Is there a recovery?

What is going on? There are some confusing signs. October was a good (but not spectacular) month of trade.

What is of interest is Trade Shows. We’re booked with a stand for one this month. It is a costly and involving exercise. But we have had passable results from previous efforts.

This time we’ve asked for the delegate attendance numbers in advance. It is not good. Our normal clients are not going. Now we see that as an opportunity to expand our market penetration, but it is also a sign of the tightened corporate budget and the thought that trade shows may not deliver a benefit as they used to.

Perhaps it’s just our market segment, but I suspect that behind all the hype things are tighter than we realise. We get small hints of it in conversation with clients and with the attitude to advertising investment. The holiday months coming will be a very good indicator of where we really are as an economy.

Geoff Holt