Trade Show Feed

You decide.  The website twitterhandbook.com thinks that it is, but they would, wouldn’t they?  Twitter is, indeed, a fast, cheap way to communicate and it may just be email 2.0, but you also have to consider your audience.  Some industries are slow to adapt technologies and others are on the cutting edge.  joycemckee writes about how she uses Twitter to research an upcoming event and also to promote her presence at a tradeshow through give aways: Continue Reading

Another free e-book is available on the Roger’s site. This one is on green tradeshow booth design. There are many different reasons to go green at tradeshows today.

While ‘it’s the right thing to do’ may be a good reason, it’s seldom a motivation for much in the business world. This guide outlines the benefits to going green and the methods for doing both comprehensively and on a budget.

The guide also looks at some ways of reducing your carbon footprint that you may not have thought of.

Green materials are great, and there are a growing list of suppliers specializing in this, but there are some considerations such as reducing shipping weights and reusing components that save money and reduce impact.

The guide does list some of the suppliers that specialize in green materials such as Plybo as well as suppliers that offer a range of environmentally friendly materials such as Shaw Floors. In addition, some companies simply disclose their own environmental practices such as Wilson Art which talks about its manufacturing, recycling and shipping policies.

The cost of green materials will come down as they are more widely adopted. But because of higher costs today, many companies choose not to go green while others clench their teeth and bear the extra expense because it’s the right thing to do.

The problem with this ‘bite the bullet or politely decline’ approach is that it doesn’t truly reflect the costs of not going green. The first, and most obvious of these factors is weight. Less weight means less fuel which means less impact on the environment. However, less weight and less fuel also means less money spent on shipping and drayage (material handling fees) which are very significant expenses at any event.

The good news is that there is a huge array of materials and techniques that help reduce shipping weights. In fact, there are more ways of reducing shipping weights today than ever.

The Rogers Company (www.therogersco.com) reports another successful year producing Automation & Power World 2011 (APW-11) for ABB. “ABB is a global leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact.” The event was held at the Marriott World Center in Orlando, FL April 18-21, 2011. Rogers provided complete turn-key services for the annual private event including exhibits, graphics, and installation of the entire exhibit floor, break-out rooms, and convention center decorating. This year’s event marks the 7th consecutive year that The Rogers Company has partnered with ABB to produce Automation & Power World.

“The Rogers Company is honored to have been selected again to work with ABB on this awesome event. This private trade show is truly a partnership between ABB and Rogers requiring over six months of planning and thousands of hours of collaboration between our two companies.” said Jeffrey Blackwell, President of The Rogers Company.

The APW-11 exhibit floor was 72,000 square feet and included 45 exhibits and 2 “mega booths” which were a combination of 14 different business unit displays. Over 4,200 event attendees were also offered 5 training theaters, over 150 monitor displays, hands-on technical training opportunities and educational sessions relating to ABB products and services.

We’ll be posting videos from ABB  Automation & Power World throughout May.  Here is the first:

Eric Allen of the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association writes about a survey of HCEA members regarding their trade show marketing spends for 2011.

Allen writes that:

While the healthcare convention marketing industry is still fundamentally sound, it appears that budgetary pressures are the “new normal,” and results measurement will become increasingly important to help exhibitors make better investment decisions and justify their convention marketing programs.

The survey was taken in December 2010 so it’s fresh data.  According to the survey:

37% of HCEA’s healthcare exhibitor members expect decreases in their convention marketing budgets in 2011, while 18% expect increases.

Other key results of the survey include:

• Roughly two-fifths (40%) of members plans to decrease the size of their exhibits by an average of 17%.

• Almost a third of members (33%) plan to decrease the total number of conventions they participate in for 2011, while 29% plan an increase.

• Two-fifths (40%) of members plan to increase their participation in regional and local events.

• About a third of convention marketing members plan to decrease certain sponsorships and promotions.

The survey also assessed the perceived importance of critical issues faced by healthcare exhibit marketers including:

• legal and regulatory compliance – 97% ranked this with high importance (as compared to 82% in 2010)

• cost containment – 82% ranked this high importance (as compared to 94% in 2010)

• booth traffic generation – 79% ranked this as highly important (as compared to 94% in 2010)

• ROI/ROO – 72% rated this as being highly important (as compared to 78% in 2010)

You can read Allen’s full article at the EIC blog here.

