Trolling for International Attendees

There are plenty of prospects in the sea. Here's how to lure them to your events worldwide.

By Rayna Skolnik

The world may be getting smaller, but it's still tough to reach people. That quickly becomes apparent when you try to attract attendees from a variety of countries to a show or pavilion overseas. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources available to help reel them in.

You've probably been in touch with several organizations -- trade associations, industry publications, and the like -- during the initial planning stages for your event. Continue those relationships; don't miss out on the opportunity to benefit from their expertise and connections. At the same time, however, be alert to other promotional possibilities.

Aid from officialdom
Although show organizers often think of them to help attract attendees to their U.S. events, national and local government agencies, embassies and bureaus can also help attract those same attendees to overseas events. The U.S. Department of Commerce's (DOC) U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service (US&FCS) can provide trade leads and identify agents or distributors to target with your promotion. The array of programs offered by the DOC is so vast that the best way to start is to call the Trade Information Center, 1-800-USA-TRADE, for guidance.

Foreign embassies in the United States are eager to promote trade with their countries. Their personnel can act as liaison with state-owned buying entities and key decision-makers. "Embassies are astute about cultural differences and needs," says Linda Cartlidge, CEO of event organizer Conference Management in San Carlos, CA. "They have data sheets that you can customize for your exhibitors and attendees." Detailed lists of foreign embassies in the United States, the U.S. District Offices of the US&FCS, and major U.S. embassies and consulates overseas, plus many cultural and business tips, are included in The World Business Advisory and Calendar, available from the National Association of Manufacturers in Washington, DC.

Agencies in the host city are another possibility. Karey Bresenhan, President of Houston-based Quilts Inc., organizes quilting industry trade and consumer shows throughout Europe. She finds that in some cities the tourist bureau is the appropriate partner, but elsewhere it's the convention bureau. Consequently, she queries the consulate. "They tell me whether to contact the tourist bureau or convention bureau and also give me the contact's name and fax number."

Those local contacts have been invaluable for Bresenhan. "We were the first major international show in Karlsruhe, Germany, and they wanted us to hold a press conference," she recalls. Although Bresenhan resists press conferences because attendance is unpredictable, she agreed. The convention bureau, her ally in Karlsruhe, sent the invitations -- and 18 representatives of newspapers, TV and radio showed up. Says Bresenhan, "I learned to listen to the people whose city it is."

Some international partners provide substantial support, says Grace Tan, Managing Director of Asia America International, Dallas, which expedites alliances between U.S. and Asian show organizers. "The Singapore Trade Development Board offers matching advertising funds for a show if it sees the potential," she says. And the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, which has offices in New York and several other U.S. cities, helps organize delegations of attendees.

Industry connections
Sister associations are always important partners for overseas events. Their support is frequently vital to establish credibility, but they can also help with promotion. E.J. Krause & Associates Inc. (EJK), works with associations in several ways, says Jim Forlenza, Vice President, Industrial Division for the Bethesda, MD, show management company. For most of its international shows, EJK requests the endorsement of the related association.

"We print the association's name and sometimes its logo on all our promotional material, such as the prospectus, show directory, ads and posters," Forlenza says. "In return, we generally get the association's membership list, as well as ads or articles in the association's newsletter."

Associations might also help you connect with government ministries, which are the key buyers in certain countries. To help promote its pavilion at Construction Technology China in Shanghai next month, the Construction Industry Manufacturers Association (CIMA) contacted the China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA). Thanks to CCMA's efforts, "The secretary general of the ministry will attend the show with a group of manufacturers looking for U.S. partners," says Steve Biersdorf, Marketing Coordinator for Milwaukee-based CIMA.

Industry magazines are a key ally for international as well as domestic shows, and the arrangement is usually similar. Show managers trade booth space for advertising space, editorial coverage or the magazine's mailing list.

Networking can alert you to other prospective partners that you might not be aware of. For example, some international travel agencies handle much more than transportation and lodging. One such agency, Travel Destinations Management Group in Owings Mills, MD, has a global network of travel agencies, each with a trade show division that can publicize an event to appropriate organizations and prospective attendees. "These travel agent partners work with the association or publisher or embassy," says Stanley Levin, CEO of Travel Destinations. "The travel agents don't replace those resources, but they pull them together for the show organizer."

