Market caps or promotional caps, which matter most?
CONFERENCE CALLER: The AFL Grand Final may have been deferred from its usual end of September time slot this year, but nothing halts the annual first week of August mining industry pilgrimage to Kalgoorlie for Diggers & Dealers.
As always it’s shaping up to be an interesting week with the Chinese stock exchange doing its best to throw some spice into the mix.
Forget the iron ore price and how much people are paying for an ounce of gold, the real indicator of the health of the industry is merchandise.
Caps and Stubby Holders are the standard giveaway at most conferences, however, over the years companies have been known to strive for that extra yard of recognition at Diggers to separate themselves from the marketing pack.
Of course, in these lean times the merchandising takes a back seat, which is something of a shame as having an innovative, even sought after, piece of promotional paraphernalia does attract punters to a booth, which when you’re in a tent hosting over 100 such spaces is paramount.
A click search online displays an Aladdin’s Cave of profile-raising possibilities from company-branded band-aid dispensers to stress relievers in shapes too numerous – and sometimes dubious – to mention.
Our favourite was the Temporary Tattoos.
We came up with our own design, which we hope will be distributed to punters to be worn as certified entry to the Palace Hotel.
Note: Not a real item.
We are under strict instructions from Mrs Roadhouse to not, ‘bring any more of that crap home!’, but that won’t stop us searching for the best piece of Sideshow Alley accoutrement we can find.
We’ll also be conducting our annual WHAT DID THAT ACHIEVE? survey, where we look at the share price of companies presenting at the conference before they get there and after they leave to see whether or not anybody was really taking as much notice as they should be.
We don’t pretend this to be a survey of any great scientific merit, it is really for our own interest.
We hope you find it interesting in some way too.
Here’s how they stand at the moment:
We’ll check in on these next Friday and to give everybody the opportunity to get home and study up before making any rash decisions based on scuttlebut they may pick up while out and about in the thriving nightspots of the Goldfirelds Capital, we’ll also check in the week after.