September 18 Proofs Note from the Editor: Thoughts on the ADA annual session sites through 2018 and your response

One month from today, I will be walking the halls of the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Like many of you, I’ll be attending the American Dental Association’s annual session and taking in the sights and sounds of the yearly gathering. I already have dinners planned, meetings booked, and tickets to the Seattle-San Francisco Thursday night NFL game purchased. It will be a busy meeting for me, and I have no doubt it will be equally busy for you and your company.

I’ve devoted the first section of this e-newsletter not only to this year’s ADA annual session, but also the annual sessions that are scheduled until 2018. You can see a list of the locations and dates by clicking here. I had the opportunity to speak with ADA representatives about how and why they chose their sites, then I followed up that interview by speaking with representatives of the industry and various other meetings who will be affected when the ADA comes to town. I find the interviews very interesting … and very polarizing. I certainly appreciate everyone’s candor in the interviews and willingness to talk to me about a subject that affects all of us in the dental industry.

I encourage you to read those articles, and think about the current state of trade shows in our industry. Let’s be honest: the ADA is going to go wherever it wants, whenever it wants. Being the only major traveling show in our industry, it believes it can come into a city, set up camp, and say, “We’re open for business! Come on in!” And … guess what? We all come.

You shake your head and say, “That’s crazy,” yet we both know your company will be in San Francisco … and New Orleans … and Washington, D.C. … and everywhere else the ADA holds its meetings in the future.

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard one of you say, “(Insert city name here) is going to be a horrible show. I can’t believe they picked there.” Then, sure enough, I walk up to the booth, and there you are, in that city, saying, “This is a horrible show. I can’t believe we are here.” Really? If you had on your mind-reading hat and saw it was going to be a bad show, why did you go? Was it really worth your time, money, and effort to go there?

Something needs to change. I see two options:
1. Starting with the 2019 annual session, the ADA and the industry have to work more closely together on site selection. This isn’t a “should do.” It’s a “must do.”
2. Exhibitors need to look at the list for the next six years and decide if they’re going to support these shows or not. If they are, they need to change their attitudes and plan for success rather than three days of bellyaching if the crowds don’t come.

The next six ADA sessions are set in stone. What are you and your company going to do about it?

Read on, this is your e-newsletter…