Everyone is the media
Visited CommunicAsia last week because I was invited by 2 companies to attend their event. (Plus I wanted to check out some stuff happening at CommunicAsia) CommunicAsia is a tradeshow and open to trade visitors only, unlike PC show which is like a huge pasar malam. Registration with business card is required before you can enter. I registered myself as a local visitor with my Tech65 namecard and went in. I thought there won’t be any difference between local visitors and Press. But when I saw Daniel Goh at Samsung booth, the first thing he asked was “Why are you holding Local Visitor pass? You should get the Press pass.” Apparently, there is a big difference.
Some companies in CommunicAsia does not allow Visitors to take photos. Only the press are allowed to take photos of their products. Its weird because not all companies at CommunicAsia has this restriction. Feeling fustrated after being stopped from taking photos for a few times, I went to the registration counter to enquire how to get a media pass. Since I guess blogging and podcasting is classified as “New Media”, maybe I can get one. But I was told that the CommunicAsia organisers don’t issue media pass to bloggers unless I was invited by one of the exhibitors. Wah piang, so troublesome. But luckily for me, I knew some of the PR folks whose client are exhibitors at the CommunicAsia and I managed to get a media pass with some help. 
Thanks a lot to Aaron and Priscilla!
With the media pass, I can take photo without anyone stopping me. But this is so stupid. Why is it that only the media can take photos of your products? Its not some top secret product. Product specs and photos are already online for everyone’s view pleasure. Some of them are already in the stores! I don’t know who set this no photography rules for non-media visitors. It could be the organisers of CommunicAsia or the Exhibitors themselves. This rule is doing them more harm than good. But there are some exhibitors who didn’t stop visitors from taking photos. I supposed they know that there is a new group of influencer on the rise, everyone.
Whoever stop the visitors from taking photos seems to forget that we are living in the internet age where everyone is the media. Anyone can be a blogger, tweeter, plurker, facebooker or simply an influencer in their social circle. Everyone is a micro influencer (and some not so micro). And as a company, you want these people to help spread words about your product. You want to let them have the best information so that they can talk about your product and influence people in their social circle. That is assuming they like your product. But even if they don’t like your product, they can also be your best critics and give you the best feedback to improve your product. And with good engagement, you might even turn that person into your company’s best supporter. There is nothing to lose here.
And it’s not just CommunicAsia. I always hear about people complaining that certain restaurant or shop doesn’t allow customers to take photo in their premises. I simply don’t understand why is there a need to disallow photography. Is your company a top secret military related business? It just doesn’t make sense at all.
Times has changed. The Main Stream Media is no longer the only form of media that influence people. It’s time for companies to learn and adapt to this new media and see how they can incorporate it into their existing marketing strategy. But remember, New Media is here to complement the Main Stream Media, not replace. We are already seeing many companies and PR agencies inviting bloggers to their launch events. This trend is here to stay. If you are free, watch this TED video by Clay Shirk about new media.
Remember, everyone is the media.
PS: Speaking of micro influencer, I was influenced on Twitter to try out McDonalds Milo McFurry last night. That was my first time trying out Milo McFurry and I’m loving it (despite the fact that it’s a little overpriced).
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I find it surprising too that many retailers don’t allow photography in their shops. I wonder what will happen if a photo is taken. Do they experience their competitors coming in to take a photo of their display system and then emulating it? Is it for crowd control? I’ve heard that even some coffee chains don’t allow photography in their outlets.
May be one day, we can interview these retailers and find out what is it that they are concerned about. I’m sure they wouldn’t implement the rule for no reason, right?
“Do they experience their competitors coming in to take a photo of their display system and then emulating it?”
Yes that is it actually. As a retail business owner i can understand the no photography rule. Competitors including people thinking of becoming your competitors need to do market research on pricing, products, displays, shop flow, visuals.
