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Overseas Exhibition MasterclassThursday 23rd January 2014
Paul Tomes
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About usWork with Exhibition organisers around the
globeExhibition design & buildExhibition consultancyExhibition
training
Hoping that helps to set the scene and put into perspective the
task that you have chosen to undertake Congratulations on making
that decision and thank you for coming to this workshop. 3
Who are you?
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Meet your colleaguesWho are you?What do you do?What do you love
about Exhibitions?What do you hate about Exhibitions?Which event do
you have in mind?
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Programme & OutcomesEstablishing realistic & measurable
overseas exhibition goalsCost analysis & budget settingMethods
of lead collation & follow-upUsing organisers existing PR &
marketing to maximise your exhibition presenceCreating a strong
presence on a budget
produce an action plan to make your exhibition strategy as
successful as possible
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Establishing Realistic & Measurable GoalsCreating a POA for
your business
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Exporting companies11% more likely to survive
34% more productive than none exporting companies
UKTI
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Task 1: The Events Pyramid
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Why attend?Why are you going to this exhibition?
What is/are the most important outcome/s that you hope to come
from attending the exhibition?
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To appoint DistributorsTo sell direct to CustomersRaise Brand
AwarenessLaunch a new productMeet a particular individualAppoint
new staffEnter a new overseas marketTake on a competitorTo support
a particular event/causeKeep up-to-date with market trendsWe go
every yearDo more businessThats were the money is!Help to meet
buyers with moneyGovernment support availableEmerging trends &
innovations
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How can we achieve our goals?
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A goal without a plan is just a wishAntoine de Saint-Exupery
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To appoint distributorsRaise brand awarenessTake on a
competitorKeep up-to-date with market trendsLaunch a new productTo
sell direct to customersArrange 5 meetings with potential
distributors through UK consulateTake 20 semi-warm leads per day
through natural stand traffic
Reality is that a lot of these are down to chance to a certain
extent as with any marketing, much of this is down to meeting the
right people at the right time. Can we take 2 minutes now to think
about methods of how we may increase the chances of your top two
goals occurring14
3 categories that we can look at in terms of Goal setting and
objectives for our clients. 15
Communicative
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Communicative GoalsGoalIncrease Brand awarenessMeasureInteract
with x delegates each day and distribute promotional
literatureCreate an aesthetically pleasing sales environment that
communicates the brand ethosDistribute x sample products over the
course of the exhibition.how can we create realistic targets?
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Communicative GoalsGoalDistinguish from competitorsMeasureBook
stand adjacent/opposite/near to main competitorBook stand away from
your competitorCreate a stand display that highlights your USP
against your competitor (gimmick?)Interact with x delegates over
the course of the exhibition
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Communicative GoalsGoalEnter a new overseas
marketMeasureInteract with x delegates each day and distribute
promotional literature in suitable languageArrange x meetings with
prospective distributorsArrange follow up meetingsAppoint suitable
distributors from Territory X, Territory Y & Territory Z
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Logistical
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Logistical GoalsGoalGain significant in-market press coverage or
publicityMeasureProduce a suitable angle to approach relevant
contacts withProduce press/media releases distributed to relevant
contacts in the UK and in-market prior to departureHold launch
event on-stand and invite press contacts and exhibition press
teamAttain xxx coverage
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Logistical GoalsGoalCreate a buzz about a new product or
serviceMeasureAttract consistent footfall on-stand on all days of
the show:(giveaways, performances, guest appearances)Distribute x
promotional brochures to 25% of the attendeesHire hosts/esses to
walk floor of showCompetitions
Become the talk of the show22
Statistical
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Statistical GoalsGoalSecure and interact with a number of
suitable leadsMeasureSecure 20 Hot LeadsSecure 50 Warm LeadsSecure
100 Other LeadsMeet with 5 existing customers
.how can we create realistic targets?
