Back of the Napkin: Doing Some Math at the AIA Show

Tombstone, Ariz. Bodie, Calif. AIA show in New Orleans.

What do these three locations have in common? Last week, they were all ghost towns.

For those of you who aren’t in the world of architecture, design and building products, the 2011 American Institute of Architects National Convention took place in New Orleans last week.  A rather important convention. In fact, the biggest in the space. Held in a lively town.

And yet, total desertion.

We expected drops in attendance. After all, there’s a global recession out there. For example, in 2009, AIA promotional material “expected” 27,000 for the conference in San Francisco. And by 2010′s AIA in Miami, the conference had 17,000 in attendance.

But it’s not just about attendance, we need to ask the exhibitors. Ask them how the show is performing. And in talking with a few of them, it sounded pretty dire. But doing some of my own back-of-the-napkin mathematical analysis, it looks even worse.

Marketing the show: $20,000

Booth design, labor, setup, booth space: $100,000

Five employees to man booth: (5 x $700 per day in labor, hotel, per diem x 4 days): $14,000

Total cost:$134,000

Sound excessive? Just wait, one exhibitor mentioned they received around 125 leads at the show.  $134,000 for just 125 leads, and a cost per lead of $1,072 and change.

Seems a little pricey.

While results may vary, this type of investment with such little return is unsustainable. There are a million ways to reach prospects at much lower price points.  It’s clear that the convention is beneficial to architects, but it may be time for marketers to rethink about the math that goes with the show.

So while you are probably sitting at your desk wondering how it could possibly be worth the costly investment, know that there are ways to rethink the convention.  Ways for exhibitors to be in touch with their audience. In fact, a better audience. Stay tuned.

Part 2: Rethinking the Convention: AIA and Beyond

Flickr photo courtesy of n0ll