Sure, they might be able to get alot of info about a company and it’s products from the internet including pricing….but only if you are researching a big company. Take for example if I am Robinsons and I want to figure out what Metro is doing. I can find out so much more if I take a camera and go into their shop as opposed to possibly only 5% by searching the net and their printed adverts for their products and prices. LIttle wonder then that shops like Metro forbid photography in their stores.
For an exhibition like CommunicAsia, its the same with regards to product and special offer/price info. If you also understand that companies might have paid 1000s of dollars for a designer and/or spent 100s of hours brainstorming to set up a booth, they are going to be quite anal about trying to protect that intellectual property (design/layout idea) from competitors (esp small fry competitor companies with no budget/brainstorm ideas).
Darrel: Agree that competitors might take photos for their research purpose. But likewise, competitors can also just go into the shop and observe without taking photos. They can also buy the product back, tear it apart and learn everything. So what is the diff?
dk,
Yes but when you are talking about layouts, displays and merchandise (esp when you it’s like Metro where you have 1000s of different products laid out) you can’t remember everything but a photo serves as a 100% exact reference that you can also bring back to China/US/UK/Bishan and share with the rest of your colleagues/boss/3rd party designer (“i want you to design me a booth that looks like THIS one but change this black part and that green part to blue instead”).
If it’s products, yes the big boys would have already bought/borrowed/stolen all the competitor products way before the show and taken them apart. But what about the small boys? A small firm has no money to buy all the products in the marketplace just to take apart or keep as reference or to steal one small design idea/function. Even worse when the product is a high end one that small boys can’t afford. So taking a photo of interesting but not ‘must-buy’ products is the best way for these small boys to steal ideas.
I once saw two men in IKEA in Shanghai going around the shelving and cupboard sections collecting every single one of those printed informational sheets that IKEA has detailing what shelves and pieces of wood you need to buy to make a desk or cupboard. You know, the ones with the dimensions of each and every piece of wood and plank and how many of each screw you need. They were also taking photos of the finished products. I then overheard their conversation and realised that they were furniture makers and the IKEA informational sheets were a literal blueprint for them. The reason they were also taking photos was that IKEA informational sheets are in black and white and they needed color references for when they return to the factory.
IKEA probably has 100s of cupboards. A small furniture maker is not going to buy all the kits or be able to remember all 100 of the designs he sees, esp when there is an easier way with a camera.
In the end its all about “We are in business and there are competitors, so why make it easier for them to compete with us?”
I understand your frustration at this kind of thinking but when you have invested alot of money and time into a unique idea/product, you would want to try and keep it unique for as long as possible before it gets copied lock stock and barrel by 100 other people in 20 countries.
Darrel: Likewise, the competitor can also bring the contractor to the shop and instruct him what to copy.
I agree that allowing photography might allow people to copy easier. But disallowing photography won’t stop people from copying. This is something everyone will have to accept.
You know what, I just recall that during a media trip a long time ago, the professional photographers from the traditional media were reminding each other not to take photographs of retail outlets. It seems that this is a generally understood etiquette among them.
Hillary: Do they have a no photography sign?
Hi DK,
Thanks for the link love and the mention.
It would have been futile for me to stop non-media to take pictures of the Samsung booth babes, I reckon!
Daniel
Just to add my two cents worth:
In addition to corporate spying, most retailers (especially food) do understand the workings n existence of social media (though not as in-depth as us). Despite it being free publicity, they feel that it can also work both ways and be used to generate bad publicity against them.
Though bloggers are still free to comment/criticise them, typical sillyporean mentality dictates that w/o substantial proof (aka pictures), it’s juz air talk
lodestar: Well, maybe they should start to learn that photos or no photos have nothing to do with bad publicity. Poor service or bad product is the root of bad publicity.
Haha, have you seen the Cake Wrecks site? I remember one wreck that was submitted, the photographer said that the cake shop immediately knew that he was photographing to submit to the cakewrecks site and tried to shoo him away.
Forgot to mention, there wasn’t any “No Photography” sign.