SFITEX is a unique event in the life of the industry.
Ekaterina GURYANOVA, director of the SFITEX international forum, talks with Andrey GRACHEV, director of the magazine “Protection Technologies”
— Andrey, at least you Today, and a VIP guest of the editorial office, tricky questions still cannot be avoided. Let’s start with this: it’s not often, but you still hear the opinion that SFITEX is a regional exhibition. Try to refute this opinion.
I won't refute anything. Because, in fact, when the idea came up twenty years ago to hold a security exhibition in St. Petersburg (this, let me remind you, was the first exhibition in the industry), we, of course, first of all expected to cover the North-Western region. And you can’t argue with the fact that even today’s SFITEX cannot be called “metropolitan”. Yes, the city on the Neva is considered the second capital, but de jure there is only one capital in Russia. As it should be.
However, it seems to me that the “metropolitan” status of a business event is an exclusively Russian invention. Is Birmingham the capital of the United Kingdom? Is Essen the capital of Germany? Nevertheless, the sites of the largest international exhibitions on security issues have been operating in these cities for many years.
One of the main conditions: the city hosting a major exhibition must have the appropriate infrastructure and logistics capabilities. There are such opportunities in St. Petersburg. Moreover, the city’s infrastructure is developing every year. SFITEX is also developing. Today it is an international forum, and this status is annually confirmed by the composition of participants and visitors. SFITEX has become not only a prestigious industry event, but also a commercially attractive asset — the fact that today the forum is owned by the international exhibition company ITE is proof of this.
Agree, now that the journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg takes four hours, the question of the regional affiliation of certain business projects has ceased to be relevant. I would like to mention one subjective factor that will allow the forum to grow as a global exhibition project. The time is not far off when a modern exhibition complex with the appropriate infrastructure and necessary services will be built in the nearest suburb of St. Petersburg. Therefore, as soon as the current site becomes too cramped for us, we will have the opportunity to occupy a new, more spacious one.
— That's all true. But since you especially noted the international status of SFITEX, let's talk about it in more detail. After all, as it happens with us: an employee of the Russian representative office of a Western company attended the seminar, that’s it, the seminar is immediately declared international. I remember one foreign partner of TK explained to me why an exhibition in Russia, taking place in the middle of winter, would never become massively attractive to Europeans. Very cold. What can you say about the geography of the SFITEX forum?
This year the SFITEX Forum will celebrate its 20th anniversary. Now our geography includes more than 30 countries near and far abroad. We have reached the stage of development when the SFITEX brand has become in demand for international companies. For us, international cooperation is a very important aspect. Modern technologies are developing at such a pace that it is impossible, as they say, not to keep your finger on the pulse. And it's simply unprofessional. We closely monitor foreign developments. By keeping statistics of visits, we see the real geography of our forum. For example, last year SFITEX was visited by about 15,000 people from 33 countries. People specially come to the forum because they know that there they will find new partners, see the latest developments and technologies, will be able to negotiate with those companies that, for example, have been removed, and the opportunity to communicate and see their product live is at the SFITEX forum. In turn, foreign companies have been participating with us for many years, so when exhibitors from other countries come to us on recommendations from European colleagues, it becomes obvious: we are on the right track.
– Has your market segment already formed or is it possible that new security exhibitions will appear? Do the market need them?
I think that the main players occupied their niches even before the crisis. True, the general economic downturn has made certain adjustments. During the crisis, some companies refused to participate in exhibitions or reduced the number of visits. Against the backdrop of the search for budget tools for promotion, public events of a different format than global forums arose. Undoubtedly, they are capable of providing participants and visitors with useful contacts and have the right to life and development in the future. Will they be able to grow into large-scale exhibitions? Time will tell, but I think that this is hardly possible: it is very difficult to radically change the format of the event, because the participants and visitors must change their perception, and the organizers must very quickly master the experience of holding large-scale exhibitions.
What is more effective? Let's not guess, but turn to world experience. So, the practice of the world's largest shows demonstrates that only global shows can provide powerful image boost to any marketing campaign. The experience of my foreign colleagues — organizers of major world exhibitions — has shown that the largest forums at the end of 2010 and mid-2011 again experienced growth. But there are still no serious new players appearing in the exhibition business market. I think that Russia will not be an exception in this case. Our experience shows that the Russian industry requires a maximum of two reviews a year in order to understand what is happening in the market and what its trends are. Companies are now very meticulous about where they spend their money. Only those who have proven their commercial and image effectiveness receive trust. So it’s very easy to assess who is really left in the team now. Does the market need new exhibitions? Large-scale projects — no. I believe that the development of existing ones is much more necessary and promising.
