It’s good to get out of the office every now and then. A break and temporary change of scenery does wonders for my productivity (now I’m under pressure to post this article in record time!)
This morning I stopped by the HIA Home Show at Darling Harbour to check out all the latest and greatest builders, products and suppliers.
As I’m not personally planning a renovation anytime soon, I haven’t attended one of these shows since I edited a home magazine a few years back.
Disappointingly not much had really changed – in fact the show seemed to have shrunk quite significantly. While it was nice not to be bumping shoulders with every second person, it was lacking any real buzz.
I had a few good chats with businesses interested in signing up to our site, grabbed a couple of flooring brochures and was pretty much done.
The “green living” section made the biggest impression and that was only really because of its sheer size. It took up about 25% of the exhibition hall – a tell-tale sign that there’s still a big demand for sustainable building products.
I actually found this odd – not because I think sustainable design was just a passing fad (far from it!) but because I assumed that “building green” was now the standard and not something special to be called out.
I was under the impression (and perhaps wrongly so) that these days most people expect environmentally responsible building products and are on the hunt for better products, not greener ones.
The Home Show has been touting the same layout for years: Building & reno and green products in one (rather large) section, kitchen & bathroom companies grouped in another and then the outdoor and interior & design sections in the other corners.
We were thinking about exhibiting this year (which is part of the reason I went down to check it out) but we weren’t sure where we’d fit in. There were a few online businesses scattered, but no set section.
I think it’s time for the HIA to move beyond bricks & mortar suppliers and make room for some other players.
Floor plans aside, we’re still weighing up whether home shows are the right marketing channel for us.
Do you find home shows worthwhile for your business or do you think they’ve done their dash and customers are going online to source building materials and find renovation inspiration?
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