Beyond The Ordinary – How to Stand-Out at a Show

The show is busy, lots of people milling about. The perfect opportunity to ensure your investment in your tradeshow program pays off. At a show, it is all about ROI. You want to generate a positive ROI (defined as [Sales divided by Investment $ > 1]) at every show. So how do you stand-out from the crowd?

1. Keep it simple – elaborate methods of garnering attention cost a lot and require you to push more sales through to generate a positive ROI. Sometimes the most effective ways are the least expensive ways. I once saw a large number of an exhibitor's staff wearing large brown paper bags as their uniforms. They would hang around the aisles and were handing out environmentally friendly paper bags for carrying swag. Cheap, simple yet very effective. The simple cartoon below, while not very repeatable is an example of a very effective "gimmick" – when it works.
2. Focus on your theme – the "paper bag" company was an environmental company and the attention grabbing method they choose fit well with their theme, significantly enhancing memorability. It takes time and a lot of effort to come up with a theme that is cost-effective, memorable, fits in with your company's products, and is one that your staff will embrace. Brainstorming prior to attending a show is crucial, and no idea no matter how outlandish should be ignored.
3. Keep it consistent – make sure your theme is carried through from your pre-show mail outs, to show presence, and finally to post-show follow up. Repetition of a theme allows your presence to stand-out from the crowd and remind prospects of why they need to deal with you. You may want to consider a tease of the theme in your pre-show mail outs, a full unveiling at the show, and then an evolution of the theme for the post-show follow up. A simple example for a cataract surgery hospital may be to send a glass eye with the quote "an eye for an eye making the whole world blind". Ask them to bring the eye to your booth. At the show, hand out inexpensive toys without the eyes and put the first eye into the doll. Have them complete a survey and as their reward, the remaining eye will be mailed to them. The "evolution" may be that the eye is a different colour and is the result of a positive cataract surgery. At the same time you will send them your marketing material and put them into your database for a follow-up call.

Have fun with themes and ideas, but don't spend a lot of money on brochures or giveaways that the attendee will not keep. They have enough pens, pads, envelope openers, key chains, etc. Give them something that will appeal to their children and the odds of them keeping it will significantly increase. When their children play with it the positive associations with your company will be well worth the investment.

Distribution of Trade Show Literature

Submitted by Brian Keobke CME

The type and style of literature you give away at shows can really impact your budget. Careful consideration needs to be given to your approach.

According to the Center for Exhibit Industry Research (CEIR) 72 percent of brochures distributed at trade shows are never looked at. At the same time, brochures represent one of the biggest expenses in your trade show budget. With an average brochure costing anywhere from $2.00 to $5.00 your staff can quickly give away thousands of dollars in material that is read by less than 30 percent of the people who receive it!

If this percentage of discarded material seems high I encourage you to look at the garbage cans near the exit of any exhibit hall when you're leaving. These garbage cans may account for half of the brochures that are thrown out, the other half gets thrown out when people get back to their hotel room and start packing their luggage. It's not a hard decision for most people when over-stuffing a suitcase to decide whether to take home their clothes and souvenirs or brochures from a show.

With these thoughts in mind you should:

• Only distribute brochures to qualified leads.
  

• Placing all of your materials on a CD is convenient for your clients and cost effective.
  

• Don't leave your expensive brochures out to be picked up by all visitors.
  

• Mark your best brochures or product guides as "Exhibit Copy" and if someone still requests it you can retrieve a copy from storage.
  

• A less expensive brochure is usually more suitable for trade show distribution -typically a one page handout sheet that shows an overview of your product line and directs them to your web site for more information.
  

• A more effective way of the distributing brochures may be to offer your potential client the convenience of mailing the brochure to them after the show. Most clients will gladly provide their contact information knowing that they are going to get something from your company and will not have to carry the materials home with them.
  

  
  

  Do you have a strategy for brochures that you would like to share with the industry? If so please do so by using the form below.