Now we have examined various types of goals/strategies that we
may decide to employ, how can we ascertain what type of targets are
realistic, achievable and effective in terms of our goals for the
event. 24
Statistical GoalsExhibitions in numbersCASE STUDY: ARAB HEALTH
20133,427 Exhibitors
64 Countries
22,514 Exhibitor Attendees
81,580 Visitors
8,009 Conference delegates
Total Individual Attendees:112,103
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Statistical GoalsExhibitions in numbersCASE STUDY: ARAB HEALTH
2013
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Statistical GoalsExhibitions in numbersCASE STUDY: ARAB HEALTH
2013
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Pre-arranged meetingsUKTI OMISOrganisers Partnering
servicesSocial mediaInternational PRExisting contact database
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Achieve Exhibition Goals
3 categories that we can look at in terms of Goal setting and
objectives for our clients. 29
SummaryBe specific, ambitious but realisticConsider all known
facts about the showIncrease your chancesMonitor &
reviewAdapt
Monitor and review not only day-to-day at the show but after the
show has finished to see if it has met the goals of the event
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Questions?
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Cost analysis & Budget settingCreating realistic costs of
event participation
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Finalised your budget?
Has anyone finalised their exhibition budget yet? Rough idea of
how much they expect to spend?33
Cost Analysis & BudgetingGoalsExamine types of
attendanceExamine fixed costs of attendanceExamine variable costs
of attendanceProduce a realistic budget for your exhibition
34
Types of attendanceVisit (Walk the floor)Shell SchemeSpace
Only/Custom-buildPavilion
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Walking the floor
No exhibiting costsPre-arranged meetings with
exhibitors/visitorsMarket insightNew business?Perceptions?Effective
use of budget?
Hoping not to major on this but do want to acknowledge as an
option for companies. If well planned, may be a useful tool for a
business or even a pre-curser to exhibiting. Experience of
multi-million pound PLC companies who very rarely exhibit but
attend all major international exhibitions and use them as an
opportunity to carefully plan a meeting schedule whilst there that
said, they have done their turn at them in the past and are at a
stage where they do not particularly need to increase market
visibility. 1) Consider how much new business can be generated 2)
What perception does this give for your business particularly in
markets that consider financial stability vital prior to trading
(such as the UAE) 3) is it really an effective use of budget? Staff
costs of attending are relatively high, would it be a better use of
time to take a stand at minimal cost and use this as an anchor
point as a bare minimum?36
Shell Scheme
Generally an option for exhibitors that are taking 20 sq metres
or less. Generally manufactured using a system called Octanorm.
Happy to send through dimensions of this system37
Shell SchemeProsLow-costAll-inclusiveLogistically simpleBlank
CanvasVariable sizes
ConsBlank CanvasDifficult to genuinely
differentiatePerceptions?LocationInadaptable
All inclusive in terms of furniture and freestanding structure,
does not generally include electricity and utilities etc. Blank
Canvas every exhibitor that has chosen this option will have the
same blank canvasWhat does it say about your business? Location in
show likely to be poorer than the space-only optionsInadaptable
graphics lead onto examples of the type of issues that arise when
trying to dress shell scheme38
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Included this picture not great. One of our graphics clients at
HFF 2013 which is one of the shows we represent also. This is a
Shell scheme stand, graphics wrap and can smooth the walls out so
that it does look professional. This does come at a cost 2m x 3m
stand at Excel which cost them around 1.5k41
Custom Build/Space Only
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Custom Build/Space OnlyProsUniqueBuilt to your needsWelcoming
sales environmentNot restrictiveCan be reused if planned
wellConsCostLead timeBuild quality and designs may varyReliance on
a good contractor
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In terms of cost-perspective, costs of build, graphics
production will vary greatly depending on the market that you are
exhibiting in as cost of labour varies greatly. PhD stand small
square footage around 7k, Camden stand around 15k 44
This stand was at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and cost in
excess of 40k45
Pavilion Exhibiting
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Pavilion ExhibitingProsBrand IdentityCost effective (best of
both worlds)Grant fundingAdditional activityLogistical
supportAll-inclusiveGroup mentality
ConsCostLead time restricted space, grants etcBrand identity
Often run by Trade Associations, Trade Publications often on
behalf of UKTI or government organisations.Brand Identity
particularly if on a national pavilion in a market where the
country brand is respected i.e. people buy britishBest of both
worlds somewhere between shell and custom buildGrant funding and
additional activity may well be supported by an organisation
running partnering, networking, PR, high-level visits etc. 47
What does this mean for my budget?