Think there should be a ‘Consumer Reports’ for trade shows?  Jim Wurm on the EIC blog thinks so.  And he’s pretty adamant  about it too:

If Consumer Reports can put together comparative product info on products that cost as little as $50, why can’t the trade show industry, with exhibitors who budget in the millions for some shows, have a system that allow our customers to gain comparative market info prior to making their buying decisions?

After all, advertisers/marketers are accustomed to this type of information. Lacking verifiable market data on trade shows one can appreciate why a good percentage of senior marketing executives are more trusting of their television advertising spends than they are of trade show spends. I believe it’s well past the time that this dynamic is changed.

He’s got a point.  And a method.  The post goes on to outline the type of indices that would be used to show the true value of the show.

1. Marketing Index

This index would give exhibitors a broad-based rule of thumb that would let them know the general marketing reach of show participation. And, I believe, this number would be relatively easy to generate.
Marketing Index = Total Verified Buyers / Avg. Total Costs per booth

2. Sales Index

This Index would give exhibitors very specific information on the value of exhibiting based upon sales generated at the show. While more challenging to generate this number, it would be a far more compelling yardstick.

Sales Index = Total Sales / Avg. Total Costs per booth

No doubt, this kind of information would be valuable.  But will it ever happen in a truly transparent way.  Most of Wurm’s examples (Consumer Reports, pissedconsumer.com) are indeed third party.  But they are groups that can independently purchase and test products.  Trade show organizers would have to audit this information themselves or pay someone to do it.  Motivating them to do that will be difficult.

And an audit simply is not a magic bullet.  Exhibiting at a trade show is like advertising.  An audit report will tell you who you are reaching, but it’s up to you to create an effective ad (or booth) to reach that audience in a meaningful way.

Still, Wurm makes a good point.  Trade show organizers need to provide their exhibitors with better information to help them market smarter.  It may not be a magic bullet but it’s long overdue and it will ultimately help most trade shows (and their exhibitors) succeed.

Read all of Jim Wurm’s post here.

If you think about the word exhibit, it’s really linked to museums. Whether it’s art or natural history, an exhibit is something that you go to see, walk through, and then leave. The same thing is true with a demonstration. It’s not quite real. It’s ONLY a demonstration.

So why do we use these words to describe our activities at trade shows?  These words are passive and not focused on what really sells: solving problems.

All business, in one way or another, is based on solving someone elses problems. Most exhibitors try to solve hypothetical problems that tend to be abstract. Statements like: “This machine could increase your productivity by 25%” are very common at trade shows. It’s a powerful figure but one that doesn’t solve a problem in a tangible way.

What about solving a problem that exists in the here and now? There are no shortage of those in a trade show environment.

Are you selling vacuum packaging equipment? Offer to vacuum pack luggage contents on the last day of the show to save space. Launching a new eco-friendly vehicle? Give rides to local restaurants for lunch. Selling printing equipment? Produce books on demand for the plane ride home. Or maps of the trade show floor.

Trade shows offer a host of problems that need to be solved. Solving these problems may not be your core business, but using your equipment, service or technology to do so, highlights benefits and helps create an emotional connection to your brand.

Think of it this way; many companies offer logo emblazoned bags to carry home promotional items. Just extend that idea to the next level and pick a problem you can solve using your product or service. You’ll get big headline and a great chance to connect with customers on an emotional and intellectual level.

In addition to custom building branded trade show environments, The Rogers Company is also a full service trade show and event implementation partner providing turnkey services and support for corporate clients throughout the country. Contact The Rogers Company to learn more about our range of client services including trade show marketing consultation and planning.

A few years ago Second Life was all the rage and you didn’t have to squint too far into the future to see how this could impact the Trade  Show Industry.  If you don’t know about Second Life here’s a quick recap:  it’s a virtual world where you can create a character, wander around, and interact with other characters in real time online.  You can buy houses, drive cars and even attend book signings and theatre performances.

Companies started to truly invest in this as well.  Microsoft and IBM both had a store and seminar space as did thousands of other corporations large and small.    So if you could walk through this virtual world, look at objects, and talk to people, why not have a trade show.

Susan Friedman cites the 6 advantage of Virtual Trade Shows, and Forbes recently ran an article on How to Tackle a Virtual Trade Show and Nine Steps for Tackling A Virtual Trade Show, but we’re not convinced.   Why?  Facebook and LInkedIn.  These are powerful ways of connecting people and interacting in a way that’s much more comfortable and intuitive.  Much of the hype around Second Life calmed down as other social media sites that were far more accessible came to the fore.  And it wasn’t that it was just easier to use.  It’s that these sites allowed us to be ourselves more easily rather than who we’d like to be.  Fantasies are great and Second Life certainly let’s people indulge them, but the Internet has always grown organically around the mundane aspects of every day life.

