Marketing manager Andrew Thornhill said that the Cross Media 2013 team had listened to feedback that 2012’s show was too print-centric and featured too many seminars.
He said: "Feedback from exhibitors and visitors suggested there was just too much content. Exhibitors were concerned that while there were a lot of visitors on the floor - it seemed quite busy - they all seemed to be rushing from one seminar to another. So we’ve reduced the number of theatres form six to five and staggered the talks better."
He added: "One of the things that was leveled at 2012 as a criticism was that it might have been too print-centric, but I think having listened to what all the stakeholders and visitors said, we’ve now shifted it to a more balanced cross-media event."
Thornhill said another key aim was that this year’s show should attract a more even spread of visitor types than last year’s, also held at the Business Design Centre, Islington. He said: "We received a mix of visitors last year, both printers, but also marketers, brand owners and people from creative or digital agencies, and then also publishers. We’re hopeful we’re going to grow the publisher background; we’d like to steal some back from the marketing section so we get a more even spread."
So far Cross Media 2013 has attracted pre-registration figures 150% higher than at this point before last year’s show. Though this is expected to level out slightly, visitor figures are predicted to be 3,000-3,500, up from 2,500 last year.
Thornhill attributed this to an overall highly successful 2012 show. "The feedback we got was that 89% of visitors thought Cross Media was in tune with what was going on in the marketplace. With a figure like that you can’t argue that people weren’t happy with what they’d seen. 83% of people said they’d consider exhibiting again."
This year’s show will feature more special features than 2012’s, including an AR (Augmented Reality) Hall of Fame, Virtual Reality Skydive, interactive portrait and Oglivy Ideas Shop for small businesses to receive one-to-one guidance from this marketing agency.
Thornhill said: "It’s been quite challenging to pull together a features programme, as obviously budgets are quite tight at the moment. But we’re confident we have a fantastic programme and a really informative seminar schedule featuring first-class speakers."
He added: "Printers coming to Cross Media will access a wealth of new possibilities in areas such as automated marketing and mobile technology, so how they can augment the work they’re already doing with technologies like near field communication and augmented reaility."
Cross media 2013 takes place 23-24 October. Register at: www.crossmedialive.com/register.
