Auto exhibits are altering, however turning into what?

After overlaying the Detroit Auto Present final month, I used to be left with two lingering impressions: Auto exhibits have a future as public occasions, however as media alternatives they’ll seemingly be restricted going ahead.

Auto exhibits have all the time been nice alternatives for automotive consumers and fanatics to see and contact the most recent new merchandise. There’s solely a lot you will get on-line (although we expect we do a fairly good job…) and most of the people don’t carve out time to go to a dealership till they’re effectively into the shopping for course of. Wandering a big conference middle with the children is a simple manner to determine what is likely to be the subsequent household automotive, or just a method to get enthusiastic about future sports activities automobiles or off-roaders that will or could not ever find yourself in your driveway. 

So long as automakers nonetheless worth this direct-to-consumer expertise, automotive exhibits have a future, particularly in cities like Detroit that revere that car. New York, Los Angeles and Chicago additionally take their exhibits critically and are exhibiting no indicators of pulling again the buyer factor.

From a media perspective, it’s murky. There’s no actual cause for automakers to debut their new autos in a conference middle on a random Wednesday, just because they all the time have finished it that manner. It really makes quite a lot of sense to pivot to livestreams, social media and even streaming networks or apps to generate pleasure round new merchandise. Possibly even the metaverse will pan out for automotive reveals.

So from a press perspective, are auto exhibits lifeless? Most likely not. The times of a dozen press conferences with CEOs and media from around the globe jammed right into a conference middle for a Tremendous Bowl degree of consideration are gone. Actually, they’ve been fading for not less than 5 years. 

However there’s nonetheless alternative for carmakers to create a buzz round new launches, which might in flip give auto exhibits one thing to pitch to the general public. It may very well be mutually helpful for corporations and the exhibits.

For instance, the Detroit present was headlined by the seventh-generation Ford Mustang’s debut, and fanatics have been genuinely fired as much as see it. When President Biden confirmed up in Detroit, it was a bonus. The press occasion was slimmed down, however that issues lower than maybe you would possibly suppose. Organizers emphasised points of interest for shoppers, like the large duck and an exhibit of dinosaurs trampling by autos. Reveals solely want a couple of highlight reveals to get important press consideration, which in flip generates publicity to get the general public to place apart their weekend plans and are available to an auto present.

Moderately than deal with these reveals as conventional press conferences, corporations and the exhibits could be smart to suppose unconventionally, maybe streaming them on Amazon Prime, Peacock or Hulu and packaging them as much as create content material that’s fascinating for shoppers, highlights the brand new merchandise and casts a sheen again onto the exhibits themselves. Don’t do a lame infomercial, clearly, however there’s alternative right here to attempt one thing new.

Subsequent week the Paris Motor Present returns after lacking the 2020 rotation as a consequence of Covid (Paris is an every-other-year occasion), adopted by Los Angeles in November. CES in January is sporadic for automotive information and the Chicago present in February is often a reasonably quiet affair from a information perspective. By the point the New York occasion rolls round within the spring, we’ll have a greater really feel for what’s subsequent, and hopefully have witnessed some artistic methods exhibits can evolve.