maxim “Every journey starts with a single step”.
The first event at Stoneleigh on Wednesday was that single step, and may well have fallen short of initial expectations for both attendance and exhibitor numbers.
Over the years, we have continually heard the complaint that we have too many turfcare events (although one in January and another in September on an annual basis is hardly over-kill).
We hear constant mummerings about cost, content and location, but this is hardly anything new. In 1990, machinery exhibitors were in a similar mood and decided to set up their own show at Kempton Park in opposition to the IOG event. It only happened once and many of the backers lost mega sums.
The IOG has a long and proud record of staging turfcare shows dating back to the 1930s at Hurlingham - and yet even it will surely recognise the mounting pressures on show organisers across the board. Many have disappeared, others have altered frequency due to the fickle nature of exhibitors and visitors. It is to the IOG's credit that it has maintained an annual show where many others have thrown in the towel.
Yet that hasn't stemmed debate and the quest for 'something different'. Alternate events have been considered and part-planned, but they came to naught. The creation of the MAP Live series taps into this current level of 'dissatisfaction' - although it would be more accurate to say 'uncertainty' on what the industry actually does want.
All this of course is given extra frisson by the fact that MAP Live organiser Clare Johnson was part of the SALTEX show marketing team until last year. She says she saw a gap in the the market for a different type of event - and has gone for it.
What you can say is at least she has had the guts to try something new, particularly in the current challenging climate. Life is full of those who stand on the side-lines and pontificate, but rarely risk all to make their vision come true.
In hindsight, the MAP Live organisers may feel that Stoneleigh was not the best choice to kick off their series. It’s the multi-purpose venue in the middle of the country that looks right but doesn’t have that local feel that is said to be the DNA behind the concept.
The next event at Ardingly in Sussex is already reported to have attracted twice the number of exhibitors - and if the local dealers and distributors promote it as intended to a local audience then the event may well tick the necessary boxes.
Whether MAP Live has ‘legs’ will become clearer over the coming months. In the meanwhile the organisers are on a steep learning curve. However, any success they have, will have been earned on the basis of what they deliver to exhibitors and the satisfaction level of visitors.
Such events are always about quality rather than quantity - and even the limited attendance at Stoneleigh represented a combined budget of £14 million according to the organisers which must put the numbers into some sort of context.
