"Trying to assess and sum up the collective experience of the global industry is difficult at best, but it sure seemed to me that the vast majority of those who came to the NAMM Show were glad they did,” observes NAMM president and CEO, Joe Lamond. “Whether measured in sales made, educational sessions attended or just plain fun had during the hundreds of networking events and parties, our members went home inspired and better positioned for success in the year ahead.”
The actual data from the 2015 gathering in Anaheim backs up Lamond’s sunny assessment with longstanding attendance and exhibitor records for the NAMM Show having been broken in convincing fashion.
1,621 exhibiting companies shared their best and newest products and services with the industry (a six percent increase over January 2014’s total of 1,533), while a reported total of 99,342 Show registrants were on-hand for the action (up from 96,129 last year). That number, though, is both suggestive of a re-energized and rebounding industry as well as the changing make-up of today’s NAMM attendee. While the bulk of show-goers are still exhibitors, buyers, and invited guests and performers, NAMM’s Music Education Day and Generation Next participants (along with an ever-growing media and “non-industry” presence) were a distinct and notable part of this year’s get-together. Increased international registration (up 11 percent from 2014) also added to the Show’s diversity.
We’re Back: Testimonials from the Show Floor
Pretty much without exception, industry figures we spoke with were in agreement that this was an especially positive show. “NAMM was just great for us,” says Brian Ball, newly appointed president of Ernie Ball, Inc. “I am really excited about 2015 and you could feel that vibe at NAMM this year. Three years ago, when we sat down with customers the agendas included lists of things that we need to improve and issues to solve. This year, the agendas were full of opportunities and ideas for growth. Here's to a great 2015 for our industry!”
Electro-Harmonix’s Kevin Jolly adds, “The overall positive response to our products, new and old was overwhelming. We had very consistent traffic.”
“Fishman had an extremely productive NAMM Show,” reports company director of marketing, Chris DeMaria. “This year proved to be a great opportunity to meet with dealers, distributors, OEM partners, media, artists and of course, the general public.
Booth traffic was strong and we were booked solid with meetings. Our demo stage area was packed every day. We had a perfect mix of artists and clinicians that helped showcase a full range of Fishman products. It was a blast!"
Ken Youmans of Hoshino also spoke of a vibrant NAMM, telling me, “The fact that I was very busy with booth tours and, so, missed connecting with you and some other of my pals-in-the-trade speaks of the surprising intensity of the Show.” But Youmans did concede that the increasing presence of “the general public” at what still purports to be a “Trade Only” event can have downsides: “The sheer volume of folks checking out the gear seemed slightly higher than last year for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, but Saturday afternoon got a bit crazy in a bad way – the a__hole factor was off the charts, to the point that I had trouble conducting booth tours, and there were numerous instances where those tending the booth needed to police bad behavior.” But, again, the real goals of the gathering were met and then some with Ken adding, “Our sales manager tells me that dealer turnout improved [over 2014] and more business was written than last year.”
Basilios Strmec of Hailun Pianos was another exhibitor who walked away with positive impressions of the recent Show. “NAMM 2015 brought us much more relaxed customers who ordered liberally without signs of constant internal tabulations as they were signing their order forms,” he reports. “Another trend that continued at NAMM 2015 was new customers appearing without much notice and putting in testing orders. I believe this indicates many merchants are very interested at taking a fresh look at the acoustic piano landscape and are open to changing their product portfolio on their sales floor.”
Then Again, Maybe It’s Always Been About ‘Attitude’
Metrics and figures aside, Joe Lamond speculates that there may be something a little more primal and emotional at work behind a successful Show such as 2015 NAMM. “Perhaps it might be considered a 'Sunshine Dividend' for the industry,” he wonders. “The animal spirit unleashed when the global industry spends four days together in the Southern California sun. That optimism translates into investment, expansion, and innovation simply because people believe that tomorrow will be better than yesterday. And in my opinion, believing is more than half the battle.”
Amen to that.
