Few weeks ago I wrote a post on the Mega Macau Fair, based on my experience from October 2007. While my experience was far from good I decided to give it another shot and see how much better or worse the fair will be the second time around.

The problems with logistics I experienced last time were gone. First I played it safe and purchased the ferry tickets few days in advance. Also upon the arrival in Macau the staff from organizer were visible already at the Macau immigration. Thanks to having the trade show badges we could use the express lane. So all and all getting to Macau was smooth this time.

After passing the immigration more trade fair crew were on hand with information on shuttle bus. Unfortunately we were told to wait for 25 minutes for the bus and that was all the info we got. No word on the alternative - the Venetian Resort hotel shuttles that go around almost non stop. But knowing Macau a bit we walked out, jumped on the hotel shuttle and 10 minutes later we arrived at the fair venue.

So, how about the trade fair ? Takes about 1 hour to walk it all. Very few exhibitors and what I found even more surprising were many booths that were left empty even though they looked like someone paid for them … Not much to see, meaning nothing that I can’t see at other fairs held during this period around here. The whole trip was again, waste of time for me. And I wonder how the exhibitors must feel with so little traffic …

I simply do not see any reason why this trade show should last … I myself do not plan to visit again and I would have to loose my mind if I were to decide to exhibit at this show…

At least in the streets of Macau I could see these CocaCola branded rickshaws :-).

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The Hong Kong Gift and Premium Fair is not as big fair as Canton Fair, but for a fair that specializes at something and not at everything it is rather huge. There are about 5000 booths and the organizer says “50,000 quality buyers from 141 countries”. Well, I would argue with that “quality buyers” claim (more on that in the article). But it is hard to argue about the size of the fair. The first time I visited was in 1995 and that time I already felt the fair was big. It was crammed in several halls and rooms of the original exhibition centre. That time the fair was still for both gift and household goods. In 1998 the exhibition expanded into the new extension of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC - on the photo) providing room for many exhibitors previously only able to get on the hopeless waiting list.

Few years later the original show split into two - Household Fair and Gift and Premium Fair (with a week gap between them). This split provided for more room for exhibitors, but clearly not enough. Barely 10 years after the new exhibition centre opened the new extension works are under way.

Unlike the Canton Fair and the new Mega Macau, the Hong Kong Gift and Premium Fair is very well organized. It is easy to navigate for buyers, the services for exhibitors are on pretty good level, food and beverage services are available all around the venue at reasonable prices.

What I see as the main problem of this fair is the growing mismatch between the expectations of buyers and the exhibitors. Most of the exhibitors naturally come from Hong Kong. Many Hong Kong companies have been for years moving away from cheap stuff towards innovative designs, higher end products, developing brands. Many visitors who come to the Hong Kong Gift Fair simply look around for new ideas but are not willing to pay for them. Their only plan is to take the idea and look for cheap copycat version in Canton Fair in China. Many of them will even shamelessly admit that. The result is that many exhibitors are reluctant to display new products as they are afraid of getting copied. They do have the new stuff in their booths. But they will only show it to their old or regular customers they believe are loyal. The consequence is many buyers complain, there is nothing new to see…

The other draw back for exhibitors are way too many trade fairs held at the same time in Hong Kong (competing trade fairs at the HKCEC and at the Asia World Expo at the airport), Macau, Guangzhou. These fairs are not attracting new audience, only splitting the existing one. Less visitors walking each fair, visitors walking more fairs… From what I hear visitors are also not too happy about this… But, as long as there is market, there will be supply… We will see what future brings. For now, I am getting ready for this year spring trade fair season.

P.S. - Name cards are a necessity for a trade show visitor or an exhibitor. Check some cool ones this blogger has found.

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Unlike Canton Fair , the Mega Macau is a brand new trade show held in brand new venue and in a place where trade shows haven’t been that common. Macau clearly wants to follow Las Vegas example not only as a gambling paradise but also as a convention and exhibition destination.

The first Mega Macau trade fair was held last October (2007) during the autumn trade fair season on in the Far East. I went there to have a look and I had mixed impressions.

The venue itself - The Venetian Macau - is great. The convention centre is a part of the newly open Venetian casino and resort and that sure creates a different experience than the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre or the Asia World Expo some 60 km to the east in Hong Kong. Shopping malls, kitsch decoration, decent selection of restaurants. But there weren’t too many other positives about the Mega Macau show.

Getting there logistics - This was a nightmare. Getting from Hong Kong to Macau is usually very simple. You get to the Macau ferry terminal, jump on the next available ferry (there is obe every 10-15 minutes) and you are set. One hour later you disembark in Macau, clear immigration, hop on taxi and go. Was not the case during Mega Macau.

I spent about 3 hours waiting for the ferry in Hong Kong. My stupidity, I should have guessed and buy ticket in advance. But it did not end there. In Macau, there was a special immigration channel for the trade show visitors. But only for those with badge. The organizer messed up and did not deliver the badge to me on time, I had only invitation to get the badge on site. Bad luck, no speedy line for me, I had to queue up for about 45 minutes in the regular line.

Organizer (Kenfair) promised a shuttle bus to Venetian right outside the ferry terminal. Well, the organizer staff were hiding and I had to look for them. When I found them, they told me there is no shuttle only a hotel shuttle. Then they pointed to an 1 hour long queue. I had 3 options - wait an hout there, or wait an hour for taxi or walk for half a day. At the end it took me 6 hours to get to the fair, a jjourney that should not take more than 2.

Why actually I went to the fair ? Well it is a new kid on the block so I wanted to check it out. Moreover they advertised some sort of Asia Pacific Advertising Product show as a part of the fair and I was curious to see how that is going to look. At the end the travel was total waste of time. There were only few desperate exhibitors waiting for some visitors. Most of the visitors were people from Hong Kong on a quick curious trip just like me. Not much to be seen there that I can’t see in Hong Kong gift fairs without all that traveling headache.

Attracting exhibitors and buyers to a brand new fair is never an easy task, especially when it involves a new venue and new location. But Kenfair, the organizer of Mega Macau, has a very strange strategy. We have been exhibiting in a fair in Hong Kong organized by Kenfair for perhaps almost 10 years. It took us 4 years to finally get a booth at a good location. We kept the booth ever since. Then last year a very strange request came from Kenfair - To keep your booth in October in Hong Kong you have to exhibit in April in Macau too. I am not even sure whether this is legal but I do not care. I sent them to hell and decided to withdraw from October fair in Hong Kong …

The other negative I found was the ever present cigarette smoke. There is no smoking in the exhibition hall itself but people are (or were) allowed to smoke just outside the hall, in the fair check-in area and that I found weird. This does not happen any more in trade fairs even in such smoking obsessed country as Mainland China …

Do I recommend to visit Mega Macau ? If you plan to fly half way across the globe to see this fair, then better stay at home. If you are in Hong Kong or Guangzhou already for other fairs then go, but only if you have a day to spare …

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When I saw this first I thought this may be one of the April Fool’s day things. But well, looks real enough. You want to send your brand around, brand a train . I do not mean a model train to give away but a real train that goes places.

The railways is Slovakia recently sold the naming rights to several cross country express trains to different companies. Here is a video from the naming ceremony. This one has been named after one of the local beer brands. I like the idea of splashing beer over the train . You can stop the video after the beer is spilled (around 1 minute mark), only a talk (without subtitles) follows. This train service will bear the name of the beer, all the soft drinks and beers sold on the train will be from the company that owns the brand. And I expect some nice paint job on the train to follow.

Well, sounds better than branding plane to me. Not too many people can see the plane paint job when it flies at 39,000 feet .

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