Take your videos beyond passive viewing with:
Interactive touchpoints
Self-directed viewing experiences
Branded touchpoints
Deeper customer understanding
The Vimeo official guide to video marketing
With video the fastest growing segment of digital advertising, you might find Vimeo’s guide to video marketing a useful read, and view.
Acquire more leads from exhibiting. Don't just book the stand
When you are looking at exhibiting at an event, I would suggest that you think about buying a communications package that gives you the opportunity to engage the full organiser’s database (i.e. your prospects) from the moment you sign up to exhibit. Don’t just book the stand and rely on attracting the visitors on the day.
As someone involved in delivering exhibition experiences for some of my clients, the effects of the pandemic on the events industry, particularly B2B trade exhibitions has encouraged me to think again about why companies exhibit, and how they can get more value from the exhibition element of the marketing communications mix.
From my experience, I would say that many companies choose to exhibit because of the opportunity to attract a reasonable number of relevant prospects to their stand from the visitors supplied on the day by the organiser. And as a result, nearly all the effort goes into the stand experience that will help attract and engage those passing prospects at the live show.
I would still say that significant effort should go into the stand experience. However, it is very likely that the number of prospects a company engages at the live show will be a fraction of their potential prospects in the organiser’s database.
So when a company is looking at attending an exhibition as part of their marketing communications mix, I believe they should be considering it as an opportunity to engage and acquire as many prospects as possible from the organiser’s database, both on and off-stand. And that opportunity starts the moment you sign up to be an exhibitor.
My advice would be - DON’T just book the stand! Negotiate a communications package to reach the maximum number of prospects through the lifespan of the organiser’s promotional programme for that exhibition.
When considering an exhibition, get the organiser to run through all the opportunities they offer for you to communicate with the prospects they have on their database. And importantly, how much they cost. These will likely include:
• The stand space
• Email campaigns
• Newsletters
• Direct mail
• Seminar participation
• On-line event participation
• Sponsorships
• Social media
• Exhibition handbook
• Exhibitor website listings
Then work out which communications elements you would ideally like to use in addition to the stand space, and negotiate a communications package that gets you opportunities to engage and acquire all prospects from the moment you sign up to exhibit.
I believe that taking this approach should lead to far greater success in drawing more prospects into your customer experience funnel, which is ultimately the goal of most exhibitors.
If you have any questions about how to make your exhibiting campaign more successful then please email Simon Baxter.
How to build up a realistic exhibiting budget for the next financial year
Purpose of this article: To provide guidance and tools to help exhibitors build up an exhibiting budget that the business can use for future financial planning and budget allocation.
Summary
A well thought through and realistic exhibiting budget can be a useful planning tool for any business as they look to allocate marketing spend and forecast their financial position for the coming year.
In this article you will explore the elements that make up the costs of exhibiting and, find guidance and a budgeting calculator to help you build up a realistic budget for the business to use in the next planning cycle.
The key costs that make up an exhibiting budget are:
Space
Physical stand
Marketing pre/during/post
Travel and accommodation
The rest of the article will explore how you can estimate the costs in detail. You can put your costs into the W7 budgeting tool (Download here) to build up your next exhibiting budget.
Cost elements
Space
Exhibition space is bought by the square metre and varies across exhibitions. There are two types of stand space offered by exhibition organisers:
Space only
The exhibitor is just buying a space on the exhibition floor and is responsible for organising and paying for any walling, stand fittings, utilities and flooring.
Shell scheme
Shell schemes provide structured stand spaces that generally include walls, nameboard, flooring and a basic electrics package.
The exhibitor can create a stand by either, attaching their own graphics directly to the shell scheme walls or, provide a self-supporting exhibition stand that fits in the space that has been bought.
How to build up a space cost:
Identify and list the exhibitions to attend in the next budgetary period
List the intended space type and stand size for each exhibition
Email each exhibition organiser and request their stand cost per square metre
Put the figures into the budgeting tool to estimate the space costs
Physical stand
The costs for a physical stand will consist of:
Structure
Graphics
Experiences e.g. video screens, interactive displays, demonstrations
Design
Set-up/Breakdown
Utilities
Thought should be given to both the physical stand and space at the same time, as you should be looking at costing the type of space that will fit your existing or proposed stand(s).