Look at Budget Plan appendix listed vast list of potential costs
that you may incur can we work through these to select the ones
that my be relevant for the project that you are looking at.48
The Price is right!
Look at Budget Plan appendix listed vast list of potential costs
that you may incur can we work through these to select the ones
that my be relevant for the project that you are looking at.49
Case Study:Arab Health (Dubai) 27th 30th JanuaryCustom build
stand 24m square standReturn Sea Freight for 2 x Hospital beds to
display3 Members of staff
Here is your scenario Include every cost that you think may be
relevant50
Floor Space
24m
350 psm
8,400
Stand Build
1 unit
N/A
11,000
Freight
2 Units
1800
3,600
Flights
3 units
450
1350
Airport Travel
3 units
20
60
Hotel
135
2430
Airport Transfers
2 units
40
80
Exhibition Insurance
1 unit
150
150
Staff Time
21 days
150
3150
Staff Expenses
21 days
50
1050
Exhibition Passes
3 units
30
90
Electricity
4 days
110
440
Waste/Recycling
4 days
60
240
Construction Passes
5 units
20
100
Interpreters/hostess
4 days
160
640
Networking Events
3 units
25
75
32,855
18 units
Floorspace remember that this may be a foreign currency
transaction so may vary significantly, bear in mind currency
fluctuations, you may well be contractually liable to pay for in
excess of 5% swing. Flights of course your staff may only be
request to travel business class. Hotel based on a steady 3 star
hotel near to the exhibition centreExhibition insurance may be
mandatory and an additional cost on top of the stand space, ensure
that you read the contract Exhibition passes not always included in
the exhibiting fee or may not be enough passes to cover all of your
staff. 51
Unlike many of your customers, trade show attendees actually
want to buy from you
Just bear this in mind when setting your budget perhaps not as
risky as trade journal advertising which may well be as expensive
may be a useful exercise to compare the cost of your field sales to
meet with x number of potential clients (include staff time out of
office, travel costs, cost of sale, generating those leads
etc)52
Fixed or variable cost?Do I really have to pay that??
53
Floor Space
24m
350 psm
8,400
Stand Build
1 unit
N/A
11,000
Freight
2 Units
1800
3,600
Flights
3 units
450
1350
Airport Travel
3 units
20
60
Hotel
135
2430
Airport Transfers
2 units
40
80
Exhibition Insurance
1 unit
150
150
Staff Time
21 days
150
3150
Staff Expenses
21 days
50
1050
Exhibition Passes
3 units
30
90
Electricity
4 days
110
440
Waste/Recycling
4 days
60
240
Construction Passes
5 units
20
100
Interpreters/hostess
4 days
160
640
Networking Events
3 units
25
75
16,685
18 units
Identified the costs that we can either avoid or significantly
reduce by either better planning, using an alternative method or
just scaling down the project in accordance to risk/reward ratio.
Almost halved the cost of participation at the same event. Does
this detract from your exhibition experience and detract from the
possibility of achieving your exhibition goals? Obviously the
amount of risk and financial outlay that you will take will relate
directly to your margins on your products/services, potential
market share and a realistic financial forecast for the outcomes
that you hope to achieve off of the back of exhibiting at your
show. 54
Budgeting for exhibitions - SummaryPlan ahead Budget & wider
company strategyContingencyCurrency fluctuations
Planning ahead enables you to benefit from cost savings in
certain elements that charge a premium at short notice such as
travel and accommodation, freight, Visas (24 hour turnaround) etc.
Make sure the budget matches your goals and your wider company
strategy and will the budget allow you to achieve this within your
sector/marketplace. Also bear in mind the perception you may have
to give amongst your competitors. Contingency is key you may have
planned all year and built this event into your company strategy
for a long period hence imperative that contingency fund is built
into the budget. Currency fluctuations can change the cost of your
exhibition greatly check the terms of the space contract and also
any contractors that you may employ, ensure that you insure
yourself against risk
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Collating and following up exhibition leadsMethods and
processes
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Exhibition Leads80% sales leads gathered at B2B trade shows are
never followed up
Centre for Exhibition Industry Research, 2012
Given in the previous modules we have established that a
presence at an exhibition is extremely expensive and hence to leave
8 out of 10 of your leads and write them off as cold or worthless
is frightening. May argue that there could be another 8-10 sales
within that, quite comforably. 57
Exhibition Leads43% receive follow-up after they have already
made a decision to purchase from a competitor at the same
exhibition
Centre for Exhibition Industry Research, 2012
Same survey- most visitors claimed that they received a follow
up email and/or promotional material from a relevant company AFTER
they had already either finalised or cognitively made a decision to
purchase from another provider who was present at the exhibition.
