comic con, book fairs and the art of promoting...

The fine folks over at Fine Books have a very good entry on the growth/success of Comic Con and what might be learned for the book fair scene. Fine Books has posted a bit on the book fair scene (here and here), and I generally agree across the board (though I think the Portland fair is going along nicely and is going to be changing...I hope for the better...starting next year.

One of the problems with talking about bookfairs is that we tend to talk about them as if there was one promoter doing one type of show. The dilemma is that, like shops, bookfairs run the gamut from flea market to the very high end. The other dilemma is that anyone who can rent a hall and network with dealers such to fill it can call themselves a show promoter. There are genuine skills required to run (and grow) a professional show...and a fair number who do so do not seem to really understand the animal they are trying to ride. Many seem to think that renting a hall, arranging that there be tables/security and placing two or three 1 inch ads in Book Source, Fine Books and the like fulfills their responsibility...And they have not explanation to the dealers who attend why traffic is "off." There are, clearly, some major exceptions, the ABAA (and Sanford Smith) put on very good events (though, again, a rather different animal from the usual bookfair). More promisingly, there seem to be "professional promoters" coming into the field...the Baltimore Summer Antique and Antiquarian book fair's recent acquisition by a Palm Beach group bodes well (though this is their first year with the show...time will tell).

As I have ranted about now and then, I feel strongly that book fairs need to bring more to the table to draw people in the door...I do not think such efforts need to add much to the cost, but they do require more back office/organizational time. Arrange with dealers to do short presentations on specific topics (i.e. collection development, identifying firsts, book cleaning and care, etc.)...bring in book binders to do short seminars on repair...bring in authors to speak on their books...etc., etc., etc. There are any number of people willing to speak for 15-30 mins (for free) in exchange for a bit of face time and recognition. This last point is important. Print a program for the event...stapled to the floor map...listing seminar times, topics and speakers so people can PLAN who they will see. It is nice to accident's wander onto a book repair class...but nicer to know that one can attend said class at a given time. Free appraisals might also be a nice draw on a given day, and again, it is not likely to be hard to find a handful of people willing to man such a table for a short shift. For that matter, invite Brodart/Gaylord/etc to attend...I think *many* attendees would like to be able to pick up pre-cut DJ sleeves and the like *and* I know these outfits have people who are very good at doing short seminars on various book/library topics (I am surprised, actually, that Brodart or the like hasn't approached some of the bigger/more established shows about booth space...the cost is low and the exposure is very high (both to dealers and collectors).

Advertising is another *major* failing in many shows. The Portland show, which has be critiqued recently in a few places, has definitely suffered declining foot traffic. We have attended the last three years and live here in the city. I have not seen a *single* poster for the show anywhere in town any year (here, I think both the promoter and the sponsor have to share the blame). I specifically asked for posters and was going to put them up myself here in town...but never received any [N.B. the fair is changing a bit this coming year and beyond and, with luck, will turn around...we shall see]. There are plenty of venues, however, that are clearly overlooked by most. Portland, for example, has a considerable number of "event calendars"...all of which are free and while the number of page views may be debated, the cost/benefit analysis weighs heavily in their favor. Actually cultivating local media interest *before* the show is another major avenue that is widely ignored. The major papers may take a pass, but many of the free/community papers are always looking for copy...prepare a well written press release that can be copied directly and you'd be surprised how many will be picked up. The bottom line is, there are *many* options to getting the word out about a show and creating some buzz about an event.

As has been said elsewhere, "cleaning up" wouldn't hurt a fair number of shows, either. I completely understand that pipe and drape costs real money and is not appropriate in many venues, but choosing nice space and making certain it is clean and tidy is not too much to expect. Personally, I think suggesting in contracts that dealers wear at least "business casual" is not unreasonable. Most dealers require by contract matching table covering that go to the floor (where there is not pipe and drape), I suggest asking dealers to be equally presentable makes sense too *laughing*. Seriously, though, it is in both the dealers' and the promoters' best interests to have a well appointed booth and be dressed professionally. I am not suggesting that all must wear coat and tie (though, sadly, I do (and I make my long suffering son do so as well)), but slacks and a polo shirt is a much more finished look than holy jeans and a tee shirt.