How to build up a physical stand cost
Write down a vision of the stand or stands that you would like to use noting:
Size(s)
Graphics
Experiences
2. Contact one or two stand suppliers with your vision and ask if they can give you an idea of the cost of producing a suitable stand structure and hardware for any experiences, such as TVs
If they do the graphic design then ask for that estimate too
3. If you require a set-up/breakdown service then ask the stand supplier(s) to give an estimate for each exhibition
4. Ask your design agency for an estimate for the graphic design and artwork, based on your stand vision
5. Put the estimated figures into the budgeting tool
Stand utilities
Now that you have an idea of the exhibitions you want to go to and the stand experiences that you want to achieve at those exhibitions, you will have an idea of the utilities you will need at each exhibition.
Utilities include:
Electrics
Water
Wifi
How to build up utilities cost:
Estimate the utilities you need by exhibition.
Contact the exhibition organiser and get estimated costs
Put figures into the budgeting tool
Marketing
There will be marketing costs to consider that are specific to the exhibitions you intend to go to.
Your exhibition marketing should aim to:
Encourage your target audience to visit the show and your stand
Draw visitors onto the stand at the show
Promote your products and services to stand visitors
Capture prospect details
Engage prospects post event
Marketing costs can include:
Uniforms
Collateral
Samples
Giveaways/premiums
Advertising
Design
Placement
Direct marketing
Email
Direct mail
Social media
Creation
Placement
How to build up marketing costs
1. Research the information below and input the figures into the budgeting calculator
2. Uniforms
a. Google ‘Promotional clothing’ to look at one or two suppliers of the type clothing you want and get an idea of the likely unit costs involved
b. Think about how many items you might need
3. Collateral – If you want to produce collateral for the show(s) then formulate roughly what items you want over the year. You can then use those ideas to get an idea of the costs involved:
a. Design – Talk to your agency to get a rough cost for creative and artwork
b. Print – Talk to your printer or go on a couple of printers’ websites to get an idea of unit costs
4. Samples – You will know how much a sample of your product costs, so you just need to think roughly how many you might give away at each exhibition
5. Giveaways/Premiums – If you are going to want to give away branded promotional items then you can get an idea of cost by:
a. Googling ‘promotional merchandise’ to find the sort of item you might want and an idea of likely unit costs
b. Think about the likely number of items you are going to give away over the events you are intending to exhibit at
c. Talk to your agency about any likely design costs
6. Advertising
a. Decide on the formats and the media for placement
b. Get an idea of placement price from the media sellers
c. Decide how many ads you are likely to place
d. If you are creating specific ads then talk to your design agency to get an idea of creative costs
7. Direct marketing – This will include emails and direct mail
a. Think about the format and numbers of people you will be sending to e.g. Direct mail, email
b. If you are using an agency to produce the content then talk to them about potential design and set up costs
c. For printed item costs, get an idea of unit costs from your printer
d. Get costs ‘per item send’ from your email platform and/or postal service
8. Social media – If you are using an agency for your PR then talk to them to get a rough cost for a campaign for each exhibition
Travel and accommodation
The teams manning the stands will need to travel to the venues, often stay in hotels and may also be entertaining customers.
These costs may vary considerably by exhibition depending on the size of your stand and location of the venue.
How to build up travel and accommodation costs
1. Group the exhibitions you want to attend by the likely common travel and accommodation costs for the stand team plus the number of likely people on the stand. For example:
a. Local, 2 days, 3 people
2. Note down the number of events in each category
3. For each category, make an estimation of the travel and accommodation costs as follows:
a. Travel
i. Make an estimate of the average distance each person will have to travel to and from the venue
ii. Make an estimate of the likely cost per mile. This can be done by deciding which will be the main choice of transport and applying a realistic cost per mile. In the UK that might be 45p/mile for a car, 30p/mile for a train
b. Accommodation
i. Note down the number of nights required to stay for each event category
ii. Do a quick google search to estimate the cost per night of suitable accommodation near the venues
4. Put your figures into the budget calculator
For more information or for advice on how to build an exhibition budget please contact Simon Baxter. Email or tel. 07753600031
A guide to successful exhibiting in a post Covid environment
Introduction
On the 17th July 2020, Boris Johnson announced the opening up of the events and exhibition industry from 1st October 2020. Subject to the results of a number of test events run under the guidelines agreed between the industry bodies AEO, ESSA, AEV and the government.
