Now, it may be hard to imagine, but there was a world before Google and looking up literally everything on a search engine. There was a time when if you wanted to learn about the latest science products, you would need to either read a fantastic magazine like Lab News or attend something called a tradeshow.
If you’ve not been to one, tradeshows are typically free events where tradespeople (the clue was in the name) set up booths showing off their latest products and services. In the dim and distant pre-google past, these were often one of the only ways you might ever hear about certain new equipment. Nowadays, they are still going strong and are still excellent places to find new equipment, see demos and get freebies.
Recently, I attended Lab Innovations with the lovely people from Lab News (shout out to all the people who came to see us and snagged themselves a rare ErrantScience cartoon badge). And being fresh from a tradeshow I thought I should share some ErrantScience tips on how to get the best out of visiting one.
Now, if it’s your first time attending a tradeshow, then I can’t stress enough that it’s essential to arrive early. Being early to any event obviously has the advantage that it’s often quieter and a bit less of a scrum getting in, but the real advantage is that you’ll find something that gets increasingly hard to find as the day goes on. Alert and enthusiastic people.
If you ask anyone working at a tradeshow booth, they’ll tell you that the days are long and exhausting. If you can get there early, then the people you talk to at 9 am will be chipper, upbeat and very excited to talk to one of their first people for the day. By 4 pm, those same people are going to have sore throats and be propped up by coffee, doughnuts and daydreams of suspiciously uncomfortable hotel beds.
Also, chipper, upbeat people tend to be a lot more generous with freebies. Tired people with croaky Gollum voices tend to be more restrained about giving away their preciouses.
Now, whatever route you take through the tradeshow, make sure you visit the small booths and the booths right at the back of the show (the ones often in the poorly lit section with the flickering lights). Working a tradeshow is hard enough, but if you’re a little company or a one-person company, there is nothing worse than being miles away from the big, flashy, crowd-filled 3-story booths and running out of sudoku puzzles to keep you busy.
These smaller booths also often have the best and most innovative freebies. One small booth I visited at Lab Innovations had socks and woolly hats to give away, a big step up from little chocolates. Although obviously not as good as the cartoon badges that were being given away at the Lab Newsstand.
As you go about your day, you also need to make sure you take breaks. Strolling up and down the aisle and smiling politely at salespeople is exhausting, and you don’t want to burn out. Luckily, most tradeshows have plenty of places to buy drinks and snacks (you may need to remortgage your lab to afford them) and, even more helpfully, provide a great place to eat them called “presentations”.
Just because you’re taking a tradeshow break doesn’t mean you can’t be productive, and tradeshow presentations are the perfect place to get both done. Unlike regular presentations, people randomly walking in and out is the norm, as it eating a multi-course meal on your lap. So it’s good to make use of these talks to rest your feet and listen to someone talk about data and cake while also eating some cake.
Finally, once you’ve had your fill of the trade show, it’s time to head for the exit, dragging your massive bag of free swag behind you. If the bus driver asked you to buy a second ticket for your illicit gains, then you know you’ve really gotten the most out of your day at the trade show.