Social media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook are also easy to use and intuitive.  You can interact when and if you like.  Asking folks to control an avatar in real-time is kind of like going to a costume party:  it’s fun at first and then really awkward.

And here’s a news flash: the virtual trade show is already here:  it’s called Google.  You can search for just about every type of equipment and technology, research what others have to say about it and get just about all the information that you need to make a buying decision.  In fact, a real honest to goodness trade show might be the apex of this buying process where buying decisions are merely verified.  Smart companies are focusing on their social media strategy so that they can tap into all the searches happening on Google.  Using these types of sites they can connect with customers, analyze needs, and begin a relationship before a booth is even designed.

There is some room in cyberspace for the development of virtual trade shows.  But rather than avatar representatives manning booths in the digital realm, it will probably look more like a hybrid of Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn.  Throw Twitter in there for good measure.

These types of sites make linking information with people easy and that’s the reason we go to trade shows in the first place.  So before you suit up your avatar, look at Google, LinkedIn and Facebook and make sure you’re using these tools to their full extent.

In addition to designing and custom building branded trade show environments, The Rogers Company is a full service trade show and event implementation partner providing turnkey services and support for corporate clients throughout the country.

The HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) Conference is a major event for companies serving the Healthcare IT market. This is a rapidly growing market, but not one with complete immunity to economic ups and downs. It’s always interesting to compare two different perspectives on the same show. In the two examples below, two exhibitors offer valuable insight into what is and isn’t working for them at the show.

Chris Madjerich from Lexi Comp (Click to view) talks about how the company is using the show to break into a new market. HIMSS is one of three trade shows they attend to accommodate the other markets the company serves. He is approaching the show as an essential cog in the company’s marketing engine.

Ted Larkin from Dolbey (Click to view)saw HIMSS attendance being split between two halls. It’s a shear attendance evaluation which is subjective, but insightful.

These perspectives are valuable, and truthfully we all approach trade show using some of both. We want the show and the show organizers to work for us, bringing volumes of potential leads. We also recognize that showing up to a trade show is only the first step in making it successful.

More than anything else, this is a lesson to show organizers. Yes, exhibitors want traffic, but they won’t be fooled by shear numbers. They need to feel it in their booth. But don’t ignore the fact that exhibitors also have larger scale marketing initiatives that need to be addressed as well.  That may include other shows covering completely different markets.

Email marketing is tough.  We all know the amount of email we get on an everyday basis so the idea of contributing to the clutter makes us all shiver.  There’s also a good deal of doubt about whether or not it actually works.

Unfortunately, advice and what works and what doesn’t is equally hard to find.  Not that people aren’t writing about it.  Far from it.  Email marketing is a huge topic online and free advice is easy to get.  But Marketing Sherpa reviewed and judged hundreds of email campaigns and announced winners in various categories.

Every category has a winner and two or three runners-up.  There are pdf’s to download that give a summary and then image of the actually email campaign.

What works?

It seems that simplicity, tracking, and follow-up carry the day.  It sounds obvious, but campaigns in various categories have very direct goals either to close sales or to sign up new users.  Or both. The point is, if you don’t have a specific goal, you probably aren’t going to get results.

Most of the campaigns resulted in enviable open rates: 45% – 70%!

It’s worth browsing though to find the type of companies and campaigns that fit your company.  There’s no secret formula here to grab — just designing campaigns based on specific goals.

Download samples from the winner here:  http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=31524

In addition to designing and custom building branded trade show environments, The Rogers Company is a full service trade show and event implementation partner providing turnkey services and support for corporate clients throughout the country.

Reaching top decision makers is usually a major priority for trade show exhibitors.  Jeffrey Blackwell, president of  The Rogers Company, recently contributed to 1-to-1 Media on the topic.  His article, Reaching Mr. or Ms. Big outlines ten strategies for achieving this goal.

Reaching Mr. or Ms. Big
Blanket Branding is Great, But How Do You Reach the Top Decision-Makers Walking the Trade Show?

Trade shows are a great way to get your brand out there, meet new prospects and customers, and simply have a presence at a long established event. But what about that top decision maker that you’d like to reach: the CEO or the Senior Vice President or the manager that needs to see your product? How do you entice him or her to visit your booth?

