Many readers of Microwave Journal are lovers of quantitative results.  As engineers, scientists, business leaders and let’s be honest, overall nerds, we love crunching numbers, designing algorithms and learning from graphs.  However, tradeshows are clear examples of when results can only be measured with a combination of quantitative and qualitative information.  We can count the number of attendees, exhibitors and new products on display, but we don’t get a good look at show success with these numbers alone.  Despite some lower numbers than suspected, I consider IMS 2025 a success, so I’ve crossed off our middle bingo square.

It may seem odd to post about IMS a full two months later, but I have my reasons.   Over the years, I’ve found that many tradeshow and conference successes aren’t evident until a while after the show closes.   IMS makes introductions and sparks questions, but most of the heavy lifting happens post-show during follow-up meetings and further inspection.  For example, high complexity product sales or custom designs aren’t worked out on the tradeshow floor.  The idea is born, but the real progress takes place in the follow-up discussions.  Now that we’ve had some time to digest IMS and follow up, I was feeling ready to report back.  

I “measure” tradeshow success by a few metrics: reach, knowledge gain and “vibe”.   I consider reach to include both global inclusion and industry spread.  Was every continent represented?  Did every industry under the “RF/Microwave” umbrella have representation? If either answer is no, do we know why, and is it a variable we can change for next year?  Knowledge gain is also an expansive metric- were a number of new products introduced that are a step-change to the industry?  Were the technical talks well-attended?  Were there new topics of interest in discussion, or were any new boot camps introduced?  Finally, the hardest to measure- the vibe.  Did the show floor seem full, and did exhibitors report a lot of traffic?   Were after-hours events well attended, and were hallways busy between sessions?  All these questions reveal answers that can’t necessarily be measured but tend to get similar answers across attendees and exhibitors alike.

                Let’s start with reach.  The post-show report shared that there were over 8000 registered attendees from over 55 countries, showing good global representation.   There were 504 exhibiting companies, 98 of which were new exhibitors and 14 of which were startups in the startup pavilion.  While exploring the exhibition hall, I saw a wide variety of industries represented, including test and measurement, wireless communications, space technology, active and passive components, semiconductor design and manufacturing, quantum computing and antenna production. I spoke with a number of attendees in different roles, from the “usual suspects” in management, engineering and sales and marketing, but also materials scientists, lab techs and chemists.

                As we move beyond the show itself, I continue to see the reach progress. Internally, we’re lining up articles from a more diverse set of companies.  We have some first-time contributors in the queue and see an expanding list of topics of interest from our readers.  Since the show, we’ve seen new partnerships, distribution agreements and acquisitions hit the news, all signs of a fresh wave of relationships within the industry.   I suspect we’ll see more signs of success as companies gear up for EuMW, which is right around the corner.

                Knowledge gain was another successful aspect of IMS 2025.   In only a few days, IMS hosted over 200 educational sessions on a variety of topics, in formats ranging from full-day bootcamps to short presentations in the MicroApps theater.   MWJ supplemented with over 30 show floor videos highlighting new products and technologies from exhibitors.

                I was unable to make it to many technical sessions, but I would call knowledge gain a qualitative success from my interactions at and following the show.  My favorite post-show question is, “What was the most interesting thing you saw at the show this year?”, and more than half the time, colleagues are enthusiastically telling me about it before I can even ask.  My highlights included new material introductions and increased cooperation between design and test software for a seamless prototype-to-FRP pipeline.  But this Bingo game is designed to be interactive- I encourage you to use the comments section in the blog and on LinkedIn to share your answer to this question!  From there, we can keep the conversation going, and I’ll share more of my highlights!

                Finally, let’s talk about the “vibe”.  I’ve heard that historically, San Francisco and Boston have been the two best IMS cities for attendance numbers, creating a larger buzz than comparable shows.  Unfortunately, Tuesday and Thursday of IMS 2025 had murmurs of slower traffic and less overall exhibit activity.  It seemed like the show was a bit lethargic on Tuesday morning, but it gained some energy by the afternoon.  Luckily, the momentum built into Wednesday, where the show floor was lively and live demos and product announcements seemed to continuously feed energy into the crowd.   A few C-suite executives were present, pressuring everyone to perform at 100%, and a few student groups encouraged conversation through their boundless curiosity.

                I was able to sneak away from the show floor to the Women in Microwaves keynotes, which were well attended and spurred conversation on successful inclusion in RF.  Talks from passionate groups like these often share stories of success from hardship and create an encouraging atmosphere for everyone.

                As we get farther from the show, the positive aspects of IMS stay fresh in my memory, as I know they do for many others.  I personally had a great IMS experience because I was able to meet my new MWJ contacts in person and reconnect with colleagues and industry friends from previous roles.  Meeting face-to-face at IMS always strengthens these relationships, and I am grateful we have an industry-wide opportunity to see our connections each year.   As we gear up for EuMW in a month, I’m looking forward to meeting and reconnecting in a new place!

                Finally, congrats to us!  We filled in our middle square- a successful IMS!  Stay tuned for our next Bingo update, and be sure to reach out with any news you think might get us closer to a Bingo!