Back in the autumn I was looking forward to the latest round of property exhibitions and promptly booked my tickets for a couple of them in London & Birmingham. I entered both in anticipation & left disappointed. However, my own personal feelings aside I noticed an overwhelming feeling amongst agents that the branding exercise of an exhibition stand was still very much a must, despite the lack of investors through the door.

Now before you say it, of course I attended on ‘trade day’ – day one of three which is often perceived as a big networking event where cold pitching business is welcomed as opposed to discouraged. However, upon following up conversations during the oncoming week I would ask how they felt the attendance was and they would all say the same, that it was “ok” but “no, not a great deal of leads but they’ll do”. And besides, since when would an agent take a non-client call the week after an expo!

This told me that the branding exercise of attending was still very much at the forefront of their priorities despite the economic downturn. So with another round of exhibitions just over a month away I have begun to think about attending these also. By contrast I could be right in not having enthusiasm for doing so and certainly on the basis of my attendance last time round it would be a waste of energy! However this time round I shall be there with bells on (ok, perhaps sans bells) for other purposes, more on that another time.

So between the autumn & oncoming exhibitions we have seen a fair few goings on in the exhibition scene, particularly goings. One major exhibition has downsized from its traditional venue at Excel to the smaller Earls Court whereas another has retained its choice of larger venue. For me this reflects a paradigm shift in the quality of the anticipated audience. Active investors in the market are fewer but most certainly present, so gone are the days of bag grabbing “shoppers”, which can only be a good thing.

However the question which does remain is that are those actively in the market likely to attend an exhibition nowadays? Are they now sticking to their trusted agents and or relying more on the internet? Only time will tell. For me this is a last throw of the dice for the exhibitions. If they work then they will live on, but what if they don’t? If no-one comes through the doors, who is going to part with their decreasing budgets to attend again this autumn? However, with market share diminishing and hot on the heels of the announcement this week of voluntary administration by a household name attendee & purchaser of larger stands, those agents remaining have little option of siding with the former. Attend they will and with maximum optimism, but one thing is certain.

The question is branding more important that online marketing will be answered come the end of spring.

I received a circular email today from an exhibition organiser with whom I am subscribed and whose events I have been attending for a few years now. The narrative within was very interesting to say the least, apparently the thousands of investors not yet affected by the credit crunch will be attending & looking to buy property. Oh really?

Having attended the latest ‘round’ of exhibitions the first thing I have noticed is that the numbers are down. Not just that, but the quality appears to have been understandably poorer than before. I gauge this not so much from the agents themselves but from their reaction when they find out I am present as a trade visitor! This time last year for example I attended exhibition X representing my then employer seeking to pitch business. I would be greeted with a smile; cards exchanged, wished well, invited to call back but most importantly asked politely if we could speak another time as they were keener to attract the members of the public passing by. Fair enough, I don’t blame them.

Last month I went to the same exhibition representing Discover And Invest, a different company but with the same expectations for my interactions with agents. Aside from my initial observations that it was considerably smaller than the last time I attended, or even that you could count the number of developers exhibiting on Captain Hook’s bad hand, it was the looks of disappointment I found myself facing. I would approach the stand, they would smile, I would announce myself as trade, and they would heave a forlorn sigh.

Of course, I took no offence and actually managed to hold longer conversations due to the lack of people seeking to speak with them; but the fact remains that the difficult times the property industry is currently encountering has now filtered through to the perceived happy hunting grounds themselves – the exhibition halls.

Marketing slogans are expected and welcome, but I am of the opinion that if an industry professional such as myself can notice the decline in both attendances and quality over a period of time then what of the seasoned investor? Could they perhaps have noticed this also? I think so, en-masse I would say. So there are thousands of investors not yet affected by the credit crunch? It’s a bold statement, although completely transparent.