Frankly, the dance has gotten downright entertaining. We've personally witnessed the sneaky snap of a photo on the way out of a hall or during a booth fly-by with cell phone or camera in hand. At the just-completed IHRSA show, we heard about engineers from one company loitering in competitors' booths, then trying to video or photograph products when they weren't looking -- even trying to come back several times like a bad cold after being asked to leave.
At Outdoor Retailer, competitors have been caught red-faced in booths, some even with video cameras and notebooks in hand, crouching before the show opens behind drawn curtains in a booth. The excuse is always the same: "Gee, I didn't know it would be a problem." Riiiiight. So, a drawn curtain and barrier around a booth says, "Hey, come on in and photograph me?"
Thing is, most of these competitors would welcome another into their booth for a casual look or chat about a new product -- no deep prying, no photos, no video, just a professional sharing of information. It's not as if the industry won't see the product soon anyway.
Most photo-takers are quick on the draw, but sometimes they don't see somebody watching them, and as a result, they get caught on film. Like the two shown here, one from the 2009 IHRSA show (taken by a competitor of a competitor) and the other from a recent Health & Fitness Business Show (taken by a SNEWS® editor).
Here's a novel idea for everyone. How about you show your competitor some respect and you'll all get respect back? It's simply too bad when a show shrivels or disappears behind fortressed booth walls because exhibitors are afraid to display their new products for fear of photo taking and knock-offs. In the end, this behavior isn't good for anybody. Oh, and that person photographing you photographing a competitor's product? If SNEWS sees it, you can bet, we'll publish it. That's called giving you the respect you are due.
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Great post -- I've witnessed this, too, and always wondered whether OR has a policy (and penalties) for booth-snooping. Does anyone know? And beyond that, while it's clearly bad form to conduct this sort of industrial espionage, is it actually illegal? Is a booth at a trade show considered private property in a way that "trespassing" could result in a civil or even criminal action?
ReplyDeleteHow about OR Management taking a stronger stand and kicking these unscupulous people out of the Show? We have heard this is a policy, but have not seen any teeth...
ReplyDeleteHey, what about this; if you witness this at a show, do the right thing and whip your own phone out and take a pic of his/her badge and email or text it to show mgmt?
ReplyDelete[info@outdoorretailer.com or we can post a special one and set it for alerts to key text accts)
If a healthy number of showgoers adopt this approach, it would serve a self-policing purpose and we could have a little '3 strikes you're out' policy on the show. Just off the cuff but you get the point?