Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Drive Media Interest at a Trade Show

Our author offers many tips on trade show preparation but for our sake we're going to focus on the media aspect. As most of you are already aware, trade shows are a vital component of most companies’ marketing campaigns. Especially for small businesses, trade shows are beneficial because they provide an opportunity to reach a multitude of potential new customers, investors, industry analysts and journalists over a very short period of time.

However, there is a kicker for most small businesses have limited resources. This means they must extract the most from each appearance as possible.

Extracting the most from each appearance means finding the best ways to secure media interviews. Planning ahead is key. Utilize the media list provided by show management, and send out mass emails to reporters and publications who'll be attending. If you are one of the unlucky ones whose show doesn’t supply a media list, search for past articles on the event and construct a list of publications and reporters. In most instances, the same reporter may be assigned to cover the show again. But, if not, they should be able to point you in the right direction.

Initiate contact at least two weeks prior to the show. Remember, you have competition and need to separate yourself from the pack. Try offering breaking news or a unique angle that distinguishes your company from the other businesses.

Also important is securing speaking engagements; either as a keynote speaker or panel participant. Remember though, speaking engagements require planning and creativity, so start early and identify several themes within your comfort range. Try not to focus solely on topics directly related to your business for the most enticing speakers can go outside the box to grab their listeners attention.

A Smash Hit Displays often go outside the box when trying to create that perfectly fit trade show graphic, or outfit our customers with just the right tradeshow display portable display pop up or portable folding booth. Remember, the peripheral components can't be forgotten for often these acrutrements will etch your company in the customer's mind as opposed to your competitors. Such accessories include custom carpeting and portable tradeshow tables. But, before all these components try and attract that much needed media attention to have it work for you as opposed to your fellow exhibitors. Happy hunting.

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