As many of you know by now, the Society for Information Display’s Display Week has been rescheduled from early June in San Francisco to August 2 to 7 in San Jose. I was curious about this decision, so I asked SID President Helge Seetzen. I assure you the question was asked from a safe distance. (It was by email.)
KW: Why was DW rescheduled for early August instead of October, which I understand was originally under consideration? On the surface, August seems dangerously early (for the health of the conference as well as of the attendees). Please let me know if I’m missing something.
SID President Helge SeetzenHS:
The short answer is that there were no suitable venues available on any other dates. There were other considerations such as overlap with other SID events, proximity to DW2021 (and CES2021), but the venue was the deciding factor. Display Week has fairly unique requirements in terms of the number of rooms, exhibit space and event location which limits the number of possible convention centers. Most of those venues are booked for years in advance. For example, earlier today I signed the venue contract for 2028!
Given these circumstances, we are actually very happy that the only available slot was in San Jose. While the pressures of the Covid-19 crisis will clearly impact the show even in August, the Bay Area has always been our strongest location. Nevertheless, we very much understand that the August date is still risky. As a result, we are developing a strong online program that will run as a companion to the physical event. This online program is being built in such a way that – if needed – we can transfer the entire show online. Bottom line, we are preparing for all scenarios right now as neither SID nor the entire world really has hard data on the evolution of the Covid-19 crisis.
Okay. That’s a thoughtful and elegantly presented statement. As I interpret it, SID was boxed into a very difficult corner and a majority of the executive committee members thought this was the best of several bad alternatives. And it is pretty bad, as Helge clearly recognizes.
Display Week, particularly the exhibits, provides the bulk of SID’s annual income. If a substantial portion of the exhibitors decide not to come, that will be financially painful. (Painful, but not disastrous. SID is in a solid financial position and has a healthy reserve.) My own unscientific observation is that more than half of the speakers, attendees, and exhibitors come from Asia. How many Asian companies will be ready to send their employees on a trans-Pacific trip and then have them mix with an international group of potential virus carriers? Remember, the U.S. is now the world’s Covid 19 hot spot. Although the virus started in Wuhan, many Asians and Europeans might decide that, now, it is going to the U.S. that would most put them in harm’s way.
As Helge explained, SID is developing mechanisms for putting some or, if conditions warrant, all of the symposium on line. That would allow papers to be delivered, and many authors would be grateful for that opportunity. But it’s hard to believe that an online trade show would appeal to many exhibitors. (If I see a dual-cell or miniLED TV on my desktop monitor, it can’t look any better than my desktop monitor.) ShowStoppers, the producer of business-to-media shows, is trying online methods for helping “exhibitors” reach the press, and some cancelled technology shows are also trying online approaches. It will be interesting to see how many “attendees” they are able to attract.
For myself, it is likely that for the first time in over 30 years I will not attend DW. Perhaps I can write an article from what I see and hear on-line. I’m ready for the challenge. (KW)
Ken Werner is Principal of Nutmeg Consultants, specializing in the display industry, manufacturing, technology, and applications, including mobile devices, automotive, and television. He consults for attorneys, investment analysts, and companies re-positioning themselves within the display industry or using displays in their products. He is the 2017 recipient of the Society for Information Display’s Lewis and Beatrice Winner Award. You can reach him at [email protected] or www.nutmegconsultants.com.
