It’s not just germs. Auto shows must figure out how to stay relevant (opinion)

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Peter Valdes-Dapena is a senior automotive writer for CNN Business.his own. In the weeks since the coronavirus outbreak first started making headlines, the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona has been canceled and the Beijing Auto Show, which was slated to begin on April 21, has been postponed.Colleagues have been asking me if the news has…

imagePeter Valdes-Dapena is a senior automotive writer for CNN Business.his own.
In the weeks since the coronavirus outbreak first started making headlines, the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona has been canceled and the Beijing Auto Show, which was slated to begin on April 21, has been postponed.Colleagues have been asking me if the news has caused me to worry about attending the Geneva International Motor Show, which takes place about a week after the Mobile World Congress was scheduled to occur, but I am still planning on attending.Most of the attendees at the Geneva show will be from Europe, where the relatively few cases of coronavirus have only occurred in isolated pockets.Of course, I am a little concerned.In a time of contagion, large gatherings of people can become a risk factor.But people are exactly the reason I travel to Geneva every March.They’re the reason I want events like this to carry on.

As an auto industry reporter, attending the show in Geneva is an annual rite.I find real value in seeing the machines I write about and the people who make them in person all at one time.There has so far been no suggestion that anyone is thinking of canceling the show in Geneva.No exhibitors have backed out on account of the coronavirus outbreak, according to show organizers.Cleaning crews armed with disinfectants will be regularly wiping down all surfaces frequently touched by human fingers, organizers told me in an email.There will also be signs reminding everyone about proper hygiene practices.But organizers of auto shows, like other types of trade shows, are also facing another pressure: How to stay relevant in an age of instant and inexpensive global communication.Even before coronavirus was in the news, some automakers had said they would not be attending.

That’s unfortunately become the norm these days.It is now pretty standard that, in the months and weeks leading up to any big show, a growing number of automakers announce they will not be attending.It’s not a fear of illness that keeps them away.It’s a concern about return on investment.Read More Auto shows are expensive.It costs a lot of money to transport cars and to design, create and set up elaborate displays.That’s always been true, of course, but now the shows are competing against the internet.Sure, websites can be expensive to build, too.

But at least you don’t have to move them around from place to place and fill them with actual cars.Also, at auto shows, carmakers have lots of competition for attention.If an automaker has really big news to announce — say, it has an all-new Corvette to unveil — why do that in a place where lots of other car companies are unveiling their own new cars? More Tech & Innovation Perspectives Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency is a tool for empowerment.Not a threat
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When GM unveiled its Corvette, it did so at its own separate event thinking, correctly, that the media would happily travel for news that big.And reporters that couldn’t attend could watch the video streamed live online.Either way, GM had all that attention entirely to itself.

Other times, carmakers will reveal a new model simply by sending out a mass email with the press release and photos.Who even needs a press conference, let alone an auto show exhibit to hold it in? Auto shows aren’t really put on just for the press, of course.They also give the public a chance to see new cars and even get inside them.But, again, there’s so much information available on websites, plus photos, videos and reviews.

And no one has to buy a ticket to visit a website.Then there’s the germ factor.Auto journalists often joke about coming back from a big show with a sore throat and a cough, along with all those business cards, free pens and trinkets.Now, though, attendees risk catching something more serous than just a cold: the coronavirus.

That said, I still plan on going to the Geneva Motor Show and to the several other big auto shows I attend each year in places like Detroit, Los Angeles and Paris — not to mention the New York Auto Show, a short walk from my office.So do most major automakers, although they may be more selective about which ones they attend.All of us should just make an effort to wash our hands more often and do what we can do to stay healthy.I don’t go just for the cars.Yes, seeing cars in person rather than just in two-dimensional photographs is worth a lot.

But I also go for the people, and I don’t just mean the scheduled interviews and press conferences.I go for the random human interaction.That’s where the real value is.I can’t tell you how many story and video ideas I’ve gotten by just stopping and talking to someone at an auto show.I’ve gotten interesting answers to so many questions I would have never thought of because I was talking with someone face to face.

And, at a big international show like Geneva, there’s the added attraction of interacting with people and brands I don’t usually get to see here in the United States.I can spend time with people from Citroën, Škoda, Seat, Renault and others.Those conversations provide invaluable insight into brands and markets that I’d never get from press releases or email exchanges.The auto industry is fascinating, not just because of the machines, but because of the people.It’s people who make auto shows, and other industry events like them, worth going to.I just might skip the handshakes this time..

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