Here’s a great statistic: In 2011, Americans who are passionate about photography spent $17 billion on photo equipment and software, and $1.3 billion on output. Why did they do that? Because photography is important to them. It’s their hobby or it’s their delight or it’s their livelihood—or all three.
What if we take that enthusiasm and heat it up even more? What if we create that excitement, that hunger for all things imaging, in more people? The answer is simple: Those big numbers get bigger—much bigger—because excited, enthusiastic consumers spend more money. The industry grows and everyone benefits.
This is where The Big Photo Show comes in. A new series of photography shows for consumers, The Big Photo Show is one of the ways PMA is delivering on its new mission, which is to “promote the growth of the imaging industry,” according to Jim Esp, PMA’s executive director. Among other things, at The Big Photo Show, consumers will:
- Discover the top players in the imaging industry, from manufacturers like Sony and Samsung, and retailers of all sizes, to labs, professional photographers and studios, and media and bloggers—plus everything in between
- See, touch, try and buy the coolest new camera equipment, accessories and software
- Get a “checkup” of their cameras from “photo doctors” and discover how to use their equipment better
- Learn how to improve their own photography from top-tier pros and educators like Erin Manning and Lee Varis
- Practice their skills in the photo shooting zone in real-world, real-time scenarios, using new technologies and equipment
- Discover the latest, most creative output and photo products available
- Find new ways to frame and display their images
- Join communities of imaging enthusiasts.
Among many other highlights, working in cooperation with the USO and Shutterfly, PMDA’s Portraits of Love program will have volunteer professional photographers at the event to take free portraits of the families and loved ones of U.S. military members. The portraits will be sent to deployed servicemen and women all over the world, and each family will receive a free portrait to keep for themselves. Hundreds of families are expected to take part in portrait sessions held throughout the two-day event.
“We are pleased to welcome Portraits of Love to The Big Photo Show and honored by the opportunity to help comfort members of the U.S. military with portraits of their loved ones,” said Allen Showalter, president of PMA. “This is such a perfect example of the power of photography and the important role images play in everyone’s life. Embracing and encouraging that power, and the passion for photography it creates, is what The Big Photo Show is all about.”
The first The Big Photo Show will be held May 4–5, 2013, in Los Angeles, California. The second will follow in late September 2013 in the Chicago area. These two cities were chosen to launch the series of events because they each have more than a million photo enthusiasts among their local populations—and a huge number of photo/video companies nearby. The Los Angeles Convention Center, where the inaugural event will be held, is home to about 45 consumer events per year and typically draws tens of thousands of attendees.
Why Your Company Should Get Involved
Consumers have never been more interested in taking pictures than they are today, and they are eager to learn more, do more and share more with their images. But most of them are largely left on their own to figure out how. The opportunity for the industry is huge, but we must engage these photo enthusiasts in order to take full advantage of it.
Consider these recent buying statistics from the 2012 EMI and MKTG INC study:
- 94% of consumers said they would be more likely to buy a product as a result of a good experience at an event
- 99.4% welcome ongoing communication with the company after an event
- 93.5% tell others about a company experience they attended.
The Big Photo Show is designed to engage consumers. In addition to the exhibits featuring the latest photography equipment, the innovation/education theater, the photo shooting zone, the photo doctors, the framing/creative photo display area, the blogger lounge and more—all on-site at The Big Photo Show—photo enthusiasts all over the United States can take part in an active online photo community at thebigphotoshow.com. There will also be ongoing photo contests with great prizes—including free trips to the shows. Photo industry businesses that don’t serve consumers in an area where an event is taking place can still benefit, by encouraging their customers to join in the online photo contests.
If your company does business in Los Angeles and Chicago, and in future show locations, you can benefit in many ways. First, by exhibiting at The Big Photo Show you will be able to meet and interact, face-to-face, with tens of thousands of the most enthusiastic buyers in your market—and allow them to experience all that your business has to offer. This is an unprecedented chance to not only sell your products to new customers then and there (either directly or through retailers exhibiting at The Big Photo Show), but also to sell them on your business—and make them your customers for life. Further, to help exhibitors make the most of those new relationships, you will receive an e-mail list of event attendees.
Also, the Entertainment Radio Network (ERN) will be live on the show floor, interviewing suppliers, manufacturers, retailers and key industry leaders.
Even if exhibiting doesn’t make sense for your business, you can still be a hero by offering your customers free tickets to the event, which are available through PMA to local photo businesses.
The Big Photo Show is backed by a massive marketing and promotion campaign. Led by consumer event marketing specialists mc2, PMA is spreading the word about The Big Photo Show through websites, bloggers and social media; traditional print, TV and radio ads; e-mail; local signage and billboards; and by partnering with retailers in the areas where The Big Photo Show events are held.
The Big Photo Show will draw a wide range of attendees—thousands and thousands of new photo buffs, active photography hobbyists, advanced amateurs and professional photographers—by providing a multisensory experience designed to surprise, delight and inspire every one of them to take their photography further. By fueling their love of photography, The Big Photo Show will also fuel your business. pmai.org
*Source: 2011 6Sight/DP Review Survey of Photo Enthusiasts; US Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
