By Nick Coston
I had the pleasure of starting 2026 attending two of the year’s bigger shows. Not necessarily OOH shows, probably 15% max of the focus on these two shows was aimed at us but shows that nonetheless attracted over 190,000 professionals. Something like over 145,000 for Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and another 45,000 the National Retail Federation Show in NYC. Big numbers, big spaces, big professionally designed booths. Lots of electronics lots of free pens. You could walk for miles.
But did you need to see everything? Nope, just about 15% max. Evaluating smart refrigerators that verbally tell you what’s inside, is that necessary? Doesn’t really help push your billings.
If you are any sized OOH/DOOH media owner, you know, billboards, transit, place-based digitals et al, and you weren’t able to make it, did you really miss anything? Was your year off to a bad start by holding off on attending? What about the next slew of shows, shows that are aimed more for the advertising industry like POSSBILE, IBO, OAAA, World Out of Home Organization (WOO) and Cannes Lions Creative Festival, these all run from March through June, should you plan on attending?
Loaded question, but based on these first two shows, yes.
Here’s my suggestion. Ask yourself, what do I want to get out attending any industry show? Make new contacts, show off a new ad product, make sales, raise brand awareness, or just be seen? My suggestion is show up with or without a pass, schedule lunches, coffee, off-site dinners, some entertaining and generally hustle. Work twelve-hour days.
A veteran of all these shows for years, save for Cannes where I’ve been told I cannot attend, as I don’t have the proper outfits, I’m somewhere between Country Living and Gardening Today couture, it all boils down to one thing:
Showing up.
Most of my true individual (non-big company types) ad peeps book flights early, grab accommodations through hotel broker sites or private spaces like Airbnb, and show up. They find the readily available list of events, parties, scope out hotel and convention site lobbies and bars, coffee spots or food courts with big tables. Free WiFi. Stalk the pages of LinkedIn for invites like 3 weeks out, they’re there. If you’re lucky enough to be part of a curated show tour like DPAA puts on, that will give you an advantage over basic freeloading and keep you fed while meeting some heavy ad hitters. Well worth it. It will give you show “floor time” too.
While I always advocate trying to snag event tickets, being “around” there is the next best thing. Save for IBO, Cannes and WOO, since the latter is in London, you can cover a lot of ground whether you’re selling a product, looking for a new gig, or dive-bombing advertising players you’ve been trying to see all year. Most peeps brag in advance of what shows they are attending as there are no secrets, everyone posts where they are going.
So, in answering my question, did you really miss anything by not posting up so far this year? Yes, indeed you did. I urge you if you have the time to plan, map out the logistics, use social media on where to be and say YES to every free invite out there. Then go. You will come home richer for the experience alone. It will make you better at your profession.
As Woody Allen’s famous line goes, “eighty percent of success is showing up”.
Those are great odds.
Insider’s Note: The ever-traveling Nick Coston has been writing opinion pieces for the OOH industry for 10 years now. His weekly pieces also appear on Substack where you can view the last 2 years worth. Full-time, Nick is the VP, Sales and Sales Strategies for Moving Walls, the Singapore based media and ad tech giant, here in The America’s.
If you are interested, here is Nick’s Substack LINK
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