I spoke to two of the construction industry’s key exhibition organisers, Ollie Hughes of Digital Construction Week and Nathan Garnett of UK Construction Week to help me provide this guide to successful exhibiting in what will be an uncertain and changing environment.
2. The continued importance of face to face exhibitions to business
‘We have learnt a lot of lessons during this crisis, about the potential of technology, but I think there are also limits to this technology and is no substitute for face-to-face meetings and interactions.’ - Boris Johnson, FT, 17th July 2020.
Given the rise in use of online events technology during lockdown, there will undoubtedly be some change in the mix of online and face to face business communications going forward but, as Boris Johnson indicated in his interview with the FT, there are some situations where a face to face social interaction is much more beneficial.
Being an exhibitor at a relevant trade show gives you the opportunity to have a live face to face with a large number of invited, interested prospects where you can:
Persuade
Explain
Answer questions
Gain trust
Demonstrate
Exhibitions are a good way to maximise sales resource by concentrating prospects and the sales team in the same place at the same time.
Exhibition organisers invest heavily in building large databases of prospective industry buyers and influencers, to which exhibitors have the opportunity to engage with via the exhibition marketing program and live event.
3. How to maximise your return on exhibition investment
The opening up of exhibitions post Covid will be an evolving situation, with a lot of uncertainty and some specific requirements to deliver a safe exhibition. There will be a lot of learning from the exhibitions run in the last quarter of 2020 and, what an exhibition in October 2020 looks like compared to one in May 2021 could be quite different.
In the conversations I had with Nathan Garnett and Ollie Hughes, it seemed to me that for an exhibitor, it is even more important to become excellent at the things that have always been the hallmarks of successful exhibitors.
3.1 Be very clear about what you want to achieve
This should always be the starting point when considering exhibiting as part of your marketing plan.
As an exhibitor you need to be very clear about:
What you want to achieve
What is it that you can do at the show that you can’t do through other channels
Who you want to target
Being very clear on these areas will help you:
Decide which exhibition to attend
Inform your marketing program
Lever the organiser’s marketing program
Brief your stand experience team
3.2 Make full use of the organiser’s marketing channels
Both Ollie and Nathan emphasised that there is a strong correlation between those exhibitors that engage more with the organisers and use their marketing tools, and those who get good results.
It will be more important now to work hard to attract the largest number of quality leads to your stand on the day. It is likely potential visitors will be looking to justify their visit more and spend less time at the event.
Exhibitors need to give visitors a strong reason to leave their desk and seek out their stand at the exhibition.
3.2.1 Complete marketing package
As an exhibitor, you are buying a complete marketing package not just the stand space. The organisers will have a complete marketing program to help you engage with and draw prospects to your stand. The marketing program will cover the lead up to the event, during the show and post event and, it is increasingly common for a show organiser’s marketing program to engage potential visitors year round.
Once you are clear on what you want to achieve at the show and who you want to target, talk to the show organiser. They will have a marketing team to help and advise you on how to best use their marketing tools to engage relevant prospects.
A show organiser’s marketing program typically includes:
A. Regular newsletter to exhibition visitor and prospect database.
Giving exhibitors the opportunity to:
Supply news, insight, education
Advertise
Encourage visitors to the stand
B. Regular online events e.g. webinars, podcasts, round tables, Q&As
The use of these in show organisers marketing programs has accelerated in the first half of 2020 as companies have pivoted towards more use of online communications channels. Organisers will offer advice on how to produce the right sort of content.
Exhibitors can:
Provide content to organiser for planned event
Participate in organiser’s live event
Host their own event
Online events can be a great way to engage and capture relevant prospect data for further targeted communications.
C. Social media
All shows will have their own social media program in which you can participate. The organiser’s marketing team can advise exhibitors how to best take advantage of this channel based on what they want to achieve.
D. Event website
The event website offers a number of promotional opportunities:
Exhibitor entry
Sponsor/Partner
Speaker bio
E. Industry advertising and PR
The show will have their own advertising and PR campaign across the relevant media channels and exhibitors can feature through:
Providing news and informed content
Partners logos appearing on ads
F. Venue
There will be a number of opportunities for exhibitors to promote their brands in and around the venue.
