This week the world of education technology will turn its eyes towards BETT at the Excel Exhibition Centre in London. BETT is a long-standing technology show aimed at the UK and international education markets. There will be stands as far as the eye can see, and then some more. This year they are also pairing up with the Education Show all in one room. So as well as the gadgets and laptops and electrical wizardry, we will also see stands selling books and glue sticks and toilet signs and all matter of other paraphernalia associated with being in a school, nursery, university, or any other educational setting.

“Why won’t you be there?” you ask. Well some of us will be there for a day or two, wandering around and looking at cool stuff ourselves. But we will not have a stand. The reason for that is simple yet complex. BETT costs money. A lot of money. Way more money than you even would assume! The bigger stands will be spending 10s of thousands, maybe even up to 100,000 pounds to be there. The stand itself costs money, then the staffing, stand design, marketing materials, electricity, wifi, everything has a cost. And that is fine if you can stand out and everyone can come to your stand. Which you can achieve if you have freebies on stand such as milkshake bars, or popcorn makers, or a barista. But then the price mounts again…

We do like BETT. It has a lot to offer businesses and teachers. Lots of networking opportunities, a chance to look at what is new and innovative in edtech, loads of brilliant speakers sharing their experiences and expertise. What is not to like? There are also fringe events such as TeachMeets and pitch competitions. Not forgetting the BETT awards on the Wednesday night where a select few will get a pretty winners logo to use all year round.

For most stands however they can easily get lost in the busy exhibition and not get many people even passing the stand. Also how does anyone compete with cute robots, VR headsets, full size robots walking around with advertising on, freebies for schools, and the other elements that the big companies can afford?

For us, it also feels like we are not what people go to BETT to see. Yes, every school needs a website and ours are unashamedly brilliant. But it might not seem quite as exciting as the full size DeLorean from ‘Back to the Future’ that was at BETT 2019! I assume you wouldn’t want as many selfies with us as that car got?! We also find it hard to compete with speakers such as Bob Geldof, or even the current Education Secretary (we won’t put their name in case it changes before we go to print!)

However, who actually pays for BETT? Well the customers do of course. Not just those who actually buy at BETT, but businesses have to work out the cost per customer of being at BETT. For many that is worth it as they can make enough sales, or simply use their marketing budget to increase brand awareness.

So the only person who would end up really paying for us being at BETT, and for very little outcome, would be you. Our prices would have to increase to cover our spend at such a major show. That is not what we want. All we want from life is to make beautiful websites for schools, making the most of everything you want to share online with your community, for the lowest possible price.

Therefore all we ask is this…when you have filled your bag with leaflets, free pens, a travel mug, and a load of competition entries to win iPads and laptops… contact us to see how we can help you with your school website, school app, branding or prospectus.

And if you’d like a chat and a coffee while you’re there, let us know and we’ll happily meet up!