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Why Auto Shows Still Matter in a Digital World | NY Auto Forum · Auto Collabs

• 0:00
  I'm here with Mark Scheinberg at the New York Auto Show. You're the director of the show and a bunch of other, say, the president. You do a lot of things, and there are how many people building this show right now?
• 0:10
  2,800 you said? There are about 2,800 people. We got 900 electricians and, uh, about 1,000, um, uh, uh, carpenters that, uh, put together this show. They have to do it all in six and a half days.
• 0:23
  It's a very tight timeframe. We got about 10 million pounds of freight. And the ceiling with all the lighting, the truss work that's there is about another three million pounds. Oh, my goodness. You've done the math.
• 0:35
  Yeah. [laughs] Well, speaking of the math, how many people do you expect will walk through here over the next, how many days? Is it 10-day show? 10 days. So we open to the public on Friday.
• 0:44
  It's, uh, we always used to call it a s- a, a soft opening. Yes. Yeah. Till somebody found out about it, and it's just like every other day. And especially all the kids are off on spring break right now.
• 0:52
  It's- So there's not gonna be anything soft about this opening. Yeah, it's- Which is great for everybody. It is exciting on, and then of course, finally, the weather's turning here in New York. It's gorgeous.
• 0:59
  So it's getting great. Fantastic. It's a great reason to walk around, come in, see some cars, go out, have something to eat. Yeah. Uh, really shaping up to be, I think, uh, probably the best show since COVID is.
• 1:09
  I'm gonna throw that out there. No, I, I, I think you're right. I think what's happening is that there's a real excitement again about s- especially being part of events like this.
• 1:17
  I mean, during the time when there was COVID, people didn't wanna be in a facility with a lot of other people.
• 1:23
  But over the last number of years, we've just been seeing the attendance growing in leaps and bounds, and manufacturers are doing major introductions here in New York.
• 1:33
  So New York has always been a unique kind of an event. It's the granddaddy of all auto shows. Uh, it's the first public, uh, uh, auto show that ever took place.
• 1:43
  But over the years, we've d- uh, developed it into a lot of content, a lot of information. Uh, we hold a, uh, World Traffic Safety Symposium. And you would go, "Why would you hold a symposium about road safety on it?"
• 1:58
  Because the way, first of all, you know, it's a part of our lives and stuff like that, and we share the roads with pedestrians and a lot of other vehicles on it.
• 2:08
  Manufacturers do an extraordinary job in developing incredible technology in their vehicles on it. So we have this opportunity to talk with, you know, the advocates who, who address, uh, uh, safety issues on there.
• 2:22
  So that's one of the things we do. The World Car of the Year Awards, it's the longest awards program- Do you know who's gonna win this year? Yeah. [laughs] I wish I did. Yeah.
• 2:32
  [laughs] The one thing that the organizer of that, she will not talk about it. Tight-lipped. Well, that's, I mean- Unbelievable... that's one of those things you can only have a few people know. Right. Right.
• 2:40
  At, at most. Um, we just made a, had a very nice walk, uh, about, about five minutes for the, the New York Auto Forum is being held- Right... the JD Power NADA event.
• 2:49
  One of the things that excites me about, um, that level of the industry, we have manufacturers and dealers together talking about things.
• 2:56
  And then right down the walk here is a place where the retail public is going to be able to see and interact with so much product. Right.
• 3:03
  Um, so I think auto shows are such an important part of this whole dynamic where dealers, manufacturers right there. We're gonna have retail in here. Um, what do you see is the bridge?
• 3:12
  Because you put on the show, hundreds of thousands of people. You're putting on these other events and making sure it's hosted. What do you hope is the, the main outcome of all of these things converging in one place?
• 3:21
  Well, I think one thing that we do every year is we take the pulse of the attendee that comes to the show, and we do a lot of data gathering. And they really are the people that tell us what, you know, where we're going.
• 3:35
  Are we, are we going in the right direction? What are they looking for? And it tells the manufacturers this, uh, that information. So 40% of the people that came to the show last year are in that funnel.
• 3:47
  They're in that market for buying a, a, a vehicle, and at, at a lot, a lot higher level than the average person on the street. Mm-hmm. We share that information with manufacturers on.
• 3:59
  The, uh, the thing that's also interesting from the attendees' point of view is not only they in that funnel, in that market, they're looking, they're talk- they wanna talk to people on it. They enjoy the atmosphere.
• 4:10
  They enjoy the ability to be able to walk and sit in so many different cars. A lot of product specialists, but nobody is selling cars. Mm-hmm.
• 4:18
  They wanna do it at their own timeframe, and we keep on telling manufacturers that's what they're doing. Look, I, I represent new car dealers in my day job.
• 4:27
  [laughs] [laughs] Uh, but we will not let a salesperson on the floor of the New York Auto Show because it's all about people being able to figure out what they want on it.
• 4:37
  There's no easier way to sell a new car than when you get somebody excited about the product. Absolutely. And then you can sell it. Yeah. Right? You're not selling it anymore. Yeah.
• 4:43
  Then you're showing it, so that makes a lot of sense that even though you represent new car dealers, you're like, "No, no, no." Actually, every, every conversation doesn't end with what's your monthly payment pro- No...
• 4:53
  you know what I mean? Like, what's your budget, which is a- another reason I think it's so important that we have these and that, um, manufacturers and dealers continue to invest in and support. Uh, last question.
• 5:03
  What do, what do you feel is the temperature between manufacturers wanting to invest in and continually grow presence in auto shows? Because for a while there, it seemed like- Yeah... they were on their heels. COVID hit.
• 5:14
  Right. They were already a little bit on their heels as people went to, like, broader product releases, global product releases. What's your, what's your feel for how manufacturers are now supporting shows?
• 5:21
  Well, you know, I, I'd start with the, the idea that manufacturers when COVID happened really pivoted well. You know, all of a sudden, they really embraced digital, uh, in, in, in a strong, strong way.
• 5:34
  So they found that you can get your message out in multiple different ways on it. Their websites have always been strong, and that's been great, but they really did go to, uh, a lot of digital marketing on it.
• 5:47
  But when things started to come back, they were a little slow, some of them. Mm-hmm.
• 5:51
  Some of them, uh, some of them always believed in this forum, uh, on it because this is, again, where you can read things, you can see things digitally- Mm-hmm... but you can't feel it. Mm-hmm.
• 6:02
  You can't get that excitement, uh, by sitting in one of these vehicles that where we are right now- Yeah... and get that kind of excitement, and be able to gather the information- Yeah... at your own terms- Yeah...
• 6:14
  from product specialists. Yeah. So I think the, you know, the shows are on a rebound in a big way. Uh- That's great to hear... New York is a great market.
• 6:22
  It's the largest market in the country, but all auto shows, big, small, medium, and stuff like that, play such an important role in marketing cars. Well, Mark, thank you so much for giving us the walk in.
• 6:32
  When we were walking with you, we noticed that everybody just kinda got out of the way and let you pass. It's just a testament to the fact that people respect what you're doing here.
• 6:40
  Again, thank you for setting the stage- Oh, appreciate it... for something that's very good for the industry as a whole.
• 6:43
  Thank you for, you know, coming and, and covering this 'cause this is where, you know, what we try to do. And- Yeah, can't wait to go walk around a little more. That'd be great. Thank you. Thanks.