Networks Telecom attacked over 'dolly bird' image

NEWS Just days before this year's Networks Telecom trade show swings into gear, the event has been attacked by a former exhibitor for focusing more on marketing than technology. Clare Williamson, marketing communications manager at network integrator, Logical Networks, said: "A lot of companies are very focused on getting people to their stands. More and more, you're finding there's a racing car on the stand, there's a golf driving range, there are dolly birds standing around. You're being accosted in the aisles by people giving you literature. I think that's detrimental to a high-level exhibition." Williamson made the comments in a Silicon.com head-to-head debate with event organiser, Justin Opie of Miller Freeman. She added that exhibiting at the show no longer generates enough money for her firm. Logical last took a stand at the show in 1996. Instead, she said, prospective customers "can now get the information they need off the Web". Networks Telecom is the most highly-attended IT trade show in the UK. This year's event begins on Tuesday at the Birmingham NEC it will host over 600 exhibitors and is expected to attract crowds of around 25,000. But Williamson said: "Most of the people [attending] are from exhibitors, not my target audience - end users." But Opie denied the attack, saying the show does pull in end users he claimed 18,000 of them attended last year's event. Opie also claimed the show offers users a good chance to test the latest technologies. He said: "A lot of the exhibitors are networked to create a 'real' environment for testing products." Commenting on the marketing techniques used by some exhibitors, he added: "If [vendors] choose to attend with a racing car, it obviously works for some people. Often the objective is to create branding and press awareness, and, by and large, it does." The full debate can be seen in Silicon.com's Fast Networking Channel.