It becomes a race you all of a sudden start competing with the rest
of the world and not just the UK market. 58
Likely that you are going to talk to hundreds of people at the
event, but we all recognise that you only really need a small
number of good quality leads to make this a worthwhile
exercise.
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What is a lead?
Request comments from audience about what they consider a sales
lead? Is it simply an individual that you meet at the show? Or do
we need to examine in further detail?60
We are all short of time probably a contributing factor as to
why 80% of leads dont get followed up. Which is why it is worth
considering methods you could use before arrival as once you get to
the show, it is probably too late to implement your ideas.
Whichever method you may use will involve to a certain extent with
you and your staff qualifying your leads NEXT SLIDE61
The 5 WsWho are they?What caused them to attend the show/visit
your stand?Why would your products address their needs?Where are
they based/where do they stand in the decision making process?When
would they require fulfillment?
end with a call to action
Not wanting to patronise a group of business owners, but it may
well be that you are required to train other people to be part of
your stand team at the show. Your best sales people are not always
the best people to be on your stand at the show you require
information gatherers and not sellers on your exhibition stand but
you need to ensure that everyone who is going to be on your stand
is aware that this is the information that you need to be able to
suitably follow up when back home and make a sensible decision in
terms of the strength of the lead. This also ensures that you are
able to follow up with a personalised and accurate response, given
the statistics about the speed at which purchasers make their
decision upon return from the show. Obviously the nature of the
information required will depend on your product/service Lead
capture sheet on NEXT SLIDE62
One of my pet hates is this genuinely a good method of
collecting leads at overseas trade shows? Not really may run
competitions etc but you generally end up with a fishbowl full of
peoples contact details who want to win the prize, not who want to
buy your products. Also gives people a get out of jail free rather
than talk to you.63
Put screenshot of lead capture sheet on here
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Classifying LeadsWhat needs to be done?What needs to be done by
me?What needs to be done by me now?
Try to assess how quickly the lead needs dealing with and how
warm it is i.e. can it simply be passed onto your sales team and
dealt with in a weeks time or is there something that can be done
whilst you are at the show? 65
Can you follow up whilst at the show?Being the first to follow
up is not always a good thing!
Nothing would turn me off more than receiving a blanket email
before I have even left the show Im sure we have all been at the
type of events where by the time you have even made it back to the
office, your contact has already emailed you and tried to sell you
something. Think about your timing and the perception that it gives
and what is right for your industry and that individual customer.
Remember you are in a foreign country and business culture may be
very different. 66
Classifying Leads at the showEmail a PDF brochure
Hi Andrew
Great to meet you at the show today. In case you misplaced it
whilst travelling back to the hotel, Ive attached an e-brochure for
you.
Will give you a call next week, enjoy the rest of the show.
Paul
Email a PDF at the end of the day of the show, would it be
useful/help you get ahead of the competition to send a quick
personal email to your hot leads with a PDF of your literature or
just a soft interaction. 67
Classifying Leads at the showEmail a meeting request
How would the client react if you were to suggest an exact time
and date at which you would follow up and give them a call? Does
this delay them making a purchasing decision with someone else?
