Category: Blog

The Guardian’s Media Network (GMN) is a forum for people in the exhibition industry that are interested in exhibition strategy. When you think that ‘exhibitions’ are just one line item on a marketing budget, an organisation’s exhibition strategy must be integrated within the wider marketing mix.  The Guardian’s Media Network connects globally-minded marketing professionals who are looking for content, contacts and connections that will give them the edge with their exhibition strategy.

The area of events, conferences and exhibitions was at the centre of the debate on GMN earlier this month.  Specifically, the debate focused on events and exhibition strategy and whether business to business media will be venturing further in.  Furthermore, if B2B media were to get more involved within events and exhibitions, how can they get people to pay to attend exhibitions?  In addition, how could they encourage businesses to pay to exhibit?

The debate raised many interesting points.  Firstly, there was general agreement that there is a lot of scope for publishers and B2B media to become much more involved in the exhibitions, conference and events space.   The consensus is that ‘Face to Face’ (F2F) engagement with a brand is key to a good exhibition strategy.   Furthermore, when visitors attend a conference or exhibition they expect to be sold to.  Consequently, brands are looking for new ways to engage with visitors and improve the visitor experience.

Digital engagement is the new buzz phrase in the exhibitions industry because it is helping organisations to enhance rather than replace human interaction.  Social media and its use both before and after an event is becoming more important in the measuring the success of a particular event.

Another trend is emerging it seems.  Within the events arena, more and more B2B publishers and conference organisers are investing in smaller scale events as a strategic tool.  Mini exhibitions are being used more and more to bridge the gap between a handful of pop up stands and the huge financial commitment of launching a full scale exhibition.

Our own modular exhibition stand range has been designed with such flexibility in mind.  From small panel displays to large 200m2 conference platforms, our modular exhibition stand solution allows organisation to scale their exhibition presence as required.  We have carefully considered our clients requirements and have a clear exhibition strategy with  CROSSwire and TRUSSwire, these solutions have proved this and won international awards for their strength, durability and flexibility.

200m2 Exhibition Stands is a leading UK provider of exhibition services.  By helping our clients to develop the right exhibition strategy, 200m2 helps organisations to maximise their return on investment. Get in touch to find out how 200m2 can you fine tune a strategy which mitigates risk and reduces costs.

Last week, I wrote about the World Travel Market (WTM).  Arguably the biggest travel trade conference in the world, WTM takes place every year at London’s ExCeL conference and exhibitions venue.

Quite a few of the exhibitors at WTM this year had invested in ‘cardboard exhibition stands’.  Some of these units looked quite impressive; large in scale with high quality graphics.  Others looked flimsy and featured poor quality graphics – the overall impression in this latter case being somewhat ‘cheap’.

It seems all cardboard stands are not equal!  Some of the sturdier units looked very impressive – but they were let down with the choice of background colour – white!  Within just two days of being on show they looked battered and marked.  Most of the exhibition stands made of cardboard at WTM would have to be thrown away as a result.  I think this is a great shame because the investment in print quality in some instances must have been very great indeed.

Take the Andalucia stand for example. The Andalucia stand was the first WTM exhibitor to produce its stand entirely out of cardboard.  That’s quite an achievement but what is the true environmental impact of taking such a move?

Antonio Martin-Machuca, Marketing Director of the Andalucia Tourism Board commented that Spanish firm Ecowall had made a pitch for the stand during the tendering process for WTM.  He said “We thought that this was the best one to show in London because we know that the UK is very conscious of sustainable and green tourism.”

Herein lies the problem – they did this because the UK market is conscious of sustainable and green tourism and not because it is at the root of their commercial outlook.  Having an environmentally friendly stand shouldn’t be for just for ‘show’.  The whole point of an environmentally friendly stand is that it should demonstrate a tangible reduction in environmental impact.

Having seen the stand for myself, I wonder how much of the stand can be re-used.  The knocks and dents won’t simply wash away with a damp sponge!  Furthermore, I doubt it will survive transportation around the world without significant investment in ‘packaging’ – this only adds to the transport costs because the stand just takes up more volume.

The Andalucia tourism board announced that the cardboard stand reduced its cost by around 60 per cent.  At 75,000 Euros though, this is still a significant investment.  If the stand can’t be used again though, these savings are irrelevant as any cost savings are negated.  Consequently, the inks and cardboard required to produce the stand will simply be thrown into a landfill site.

