Semicon needs to execute better

The Semicon trade show in San Francisco last July gets a harsh critique for not executing its new combined ‘front-end’ and ‘back-end’ shows into one site, as published in Chip Scale Review Magazine:

“And some of this year’s exhibitors, especially those who were exiled to the third floor of Moscone West-where you could fire off a cannon between rows without fear of hitting any visitors-will undoubtedly make their displeasure known to SEMI by not returning next year.”

While I was bold enough to call Semicon nitwits earlier this year for their bulky ‘free’ mailer, publisher Gene Selven doesn’t go quite so far. But he does point out all the shortcomings he saw himself, or heard from exhibitors (and we agree). In summation, there were two problems:

• Little effort to distinguish the two different types of show that were now combined
• And just as little effort to drive traffic to the different rooms/floors

My best experience with a two-floor show was at OFC in Anaheim where they put registration in the basement so that everyone had to filter through the basement at least once. At other shows, I’ve seen contests and refreshments offered at less traveled sections.

Certainly Semicon should have known that they were going to have these two problems. This, on top of the problem of moving the back-end show out of San Jose, where most of their show traffic comes from. According to Selven, a defection of exhibitors means they won’t have to worry about driving traffic to the third floor next year!