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Avid will not exhibit at major trade shows in 2022

Avid CEO Jeff Rosica explains why the company has decided to "pause" exhibiting in 2022

Avid has officially announced its intention to drop out of exhibiting at all major trade shows in 2022, including both NAB and IBC.

Speaking to TVBEurope’s sister title TVTech, Avid CEO Jeff Rosica said the company made the decision “far in advance” and has chosen to pause exhibiting in 2022.

First and foremost, it’s safety,” said Rosica. “We’ve got to make sure our people are safe and the teams are safe. But also ROI (return on investment) is key. These major trade shows are huge expenses.

“I don’t want to see happen to our industry what we saw happen at CES. It was a very difficult show. We worry about whether we can get everybody there safely and also the attendance. These are major investments, and we’ve got to have a pretty big return.”

“We are big believers in the value of NAB and IBC,” added Rosica. “We’ll partner with them and do as much as we can with them, but we’re going to defer on any of the larger trade shows until 2023.”

Avid will return to the trade show floor in 2023 with “pretty sizeable investments and footprints,” added Rosica, but it won’t be the same as pre-pandemic. 

“Not everybody can go to NAB or IBC, but everybody can access a video. Everybody can access a virtual event, and more people can access local events.” Among those plans are more localised, face-to-face events in London, Paris, Tokyo and New York.

In terms of how trade show can be successful in the long term, Rosica suggests it’s time for organisers to adapt their rates based on the audience that’s going to be present at the shows. “These shows are valuable, but they are also expensive,” he states.

“I think NAB and IBC are wonderful organisations. But they are going to have to evolve their strategies. I think they are going to have to change their mix, just as we have. I think they can look at more regional types of events and more digital strategies, which they’ve already been doing. 

“They’re going to have to evolve their strategies because we’re all evolving. The customers are evolving. Things will have to change, and the pricing of things is going to have to move with the value.”

You can read more of TVTech’s interview with Jeff Rosica here.