MacWorld Boston... No Apple?

[squatch]

Originally posted by Centris 650
Personally I think it shouldn't be in Boston OR NY...it should be in South Carolina!! Yeah, MWSC. I can see it now...uh...wait, we don't even have an Apple store in SC. Hmmmmm, forget that. (Maybe MWNC and Arn could have a booth or something.)

Hey, I like the sound of that!! I'm from Asheville and the closest store to me is in Raleigh...they could hold it in the Queen City.

I'm actually in Texas right now in the Metroplex at school and with the overwhelming technological hub this whole area is....I could just see a MWTX....Steve walking on stage in cowboy boots and a hat doing a John Wayne type keynote..."Well what we have hear little lady is a new 64 bit computer that'll blow the dust right off your spurs"
Yee haw, forget ropin' "Longhorns"....let's rope some Apples down here!

 

[squatch]

Oooopps!!

Sorry for the double reply!! I was trying to delete the old message and for some stupid reason it won't let me.

 

[Mudbug]

Re: Getting sick of this game

Originally posted by bignumbers
Anyone think LA would be a better place for the show?

If by LA you mean Louisiana, I'm all for it.

 

[suzerain]

macworld is a mass-market show

And the way to reach the mass market is to be in NYC, clearly.

I believe apple backed out of boston, because it would be a complete, utter waste of money to have a show there. Let's look at all the arguments:

(1)
"Boston is nice, and New York is a pain in the ass, and expensive, and blah blah blah". Yeah, no ****; NYC *is* a pain in the ass. (Those of us who live here know that.) So, this argument would seem to be a better one for showgoers, and exhibitors. Well, I don't see why the showgoers matter; it isn't their expo. I'll accept that *maybe* there would be a slightly bigger exhibitor presence at Boston *now*, but Apple's trying to *expand* market share, not display to the world that they can't handle New York (running to a second-tier American city).

(2)
"Boston would put on a much better show...they care about it, etc. and so on". So what? Explain how this translates into more money for apple? Seems to me, the press that Apple gets from the NYC show FAR outweighs any possible negatives w/r/t how important the show is to New York. And let me tell you...this show isn't important to New York; it's important to Apple.

(3)
"Boston has a lot of universities and blah blah" Umm...Apple doesn't have Macworld Expo so they can sell to local businesses. That's what local sales reps and the Apple Stores are for. The Macworld Expos are NATIONAL events. Therefore, it makes sense to be where you will get the most press.

It seems to be it's a no-brainer. Name one (just one) major media outlet in Boston.

Explain to me how Apple will get post keynote interviews on CNBC, CNNfn, and other networks in Boston. Explain to me how they will get coverage in the New York Times, and Wall Street Journal. Explain to me how many international news outlets have bases in Boston.

The point of these shows is for Apple to make the maxiumum possible splash; they are the only times when people will stop and look at Apple; the only soapbox Apple has to stand on, to capture everybody's attention.

Whether the local show itself is more convenient, or more visited, or more expensive, is really unimportant compared to what kind of press and buzz the show itself will generate.

And, sorry...no Boston show ever generated anywhere near the buzz that the NYC Macworlds have.

Think of it another way...If you were going to create a show in...say...China, would you put it in Canton? No, you'd put it in Shanghai! Would you go to France and have an expo in Marseille? Of course not; you have it in Paris.

San Francisco is the center of the computing world, and New York is the l;argest, and most influential city in the country. Those are the logical best locations for these shows (if they continue to exist).

 

[Centris 650]

Originally posted by squatch


Hey, I like the sound of that!! I'm from Asheville and the closest store to me is in Raleigh...they could hold it in the Queen City.

Yeah! Charlotte would be cool and a lot closer for me than MWNY!

 

[Eric-C]

suzerain:

Your point is valid, but I'm not convinced that New York is, without a doubt, a better place to host the expo than Boston.

As to your three points, I won't bother answering the first two, as they are completely subjective.

You claim that Apple hopes to target local business as they have been for many of the expos. However, this is a tricky market considering that most businesses, especially those that are getting started and those that are firmly planted, will always have the fear of compatibility. It doesn't matter that macs can open word files. Unless businesses are looking for high end machines for graphics design or other demanding opperations, they will probably buy PC's for the lower cost.

As for media coverage - the largest news firms do have correspondents that travel outside of NY. If they are not willing to travel, it is unlikely that the expo would be a noteworthy story where ever it is. The point is, the best thing for Apple right now is to be able to expose their products to actual potential buyers. Seeing Jobs on TV isn't going to make a big impact toward businesses if they aren't even targeted well.

You didn't make a very clear statement as to why marketing toward students is such a waste of time, other than the fact that Apple wants to expose their products to local businesses; a point I've already responded to.

Take a look at Apple's products - PowerBooks and the PowerMac along with others have made updates, specifically for high end users. Do you honestly think a business would buy high end models in a large quantity? A smart business will buy only what they need at the best price. In that case they would either buy low end model Macs or a PC brands. Why should an expo be wasted on businesses that don't intend to buy their newer products.