I would argue that high quality modular exibition stands, which can be re-used time and time again in different configurations, remain the most cost effective and environmentally friendly exhibition stand solution.  If you can find a foldable solution which is compact and lightweight, transportation costs and the associated environmental impact are kept to an absolute minimum – TRUSSwire and CROSSwire are two such systems.

If you would like to find out more about these two award winning modular solutions, please get in touch!  They are far more affordable than you might think…

I’ve just returned from the World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel trade.  I’ve visited thousands of exhibition stands in my time but even I was impressed by the sheer scale of some of the stand concepts which I saw today.  The ‘Greece’ stand for example was the largest stand I have seen at ExCeL in many years – it spread across the entire width of one hall!

The budgets involved with some of these stands is mind boggling… believe me I know…  some of the people from the tourist boards (which shall remain nameless) told me!   Similarly, I was surprised at how little some major tourist destinations were spending on their exhibition space!  Lots of organisations are still relying on basic shell schemes.

Others had invested in huge recycled cardboard units with print on one side (more on this later).  A great environmental statement perhaps but after 3 days of use it looked battered and bruised.  The stand would literally have to be thrown in the bin after the show.  In a world where corporate social responsibility is so important, I wonder if the true environmental impact of using disposable stands is being underestimated, even if they are manufactured from recycled materials.

The interesting thing for me as the MD of an exhibition services business, was the fact that many of the tourist boards simply didn’t realise how much money they could be saving by switching to a modular exhibition stands system like TRUSSwire.  Made from a composite material with an aluminium core, TRUSSwire is extremely easy to transport around the world.  It weighs very little and as a foldable gantry system it takes up very little space.

What’s more, because the quality of our printing techniques at 200m2 is so good, organisations can use the same promotional message time and time again.  Show specific panels can also be produced using environmentally friendly inks to minimise the true impact on the environment.

As someone who is passionate about sustainability, the environmental impact of exhibition management is extremely important to me.  If you would like to discuss ways you can save costs and minimise the impact of your exhibitions programme on the environment, please get in touch.  I’d be delighted to share my experience with you in the hope that your programme can benefit in the longer term.

Any event manager with an exhibitions budget needs to demonstrate value and a return on the company’s investment.  So how do event or exhibition managers measure the results from an exhibition?  In terms of measuring exhibition presence is there a difference between monitoring and measurement?

We get asked these questions all the time.  Consequently, we thought it would be a good idea to write down our ‘check list’ to help people observe good practice.   To the seasoned exhibitor, some of this might seem obvious.  However, these points of reference will hopefully help some exhibitors to avoid some of the common pitfalls when trying to measure the impact of an a given event or exhibition…

Firstly, be SMART when it comes to effective measurement and evaluation.  Do you have a particular focus or objective for the exhibition?  We’re always amazed at how few exhibitors set the right objectives.  Remember, make sure your objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Targeted!

Secondly, think carefully about the VISITORS to your exhibition stands. In addition to collecting ‘the basics’ (name, job title, email etc), consider collecting additional information which can you develop a relationship with the prospect over time.  Do they have a LinkedIn account?  Do they use Twitter?  What are their interests outside work?  Don’t just collect business cards… gather information which will add value to your organisation’s marketing efforts.  Lastly, make sure this information finds its way into your CRM database!

DATA CAPTURE is all important.  Furthermore, don’t delay!  Don’t make scribbles on the back of a business card… enter as much information into CRM as quickly as possible.  This way, you’ll be certain your data is accurate and securely stored.  So, if at all possible, make sure your stand personnel have access to a live database from your stand!

In doing so, your CRM tool will enable you to measure how many follow up meetings were set up and by whom.  Your CRM tool will measure how many existing customers came to visit and it will record what they specifically wanted to ask.  And don’t forget to monitor any resulting press coverage from journalists who visited the stand. This will enable you to calculate your cost per lead accurately…

Lastly, think SOCIAL.  By collecting social media connections, it will allow you to integrate a new LinkedIn and Twitter follower into your marketing communications.  More importantly, it wil enable you to integrate any other individuals that might be connected to the wider prospect’s network.