Maybe it will lead to them suggesting a better time that you know
they will be available to talk?68
Classifying Leads at the showInteract on Social Media
Send a tweet? Depends on your company ethos but can be a great
way to keep the contact warm obviously if the person that you met
is not likely to be involved in the social media side of the
business then may not reach them. Send a Linkedin request?69
Re-qualifyPut in a telephone call on your return to re-qualify
the lead
Making a phone call to the people you met and thought might be
interested can be a good method of assessing whether or not they
are genuinely interested in your products and/or services. 70
Using technology to collate leadsBadge scanning systemsHire from
the organiserCollate to an online systemExport to an excel
spreadsheetTaken from registration detailsNo specificity about your
conversation
Method of collecting contact details of everyone you encounter
depending on the system, may not be available until after the show
and some may require internet connection which may be further
expense in addition to the hire of the badge scanner (which are
generally around the 250 mark). Generally do not record any
information other than the contact details however some do have a
facility to set a number of barcodes such as immediate action or
hot lead or similar so that you can mark them to be followed up
quickly. May be a method if you intend to treat every one of your
leads equally or want to quickly update your distribution lists etc
but doesnt particularly provide a personable approach also
additional costs to consider. 71
Using technology to collate leadsIphone/Ipad
ApplicationsVariable costsBusiness Card ScannersCAMcardSAMcard
Another option to speed up your data sorting may be by using one
of the applications available online. Some of which will scan the
detail from your business cards into a spread sheet or
automatically find them on Linkedin and invite them to connect with
you again this might be a way of just keeping the contact
warm.72
Summary lead collationPrepareSchedule time for follow-upHave a
back-up plan Dont rely on an internet connectionBe mindful of
business culture
Prepare most companies dont actually think about the
practicalities of how they are going to collate sales leads and how
they will schedule the time to follow them upSchedule may be
tempting after the best part of a week away to put your feet up for
a couple of days or play catch-up on the emails, make sure you have
time to actually do the follow up and if you have said that it will
be you that will follow up then make sure it isBack up plan you are
travelling from a foreign country and it is very easy to lose
things imagine if you lost all of your sales leads and wasted a
full weeks work?Dont rely on an internet connection years of
experience of how expensive and generally inadequate exhibition
centre internet connections can be. 73
Creating a strong impression on a budgetBeing creative with your
stand design
The whole aim of your design will be to create an environment in
which your potential leads will feel comfortable doing business in
and eliminating the it doesnt quite feel right thought process.
74
How much?!
Custom builds are great- but realistically they are out of reach
of most of us as small businesses. But does this mean that we cant
compete? Just as with your marketing budget in normal life requires
you to be creative with your marketing budget. But how do we make
sure our stand is fit for purpose. 75
1. Enough Space
Before you book work out what you need Consider staff numbers,
products, demonstrations and meeting requirementsResearch suggests
that space:traffic ratio expect around 260% increase per 9m square
over 9m square
Difficult to reduce the amount of space you will take (as
usually contracted) and also will be difficult to allocate a
different bigger space if it is a sold out exhibition. Think about
what the culture of the country that you are visiting expects and
the perception that this gives your company. For Example Bigger is
better in UAE, other markets may not like extravagance. 76
4.5-6 m2 per member of staff
This should be adequate to allow staff to move around freely and
converse with people as they come onto stand but bear in mind that
this does not necessarily accommodate for products and other
furniture/meeting areas that may be on stand. 77
To give you a feel for space, this is quite a well designed 4m x
2m stand as you can see, there probably isnt too much room to
maneuver around, but if planned and designed correctly, can look
very smart. 78
2. Define purposeWhat will the stand be used for? What equipment
will I need to meet that purpose?
What will the stand actually be used for? i.e as a base point
for staff? Meetings? Product Demonstrations? Display literature?
Promotional videos?What equipment will I need to make that happen?
Furniture? AV? Product?79
3. What will my competitors do?What is expected from your
industry?What will your main competitors be doing at the show?
What does your industry expect you to do and what will other
companies be doing? May have visited the show before and have a
rough idea- example of a company who did sensory lighting and other
equipment. All of their competitors had created a dark room to
demonstrate their products. The first time they went to the show,
they had no idea that all of their competition would be doing that
instantly on the back foot before speaking to anyone80
Nintendo do this at The gadget showlots of space, relatively
impressive81
so Microsoft do this. Lots of high level stuff so that they
stand out more than other gaming companies. Whilst this might not
be possible for us as small companies. Why cant we be different?
NEXT SLIDE82
What about doing this to attract attention to yourself without
incurring the high level build levies charged by the exhibition
centre?