Students on the other hand are individual consumers. They are more up to date with the latest technology and tend to make more use of it, as opposed to large companies with employees that use word/excel/pp. There is actually a market here in Boston. I don't mean to imply that there aren't students in NY, but not nearly as much as in Boston. I'm not limiting students as the only market Boston has to offer but that certainly distinguishes it.


I understand your point of NY being the center of comerse and business but that doesn't mean that NY is the best market for every product. I stand on my opinion that Boston is the better place to have the expo.

 

[steve53e]

re: Macworld is a mass-market show

"And, sorry...no Boston show ever generated anywhere near the buzz that the NYC Macworlds have."

So sorry, but I'm not biting on that one. Back in those days Apple was generating little, if any buzz, ANYWHERE! It's unlikely Boston had anything to do with it. And if New York is such a great place, why has Apple's market share been dropping over the past several years instead of steadily rising year-over-year? Hmm. Maybe it's because they moved to New York! I'm being facetious of course.

Nothing is going to sell Apple but Apple themselves. As far as I'm concerned, location has little to do with it. Why is the Int'l Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas? Is it because Las Vegas is the mecca of the consumer electronics industry? Hardly!

As for Steve's Jobs comment about investing in New York. That's b.s.. If Steve Jobs was that patriotic, he'd put Americans to work and have Apple Computers proudly displaying "Made-in the-USA" stickers on them.

My reason for going to MacWorld East Coast is to see all the hardware/software offerings from the various vendors. Other than the Keynote and the free posters found at the Apple Booth, there's little I can't see at the local Apple Retail Store with regard to Apple itself. MacWorld Boston. MacWorld New York. Doesn't matter to me. I'll attend regardless of the location whether Apple attends or not. MacWorld is about software and hardware products FOR Apple Computers. It's not ABOUT Apple Computer.

 

[Hepper]

AppleExpo 04?

Purely Speculation but, What if this is all apple's plan to start there own expo. They have there own stores, why not now this.

Hepper Schepp

 

[Uragon]

In my opinion, Apple should attend the Macworld regardless it is in New York or Boston. It is an exposure for them and other companies that supports Apple. And most important, it is a place where Mac enthusiasts have the opportunity to be together and brag

 

[redAPPLE]

i'd say, Steve "should" do keynotes (in NY, Boston, LA, Baghdad, wherever). They should cut back in booth size, equipment, posters, banners, personnel.

on one side, they would be exposing Apple, though not to the extent as we know it.

on the other side, they might save a few bucks with less personnel available, less equipment to ship, etc.

 

[MacKenzie999]

Originally posted by redAPPLE
i'd say, Steve "should" do keynotes (in NY, Boston, LA, Baghdad, wherever). They should cut back in booth size, equipment, posters, banners, personnel.

on one side, they would be exposing Apple, though not to the extent as we know it.

on the other side, they might save a few bucks with less personnel available, less equipment to ship, etc.

I imagine the time and effort Mr. Jobs puts into a keynote far, far outweighs all the other costs involved with putting up a tradeshow booth. What do you suppose his hourly wage might be?

Also, NYC or Boston, I think either is valid for a number of reasons (obviously I'd prefer Boston for my own convenience); I think the big mistake here is Apple snubbing Boston for no apparent, convincing reason. As has been pointed out elsewhere, Boston has no shortage of college students who are ripe switching candidates; seeing Apple flip the bird to one's city of choice isn't going to endear them to those potential switchers.

 

[uclave]

Re: Getting sick of this game

Originally posted by bignumbers
I'm really getting sick of this MacWorld game. Apple told IDG they WOULD participate in a MacWorld/Boston 2004. This was while IDG was in negotiations with Boston for moving the show. (This comes from good authority; I've discussed this with someone who works for IDG Expos.)

Well it sounds like that the person IDG was negotiating with at Apple didn't have the authority to negotiate a decision that big. Apple wants MacWorld in New York for stratgic reasons, and the person in charge of the IDG relationship at Apple either thought that cost issues overrode strategic issues, or (more likely) had no idea there were any strategic issues in the location of MacWorld.

Having MacWorld in Boston is silly, because (as has been said before) Apple gets more of a media impact here than in Boston. That might hurt the feelings of the East Coast's Third City, but what can you do?

 

[MacKid]

Re: AppleExpo 04?

Originally posted by Hepper
Purely Speculation but, What if this is all apple's plan to start there own expo. They have there own stores, why not now this.

Hepper Schepp

That would seriously be a good idea, and then we could stop feeding money to this magazine that's 85% reviews!

 

[MacKid]

Be sensible now. . .

Let's all just think about this for a minute. Not that Boston is a "boring" city, but how many people do you think would fly/drive in if they suddenly announced that the Summer MacWorld would be moved to (drum roll) . . . AMES, IOWA! BETTER YET: KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN!