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Tradeshow Workbook
- 1. event PLAN PRE AT POST event marketing organizer PLANNING OBJECTIVES.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 EVENT MESSAGE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 INFORMATION COLLECTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 PRE-SHOW AWARENESS CAMPAIGN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 INCENTIVES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 AT-SHOW SIGNAGE & DISPLAYS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 GIVEAWAYS AND PRIZES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 STAFF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 POST-SHOW Trade shows and exhibitions provide business and organizations with a unique opportunity to see a large number of people, face-to-face in a short amount of time. Whether it’s an expo, trade show or career fair, attendees visit these events to hear what you have to say. Over the past few years, reports from the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) state attendees come to these events intending to buy. The CEIR found that 91% of visitors feel they get their most useful buying information by attending a show and 75% buy as result of the information gathered at a show. FOLLOW UP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 EVALUATE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Copyright 2012 Newton Manufacturing Company
- 2. 2 EVENT MARKETING ORGANIZER PLANNING EVENTINFO: PLAN OBJECTIVES _________________________ Your objective for exhibiting at an event needs to be specific and measurable. The particulars of the show will help shape your objective. _________________________ What do you hope to achieve? _________________________________ Event Name:_______________ Event Location: _____________ _________________________ _________________________ Event Date(s): ______________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Who is your target audience? __________________________________ _________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________ _________________________________________________________ What constitutes a successful event? (product sold, education, brand awareness)_ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ DESIGN NOTE: It is important to have a well thought, out cohesive theme displayed through out your materials. Mismatching graphics and contradicting messages will have a negative impact on your audience’s view of your brand. PLAN EVENT MESSAGE Now that your objectives are identified, use them to determine your marketing message. The message should be aligned with your show objectives, i.e. are you rolling out a new product, bringing awareness to a cause or increasing your marketing share? Things to keep in mind when deciding your message: Is there any current branding/marketing collateral to build from? Will it follow corporate guidelines? Does it support your event objectives? Is it the right message for your target audience?
- 3. 3 EVENT MARKETING ORGANIZER PLANNING DESIGNNOTE: Since you will be side-byside with your competitors, your message and points of differentiation need to be well rehearsed by staff and clearly and creatively displayed on signage, collateral, samples and giveaways. STRATEGY: An engaging staff is key in information collection. Well rehearsed questions and answers will allow them to gather the information needed to qualify leads. Event Message:_____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ PLAN INFORMATION COLLECTION Finally, decide what information needs to be collected to determine if you have achieved your objectives. Outlining benchmarks will help measure your overall success. What benchmarks will you measure? Visits Leads Conversions Redemptions Other: _________________________________________________ How will you measure these benchmarks?________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Planning notes:_____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________
- 4. 4 EVENT MARKETING ORGANIZER PRE-EVENT TIMELINE: Pre-event preparations should be started three to four months prior to the event. That doesn't mean you should send everything all at once. A well-timed, multi-touch campaign will ensure plenty of traffic at your event. PRE AWARENESS CAMPAIGN Attendees won’t know you are going to be at an event unless you tell them. 76% of attendees plan their booth visits in advance. Likewise pre-event promotions have proven to increase booth traffic by 30%*. Awareness Campaign: E-vite:_________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ DESIGN NOTE: Design a direct mail piece that stands out. A 2004 study by the Direct Marketing Association found that dimensional or lumpy mail elicits a response rate that is 50% better than traditional flat mail. STRATEGIES: EVENT REGISTRATION LIST If a list of registered attendees is available, you can simply invite everyone on the list. Or, identify customers or high-value prospects and send them a special invite with an exclusive offer. CREATE A SOCIAL MEDIA EVENT Creating an event on Facebook or LinkedIn is a good way to measure interest. *CIER Center for Exhibition Industry Research www.ceir.org _________________________________________________________ Direct Mail:_____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Press Release:___________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Social Media Event:______________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Mobile Marketing:_______________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Billboard:______________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Other:_________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________
- 5. 5 EVENT MARKETING ORGANIZER PRE-EVENT STRATEGIES: THERIGHT INCENTIVE An incentives perceived value must match the attendee’s perceived cost in obtaining it. Likewise, the cost of the giveaway must match value of the intended prospect activity. If it doesn’t, you are simply throwing money away. DRAWING CUSTOMERS Using your own products or services as prizes creates interest and more customers for your offerings that are more profitable. PRE INCENTIVES Incentives can be added to your awareness campaign effectively driving traffic to your event with a call to action. These can be structured in several ways: Redemption. Attendees redeem a simple card for a gift._________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Drawing. Attendees can exchange contact info to be entered into a raffle.___________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ TIME LINE: Send invitations and incentives no later than three weeks prior to the event. _________________________________________________________ Companion Gift. Send out one item and invite the attendee to pick up the companion item at your event.____________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Pre-event notes:_____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________
- 6. 6 EVENT MARKETING ORGANIZER AT-EVENT TIMELINE: Anything that will need to be at the event should be ordered about two months prior to the event to cover production and transportation times. This does not include design and proofing of products which ideally should be started three months prior to the event. AT SIGNAGE & DISPLAYS This will most likely be the first impression attendees, particularly prospects, will have of your brand. The layout of your space should be inviting and give a visitor the ability to maneuver through it with ease. Floor Displays: __________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Table Top Displays: _______________________________________ DESIGN NOTES: _________________________________________________________ SIGNAGE & DISPLAYS _________________________________________________________ Your display needs to grab attention and identify your brand in just a few seconds, from a distance of 15-20 feet. Retractors/Banners/Flags:__________________________________ Simple design is usually better. A large, well-designed graphic, with your message and logo work best. Displays with too much information often overwhelm the audience, turning them away. KNOW YOUR LIMITS Physically taping off the dimensions of your exhibiting space will help you plan how to position your displays and move attendees through your exhibit. _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Table Covers:____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Podiums/Tables:__________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Tents: __________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Other: _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________
- 7. 7 EVENT MARKETING ORGANIZER AT-EVENT LASTINGMESSAGE The average promotional product is kept for 5.5 months. Choosing the right one will carry your message long after the event. 2010 ASI Global Advertising Specialties Impressions Study, Advertising Specialty Institute, © 2010, All Rights Reserved. AT GIVEAWAYS AND PRIZES A promotional product that is relevant, unique and fun can create a buzz around your booth. The right item can create envy among other attendees and become a viral, word-of-mouth component to your event marketing plan. Things to keep in mind when deciding on your giveaways: Is this product appropriate for my target audience? Is it a convenient size? Is it travel friendly? STRATEGIES: GET SOMETHING BACK If you are taking a more targeted approach and want to move prospects closer to a sale, make them earn the redemption item by listening to a presentation or watching a demonstration. SOCIAL MEDIA Use social media to drive traffic and enhance your presence at the event. You can use: Live updates from the show remind people to stop by your booth. Find relevant hashtags on Twitter and participate in discussions to share your expertise and draw attendees to your booth. Post pictures or video from activities at the event so that those who could not attend can still experience it. Is the product cost equal to the return? If someone gave this to you would You keep it? Giveaway Ideas:____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Prize Ideas:________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________
- 8. 8 EVENT MARKETING ORGANIZER AT-EVENT DESIGNNOTE: LOOK THE PART The type of apparel your staff wears leaves an impression on your audience. A t-shirt says something completely different than a performance polo or dress shirt. STRATEGY: GET INVOLVED Many exhibitions or shows have more going on than what’s happening on the show floor. Get involved in education sessions, socials, special presentations, etc. This may include participating or hosting a session or sponsoring an event. These are great opportunities for you to interact with industry influencers, show your thought leadership or simply share your passion. It’s one more way to build your brand at the show. AT STAFF Staff at the show are the face of your company and could be the first personal interaction that a visitor has with your brand. They should have a cohesive, on-brand and professional look and should be easy to identify even if they are not at your booth. Apparel: ________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Name Tags/Lanyards/etc.: __________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Other: _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ At-event notes:_____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________
- 9. 9 EVENT MARKETING ORGANIZER POST-EVENT TIMELINE: Your follow-up correspondence should start one or two weeks after the event. It’s a short enough time frame so the information is still fresh, but long enough your messages aren’t lost in their post-show catch up. STRATEGIES: THANK YOU If possible, personalize your thank you by mentioning something that was discussed at the booth. This will help them remember your conversation better. STAFF FEEDBACK Talk to booth staff about their observations regarding the booth, visitor feedback, industry trends, how well the branding and promotions were received and thoughts on the competition. Ask staff what they would do differently at the next show. Taking their experience into account for future show planning will help your exhibition perform better. POST FOLLOW UP After the event is where the money is made and, according to the CEIR, 80% of exhibitors do nothing. After investing in driving traffic to your booth and connecting with attendees, it would be a tragedy to waste that effort by simply packing up and going home. Follow up on those leads and contacts that you made. Thank You note: _________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Personal communication: __________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Product information packets: _______________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ POST EVALUATE The final step of any marketing plan is to evaluate the results of the campaign. Start by reviewing the performance of the marketing plan itself. Determine if the pre-show marketing drove the desired amount of traffic and if it was the right traffic. Of those visitors, how many turned into leads? Track post-show communication to determine the quality of those leads. And finally, look at the sales conversions to ultimately determine the return on investment.
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- 12. 12 EVENT MARKETING ORGANIZER ABOUTNEWTON MANUFACTURING COMPANY Newton Manufacturing is an industry leading promotional products distributor specializing in innovative advertising, performance and recognition solutions. Along with our nationwide network of representatives, we offer superior service as we deliver the ideas, products and programs to achieve your business goals and exceed your expectations. Newton focuses on value in each solution we develop by placing an emphasis on building your brand, reducing costs and moving your target audience to action. For over 100 years we have been the trusted source for some of the world’s biggest brands. We invite you to visit www.newtonmfg.com to see how we deliver on our promise of “Way More Than You Expected.”