83
4. Get creativeMaking a stand look great does not have to cost a
fortuneMore license than bigger companies to be different
People seem to have this defeated mentality at overseas trade
shows feel as if they cannot compete with some of the budgets of
the big organisations. It may be that you have the license to do
something a little bit different as not restricted to expansive
brand guidelines -that gets people talking about you and giving you
attention. 84
Corporate dress?85
Russian Jet engine company caused outrage (daily mail article)
after they used some scantily clad women to attract attention to
their stand. Is this fair game? It happens certain territories it
become more and more sexual and completely unlinked to the
products. Not suggesting that this is what you need to do, but can
you do something to differentiate yourself? I personally believe
that this contributes to turning off 50% of your audience by doing
this. 86
This is a stand we worked on with a PR agency budget limited.
Used Wallpaper and bought some extremely cheap furniture from a
charity shop to use on stand. Cost less than 250 all in. Is this an
idea you can utilise?87
88
5. Train your peoplePeople buy from peopleMake people aware of
their behaviour and the perception it gives of your business
Without being patronising we all know that people buy from
people. But all of your hard work can be undone if you have made
the exhibition stand look great, but your people do not conduct
themselves in the right way and make it look untidy/unprofessional.
Make people aware of their behaviour and how it looks we all know
that overseas exhibitions can be long hours and extremely tiring,
but your staff need to understand the impact them letting their
guard down can have. There is a very fine line between sitting on
your stand chatting and having a coffee OR chasing people down the
aisles trying to attract peoples attention. 89
It is a tiring experience do you have the luxury of being able
to pick your most energetic staff to take with you or can you make
sure that you work on a rota basis to ensure that everyone is on
top form all of the time. 90
Creating barriers unwelcoming, not really the way to attract
customers to your stall. 91
6. Integrate TechnologyDoesnt have to be overly expensiveStands
and other accessories can be re-used at other events
Embrace technology that you already have laptops and Ipads are
great, technology that you may already own can be utilized with
videos, powerpoint presentations or interactive apps. 92
7. MessagingEye-level is buy-levelConsider cultural &
language considerationsUse floorplan to establish traffic flow
Be mindful of culture and the English Language be aware of what
is appropriate and if you are using English, be aware that these
words may have different meanings in different countries. E.g Gift
in German = POISON. Ape = Bee in German, Use the floorplan to
establish traffic flow think about the natural direction that the
majority of people will walk in and design your stand accordingly.
Above was for the Emergency services show at Stoneleigh used the
natural Aisle traffic to display their messaging93
Summary Stand on a budgetKeep it simpleBe mindful of local
culture & languageConsider the amount of space you actually
need & can utiliseBe genuinely creative Get a feel for what
your competitors doBe clear about purpose
Keep it simple dont overcomplicate things the best stands are
often the ones that clearly demonstrate what a company is about.
Bear in mind that you are in a foreign country and you have a small
opportunity to capture the attention of people of all
nationalitiesBe mindful of culture and the English Language be
aware of what is appropriate and if you are using English, be aware
that these words may have different meanings in different
countries. E.g Gift in German = POISONBe genuinely creative we are
going to dress down by wearing corporate polo shirts and give away
pens STOP THE PRESS! Everyone will be doing this, so think about if
you can do anything slightly more relevant to your business that is
more likely to attract the type of leads that you want for your
business. Get a feel for what your competitors do do not
necessarily have to visit the previous event, can often use the
websites to watch promotional videos, your competitors will often
put images of their stands on their websites etc. Be clear about
purpose mixed messages can generally mean no messages. 94
Using organisers existing PR & marketing systems to maximise
your presenceUnderstanding the organisers goals
Very often missed with SMEs, but as well as putting yourself
in-front of customers it is also the perfect opportunity to put
yourself infront of all of the major relevant journalists that
normally only the major brands will have access to. Tend to find
that Journalists will attend major exhibitions for market insight,
and indeed to collect stories hence for small companies, it
presents an opportunity to be ahead of the game to maximise this.
