NEWS

“Didn’t we do well!” That was the reaction from a delighted Mary Walker as she learned the total attendance figures for Focus on Imaging 2010.

For the total, 37,352, was more than 3000 up on 2009 which was itself a record, maintaining the steady upwards trend in visitor numbers which Focus has enjoyed since the first show in 1990.

But Mary was not only delighted with the number of visitors. She had opened the show knowing that she had sold more stand space than ever before, that the “big names” in the industry were better represented than ever before and that online interest in the show, its exhibitors and its many other attractions had been running at an all time high for weeks before it opened.

Since the show closed, Mary has not only been receiving plaudits from exhibitors as they tot up their sales figures, confirm orders and follow up the many leads they received during the Focus’s four day run at the NEC. A flurry of emails from visitors praising the show also awaited her on her return to her office.

“The number of visitors at any event is a key measure of its success but it’s not the only one,” said Mary. “We also want the visitors to experience a fantastic show, we want the exhibitors to make their presence at the show worthwhile and,” she added tongue in cheek, “we like to see a goodly number of provisional bookings on the floor plan for the following year.

“Every one of those elements came together this year as they never have before.”

“A belter of a show” is how Darren Walker of wide format printer specialists DCP Systems described Focus 2010. “All four days were busy. Sales were doubled compared with last year with new quality printers selling at less than £1000 going very well – we actually sold 50 off the stand.”

oneOne Software’s Bob Campbell was really enthusiastic. “For us it was the “perfect storm”; the right position, the right stand, great new products and the best photographic show in the world… oh and the best customers! For us Focus is still the best-selling show in our global business; and we’re comparing with the best of the best in the US and Europe.

“We can’t thank Mary and the team enough. Wonderful show, well organised and beautifully put together. We rely on Focus to kickstart our year and this has definitely had the desired effect. Record sales and excellent footfall. We’ve re-booked for next year of course!”

Focus 2010 proved to be a real winner for Kenro, too, with the company reporting record levels of sales enquiries. Said MD Paul Kench: “We invested heavily in a new stand for Focus and this investment has certainly paid off. Our stand was busy all day, every day.”

Andy Kolczak from Medialogix said that they had met a lot of people they already knew but more important they had also met a lot of people they didn’t know.

“We’ll be back next year for sure,” he said but added that his stand, which he bought for £750 on eBay, could well be a different colour. It’s largely blue and white, the colours of Birmingham City FC rather than the claret and blue of his beloved Aston Villa!

Juliet Jones, The Societies’ MD, said: “It’s been a full-on, flat-out, bumper show for us with hundreds of new and aspirational photographers signing up for membership of one or more of our eight photo-societies.

“We had top class speakers and demonstrators on hand and the stand was a constant hive of activity across the four day event. At one point we had hardly enough staff to cope with demand.”

“I just wanted to say well done for organising another great event which proved to be our best Focus yet!” Cameraworld’s Jason Mitchell told Mary.

“A very, very good show,” said Denise Troughton of photo preservation specialist, TimeCare. “More and more people are becoming aware of the importance of storing their photos properly and we had a lot of ‘I’ve been looking for that for ages’ conversations.”

Ben Boswell, who only launched his Minute Film “real” photography business six weeks before Focus opened, was delighted by the response to his initiative.

“We had all ages coming to see us, including a lot of students, who wanted to talk to us about photography, analogue photography that is, and who were all interested in the kind of photography you do with your mind, with a series of choices that are reflected in the results you get.”

On TheMagicTouch stand Dave Pearce commented how good it was to see how receptive people seemed to be to take on new ideas to improve the quality of their business.

“We have a number of new customer leads to follow up but Focus is also a great platform for us to meet and update our existing customers about the latest innovations.”

Hayley Luxford and her Towergate Camerasure colleagues produced “lots and lots of quotes, more than another year,” with a number of visitors going to buy insurance on their stand, Philip Dunn had to quickly arrange another Photo Active holiday because of demand during show and was also planning another course training course before the show closed and Nigel Williams of newly launched wedding photo archive Sepia Quill described Focus 2010 as a “fabulous experience.”

Long standing exhibitor Simon Bourne said that sales this year were up by at least 100%, mainly due to the launch of the smaller, more affordable telescopic masts for taking “aerial” photographs produced by his Total Mast Solutions company, and Ken Ouderkirk from Trek-Tech, who could be found on the JPDistribution stand, added: “As we come over from the West Coast of the USA it has to pay – it’s the best show we go to.”