COURTING THE PRESS
An exhibition provides an excellent opportunity to get yourself and your company immortalised in print and the nicest part is that it does not normally require a budget! The show affords the chance to organise exciting press events for new product launches or corporate announcements, allowing you to capitalise on the presence of the concentration of interested visiting journalists. Typically the first day heralds the largest number of journalists and can be the best day to organise a press event. These can be held on your stand or at a convenient meeting room. It is important that you liaise with the organisers’ press office or PR agency to avoid clashes with other exhibitor events and it is worth inviting titles you are interested in appearing in by e-mail, post and if possible by phone. Many organisers also run a press service or press office where they schedule a timetable of events and can furnish you with a list of names and contact details. Press packs are normally made available to journalists who register and so it is important that you spend time developing something useful. Think about the presentation of your press pack with the same attention to detail that you might give to your stand design; something eye-catching and colourful may work well. Do remember to keep the material in the press pack to a minimum as few journalists relish the prospect of carrying round a weighty tome at a show or on the journey back to the office. Your organiser will outline their requirements in terms of numbers of press packs and the protocol for replenishing your stock. In any event it is worth a quick visit on the morning of each day to see how the situation looks.
The contents of your press pack can vary enormously, although typically they contain information on your company’s participation at the event and any new products or innovations. Details should also be included of any events on your stand – the presence of a celebrity (a veritable ‘journo-magnet’), demonstrations or even the signing of a large order. Make sure you have clearly signposted your stand number and contact details and you may include any relevant photographs or transparencies. An article with an accompanying illustration will often be favoured over a block of text. In this day of digital cameras, whilst it is tempting to take your own snaps – please remember this might be an appropriate time to shatter your illusions and realise that you are not Lord Snowdon and paying a few pounds for professional photographs might be a good idea!