95
PR OpportunitiesTo be able to genuinely maximise the PR
opportunities at exhibitions we first must understand the goals of
the organisers
Obviously for us to be able to maximise the opportunities
available, it is imperative that we really understand the makeup of
the major exhibition organisers and what makes them tick, what
underpins their business so that we can really ensure that our own
businesses benefit from the systems that they have in place in
order to make our experiences more successful. 96
The reason why you book to attend is because you want to meet a
lot of relevant contacts which is the organisers prerogative and
significant investment and marketing is done to ensure that this
happens. The organisers will generally state through their sales
pitch the methods which they will be using to promote the show and
generally, particularly with new or un-established shows, they will
have to justify exactly how they intend to get the visitor numbers
and visitor caliber that that they are stating in their marketing
claim. Lets be clear about this every organiser wants you to have a
fantastic show and do lots of business as this means that you will
come back next year. Shows are generally looking to continually
expand, take more floorspace, attract more visitors year on year,
and they generally have great brand loyalty. There will be lots of
processes in place to help you succeed in doing this. 97
Example of how event organisers explain how they will promote
the show as part of their exhibitor recruitment campaign. 98
Methods of promotion used by organisersTVRadioTrade
PressIndustry EventsInfluential individualsFunded-buyer
programmesShow publicationsShow TelevisionSocial Media
Some of the methods that may be used by organisers to really
create a buzz about the show and contribute towards attracting
visitors into the event. Much of this promotion is entirely
reciprocal, and generally relies to a huge extent on the
participation of the exhibitors. So be ahead of the game and be
prepared to work with them to try and open opportunities for
yourself. Essentially, they need content for media and also need
your participation for many of the schemes that they run that may
include matchmaking with potential buyers. The mantra is to really
be prepared there is nothing worse than actually managing to get a
journalist on your stand, be prepared for them attending, make sure
you have media packs, press releases, case studies to take away
with them. Make it as easy as possible, 99
Show MediaShow newspapers/newslettersShow TV programmesOften
picked up by other external media outlets
Every event is different however most of the major shows will
have some form of press team that not only take control of the
internal media processes, but also handle all external media
enquiries also. We cannot all afford to employ a specialist PR
company to gather their attention on our behalf, but we can all
start to be more organised to ensure that we can build a
relationship with them. They need interesting content to fill any
publications that they may have internally but also they want to
get external media coverage if you can offer them something that
they can turn into a story to promote their show, then you have a
great chance of gaining some PR coverage from the
organisers.100
Show MediaPhysical press teamBased at the showContactable prior
to showPress Room Online press teamUpload contentCreate your own
press room?Autonomous
PHYSICAL will have a physical base at the show, often
circulating around the exhibition looking to find interesting
content also, interviewing exhibitors etc. Well worth making
contact before the show, invite them to any events you may have.
Will often have a press room where both their own team and also
other media use as a base to file and write/produce their content.
There is often an opportunity to place physical press releases
within this room that may well get picked up by various outlets. I
have known this be used as a tool for companies who are unhappy
with a certain element of their show. They will be selling space in
their own media also, but may be an opportunity to negotiate this
if there is a particular element of the show that you havent been
happy with ONLINE much more autonomous, can be a useful exercise to
create your own press room. If you are uploading content, make sure
the titles are interesting as. INTERACT ON TWITTER and be part of
their discussion and promote the show on their behalf aswell.
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1. Set a themeBe persistentTell a storyBe clear across all media
platforms
Be persistent its unlikely that you are going gain press
coverage or indeed taken seriously if you simply drop one press
release into the press team. TELL A STORY as part of your theme,
for example if you are launching a product, focus on a different
element of that and tailor your campaign around this. For example
it may be about how the product came about, case studies, how it is
changing lives etc rather than purely stating that you are
exhibiting at the show. They get so many of these. Be consistent
with your messaging across all of the mediums that you use from
stand design, press releases, Social media and plan clearly on
which days of the show it would be most relevant to release each
individual element of the story e.g. if there is a consumer day,
would it be relevant to send out different messages than those that
you send out to trade. 102
2. Gather your database Show contactsExisting contacts Is this
done from the show or in the office? Pre-planned?