Sponsorship of events, areas, programme, uniforms, badges, lanyards
Meet the buyers – pre-arrange meetings
Event app
Signage
Advertising in area leading to event
Organiser’s live stream news and reporting
4. Designing your stand experience – Plan for the best, prepare for the worst
Designing a stand experience for an event in the next 18 months (from 22/07/20), that offers the best social interaction between exhibitor and visitor is going to be more of a challenge. The guidelines governing the design and operation of an exhibition stand are likely to evolve as the industry opens up and learns from early events in Q4 2020.
A sensible approach could be to try and remain as flexible as possible, as long as possible by designing a stand experience that can adapt quickly to any changes in guidelines that allow you to relax any Covid measures, and provide an enhanced social interaction on the stand. Or potentially put measures back at the last moment.
4.1 Get the exhibitor’s manual
The first thing you should always do when you sign up to exhibit is to get hold of the exhibitors manual and read it through thoroughly. The exhibitors manual will be more important than ever as it should contain everything you need to know to design and deliver a Covid safe stand experience in line with the current event industry guidelines, and will likely include a risk assessment template including risks associated with the transmission of Covid-19.
The manual should be shared with all relevant stakeholders; stand designers, suppliers, stand team, marketing agencies, stand logistics.
Organisers will keep you informed of any changes to guidelines for the design, operation and logistics for your stand experience. You will need to have processes in place to make sure that any changes to the exhibitors manual are fed to the relevant stakeholders in a timely manner.
4.2 Keep the show organiser informed
Exhibitors should keep the organiser informed of their stand experience plans as they develop. The organiser can then advise of any potential issues and help find a solution.
4.3 Additional considerations when designing the stand experience post Covid
4.3.1 Change of Covid safe guidelines
The state of the Covid-19 outbreak may require changes to the guidelines for creating a Covid safe stand experience in the lead up to an exhibition. They might relax, or become more stringent
4.3.2 Covid transmission considerations
Respiratory hygiene
Social distancing
Surfaces
4.3.3 One way traffic flow systems and wider aisles
Signed traffic flows are likely to be in place to encourage social distancing. Organisers will be keen for large crowds not to build up in the aisles.
4.3.4 Longer hours and incentivised entry times
Organisers are likely to try and manage crowd density by extending opening hours and trying to encourage a more even spread of visitor arrivals.
4.3.5 Visitors optimising their time more
Visitors may be looking to spend less time at the exhibition but make sure they get the most out of it. So may spend more time planning their visit
4.4 Ideas for designing a stand experience in a post Covid environment
4.4.1 Design several stand experience scenarios
With guidelines for delivering a Covid safe stand experience likely to change over time it could be prudent to look at a ‘layered’ stand design that allows you to remain flexible in delivery right up to the last moment.
The stand experience could be designed so that the individual layers of safety features can be removed if the guidelines suddenly allow. Leaving an enhanced visitor experience. For example, using portable/removable screens and social distancing signage.
4.4.2 Learn from other’s experiences
Exhibitors can learn from what other people have already done in similar circumstances. Exhibitions have already been run in China, retail has already opened and hospitality is open. Exhibitors may have colleagues in other countries who are already exhibiting and stand builders may already have experience of designing a Covid safe stand experience.
4.4.3 Design for the traffic flow
If the traffic flow in front of the stand is one-way then it could be advantageous to design the stand experience to concentrate on attracting attention from that direction. This could be the physical elements for the stand or the way the stand staff operate.
Again, it could be worth keeping this flexible in case things change. Keep in touch with the organiser.
4.4.4 Focus on the reason to be exhibiting
When developing the stand experience, exhibitors should hone in on what it is they are there for and want to achieve. This may not be the time to be offering refreshments to attract visitors on to the stand, if you are not a caterer.
4.4.5 Demonstrations
Demonstrations are one of the key elements of an exhibition that cannot be easily replicated through other media. But they will need to be managed in terms of the touching of equipment and crowds. Exhibitors will need to think carefully, and liaise with the show organiser, about how they can deliver a safe and engaging demonstration.
Think about:
Timed demonstrations
Demonstrated by stand staff only
Less people trying product
Regular cleaning of shared/touched surfaces
Signed audience viewing points
4.4.6 Pre-booked meetings
With visitors likely to be trying to optimise their visit in a shorter time, exhibitors need to use the organisers and their own marketing programs to try and organise timed meetings on the stand.
4.4.7 Booth live streaming
Booth live streaming with Q&A facility can be used to widen the audience, especially for timed product demonstrations.
On stand events will need to be publicised with links.
4.4.8 Managing people flow and density
Considerable thought will need to be given as to how the stand operates on the day. How you control the movement of people on and off the stand and maintain any social distancing required.
This can be done through:
Signage and floor markings
Stand staff
Timed visits
4.4.9 – Stand team
Manning a stand can be tiring and stand staff need to be on their game all the time. The longer opening hours may mean that staff will need scheduled rest periods. So a bigger team than normal might be required.
Higher general levels of illness may require a few back-up stand crew trained up and ready to step in if required on the day.
Potential nervousness of visitors means stand staff will need to make sure visitors feel safe to come on to the stand and engage. This means stand staff will need to be:
Well trained in and, exhibit good respiratory and hand hygiene
Seen to be managing the visitor flow and density on the stand
Seen to be cleaning shared contact surfaces regularly
5. Top tips
Be very clear about what you want to achieve
Get, read and share the exhibition manual with all stakeholders
Make the most of the show marketing package
Always be ready and welcoming. Right to close of play!
Keep the organiser informed of your stand experience development
Resources
Re-purpose your exhibition stands to help create a covid safe environment for workers, visitors and customers.
With the lack of live events, most companies have packed away their exhibition stands into storage. Those stands could be helping your company 'get back to work.'
As people return to using internal environments for work, leisure, education and health they will need to be:
Re-assured that the host is doing everything they can to keep people safe
Informed of what they need to do to stay safe
Guided around the facility in a safe way
Those modular display stands in storage are ideal to help your company create a safe internal environment for your staff, visitors and customers.
They are easy to:
Set-up - Less people on site
Keep Clean - Just wipe down
Re-message - As guidelines change
Each situation is likely to be a bit different in terms of the messaging and spatial requirements. A modular stand kit can be easily re-configured to create a specific structure, and bespoke graphics can be easily produced and replaced.
Here are some broad ideas to help your thinking:
Re-assurance station
People will need to feel re-assured that it is safe to enter a building and go about their business. Re-assurance can take both a physical dimension, like a sanitising station, and messaging about the things the host is doing in the background to ensure a safe environment: regular cleaning, social distancing, shift patterns, traffic flow...
A small pop-up stand and plinth can be used to create a welcome station where people entering the building can immediately sanitise their hands and learn about how the environment is being kept safe. Plus what is expected of the individual to help keep themselves and others safe. A video screen can be added to deliver key messages and an online address can point people to information they can carry with them on their devices.
Inform and direct safe practices on-site
Displays around the premises can be used to remind and instruct people how to safely behave on-site to minimise transmission risk, and what practices they should follow.
Guidance around a facility
The wide range of pop-up frame structures make it easy to create bespoke temporary dividing walls with guiding graphics to help safe traffic flow and distancing of people on-site.
Everyone's requirements are likely to be slightly different. Talk to your stand supplier, or us, about what you are trying to do around your facility and how you could re-purpose the stands you have in storage to help get your company 'back to work,' by creating a safe environment for your staff, visitors and customers.
About W7 Marketing Communications
As part of our marketing solutions we offer bespoke modular display solutions which are completely tailored to your own needs. We will be happy to discuss your specific requirements and provide a FREE, no obligation concept design and quote. Please contact Simon Baxter or click the button below for more information.
Store your exhibition stand in plain sight of your target audience
And get a much better return on your investment
Exhibition stands often spend over 50% of the year hidden away in a warehouse. Instead of putting your stand into storage between events, why not look to see where else it could carry on spreading your messages to your prospects, customers, colleagues and other stakeholders. Giving you a much better return on your investment in your exhibition solution.
Here's a few suggestions for storing your exhibition stands in plain sight of your target audiences, in between shows.
1. around your organisation
Continue to spread your brand, product and corporate messages to colleagues throughout your organisation, and to visiting customers.
Stands could be placed in:
- Offices
- Meeting rooms
- Receptions
- Canteens
- Showrooms
2. At customers’/distributors’ premises
Keep your brand top of mind and help educate your key customers' salesforces by rotating stands through their depots in:
- Their offices
- Telesales/sales area
- Reception
- Showroom
- Public areas
3. Use as back drops for content creation
Provide a high impact backdrop when creating still and video imagery for:
- Town Halls
- Interviews
- Videos
- Social media
4. COMPANY EVENTS
- Conferences - Place your key messages around the conference venue
- Company parties - Could be used to create themed environments by putting new graphics on your existing frames
5. Sampling
Provide a high impact backdrop for sampling
on customer premises
- Offices
- Foyers
- Canteens
- Rest areas
High traffic public places
- Shopping centres
- Railway stations
- Airports
- Sports venues
- Concerts/events
So next time you have a gap in your exhibition programme. Don't hide it away in a warehouse. Store it in full view of your prospects, customers, colleagues or stakeholders.
For more information on exhibition and event solutions contact Simon Baxter.
Planning and good project management are key to successful exhibiting
“A man who does not plan long ahead will find trouble at his door.” ― Confucius
Create your own exhibiting project plan. Register here for our free online guided session.
Why plan?/What could possibly go wrong?
Successful exhibiting requires all the elements that deliver your stand and audience to fall into place at a specific point in time. There are no extensions. If you are not ready then you will have wasted a lot of your company’s money.
Delivering an exhibition campaign for your company can be a complicated project and, like any project, its successful delivery is governed by how you manage the 3 interdependent variables of:
· Time
· Cost
· Quality
If you give yourself the right amount of time to plan and get things done then you should be able to procure at a reasonable level of budget for the quality of outcome you are striving for.
If you don’t plan with enough time for all the work to be done, you risk a reduction in the quality of your exhibition presence, failure to attract your target visitors, and an increase in cost. Squeezing timelines can mean some of the things you set out to deliver just don’t get done, and mistakes are made as there is less time for people to turn jobs round. You are also likely to have to pay a premium for shorter delivery times.
How to create an exhibition project plan
Delivering a successful exhibition presence involves the timely delivery of many interdependent tasks. This requires a well scoped out project plan that is meticulously delivered.
You should start planning at least 6 months out from your event but preferably 12 months.
The following steps will help you create and execute a project plan for your next exhibition. If you would like help developing your own plan, please join our ‘Create your own exhibiting project plan’ on our online main stage on Wednesday 8th January 2020.
1. Confirm the date of the exhibition
2. Assign a project leader
3. Map out a vision of what success looks like
4. Identify all the tasks needed to achieve your vision plus
a. The time each task will take to complete
b. What the start of any task might be dependent on
c. The person who will be responsible for completion of the task
5. List out all the tasks in some form of project plan (excel will do as a start. There are online project planning apps) that indicates
a. The time the task will take to complete (add a bit of contingency)
b. The order in which they need to be completed
c. Who is responsible for completion of that task
6. Compare the projected critical task completion dates with actual required completion dates and adjust timings and/or quality of output
7. Host the project plan in a digital space (e.g. Sharepoint, dropbox) that can be shared with all stakeholders
8. Make sure all stakeholders are aware of their responsibilities and timings
9. Plan in regular stakeholder meetings to make sure the project remains on track
Want help creating your next exhibiting project plan?
Sign up now for our ‘Create your own exhibiting project plan’ session. on our ‘Main Stage’ on Wednesday 8th January 2020.
We’ll be guiding you through everything you need to create a solid exhibiting project plan to successfully manage your next exhibition and give you a project template to adapt.
You will:
· Create a vision of your exhibition campaign outcomes
· Identify all the tasks you need to deliver that vision
· Get a pre-filled exhibition project plan to adapt for your next exhibition
· Have the opportunity to ask questions
You can watch the 30 minute video at your leisure during the day and ask us any questions you may have.
Sign up now to make sure your 2020 exhibition campaign is a well planned success.
Always be proactive and ready to engage visitors at an exhibition
Wander round any exhibition and you will often see stand staff with their head down in their laptop or their mobile phone, as their potential customers wander past.
If you want to make the most the considerable investment you have made in the opportunity to talk to many prospects and customers in one place, your stand staff must pro-actively engage the visitors.
Dotdigital tip - Prevent parts of your email content stacking on mobile
When you are creating an email campaign in Dotdigital there are times when you may not want the content to stack on a small mobile device, as is the template default. For example you may have an offer you want to make sure is always visible alongside a piece of text.
At a Dotlive session last night one of the trainers showed us the easy way to do that. Just select the place holder and then under the ‘Display options’ in the ‘Styles’ tab on the left, check ‘Do not stack content.’
This means that part of the email will not stack when in portrait on a mobile.
I hope you find that useful when creating email campaigns.
Simon Baxter
Exhibiting lesson #2 - 3 essential ingredients for successful exhibiting
Here are 3 of the essential ingredients for a successful exhibition. You get lots more great advice from our ‘Guide to Successful Exhibiting.’
1 Attractive eye-catching stand with a clear message
Attract the visitor’s attention
The first essential job of an exhibition stand is to attract the visitor’s attention.
As I am sure you know from your own experience, exhibition visitors are busy people with a short amount of time to find the products and services that will be of benefit to them, amongst the sea of stands confronting them.
People are either scanning the aisles for products and services that might be useful, or looking for a Company they have identified beforehand as a potential supplier.
You have 3 seconds to get your message across
Yes, that’s pretty much it. As the visitor’s eyes turn towards your stand, you have about 3 seconds to convince them to take a closer look.
In those 3 seconds the stand design must convey:
Who you are
What you do
What is the benefit for the visitor
So your stand design should be attractive with simple and clear messages. Remember the stand is only one element of your exhibition presence. You don’t have to get everything across with the graphics. Think through how all the different elements work to draw the visitor onto the stand and then convince them of their need for your product or service.
If you get this right, the visitors who come on the stand should be warm prospects already because they have self selected your product/service as being of potential benefit to them.
A visitor attraction can help
Humans are naturally curious. Our eyes are always drawn to a crowd as we wonder what is going on to create that interest. So if you have an experience drawing a crowd you will naturally attract more people.
I believe a visitor attraction should:
Be engaging
Be part of the brand/product message
Involve multiple people simultaneously
Capture visitor details
Typical types of attractions:
Digital games
Wireless headphone seminars/presentations
Digital or live product demonstrations
2 Great stand team
Once the visitor’s eyes have been attracted to the stand, the responsibility of engagement shifts to the stand team. These guys will now be critical to engaging and identifying viable prospects, capturing their details, and priming them to engage in the follow-up after the show.
Choose a team with these desired characteristics
I know from experience that working an exhibition stand effectively can be an exhausting experience. There is generally no let up as you continually engage visitors one after the other.
A good stand team member should have the following characteristics:
Happy to proactively engage passing visitors
Stamina to continuously engage visitors
Have a happy, positive, welcoming personality
Are enthusiastic about the brand/Company/product
Can take rejection in their stride and move on
Will focus all their time on the exhibition objectives
Brief your stand team well
The effectiveness of the stand team on the day will depend heavily on how well they have been briefed on what is expected of them.
The team need to know well in advance who they are, so that they can plan their work schedule around the exhibition dates and sort out any logistics like travel and accommodation.
As you get closer to the exhibition, the stand team should be briefed more thoroughly on what is expected of them and what tools they have to deliver on those expectations.
Briefing checklist:
Who is setting up stand?
Who is going to be stand manager and on which days?
What is the stand rota so the stand is always manned, and people are fresh
What is expected of the team?
Proactively engage passing visitors?
Recognise VIPs
Identify their needs for your products and services?
Demonstrate relevant products?
Pass them to relevant stand expert?
Agree follow-up?
Capture details?
Be ready at all times?
Wear uniform or observe dress code so visitors know who to approach?
Tools to help the stand team
Example open questions to ask and break the ice
Product training
Accessible collateral
A stand experience
Lead capture mechanism
3 Follow-up
Last but certainly not least. It is absolutely critical to follow-up on those hard earned leads if you want to get the best return on investment on your exhibition campaign.
You can make things a lot easier by making sure you have a defined data capture, prioritisation, and follow-up procedure. You can save a lot of marketing time by automating a lot of the follow-up process digitally through the use of platforms such as Dotdigital. This will mean the sales guys can concentrate on directly engaging the priority leads while the automation nurtures the rest.
Timing is important but not an exact science. I would say it is best to try and catch people when they are back at their desk but still have you in the back of their mind. So within a few days of the exhibition but not an hour after they have visited and are on the train home, as often happens to me.
Make sure follow-up calls are made. They need to be assigned to an individual who is supplied with all the background information, to enable them to have an informed conversation.
For more detailed information you can download our ‘Guide to Successful Exhibiting’ which is packed full of actionable tips and insight to help you deliver a successful exhibition and get the best return on your investment.
