The PR angle

January 25th, 2012

Marketing and PR are twins in that they are often mistaken for each other.  But each personality could not be more different.  When you do marketing for your booth, PR has to be an integral part of your plan.  How do you get PR to your booth and get the coverage you need?

First you have to make sure you have something that is PR worthy.  This is the first area where many booth managers fall down.  There is a difference between what is marketable and what is PR related.   Some things can be both (such as a new product launch or service, appointment of a company employee to an outside board or governance position) and some things are simply not PR related (such as information on a product you already have that has not been changed or improved).  I would advise being careful with what you ‘pitch’ to the media.  If they feel you are trying to throw anything at them, they will be less inclined to review.  Be very selective as you start your PR process and ask yourself this:  Is this something that would be news to your competitors and your customers?  Or is this just something exciting to you?

Second, make sure you start to develop relationships with the media and editors.  This does take time, but work to get to know them and what stories they are looking to publish.  This allows you to go back to step 1 and take a discerning eye to your media pitches.  Read what they have recently published from your competitors to see how things were written, what information was included, including visuals, and what the crux of the content was.  If you can anticipate comments or questions, it will be easier for them to review your pitch and yah or nay it, as well as have it ready to go to print.

Third step in the process is the in booth meeting.  This is one of the key elements for your media contact – to see the product or service in person, interview the spokesperson, and be able to report back what they saw at the show floor (new trends, new developments, news).   Make sure your product is ready for viewing and the spokesperson is available and prepared, and be flexible with your media contact.  Other interviews may run over, or something may come up where they have to move your appointment.  You want the media contact to have their full attention at your booth, and last minute changes to schedule help to foster that.  Do you have a media kit prepared with a full write up, thumb drive of pictures or other visual elements, and a CV of the spokesperson?  Be sure you do!

Fourth, once the news hits the press, make sure you use it to your advantage!  This is a great element to have linked to your website, and make sure you drive traffic to the article, both with customers, prospects and internal staff.  Greate PR coverage is a huge morale booster for why we do trade shows at all.  If you have spent time to get that pitch done and then get it printed, be sure to share it, since it was no small feat!

Having great PR is the other half to your marketing strategy.  You can tell others about your products and services, but to have a third party promoting it on your behalf gives you credibility and access to a much larger audience.  So be sure to take the time to focus on the PR angle.

Lisa Apolinski is a writer and blogger, and has had the pleasure of being a trade show manager for over 11 years.  She currently lives in San Diego, close to the convention center.

Tags: ,
Posted in Blogs, Lisa Apolinski - Exhibitor, Press Releases, Trade Show Tips | No Comments »

Small space, big ideas

January 20th, 2012

I was again on LinkedIn, and I read a discussion about how small spaces can be beautiful.  While I constantly push to have a bigger booth space, I know that for some venues and some instances, we have only the option of the 10 x 10.  But, that doesn’t mean that we should think small because the space is small.  Good things can come in small packages.

So, how do you maximize a minimum space?  The first has to be the layout of your booth.  This is where your trade show exhibit company has to be quite creative and really think outside the booth space.  How can you maximize impact while controlling flow?  How do you show your graphics without delegating critical floorspace?   Be sure to work with your exhibit house so that you think through all your options and come up with some clever solutions.

Second is your demonstration.  How can you showcase your products and services in a way that engages your customer, allows them access into your booth, and gives them a good taste of what your company has to offer?   Are you incorporating video and imagery as well as products they can see and feel?  How about giveaways – can you use a giveaway as your sample for the demo so you aren’t storing two items in your booth?  Can you make a ‘mini demonstration’ to still show the product or service but just not on a full scale?  You can still show quite a bit in a small space, if you simplify and reduce.

Third is your storage.  You need to be able to store things in your booth.  Can you store items under a demonstration or behind it in a creative way?  Can you use a storage for materials for your demo as well as the final product?  This is also the time to decide if you really need to bring something, like brochures.  Don’t fall on the motto ‘but we always bring it’.  Can you send them an electronic version or have  QR code where they go to a website and request the information or download it?  Again, simplify and reduce. 

Fourth will be staffing.  In a small space, you cannot have 20 staff members.  You need enough room to fill up with attendees, but not so lean on staff that attendees have to wait.  You can also use the booth as a ‘holding area’ where they can review a video or part of the demo while you are talking to another attendee.  Amusement parks are very good in having ‘holding areas’ that still can engage the visitor.   Review your booth space and see if there are distinct areas for a visitor to stay in, and that they can easily flow from one area to the other, so they stay in the booth and engaged while you interact with them.

Small booths can be functional and have an impact with big ideas and alot of pre-planning.  Don’t be discouraged if you have a smaller space – maximize it and see where the smaller space takes you.

Lisa Apolinski is a writer and blogger, and has had the pleasure of being a trade show manager for over 11 years.  She currently lives in San Diego, close to the convention center.

