How the mighty fall: IPEX packs it in
It was like a ship springing a series of leaks. As soon as one hole was plugged, others burst open eventually sending the good ship IPEX to the bottom of the ocean.
Wednesday, 27 Jun 2018 12:51 GMT
Lost in the NEC: the final IPEX saw a drop in visitor numbers
The news that the flagship trade show for the print industry has been scrapped has come as no surprise following its gradual decline in visitor numbers and status over the last few years. The rise of the internet in the 1990s has caused much change in the printing industry. In turn, the changing environment has also hit the once mighty IPEX trade show organised by Informa. However, blunders such as the move to London in 2014 hastened the end.
Back in 2014 Trevor Crawford was bullish about IPEX
Event director Trevor Crawford said at the time: “We have laid the groundwork to deliver an event that will support the industry now and in the coming years. We have worked collaboratively with the international print industry and the markets that serve it to understand what IPEX needs to deliver moving forward. Strategically developed to respond to the fast-evolving marketing communications landscape, IPEX is the definitive information source for the latest trends, challenges, and technologies driving the global print industry. IPEX is more than just an exhibition; it is an event that analyses the market now and anticipates how it will develop in the future, to help printers build a robust and profitable blueprint for their businesses.”
IPEX looked to the past like some dinosaur of a tabloid editor who still believed they were relevant”
Crawford was bullish about the choice of Excel in London as the venue, likening it to the ‘Drupa village’ concept and extolled the virtues of direct flights into the capital and lower hotel prices compared to Birmingham. The joint exhibition with Cross Media was a bonus, he said, but already he was facing a crisis as exhibitor after exhibitor pulled out citing various reasons. Cost was one, doubts about the venue was another, plus some had their own plans to concentrate on open day events or Drupa. Informa should have seen the writing on the wall as Roland DG, Canon, HP, Kodak, and Xerox all pulled out, and to add insult to injury Heidelberg staged their own exhibition at the same time in London snubbing IPEX.
For some IPEX 2014 was a success with good business and new clients signed up but there was a noted absence of printers from Scotland, Ireland, and the North of England. Transport was seen as an issue and the costs involved in visiting were mentioned but also a feeling that IPEX thought of itself as a Drupa in scale attracting a European, if not a global, audience when its core was the UK industry. Despite the presence of many from the Far East, the decision was misjudged as numbers were down and social media was awash with criticism about the event. Within days of the show closing, Trevor Crawford departed and Informa announced Cross Media would be scrapped.
The move to the Excel Centre was seen as a disaster by many
Fast forward to 2017 and IPEX returned to the NEC to an industry that was changing month by month. Yes IPEX made an effort to reflect the change and put a lot of content into the show with speakers and even a fashion show but somehow it didn't work. The heavy metal press manufacturers were seeing newspapers and magazines disappearing while there was a parallel rise in wide-format and digital presses. Packaging shows were on the increase, but IPEX looked to the past like some dinosaur of a tabloid editor who still believed they were relevant.
Sign and Digital UK were busy scooping up wide-format exhibitors, while some distributors were organising their own open days in collaboration with suppliers. These were a much more cost-effective day out for buyers and a better return on investment for visitors. And there was a new kid on the block which had established its own UK orientated show: The Print Show. Last autumn the stage was set for a High Noon style shoot out as the two shows went head to head fighting for the same market. EXCEL set up shop in a reduced space at the NEC while they were out manoeuvred by the swashbuckling team at The Print Show who staged their event in Telford wrong footing IPEX.
This September The Print Show picks up from where it left off last year with a bigger and better exhibition at the NEC from September 18th to 20th. Not so much the inheritors of IPEX, but a savvier operator which has listened to what the industry wants and has delivered it.
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