Have this ready and setup a distribution list to continually
bang your drum whilst out there. It may be that you have contacts
at the show that are not press contacts but may be extremely
influential in the show management, and with steerage, may be able
to influence the press team on your behalf. By having this already
setup makes it easier for you to send out during the show where you
may be required to do this whilst balancing all of the other show
activity. Lots of software available now to schedule email sends,
tweets etc, hence you may be able to plan this out to auto send
prior to your departure. If you are meeting physically at the show,
can you arrange times to meet with press people on a daily
basis?103
3. Write a compelling press release ..so are another 3,246
exhibitorsWe are exhibiting at Arab Health 2014 in hall number 7
stand D45
There has to be some genuine content to the release as with any
press coverage but think about something that will trigger a
reaction from the organisers as we said at the beginning, they are
looking for content that is likely attract visitors (as this
benefits everyone). 104
3. Write a compelling press release We are launching an entirely
new, innovative technology at Arab Health 2014 which has gained xxx
results. It changed Tommys life by
There has to be some genuine content to the release that would
be of interest to the reader and that differentiates you from the
thousands of other companies that will send them a press release
with the hope of gaining coverage. By also adding a human interest
element to it, you start to open up the possibility of gaining some
regular press coverage which all contributes towards you gaining
the exposure that you are hoping for. A statement like this also
allows for continuity in terms of telling the story.105
3. Write a compelling press release We are launching an entirely
new, innovative technology at Arab Health 2014 which has gained xxx
results. It changed Tommys life by
There has to be some genuine content to the release that would
be of interest to the reader and that differentiates you from the
thousands of other companies that will send them a press release
with the hope of gaining coverage. By also adding a human interest
element to it, you start to open up the possibility of gaining some
regular press coverage which all contributes towards you gaining
the exposure that you are hoping for. A statement like this also
allows for continuity in terms of telling the story. Press lists
are generally available from the organisers/press team, so there is
no reason that you cannot tailor your releases to the attending
media and approach them directly with something that will save them
time and hopefully get you some coverage. 106
3. Develop relationship with press team Get ahead of the
competitionFree space at end of process?
Get ahead of the competition remember that most people will
probably leave this until late, and it is likely that they the
press team alongside the marketing team will be looking to fill
printed publications as well as continue to create an online
presence particularly if there is an all year round media
production (which there often is for major international shows).
Many companies who do not know the system may well not be providing
them with relevant content this far in advance, hence is this an
opportunity to get ahead of the game? Could well be argued that
gaining this type of pre-event coverage is more advantageous than
coverage gained during the event. This may also put you in pole
position for when they havent sold all of their publication space
and may well offer you an opportunity to take up this space due to
the relationship you have developed with them as its an easy
option. PR SHOULD BE FLOWING AND NOT JUST IN JERKS/FITS &
STARTS. Often exhibition organisers have publications that occur
across the year so potential to gain all year round
coveragecoverage that may prove to be more valuable. Keep on the
radar107
4. Target your press for interviewsOffer to give online/offline
interviews Speak on your specialist area
The fact that you are travelling over to another country to
display your company products is interesting in itself and creates
a fantastic grounding to generate press interest. By being quite
candid about your ability to offer online or offline interviews
opens another avenue for creating interest in your company. Some
events will charge for allowing you the opportunity to speak on
your specialist subject area, however if you can add some value,
this may be a way of speaking to a fantastically qualified audience
and promote your business. Make yourself known to the conference
team.108
Other promotional methodsExhibition catalogueBuyer/provider
matchmaking systemsEmail/Website bannersSocial Media Advertising in
other areas of the show
Exhibition catalogue this may sound obvious, but so many
companies miss this and just presume that they will be included in
the catalogue. Can often be omitted if you miss deadlines or do not
complete relevant forms, you may not be included. May be worth
paying for additional coverage or enhanced listings also.
Buyer/provider matchmaking this may be run by the exhibition
organiser themselves or even by a national body such as UKTI. As we
mentioned before, the organisers have a vested interest in ensuring
that a number of high-level buyers attend the event (as this
attracts exhibitors which in turn makes them money) and hence they
allocate huge amounts of budget into ensuring that the major
players in their industry are in attendance. They often fly them
over, put them in expensive hotels and chauffeur them to the event
followed by tours of the exhibition. They may hev online partnering
systems that allows you to create profiles/create meetings with
these people. Makes sense to ensure that you are involved in these
processes early on to increase your chances SOCIAL MEDIA is there a
particular hashtag that you should be using to 109
Summary: PR oppsBe organisedTake organisers point of viewTake a
hollistic approachExplore all existing systems
BE ORGANISED this opportunity does not come around often, and by
preparing well you will be in a position to take advantage of the
opportunity that is presented to you.
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@theexpopeoplewww.theexpopeople.co.uk
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