Tags:
Posted in 10x10 Booths, 10x10 Displays, 10x10 Exhibits, Blogs, Lisa Apolinski - Exhibitor, Trade Show Tips | 2 Comments »

Signage versus marketing

January 19th, 2012

I recently read a LinkedIn discussion on how important signage is for an effective trade show experience.  At first I thought, well duh!  But then I thought about the topic a different way.  Can effective signage carry bad marketing?  What about the reverse – can bad signage be overcome by great marketing?

Let’s take the first question and go through that scenario.  Bad marketing is not a good way to start, but let’s say you are low on budget dollars and have to choose.  You don’t or cannot do alot of pre-show marketing.  But, when you attendee arrives, your signage is bold, beautiful, and everywhere.  I say, if you have fantastic signage, you could persuade attendees to make a stop at your booth.  Do you want to risk it?  Probably not, but I do believe you can overcome some bad marketing with highly effective and tons of signage.  You can also pick up some attendees that maybe you wouldn’t have been able to reach with the signage (maybe you weren’t on their radar).  And, having a great display gives great pride to your staff, who will also be able to see their company name everywhere – and may prompt them to sell harder.

Now, let’s take the reverse of that question.  I have great marketing, and I have alot of pre-show buzz on my booth.  And when they get there – well, they better have a map and have me marked, because I am hiding with my crappy or non existent signage.  That sets up a bad attendee experience, and you may have a hard time recovering.  If they are excited and then have to play ‘find the booth’, you may end up losing them – especially to a competitor who has great signage, regardless of the marketing tactics that were used.   They may also think that you decided not to come and won’t even bother looking for your booth.  When pressed for time, attendees take the path of least resistance, so putting barriers in their way sends the message you don’t care or don’t want to put them first. 

So, I would say that either case has some inherent risks, but I would put money on great signage and limp along with marketing – the other caveat to that is you can have great marketing with not a huge investment of dollars.  Emails, website updates, having your sales team talk about the show – these are all very inexpensive ways to get the word out about your booth, promoti0ns, and any show specials. 

If you can, you should always put money in both.  But, don’t think that great marketing will make up for booth presence that is less than stellar.  You have them interested – keep them that way by having a great booth that they can see and feel.  You will be glad you took the time to do both.

Lisa Apolinski is a writer and blogger, and has had the pleasure of being a trade show manager for over 11 years.  She currently lives in San Diego, close to the convention center.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Blogs, Lisa Apolinski - Exhibitor, Trade Show Graphics, Trade Show Marketing, Trade Show Tips | No Comments »

Prep for your trade show season

January 12th, 2012

The holidays are over and we are all back to work.  Are you prepared for the 2012 trade show season?

Start with your overall booth concept – are you still doing the same marketing and demo from the past five years?  Look at your overall theme of your exhibit, and see if it just needs some fresh paint or a massive overhaul.  Do your current design and demo give you flexibility for new products or services to showcase in your booth?  Do you have a new direction to your brand?  Do any of your graphics or information look dated?   This is the time to review and see what you must update and what you should watch as you move through 2012.  You don’t have to do everything at once, but inventory it all and categorize into must change, must keep, and must watch.

Next look at your competition – if you didn’t walk past your competitor’s booth and take note of what they are doing, then make sure you have teams set up to do that in 2012.  Your customers are not looking at you in a vacuum – they are comparing you to the competition.  So maybe you feel like you look great, but compared to others in your industry, you need to step it up.  What did they do in their booth that struck you as innovative (or maybe even just plain dumb)?  Did they change their booth layout to block your signage?  Did they move to a better position on the show floor, which puts them directly in front of the entrance (which means you have to have your attendee’s attention before they walk in)?  Did they do anything extra at the show that you should consider – extra signage, advertisment, virtual booths, etc?  See what you can do to keep pace or outpace and again, get your three categories out:  must change, must keep, and must watch.

Now that you have reviewed your structure and your competitor, next is to review your marketing and call to action (which would be for your attendees to show up to your booth).  How are you engaging them?  How are you getting them to either make an appointment or confirm they are attending and will stop at your booth?  Once they have confirmed, what are you doing as further follow up?  Continuing to keep them engaged will keep your company front of mind.  Are you doing a newsletter on promotions or new demos in the booth?  What about a webinar on a pre show demo?   Start to think outside the box on this – they have seen the same thing for years and you should take that as an opportunity to wow them.

Taking the time to prep for your trade show season will give you a chance to review and make the changes you need. 

Lisa Apolinski is a writer and blogger, and has had the pleasure of being a trade show manager for over 11 years.  She currently lives in San Diego, close to the convention center.

Tags:
Posted in Blogs, Lisa Apolinski - Exhibitor, Trade Show Tips | No Comments »

« Older Entries