Banning booth babes

Roy Walker with some booth babes at Infosec Europe last year

This week, Reed Exhibitions, organisers of the Infosecurity Europe event, have announced that they're outlawing the use of ‘booth babes’ (you know, the  ladies we often see on tech vendors' stands, all skimpy outfits, cleavage and smiles), one of the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to attracting foot traffic.

You can read more on this here.

"For years now, more and more information security vendors have used provocatively dressed models and agency staff on their booths at Infosecurity Europe – and other industry events – to entice delegates onto their stands," writes Eleanor Dallaway, Editor of Infosecurity magazine. "For the last few years, Reed Exhibitions have received an increasing number of complaints from its visitors about this out-dated and arguably unnecessary trend, and have taken the decision to adjust exhibitor terms and conditions to ensure that similar tactics will not be deployed in 2013. Interestingly, and perhaps surprisingly, the majority of complaints came from men, who argued that ‘selling sex’ was an insult on the delegate and the entire industry. Female complaints declared the behaviour demeaning and old-fashioned."

A fair few tech vendors still like to wheel out the booth babes, so it will be interesting to see the reaction to Reed Exhibitions' move. I guess the commercial thinking behind this is, Infosecurity Europe is such a massive show, companies will exhibit regardless of the terms and conditions. Either way, I think it's the right thing to do. Like Page 3, stand strumpets (sorry, couldn't resist) are archaic. Here's hoping other exhibitions follow suit.