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SEMA 2004 Review – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Publish Date : 12/4/2004 2:21:00 PM   Source : Culture and Community News

Well SEMA 2004 is over and is even larger than SEMA 2003. Too large in my opinion. With AAPEX and NACE in town, Las Vegas slowed to a crawl making the job of being a member of the press impossible. Most of the journalists who attended the show did not have the time or if they did, did not have the energy to spend the time to go to the APPEX show. So, if you are an APPEX Member attending the show at the Sands, you will not get media coverage of your show on a broad scale. If you are not looking for main stream media coverage, then you did not waste your money.

I also have to say that even though the show was huge, overcrowded and aisle space at a premium, it was still worth attending as this year the show had some true surprises. So let’s get to it!

Things I liked and disliked at SEMA 2004: Ok, this year was a little different than last year’s review. First and foremost what I truly liked was how some of the companies from last years show must have read and taken to heart what I and so many journalists had to say as some of the companies have actually put their money where their mouths are. They have become involved in “grass roots” motorsports programs rather than just having motorsports in their name. Leading this movement was General Motors and Ford Motor Company. This will be discussed in detail later in this article. For all those companies who did the right thing, I give you my “Got It” award.

The show cars this year seemed to me, to be the same ones from last year, just located in different places. The car that stuck out in my mind was a prototype concept car created by the “skunk works” at Mopar, labeled the ME 4-12. This was Mopar’s concept car into the supercar market place in line with legends like the M1 or Lamborghini. I would hope this goes beyond the concept, but I doubt it. I still have to say that when it comes to seeing the world’s finest automotive creations, SEMA is the place to be.

The one dislike that I did have beyond the “size” of the show, was how many companies are still using “Racing” or “Motorsports” in their name that do not race or even sponsor a race car but use racing as their marketing tool. While, as I mentioned earlier, some have become involved, most have not. Maybe with GM and Ford leading the way this will change.

If companies the size of GM and Ford realize the true marketing potential of “Grass Roots Motorsports” and several publications including one of the daily articles in the SEMA show magazine say that “Grass Roots Motorsports” increases sales, maybe you will also see the light.

If you want to use “racing” as part of your marking plan, then have your own team or support an outside team. If you need help with that I would be glad to point you in the right direction. Just contact me through www.MotorSports-Marketing.com. Continue to use racing without supporting the sport, and I will expose you for who your are. You have been warned again. Three times and your out!

In this article I have “wrapped up” some of the SEMA highlights and new products of interest. I have included interviews with some of the major players in today’s market place and stories that I find interesting for my readers.

My final thought would go out to all of the companies that attended SEMA 2004. The automotive marketplace is an ever-changing horizon, but for those with vision, you can see beyond the line of sight.

So enjoy and see you at SEMA 2005!

View full article at www.motorsports-marketing.com