Spa Trade Show Publicity Tools and Tips - Expand Your Audience Reach and Increase Your Return on Investment

A Spa Site Guest Article by Nancy Trent, owner and founder of Trent & Company Inc., a New York City-based public relations firm that specializes in publicity for the spa, fitness, and healthcare industries

The success of trade shows depends on exhibitors making the most of them.  Many exhibitors don’t comprehend the enormous potential for publicity at trade sows, conferences, association meetings, and expositions.  They spend a fortune to be at the shows, but they don’t capitalize on the publicity opportunities, which can impact their sales for the year.

Exhibiting at trade shows brings new leads, the chance to meet up with clients and catch up with old contacts.  However, in addition to sales and seminars, trade shows present many excellent publicity opportunities.  Publicity is an important element in the marketing mix that enable trade show management, exhibitors and attendees to build awareness for an entire industry.  Through a wide array of year-round PR tactics, exhibiting at a trade show can help build aware ness for your company as well.

Here are ten approaches you can take to make your organization’s trade show experience more effective:

1. Don’t limit yourself to trade show week - Most trade shows communicate with buyers and influential attendees year-round.  Contact the show organizers to find out how you can get involved in joint promotions.  Always take advantage of pre-show marketing opportunities.  Check if the show has a newsletter, or press releases they send out periodically, and see if you can get your product included.

2. Time your news announcement with the event - Schedule new product introductions or a corporate announcement in sync with the show.  Prepare news releases about your activities.  Contact trade magazines and daily newspapers with news about what you have planned for the event.  If you have a visually stimulating product, or demonstrations, contact local TV stations.  Find out if the show is partnering with trade publications and be sure to target editors who will write pre-show and post-show stories.  Obtain a copy of the pre-registered media list.  Send an informational letter, and try to arrange interviews for your spokesperson during the show.  Include your booth number and Web site in press materials so editors know where to find you before, during, and after the event.

3. Get involved in the show’s publicity efforts - Most trade shows have a press room.  Any exhibitor who doesn’t put materials in the press office is missing out on an opportunity to provide information directly to reporters.  Contact the trade show publicists and ask whether you can contribute information on new products and trends.  PR professionals are gathering information and insights for press materials and announcements to garner publicity for the show.  They will appreciate your input and can increase your exposure.

4. Decorate your booth with publicity - Getting publicity for your company and its products is important, but knowing how to use publicity as a sales and marketing tool is an important part of effective public relations.  If your company was mentioned recently in an article have a blow up made, mount it on picture board and place it on an easel in your booth.  Distribute copies in the press office and even with your order sheets.  Everyone wants to be associated with people or products they read about in the press.  Publicity materials, such as article reprints, are especially useful as tools to help new or potential customers get to know your company.

5. Send attendees home with a reminder - Create inexpensive giveaways that people will want to give to others.  Put your logo on highly visible and mass producible promotion items.  They will be used and appreciated.  Items such as CD cases, aromatherapy, candles, bath beads, herbal teas, pillow rests, and warm cozy blankets are popular.  Be generous with reporters and leave some of these giveaways in the press office.  Ultimately, these items bring more people to your booth.

6. Do more than exhibit - From sponsorships to seminars, show management wants to help exhibitors get more visibility.  Become an active part of the trade show and participate in the contests or awards given out by the show management.  Even if you don’t win the award, nominations may be mentioned in various promotional materials. Speaking opportunities add to your credibility and raise your company’s profile.  Contact the program director and submit an application to become a presenter.  Send letters and emails to remind customers, potential customers, and journalists that you are participating in the conference program or roundtable discussions.

7. Make your trade show experience a social one - Most trade shows feature networking opportunities.  Whether conducted by the show or affiliated organizations, these events provide excellent opportunities to make new contacts.  Inquire about co-sponsoring parties or events.  Provide product or premiums for gift bags.  If there are no events, create one of your own.  There are rooms available for social events.  Plan a party or arrange for a celebrity appearance to get maximum exposure and added sales.  Hold the event at the location of the trade show and not off premises.  That way you can take advantage of any promotional and advertising opportunities the show has to offer.

8. Create good vibes at the booth - Reserving a booth early will give you more control over where you’re booth is located.  Traffic is strong near food, rest areas, and entrances and exits.  Find out about new product displays, or other specialty pavilions your company can participate in.  Usually, they are located in high traffic areas and can be free, or may require a nominal fee, but tend to get a lot of attention from audiences.  You can ensure traffic at your booth by contacting your customers and booking appointments in advance.  This will also bring more unexpected guests.  If you are helping a customer with an appointment, try to engage the passerby until you’re done, by inviting him or her to join in on the conversation.  Try not to let one or two buyers monopolize your time.  Even if your booth slows down, always look busy to attract new customers.  Having an overstaffed booth with few customers doesn’t look successful.  So, send extra staff out on the show floor to research and network.  The way to succeed is to know what the competition is up to.

9. Make sure your booth staff is knowledgeable and upbeat - Hiring inexperienced people to man the booth is never a good idea.  People who can’t answer a buyer’s questions, or who aren’t familiar with the specifics of your product, or company can lose a sale.  Look within your organization, even if it means bringing someone who wouldn’t normally be assigned to work at a trade show, but would make a good impression.  Find out what the press badges look like and inform the people in your booth.  Have them pursue reporters and invite them into your booth.

10. Don’t forget to follow up - Half of the reason you attend trade shows is to obtain sales leads.  The same applies to future publicity. It’s important to call or email editors you met at the show.  Ask whether they have any questions for you or how you can help with their post show articles.  Send a press release about your success at the show.  Continue to keep them updated between trade shows, and send a flow of story ideas to write about.  Your goal is to become a resource for articles about the industry.

The range of opportunities at trade shows is enormous.  From conducting traffic-building promotions at your booth, to looking around the show floor for potential future partners, the ways you can gain attention for your products and your company are legion.

Remember, it’s essential to make certain you include publicity as an integral element of the sales and marketing mix at every trade show your company participates in.  That will help you garner additional exposure before, during, and after every event.  Your products will be seen and read about by a much larger audience, gaining visibility beyond show attendees who visit your booth.  That will expand your audience reach and increase your company’s return on the investment made in participating at trade shows.  That is one of the biggest benefits any company can obtain from exhibiting at trade shows.

This article originally appeared in Spa Management June 2002 and is reprinted with permission.