^{May 2003}

The answers may surprise you. An emphasis on exhibitor and attendee relationship-building programs is a greater contributor to success than either the size of your marketing budget or the size of your marketing staff.

Attracting attendees to shows has never been more difficult. Even shows in growing industries are working harder and harder to bring in each and every attendee. You can blame it on a variety of external factors — the war, the economy, the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks or decreased travel budgets and time. Or, you can focus on what you control — marketing your show to drive attendance. No longer will the average direct marketing campaign, ads in a few key trade publications, and the occasional e-newsletter draw a marginal crowd, much less a record one.

How are you attracting new buyers with your marketing? How are you keeping your show fresh to retain previous attendees? Are you identifying new markets to expand the reach of your event? Are you rewarding the attendees who have been loyal, year after year?

Inside the Storm, research by Bethesda, MD-based Frost Miller Group and Baltimore, MD-based Jacobs, Jenner & Kent, reveals some fascinating insight on the marketing strategies for growing — and declining — shows. Conducted in June 2002, the survey, the first definitive study of major trade show organizers’ marketing practices, polled more than 150 major organizers throughout the United States. Find out what growing shows know about attendee marketing that you don’t.

Who’s growing and who’s not

Not surprisingly, attendance is on the upswing for shows supporting key consumer goods and services industries. As the industries expand, so do their shows. Attendance is declining by 20 percent and higher for technology, scientific and manufacturing shows.

According to respondents, three attendance marketing challenges stand out: increasing the number of first-time attendees, improving marketing response rates and capturing attendees’ attention. Show managers feel pressure to draw more VIPs to their shows — identified as the most difficult attendee to attract — at a time when it’s harder than ever to tear VIPs away from their offices.

Matthew Cohn, President of The ASI Show!, says his greatest challenge today is attendance. “I think if you asked any show manager in the industry, they’d say the same thing,” says Cohn, who has increased his attendance marketing budget for the four ASI Shows! that he produces to $1 million dollars in 2003. Cohn admits that kind of cash layout cuts into his profits, but he maintains there’s nothing better he could do for his events. “If you get the right attendees there, the rest will fall into place,” he says.

The key, Cohn says, is in the marketing, and the research bears out his point.
Organizers of growing trade shows place a premium on understanding attendees’ wants and needs, the survey indicates. They also include in-depth audience research in their event marketing budgets. Organizers of declining shows do neither.

Organizers of growing shows go above and beyond traditional marketing for their events. Overwhelmingly, they rely on marketing programs designed to build relationships with attendees and exhibitors. Organizers of declining shows still rely on reputation and advertising to maintain customers’ loyalty.

Satisfaction guaranteed

The extreme value put on relationship building by organizers of growing shows is also clear from their marketing mix. Organizers of declining shows still favor traditional marketing approaches, while growing shows overwhelmingly prefer exhibitor and attendee programs. The research also found an emphasis on relationship-building programs is a greater contributor to success than either the size of marketing budget or size of marketing staff.

This is not to say that good old-fashioned advertising isn’t essential. Traditional efforts are still needed to help generate awareness and brand recognition for a show. The research found show organizers believe that direct mail is the best way to get the word out, followed closely by print ads.

For the ASI Shows!, the battle plan for attendance is two-pronged. First, traditional marketing efforts have been improved. Direct mail packages are slicker, better designed and printed on higher quality paper. The volume of marketing has been increased, so the show is communicating more frequently with potential attendees. Second, a variety of programs to build relationships and good will have been added. “The idea is to make it so easy for attendees to come to the show that they can’t resist,” says Cohn. He offers free hotel rooms to the top 6,000 buyers and to his exhibitors’ VIP attendees.

Satisfaction is guaranteed at The ASI Show! Cohn offers his exhibitors a $1 million credit toward next year’s shows if his company fails to meet a total attendance projected number for its events in total. Attendees are also offered a guarantee, even though they don’t pay to get in the show. If an attendee is unhappy with the show, for any reason, Cohn will give them $100 for their trouble. “I’m very proud to say so far no one has taken me up on that,” says Cohn, “The point is relationships with customers are built on trust. I put my money on that. I promise to come through for them.”

Another example of marketing that enhances a show’s relationship with its base is The Super Show’s “Red Hot Rewards” program. In its third year, this program has become so popular among attendees that many won’t buy from exhibitors who don’t participate in the program. The Super Show produces a booklet of coupons offered by exhibitors for purchases made at the show. The coupon book is mailed to more than 100,000 registered and potential attendees. Many buyers use the coupon book to plan their activities at the show. Not only do attendees receive discounts offered by exhibitors through the program, but purchasing products using the coupons also allows attendees to earn money back on their hotel room. Show management arranges to credit the buyer’s credit card with money back on their hotel stay based on the amount purchased at the show.

The program allows show management to build a partnership with exhibitors by helping them make the most sales at the show. It also helps build relationships with attendees by making it more affordable to attend the show. The impact is far greater than a direct mail piece touting the event.

At your service

With all the high-tech tools available today, relationship building with exhibitors and attendees goes back to the oldest of business principles — customer service. Improved customer service, executives surveyed say, is the most important aspect of marketing their events.

“The findings suggest trade show organizers have turned from looking for easy fixes to soul-searching,” says Kevin Miller, president, Frost Miller Group. “They’re overwhelmingly focused on reshaping the trade show experience for attendees. They’re less concerned with issues that dominated discussions in the past few years, such as branding, marketing integration, technology and e-marketing.”

For example, The Super Show personally invites the top 100 buyers from the last show and provides them with a concierge service, arranging special tickets for shows or discounts to local attractions. “We start calling attendees even before all the registration forms are out,” says Heather Wasek, Director of Buyer Relations. Extra help is brought in from a local university to make the calls. Wasek takes care to hire people who are studying business and are knowledgable about sports so they can more comfortably have conversations with potential attendees. “Even if they’re not coming to the show, we talk to them anyway,” Wasek says. “We want to know what it will take to get them there.”

Reward frequent buyers

Don’t overlook the attendees who have made your show successful year after year. During the booming ’90s, many shows branched out to areas beyond their core constituencies. Show organizers looked for ancillary markets that would bring in even more attendees and exhibitors. Now, however, many attendees who might have once attended four or five shows a year are only able to attend one or two events. Which ones will they pick? Most likely, it will be the show they feel most directly meets their needs, rather than the show for which they are a minor subcategory.

One way to overcome losing the attendees on the fringes of your event is to get the loyalists, the die-hard industry types that come year after year, to bring more people from their companies.

The ASI Show! has done this in a big way by inviting companies to hold their sales meetings in conjunction with the show. The ASI Show! offers them free meeting space and rooms within the show’s hotel block. In return, Cohn says, one company brought 150 people to his show last year.

In the end, it comes down to a strong marketing program. Shows that accept falling attendance as just a reality of the economic times risk being left behind, while shows that strive to be innovative and buck the trend will not only survive, but also thrive.

Bob James is Managing Director of Frost Miller Group. He can be reached at bjames@frostmiller.com. Heather Kirkwood is Senior Editor for EXPO. She can be reached at 913-344-1379 or e-mail: hkirkwood@ascendmedia.com