B2B Marketing Features

Chartered Institute of Building's   sustainability challenge at Ecobuild

According to the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising's (IPA) Bellwether report, spend on live event marketing is only 0.1 per cent lower than spending on the digital sector. Far from being threatened by the digital revolution, trade fairs not only complement websites but also have much in common with them.

James Drake-Brockman, event director of Internet World, says, "For visitors, trade fairs are about learning, meeting suppliers and networking. For exhibitors it's about lead generation, branding, networking and customer care." There has been an increase in niche events aimed at smaller, more focused audiences, but visiting these can be time consuming. Consequently, he claims, attendance is delegated to more junior executives. Broader events provide time-poor senior executives the opportunity to cover everything they need in one visit.

The educational side of trade fairs is vital and expanding, but should be flexible according to requirements. Alastair Gornall, CEO of Reed Exhibitions, explains, "If people need to find about new products then more stands are necessary. If they want information, then workshops, break-out areas and seminars are more important; the stands then reinforce and demonstrate the new information." Tim Gibbon, director of PR agency Elemental, agrees. "Organisers are tuned into their audience's needs. Case studies, real-life examples and Q&A sessions from guest speakers who know the products and service - or possibly even created them - are valuable and powerful."

 

Face-to-face

The personal touch is key to trade fairs and is the reason many visitors attend. Most other media channels can be replicated online; only at trade fairs is it possible to meet a number of company reps face-to-face, discuss their services and handle their products. Many decision makers use the web to become better informed but then visit an exhibition to explore their new knowledge. Gornall says, "Emarketing is very impersonal so people welcome the opportunity to deal with human beings."

Trade fairs also offer real opportunities for small businesses to compete with huge corporations on an equal basis. Trevor Foley, group chief executive of the Events Industry Alliance (EIA), explains, "Around 90 per cent of exhibitors are SMEs and it's a great opportunity to talk to them. Often the size of the stand doesn't matter if it's been designed and prepared properly and the personnel are knowledgeable and outgoing." The right event provides an excellent opportunity to meet thousands of potential customers over two or three days. Turn those leads into business and the ROI is huge.

Most exhibitors don't make the most of the pre-event PR opportunities provided by the organisers to promote the show - and don't create enough of their own. Drake-Brockman says, "Pre-show activities are extremely important, be it via the event, working your own prospects or coming up with other ways that will get people thinking of your company when they walk through the exhibition hall doors."

 

Make a stand

Exhibition stands should be designed for the event and around the needs and numbers of expected visitors. They should differentiate the company and make a bold statement about the brand, product and service. For example, a bike on the Chartered Institute of Buildings (CIOB) stand at Ecobuild challenged riders to light up the wall by cycling as fast as possible to drive a dynamo. For under £4000 CIOB had a feature on the stand which stopped traffic; the aisles were blocked by people watching  and a ‘Top Gear'-style fastest lap board informed everyone about the leaders. The winner managed to light the whole wall in 46 seconds and won a fold-up bicycle.

Ben Moorhouse, account director at BMB, which created CIOB's stand, says, "Creating a good stand might cost a bit more but the ROI can be huge. Live events are the most dynamic element in marketing and far more productive than any other area. A trade show can initiate a dynamic dialogue which, if done well, can revolutionise the business."

 

Added value through digital

Exhibitions have an uneasy relationship with technology. According to research by ExpoStudio, 90 per cent of exhibition organisers use websites as glorified brochures. "The show guide could quite easily be replicated onto a USB stick which would allow recipients to search for relevant information and provide a tool which is of added value," suggests Gary Fox, MD of 2Heads.

Some organisers are however, utilising technology to enhance their services. For example, online exhibitor manuals can be linked to password-protected areas of the event website for exhibitors to order services, while online registration can be used to organise badging and download the show guide.

At the show itself, electronic signage can enable several screens to display different information at the same time, which helps where multiple conference rooms are operating simultaneously, or where information changes frequently. Some screens are now weather proof so can be used in the rain at outside fairs. New technology also enables two-way communication with exhibition visitors via their mobile phones, PDAs or Blackberrys. After the show, the recorded content of panel discussions, presentations, seminars, and workshops can be added to the show's website or even streamed live at the time.

As exhibitions take on an interactive element, so too must exhibitors, if they don't want to risk looking outdated. Presentations should be given in an AV format, an intranet website specifically for the event created by the exhibitor as a click through from their company website and that of the trade fair itself, and interactive screens to help if stand staff are consistently busy.

Some exhibitors raise their profile at a trade fair without a stand. "Increasingly we're finding that Reed is selling a raft of marketing communications depending on what fits best with our clients' objectives," says Gornall, adding, "Clients can make their presence felt by sponsoring an internet café, online events, a conference suite - even the coffee bar, depending on the firm, its products and its message."

 

Virtual shows a threat?

The strength of real-life exhibitions is in their immediacy; visitors can see and touch products, shake hands with company reps, chat about solutions and question experts. As Foley says, "A live event is the only medium that touches all the senses." However, with the advent of online events, there is growing competition. Drake-Brockman says, "Do organisers consider online events a threat? Absolutely. Should they? Absolutely not!"

Online events can never replace good trade fairs, but can and should complement them. Internet World, for example, runs online exhibition EnterpriseContentManagement365 (ECM365.com) which mirrors a section of the show and allows visitors to compare information about exhibitors and then contact them. It is a comprehensive directory that acts as a resource for buyers. Drake-Brockman adds, "ECM365.com provides an alternative venue to companies which don't want to exhibit at the physical show. In addition it provides cross-marketing opportunities and something that is an ‘all year round' extension of your brand." As Gornall says, "The Holy Grail is to strike the balance between a digital campaign and an experiential campaign. If you do that then one plus one really does equal three."

Live event marketing is experiencing a renaissance. In the five years leading up to 2006/7, the total spend by overseas business visitors whose purpose in coming to the UK was to attend an event rose by 56 per cent, according to the International Passenger Survey (IPS) carried out for the Office for National Statistics.

During the same period the number of such visitors rose by 49 per cent to 1.4 million. The statistics support the opinion of Drake-Brockman. "As more and more business is done online, there is a fear people will not go to exhibitions. I don't believe this for one minute. With less face-to-face happening in general, there is an even greater need for events as a forum to meet suppliers. Exhibitions - good ones anyway - are here to stay," he concludes.

 

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