If you think that trade shows aren’t an appropriate medium for establishing this type of connection, think again. High-level decision makers are incredibly busy, but asking them for 10 minutes of “floor time” is a lower threshold than setting up an initial appointment at Ms. Big’s office that might wind up getting bumped down to a lower level person. Here are some strategies for reaching the select group of high-level decision makers that are essential to building your business:

1.) Be Proactive
Use pre-show mailers and/or pre-show invitations to pave the way toward getting Mr. or Ms. Big to come to your booth at the show. Don’t leave it to chance that they might show up or might have heard of your company. Send them something that will motivate them to visit your booth. For some ideas as to what this might be, keep reading.

2.) Two Part Give Away
Imagine getting a remote control, but no TV. Or a pair of high-end head sets, but no iPod. Or a golf bag without the clubs.  In other words, a valuable gift with a vital missing piece with an attached note promising the rest of the gift at the show. Sounds silly but it works.   Direct mail companies are reporting up to 75% response rates from this type of promotion. The threshold for response is pretty low – stop by and get the gift. The gift has to be premium, but this type of marketing is very targeted.

3.) Educate Your Audience
Education is a powerful sales tool. People love to learn stuff – that’s why so many of us watch the DIY or food networks; use your trade show display to both introduce and train attendees on what your product or service can do for them. Use in-booth demonstrations, video presentations, or live presentations. And if your budget can handle it, hire relevant celebrities or spokespeople to appear in your booth. Having a famous expert in your field tout your product in front of a live audience is a great motivator, regardless of whether they’re famous or a key member of your team. You might even consider having your CEO or COO present a high-level talk on the impact your new product or service can have on your client’s business. If you do this, be sure to include it in your pre-show marketing.

4.) Create an Inviting, Comfortable Space
A place to sit down and relax is actually rare at a trade show. Having booth space that is comfortable with food and drink available (if trade show organizers allow it) could be a welcome respite from a busy day at the show…and a good time and space for you to connect with “The Bigs.”

5.) Sneak Peek
Often, companies focus on trade shows as a place to launch new products and services. Suppose you gave decision makers a preview of a product launch that may be a few weeks or months away? This could be anything from a closed, invitation only demonstration to a select group, to a one-on-one presentation. Invitation only previews at trade shows give you the chance to connect at a high-level with a company without having to get past the usual gate keepers.

6.) Hold an In-Booth Party
Take advantage of show approved in-booth events such as cocktail hours or breakfast breaks. Send invitations prior to the show but also bring some eye-catching printed invites along to put in the hands of decision makers when you see them at the show.

7.) Know Your VIP’s
Create a list of VIPs and make sure that your booth greeters at the reception desk are in charge of that list at all times. This ensures that when a decision maker stops by, they are engaged promptly and concisely. You only have one chance to impress someone at this level.

8.) Let the Benefits Do the Talking
Business decision makers always look for benefits. Tell them how your product can save them money or increase market share. Doing your homework with companies also goes a long way. “Dear Mr. Smith: I believe that I can help you increase your line speeds by more than 25%. I would do this by…” Give them some information but always leave things open to discuss further at the show.

9.) Offer Special Event Promotions
Force decision makers to decide. 25% off equipment purchased at the show in an exclusive invitation sent directly to your target prior to the show, can be a strong impetuous to buy. A promotional offer, especially one that has an element of exclusivity to it, can help create a personal connection that may be valuable down the road. If you do take orders at the show, both iPhone and Amex have an APPS for automatic credit card purchases. Or make certain that you have order forms on hand for filling out and signing off. This ‘seals the deal’ and gives you instant ROI, (and sometimes and an instant raise from your boss!)

10.) Connect Online
Many decision makers are on LinkedIn and other social media sites. Connecting with them there is a great way of getting past the stream of email they get every day. Also, you can connect with them through groups instead of direct contact (which can be a taboo if you don’t actually know them). Join groups associated with the trade show or with your industry and then look through the other members. Usually groups in LinkedIn allow you to message other members.

Overall, targeting individuals to come to your booth requires planning, execution, and a real commitment to making it happen. Building long term relationships with these folks will be better for your business today and tomorrow, so it’s vital that Mr. Big or Ms. Big know they’re important to you. Utilizing some of the tips provided here can go a long way toward achieving your objective of building the relationship with key decision-makers that will help propel your business forward.