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Rethink Event-Based Marketing
August 6, 2008

The July 2008 issue of Folio: magazine had an article on one of the side consequences of mushrooming travel costs: diminished attendance at trade shows, conferences, and other events.

While American Business Media says events have eclipsed print as the largest revenue stream for its members, skyrocketing travel costs could dampen the party for both b-to-b and consumer publishers. According to the Society of Independent Show Organizers, 50 percent of respondents to a recent Travel Costs Survey say they expect a moderate impact on their events business while 39 percent said it will be a great impact. Forty-one percent of respondents say they expect to see a 10 percent drop in expo attendance over the next 12 months.

It’s not that people aren’t going to events at all; rather, companies are instead limiting the number of people from a single company who get to go. While there was a time when anyone who wanted to go to an event was given the green light, now companies are being a bit more stingy about who, and how many, they send. This hasn’t just been a case of high gas prices; this had been a developing trend since the burst of the tech bubble in 2000. (Ah, some of us have exceedingly fond memories of trade shows during the tech boom of the late 1990s; where else could a lowly technology writer see The B-52s for free? And they even outlasted the company that hired them to play at the event...)

Anyway, Folio:, unsurprisingly, frames this in the context of what this means for publishers, who are the ones running most of these events, and who suffer from decreased attendance—which translates to more frustrated exhibitors, a questioning of how much they are willing to pony up for booth space, and even a greater judiciousness about what shows at which to exhibit. This in turn translates to empty booths, and eve further decreased attendance as they see a show getting “lame.” It’s a bit of a death spiral.

For marketers, trade show and conference exhibition is a tough call. First of all, these events are expensive to attend, especially if equipment or other materials have to be shipped. Many companies have booths that rival Notre Dame cathedral in architectural splendour. There are of course the travel and lodging costs of company representatives. And all the incidental costs (cocktail parties...)—some unexpected. For example, every four years sees the biggest trade show for the printing industry, DRUPA, which is always held in Germany. The most recent DRUPA was June 2008; many U.S. companies were basing their travel expenses on what they had spent in 2004—or even 2000. Unfortunately, the dollar has dropped dramatically against the euro even in the past four years, which made effective travel expenses much greater than past years.

Despite the costs, events still remain one of the best opportunities to attract new business, network with colleagues and potential customers, and show off one’s wares. Giving up events entirely may be one of those cases where you are cutting off your nose to spite your face. What can be done?

There are a number of ways that companies can use events effectively.

Focus on Conferences Rather than Exhibit Floors

People who attend conferences and trade shows are increasingly there to learn something, and many attendees go primarily for educational seminars and sessions and the show flow is often an afterthought—if they vget there at all. Therefore, sponsoring a session—or, better yet, having a company representative conduct a session or participate in a panel discussion—is a great way to market your company while at the same time providing value to a potential customer by educating them in some way. Also, many conferences pay honoraria and/or travel expense reimbursement to participants.

Conduct Your Own Conferences on the Show Floor

Exhibitors at conferences increasingly set up their own training sessions on the show floor, either in separate classroom-ettes or in large theater-like settings. Post schedules in the show daily (if there is one) or in whatever show guides the organizers are giving out. Having been the managing editor for three days’ worth of show dailies for the old Seybold Seminars, I can tell you: they have a voracious appetite for content.

Have an Inviting Booth

I don’t just mean “booth babes” (lest you think I’m being sexist, I’ve seen booth babes in both male and female varieties), but rather a booth that is inviting to a passerby. What you want to avoid is the lonely sales guy standing in a booth clutching a stack of brochures and staring dolefully at passersby like Droopy the Dog. (We’ve all seen these booths and they are often uncomfortable and offputting.) This is why having more than one person in a booth is a good idea; it often takes a crowd to draw a crowd.

Focus on Local Shows

The Folio: article mentions the fact that people are staying closer to home, and events that can be single-day affairs and don’t involve overnight stays are becoming increasingly popular. A little research can help turn up local shows in your industry; local sales reps in various territories may be able to help pinpoint opportunities. These shows are usually scaled-down affairs, or focused, single-topic events, which means you don’t need phalanxes of sales personnel or a highly baroque booth.

Look into Virtual Events

Webinars and other “virtual trade shows” are growing in popularity, since they involve no travel whatsoever, and can often provide the same educational programming as a three-day event. Trade and B-to-B publications in a given industry usually conduct or provide portals to Webinars. Getting on e-letter mailing lists can often keep you apprised of upcoming Webinars. Sponsoring or participating in such a virtual event can be a good way to get your company’s logo in front of what tends to be a smaller, but highly qualified audience. Webinar attendees have to register, which means that sponsors get a set of leads that are likely of far better quality than 90% of the business cards collected at an in-person trade show.

Despite the doom-and-gloom attitude regarding events, the point is that they are not going away, and the increased travel costs of late are really only exacerbating trends that have been developing for the past 10 years anyway. But event-based marketing is, like everything else, changing, and it is up to the savvy marketer to participate smartly.

Posted by Richard Romano on August 6, 2008 | Comments (0)