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CABSAT started with a curious phenomenon. Rain in the desert. It was PHABRIX’s first time in Dubai exhibiting its test and measurement products at CABSAT and we’d obviously brought the weather with us.
Now rain in Dubai is like a severe snowstorm in the UK – everything stops. As the Emirates plane, equipped with a front video camera, displayed our final approach we could see a long line of lights heading out into the desert. It was a biblical bumper to bumper traffic jam caused by water ‘ponds’ closing the motorways leaving cars stranded for hours – and taxi’s. Un-surprisingly it took another hour and a half on landing to reach the hotel. Taxis are cheap in Dubai if you pick the sepia coloured cabs with different coloured roofs – anything else is more expensive and open to negotiation.
From a business point of view we were keen to find new distributors and promote our products in the Middle East – a sector which we hadn’t approached until this point. As with all good shows we completed the important first steps;
Here was no nonsense reporting on the business situation in the Middle East hosted by Peter White, the new Director General, and Kevan Jones on behalf of MECIA the Middle East Communication Industries. Having attended the £50 UKTI business briefings in London prior to visiting the Middle East I have to say the structure, reporting and presentation during the 8-30 to 10 am meeting was exemplary and much more useful. For once here was an organisation in touch with the market offering savvy information on the region from a broadcast specific point of view.
Was it successful and how much did it cost? Our stand was on the UK pavilion efficiently run by Tradefair for which we received a grant. The stand was not quite as style inspiring as the French, Bavarian and Spanish stands which were each heavily subsidised by their governments, but still acceptable. We hired a single lock up cupboard which arrived efficiently at the beginning of the show. Tradefair have to be mentioned for their forward freighting. Not that we used it but the feedback from other exhibitors suggested they were very good. The show was definitely a success. We met everyone we had appointments for and clearly made contact with a lot of new potential clients from around the region. Our PHABRIX SxA and the eye and jitter PHABRIX SxE found a ready niche for portable test and measurement for broadcasters in the Middle East where quality is seen as a key differentiator. Distributor links were made and all in all, despite the seemingly long hours on the stand, the banter from fellow exhibitors made it enjoyable and the flow of traffic, quiet the first day due to the rain, very busy the second day and trailing off on the third day by 4pm, made this a less hectic show than NAB and IBC.
If you do your homework I would definitely suggest having a look at promoting your business at CABSAT. Finally I would like to thank those of you in the industry who helped make this a success for PHABRIX – we appreciated the assistance. Oh I remember one last tip, no one mentioned beer at £8.00 a pint until I bought the round! |
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Tags: iss040 | phabrix | cabsat | tradeshow advice | tradeshow feedback | N/A | |
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