Big trade shows focus on bringing hundreds of thousands of people together and maximise profit for the tradeshow founder/host (can't blame them).
It's a good gig if you got history/scale, as not many people(competitor) would dare to start one, unless they can find a different niche/focus (E3, CeBit, CES) This is the same for B2B conferences in various industries/sectors (e.g. Telecoms: IIR, IBC, Informa, Finance: euromoney, FT, economists) however, one thing is for sure, most so so organisers (especially the market leaders) tend to become blinkered and develop narrow field vision, namely, they focus too much on sponsors need (rather than paying attendees or even key stake holders' requirements)
Therefore, in the end, we see things like these MacWorld saga (not knowing the background/real story, the organiser may have asked apple to how best to appease them, it might be too late or they might not have even asked because they thing they have scale!? Anyone knows?)
Key however is that trade show/conferences alike, need to be focused, and as mentioned the internet/video/blogging change that, but mostly so far within the FMCG market, let's so on B2B, they are still quite niche & sometimes internally focused. E.g. Challenges of rating, not easily understood derivatives/"structured products" (or zero cost products, CDO, CDS) are already well known in the finance sector.
One thing is for sure, pulling a few (or even big number) of key senior industry guys together is not difficult, IF you already has built up the trusted relationships. Many conference organisers may have lost sight of key Focus/benefits are clearly relationship buildings..
Cost vs benefits for attendees/sponsors quite frequently don't add up. Therefore, finding the balance or win-win is KEY!
I personally prefer 4-10 people maximum lunch/evening functions of senior people are most effective!
@garethwong
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