Today is the last day of the three day Printwear and Promotion Show (P&P). Despite having written this year for the magazine of the same name, I couldn’t bring myself to traipse all the way up to the NEC in Birmingham and stand in a draughty hall collecting business cards. It is the same every year, I register for tickets, I never go. Why? Well here are my key reasons this year:
- March is the start of the busy season; phones are red hot, the email server bulging. Why not do the show in January?
- It is in Birmingham (enough said).
- If I want to speak to our suppliers that exhibit I normally pick up the phone. If I really want to talk to them we have lunch.
I am not completely anti-trade shows, considering only yesterday Jo and I popped into Sports Merchandise at Chelsea FC, but they are a tedious experience that Google and a telephone have made less relevant in modern business.
Maybe next year?