Each year DEMA, the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association, brings us the DEMA Show; the international trade show for SCUBA diving professionals, industry leaders, equipment manufacturers, marketers, and others related to the diving industry. DEMA bills it as, “… the largest trade-only event in the world for companies doing business in the scuba diving, ocean water sports and adventure/dive travel industries, (DEMA Show) attracts hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of dive and travel industry professionals from around the world.” Diving professionals from everywhere are invited to come together to help promote and grow their individual piece of the diving business.
In the months and weeks leading up to DEMA Show there is considerable publicity through email newsletters, direct mail, and articles in publications touting the value of attendance or advertising special aspects of the show. If you are in the business of diving it’s almost impossible to not be aware of DEMA Show, and you are, of course, invited to attend or exhibit.
Opinions of DEMA Show lie in a range from, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” to “No, it’s not worth it.” Even those who attend each year will offer criticisms and critiques. Like anything else in life, there is a wide variety of opinions about the show but, there are also a huge number of reasons to attend.
As I prepare each year for DEMA Show I’m often asked the question “Is it worth it?” My answer is a resounding “Yes!” But, like many things in life, what you get out of it often depends on what you are willing to put into it. DEMA Show is an important event on many levels and, in the opinion of this writer; it’s an event every diving professional should attend as often and regularly as possible.
Show activities, which consume nearly a week with over 9,000 attendees, include the actual trade show, along with seminars, training, demonstrations, meetings, and award ceremonies. And there are a few parties along the way too! DEMA Show is not open to the public and only those over the age of 16, and with professional credentials, can enter the show. It is a forum for manufacturers to show off new products and for retailers to find products and services to bring to the diving consumer. It is also an opportunity to network, to make deals, to learn, and to make connections. If you do DEMA Show the right way you’ll probably want a restful vacation when it’s over.
So, is DEMA Show worth it, and why should you attend? There are two clichéd answers to those questions. First, you get back what you put in and secondly, often it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. DEMA Show provides many opportunities to learn and to network for individuals and businesses and all you have to do is get out there and take advantage of them.
To list all the benefits would make this article a little longer than most people would like so I’ll just list a few and share some personal stories I think will support my assertion that DEMA Show should be on the calendar of all diving pros.
DEMA Show is about networking. At the show you can make new industry connections and put a face to a name you may have heard about or communicated with by phone or email. Developing a more personal relationship can be invaluable in business and a chat on the show floor or over a drink at one of the many after hours events can pave the way to friendships and personal connections. An individual I know who is bringing a new product to the market became friendly with a magazine publisher in a booth next to him at DEMA Show. He ended up placing an ad. that allowed a major European distributor to find him and his product. I was introduced to an imaging software developer at DEMA Show. We’ve become friends and are working together regularly. We are working on an exciting new project now. A company I assist with marketing caught the attention of a high profile industry professional at DEMA Show and brought him on as part of the marketing team. These are just a few, but the list could go on.
DEMA Show is about learning. There is an amazing amount of information given out at the show. There are free seminars on just about every diving related topic. There are paid courses on equipment maintenance and repair not readily available elsewhere, and there are organized discussions and lectures that are all worthwhile but, more importantly, every booth and every exhibitor is there to help share information and to educate. If you want to know what’s happening in the diving industry attend DEMA Show.
DEMA Show is about winning. One of my fondest personal stories came from DEMA Show 2015 in Orlando, Florida. On the first day of the show I was talking with my friends Lynn and David Brown who own Little Deeper Charters in Palm Beach, Florida. I mentioned one of the afterhours parties and they said, in all the years they had attended DEMA Show, they had never gone to the parties. After I extolled the virtues of attending the parties they agreed to meet me at a couple of them. That night we all attended a party sponsored by DAN and thoroughly enjoyed the evening visiting with friends old and new. Lynn and David enjoyed it so much that over dinner that night they agreed to meet me the following night at a party sponsored by TDI- Technical Diving International. I attended an earlier event hosted by ScubaNation and arrived late for the TDI party. Lynn and David found me soon after I arrived and informed me they had been big winners in the raffle. They had won a Dive Rite rebreather and a technical diving light from Light Monkey. The total value of their winnings was over $12,000.00! I think Lynn and David will attend more DEMA Show parties in the future.
Finally, DEMA Show is about fun. In my professional corporate career we were fond of saying, “You don’t go to a party, you work a party.” This is true of DEMA Show but, because it’s about a sport we love, and it involves people we love,the work is fun. Taking full advantage of the show takes a lot of work. It involves several long high energy days but it is rewarding. The event is shared by like minded people with the same passion for diving so the synergy is great. We’re all there for the same reason and the networking, friendship, and high energy involvement makes it all a very good experience.
DEMA Show, is it worth it? Yes it is, if you see it in the proper perspective and you approach it with the correct attitude. It’s an opportunity to learn, to network, to visit with old friends, and to make new friends. It’s an opportunity to do business, and to find new ideas. Most of all, it’s an opportunity to help grow the sport of SCUBA diving. Plan to attend the next DEMA Show!