Again, part of the problem in thinking about these issues is that unlike the antique fair market, there is no real caste system in place....which is a problem for some dealers and many potential attendees. If you go to a large antique fair, you do not expect to find bargains...you expect to find a large number of very nice to exceptional pieces in one place. If you want bargains, you go to the flea market, jewelery shows, ceramic shows, etc. are the same (yes, yes, I know there are exceptions...you need them to define the Rule). With books, it is really the opposite, with the exception of the ABAA/ILAB shows, pretty much all other books shows are a mishmash, to varying degrees, from low price, high volume dealers to the extremely high end. There is a natural selection process that occurs with most shows, so that over time, off the beaten path shows tend to favor low/mid priced dealers and others attract the higher end...but by and large, any given show has one booth where there is almost nothing for more than $20 and another with almost nothing for less than several hundred and the rest falling in clusters somewhere in between. This selection process is sped up when pricing of shows varies a great deal...a shows with a $195 booth fee is often a very different animal from a show with a $1200 booth fee (or, at ABAA events, a $3K to $12K booth fee).

This is not a bad thing, generally...but it does lead to trouble on both ends... lower margin/high volume dealers kavetch any time booth space prices are raised, higher end dealers whine that the only people coming to a given show are looking for flea market items (and/or that the overall "look and feel" of a given show is not conducive to their books and/or the clients they want to attract). [I know the Baltimore show, having been recently acquired, raised booth fees for this event by 33% to a fair amount of gnashing of teeth...on the other hand, we looked at the price of $650 or so and thought it was quite reasonable for a four day show with foot traffic numbers in the area 13000 +/- attendees (admittedly, only a portion of which are book folk) and a promoter who has an actual marketing plan (banners at BWI, the library and streets, ad placements in a wide variety of venues, etc., etc....you get, as it were, what you pay for.] I think the book fair market community is in a period of transition and that while there will always be some blending and, god knows, a great deal of complaining, trends are beginning to arise. There are dealers who spend nearly every weekend at shows, and they will continue to do so and to pick the "right" shows for their goods (they tend to be pretty good at this...it being their business and all). What I think you are beginning to see, however, is that more and more brick and mortar and boutique dealers are becoming more sophisticated in their show selections.

We are planning to do somewhere around 6 or so shows a year (and no more than 10) and are trying to be very selective due to that limited number. We are trying different shows to see what we think and talking with just about everyone we know who does shows about the pros and cons of the various options. Equally, however, we are talking about the promoters of given shows. There are shows we have considered and passed on because we do not feel warm and fuzzy about the type of shows a given promoter puts out...equally, there is a promoter that we are trying hard to find a show that fits our schedule/profile because we have heard such good things and see such good execution at a few events of theirs that we have attended. My guess is that we will see a streamlining of events/promoters and caste system take a more established form as promoters who excel at doing "better" shows refine their talents and those who execute the more "flea market" approach focus in that area (and, possibly, sell the more complex shows different promoters). I love bargain hunting and the whole flea market scene (but it is not the right market for my brand)...people who seek these shows out are not expecting (nor do they generally want) high end prices...they are looking for deals (and/or treasures missed)...it is a great market and marketing opportunity...but, I think, different from what most "book fairs" should be.

In the end, all shows have value to the book seller and book collector communities. My thoughts and suggestions about shows and promoting are clearly aimed at the "better" show market (whatever that means), as it is there that there are booth fees, etc. to engage in some marketing (personally, I would happily pay a higher booth fee at a number of shows if the increase was spent on creating a better event and/or marketing efforts) and, generally, the desire to grow/improve a show. I look forward to seeing how the show community evolves and changes. I love doing shows (large and small) and look forward to doing them for years. I just hope the shows themselves keep themselves fresh and relevant.

I apologize for the rant...this is much longer than I intended and, sadly, I lack the time to make it shorter (cf. "Je n'ai fait celle-ci plus longue que parce que je n'ai pas eu le loisir de la faire plus courte. (Blaise Pascal, Lettres Provinciales, xvi (1657) [I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter.]). I love the fair market and think a good bit about it...and ramble too much...oh well.