The participants of our exhibition are companies with an active marketing position. They choose the optimal promotion tools. When I spoke about the advisability of holding two large-scale forums a year, I, of course, took into account that our participants usually do not have to choose between the SFITEX exhibition and one of the largest Moscow exhibitions. Many companies participate in two exhibitions and do not forget regional projects that occupy their own segment of the exhibition market. Here, companies choose projects depending on their interests in a particular region and the viability of the event. Of course, we must not forget that there is a certain and quite limited marketing budget of companies, which indirectly affects competition between projects.
– This is probably a very interesting question for many readers: how do you assess the competitive environment in your market segment. What would you borrow from your competitors? And, conversely, what do you consider unacceptable in relationships with them?
You know, now I caught myself thinking that I had never seriously thought about this very competitive environment. This means that there was no reason to be dissatisfied with the behavior of competitors — in my opinion, I answered the first part of the question. Even in our small industry, I know many examples where managers and employees of companies that are direct competitors maintain normal human relationships in everyday life. They help each other, they even become friends. I like this kind of relationship.
If we talk about us, then there is such a thing as working on yourself. We have been working on the project for 20 years now and have reached a certain level. Every year we comprehensively evaluate the forum — refinements and improvements are underway, in general, every year we become better. I can say that I am proud of this work, because in 20 years SFITEX has become a world-class brand. People come to us from different parts of Russia and the world. I think this is an important indicator of the demand for the project.
As for competitors, I think different exhibitions are needed, but each should offer its own original solutions along with standard services. The main advantage of our forum is its full coverage of all areas of security, as well as government support. SFITEX is unique precisely in the large scale of its events and the opportunities for companies to find their clients. This, in my opinion, makes the forum commercially profitable and socially significant.
– SFITEX visitor, who is he?
Every year we conduct an internal audit to understand which specialists come to us. The SFITEX forum is already 20 years old, so over the years we have compiled a picture of who, why and why visits our forum. This way we always know who to invite. According to statistics, 97% of visitors are industry specialists. Since SFITEX unites all areas of security, we are most often visited by specialized specialists, purchasers, and heads of security services of private and public organizations. According to 2010 statistics, 75% of visitors come to learn about new technologies, 40% to establish new business contacts, and 30% to find new suppliers. These numbers speak for themselves. SFITEX brings together all innovative technologies under one roof and allows companies to realize their products. Once again I would like to note that people traditionally come to us from different parts of Russia, near and far abroad.
– What, in your opinion, is the current vector of development of SFITEX? What qualitatively new things await participants and visitors this year?
For any exhibition project, the ability to adapt to modern realities plays an important role. SFITEX is not just an event where you can hold negotiations, find new clients or assess the demand for your products. For many years now, this has been a notable event in the industry, which, in addition to its main exhibition activities, is interesting for its diverse business program. As a project manager, I understand the importance of communication between government authorities and business representatives. Therefore, we annually expand our business program and hold scientific and practical conferences with the participation of relevant departments, participating companies and industry specialists. This year, new events will include Installer and Designer Day and a round table “Retail Safety”. On Installer and Designer Day, several thematic master classes with the participation of authoritative experts and an installer competition will be held. Within the framework of the 6th scientific and practical conference “Big City Safety” the topic of public safety will be raised. We plan new events based on current industry trends and the global situation. And, of course, live communication with our regular participants and visitors allows us not only to be in the market, but also to occupy a leading position.
SFITEX is known for its strong and comprehensive business program, during which participants discuss specific problems and their solutions. The format of the events does not allow formal reading of reports; a lively dialogue, knowledge of the specifics and a willingness to answer direct questions are required. This is where I see the uniqueness of the forum, because open debate is what many major events lack. The presence of reputable participants and new market players, as well as the business program, make the forum a full-fledged event for professionals, distinguishing it from just a trading platform. We, as organizers, pay special attention to this and try to create truly interesting conferences and seminars within the framework of the forum. I would especially like to highlight the IS.CS exhibition, dedicated to the protection of information and personal data, since the topic of information security is an independent block for both discussion and commercial implementation.
We are confident that new projects within the forum will attract more visitors and participants.
As for the additional effective tools that we are ready to provide to those participating companies, here too we do not stand still. For the first time this year, we organized free seminars at which, we hope, representatives of participating companies will be able to receive useful advice on organizing their own exhibitions and working within these exhibitions. Additional knowledge will allow participating companies to speak more effectively at the forum.
– Thank you, Andrey. There are a little less than two months left until SFITEX 2011, so see you in St. Petersburg.
I say the same thing to all readers of TK. I invite you, colleagues, to the SFITEX forum.