I hope no one has to do blood tests when they get back from Mets.
And now that I think about it, not from Boot D\u00fcsseldorf either. Or Cannes\u2026
Or Genoa, Monte Carlo, Miami, Fort Lauderdale \u2014 of course.
In short: I hope no one needs blood work after a boat show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s the same in other industries, but I\u2019ve been roaming boat shows for almost 30 years now (time really does fly\u2026), in just about every professional role possible.
As a journalist you get sent to more of them, as a consultant and marketing manager slightly fewer \u2014 but the difference is measured in centilitres, not days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And there\u2019s one constant: at boat shows, especially up north, you devour incredibly heavy food. Morning meetings usually start with coffee. Around lunchtime, beers and wines make their appearance (\u201cWould you prefer some bubbles?\u201d \u201cNo, really, thank you\u2026\u201d \u201cThen a coffee?!\u201d). Water? No, not really. Finally, when the show closes to the public, we drink among ourselves \u2014 you know, to \u201ctake the edge off\u201d the day. As for Mets itself? Fantastic, truly. People showcase incredible things \u2014 everything you could possibly need on a boat, from fibres and resins to\u2026 well, anything you might imagine going on board or being used while you\u2019re there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And even things you didn\u2019t think could (or should) exist, like a mooring-block chain scrubber, steering wheels with a chartplotter touchscreen embedded in the centre, or fenders that pop out of the hull when they inflate and then retract back into the hull once you cast off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And since visiting 1,700 exhibitors in three days and actually understanding what they\u2019re presenting is a mission worthy of Tom Cruise (who, unsurprisingly, wasn\u2019t there \u2014 not even he could manage it)\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, maybe I missed the snow scissors for winter ocean crossings, or a watermaker that irons, admires itself in the mirror and minds its own business. Who knows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then there are the awards. The overall winner was the LXNAV E360:<\/strong> a 102 mm (4\u201d) circular touchscreen display capable of showing a wide range of NMEA 2000 data, with WiFi, integrated GPS, Navionics compatibility via SD card, preloaded OpenSeaMap charts, and certified IPX6. Sometimes the logic behind the layout of exhibitors remains mysterious: So even in an ultra-organised event like Mets, a touch of randomness always remains (which, honestly, is a relief).<\/p>\n\n\n\n What I didn\u2019t<\/em> see were empty stands \u2014 and pre-registrations for next year are already nearly at this year\u2019s exhibitor numbers. They\u2019ve even announced a restructuring of the exhibition spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But beyond the suspended-breath alcohol test, Mets reminds us of a simple truth every year:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a show this enormous, you don\u2019t win by having the biggest innovation \u2014 you win by communicating it better.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A boat show is a tidal wave of new things. Get the right people (yards, brokers, marinas) to actually notice <\/strong>your<\/em><\/strong> innovation in that chaos.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At LLiquida \u2014 even among the gin tonics and the 1,700 stands, and especially before and after<\/em> the event \u2014 we help our clients distil the right message and communicate their innovations to the audience that matters, turning the effort of the show into real business contacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s talk \u2014 preferably before the next pork knuckle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, Nespresso and alcohol producers are thrilled about all of this. Giacomo Giulietti \u2014 Founder of LLiquida, nautical marketing consultant and industry journalist<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I hope no one has to do blood tests when they get back from Mets.And now that I think about it, not from Boot D\u00fcsseldorf either. Or Cannes\u2026Or Genoa, Monte […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1594,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[564,455,567,235,307,298,565,117,469,568,566,17,454],"class_list":["post-1596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-accessori-nautici","tag-boat-shows","tag-boatbuilders","tag-boot-dusseldorf-en","tag-cantieri-nautici","tag-comunicazione-nautica-en","tag-lead-generation","tag-lliquida","tag-marine-communication","tag-marine-equipment","tag-mets","tag-nautical-marketing","tag-saloni-nautici-en"],"yoast_head":"\n
One year I even convinced myself that the pork knuckle they always<\/em> take you out for in D\u00fcsseldorf is meant to \u201cdegrease\u201d everything else you\u2019ve been eating\u2026
But what really puts the nautical professional\u2019s entire body under pressure is that, above all, you drink, drink, and drink.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFrom Nespresso to Gin Tonic: The (Heavy) Daily Schedule of an Exhibitor<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
At least one in every stand you visit \u2014 and if you\u2019re Italian and the stand isn\u2019t, they\u2019ll apologise because \u201cit\u2019s not as good as yours,\u201d even though they\u2019re using the same Nespresso machine, with the same capsules named after Italian cities \u2014 Napoli, Volluto, Roma, Ristretto\u2026 which always run out by 11am.
All except Arpeggio, because Arpeggio truly never ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And when meetings slip towards 3pm, nobody feels too guilty about producing \u2014 and then making disappear \u2014 gin tonics, spritzes, Americanos, Negronis and, of course, more beer, wine and bubbles.
Coffee at that point has lost all status, and won\u2019t return until the following morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Water is the only<\/em> thing you have to explicitly ask for \u2014 and they usually serve it like a shot, or at blast-chiller temperature.
Perhaps because, unlike food or alcohol, nobody at the stand-bar quite knows how to handle it\u2026 like fish that\u2019s about to be eaten raw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which, let\u2019s not forget, is always demanding.
And the older I get, the more demanding it becomes \u2014 obviously because the day is tough, not because of my age.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Incredible Growth of Mets Amsterdam and the Unmissable Innovations<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Rich, overflowing, bigger every year, full of opportunities and innovations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The DAME Award celebrates anything that goes beyond what seemed possible before and pushes into the \u201cfuturistic\u201d \u2014 whatever that means.
An example?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PressMare has a great article on the other winners, if you\u2019re curious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are national pavilions (and sections of pavilions), but then you find companies from that very country located somewhere entirely different.
There are thematic areas, which are a bit stricter than the national divisions, but even there you\u2019ll find companies whose products clearly belong in that area\u2026 but aren\u2019t actually in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEffective Communication for Boatbuilders and Suppliers: Distil Your Message<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
And after hours of walking, drinking and (maybe) mixing up your ideas a bit, your company faces one real challenge:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our blood tests a little less so\u2026 but hey, anything to stay updated in this job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n