GETTING IT RIGHT

Whilst I would certainly agree that stand behaviour is one of the most crucial components of event success, selecting the right event for you surely must be a key precursor?  The reason I mention it is that I had overheard a couple of people discussing the ‘whacky things’ they had seen at exhibitions.  The thread of their debate, and the source of their amusement, was that they had each encountered weird and unusual exhibits at innocuous events.  They recalled seeing a children’s entertainer at a trade show, a respectable bank at a star wars convention and a hot tub manufacturer at a business exhibition.  They mused whether these ‘maverick’ exhibitors had latched onto something or had booked themselves into the wrong events.  On the one hand I can see the logic adopted in deciding to exhibit at an event totally removed from the norm.  They would be the only one of their type, the novelty value would stop visitors in their tracks and if the visitor profile matched their client base then why not?  On the other hand, I could also see that it could potentially confuse visitors, adversely affect the image of the show and potentially be a waste of money.  Here, however, were a collection of companies who had deliberately and calculatingly decided to attend those events, presumably with a full understanding of the visitors and show objectives.  Alarm bells were ringing for those companies who perhaps were not so deliberate in their choice and ended up patronising an event that proved to be unsuitable despite thinking that it would be right for them.

So how do we set about choosing the right event for us?  There are a number of factors we need to consider.  Is the event a launch show or established?  In the event of a launch we need to ask about their media partners, where they are advertising and what research they have to suggest demand for such an event exists? We can also consider their track record and see what other events they have launched and their success rate.  With an existing event, we can look at last year’s records, visitor demographics, spend and numbers.  Again their media partners and sponsors are important as will be the magazines they advertise in as this should match your own client profiles.  If they are reaching the people you would try to reach had the event not existed, then it can be quite a reliable indicator.  The other aspect is to quantify how much marketing they will undertake – do they have a media schedule, how many pieces of direct mail / e-mail shots are they intending to send?  Do they have a PR agency acting for them and are they getting coverage in key publications?  If you can ask to speak with previous exhibitors and get a feel for the numbers and types of visitors they met at the event.  Finally do not just rely on the organisers to get traffic to the halls – remember that your own invitations and marketing efforts will also pay dividends.  Whilst a visitor may intend patronising an event it doesn’t mean they intend to walk onto your stand.  Make it easy for them to do so.