Travel agents can also arrange post-show industrial tours that add value to the trip and thus influence a prospect's decision to attend the show. For Drupa, the huge printing show in Dusseldorf, Germany, Travel Destinations' local partner organized a series of visits to the Heidelberg Press, which is not open to the public.

But don't be misled into thinking that if you can just connect with the appropriate partners, they'll promote your show for you. There's still plenty for the show manager to do. And the procedures can be very different from those in the United States. Those differences show up the minute you start your basic promotion: direct mail.

Building a mailing list
Sometimes it's possible to acquire a list from an association or publisher, just as in the United States. But list brokers are scarce. Often, show managers find that they must compile their own lists, name by name.

Bresenhan, for example, would love to obtain membership lists from the quilters' organizations, known as guilds. But the guilds are prohibited from selling their lists because of privacy concerns. At first, the guilds sent her registration brochures to their members. "But you can't rely on them indefinitely," she says. "So we've developed our own database by building lists of attendees. And for our trade shows, we go through the Yellow Pages at the consulates."

The restriction on sharing lists is not uncommon, notes Ann Ramsey, Director, International Promotion for William J. Kircher & Associates Inc., a Washington, DC, advertising agency with many trade show and association clients. "In Germany, especially, there's a bias against data collection," she says. "Their privacy act makes it virtually illegal to collect data the way we do at U.S. trade shows. And in Japan, they seldom let you have their lists. A lot of list making comes from hand-compilation from directories."

In fact, seven countries in the European Community have data-protection legislation that protects citizens from abuses of their personal data. Before undertaking direct mail promotions overseas, contact the European Direct Marketing Association (EDMA) in Belgium, 32 2217 6309, for guidance.

It is possible to work out arrangements with publishers unwilling to share their subscriber lists. "We ship our brochures to the publisher, who attaches them to magazines and polybags them," Ramsey says. "That way we reach their circulation and they didn't give out their list."

If you're organizing a pavilion, general promotion is handled by the show organizers. But sharp targeting remains your responsibility. Mark Pond, President of aerospace pavilion organizer Global Tradeshow Services Inc. in Apache Junction, AZ, used varied techniques to compile a list of 500 VIP prospects for the 1993 Moscow Aerospace show. Some names came from the Technology and Aerospace Industries sector within DOC's Trade Development Office. In addition, "We collected business cards from previous shows; we talked to some friends in Moscow; we went to dinner with publishers and, at some point in the conversation, tried to obtain some names."

For a pavilion in Australia, Pond asked exhibitors for lists of key prospects. "We gave the names to the show organizers, and they sent those prospects a brochure with a free admission ticket."

Exhibitors are an obvious source of mailing lists, and they can also do mailings. But international exhibitors might be either unaware of their role in promotions or unwilling to play it. "It's becoming common to have exhibitors do promotion, but four years ago we had to explain the idea to them," says Paul St. Amour, Director General of EJK's office in Mexico. St. Amour notes, however, that some exhibitors don't want to invite customers. Their reasoning: "They don't want their current clients to see what the competition is showing."

Although associations and publications are important sources of mailing lists, St. Amour cautions that new lists should be requested often. "In Mexico, an average of 25 percent of the names are obsolete within a year," he says, "because the system for changing addresses and phone numbers is not very advanced."

Whose native language?
You have a list of names and you're going to print some brochures and invitations. What language should you use, where will you print them, and how will you handle the mailing?

Talk with your local partners and advisers before deciding on the language. "We thought about translating our VIP invitations into Russian," says Pond. "But we were told that a letter in English from an American company was a status thing." As an added incentive, the mailing included badges with a red self-stick dot identifying the individuals as trade visitors. "The Russians are very proud of badges," Pond notes. So proud, in fact, "I hear people have seen our badges with red dots at other shows," he says.

It's a different story in China. "People in China don't understand why they get direct mail," says Ramsey. "But if the mailing piece includes an invitation in Chinese from an organization they recognize, they might respond."

If you do translate, choose your translator carefully or you'll undermine your efforts. St. Amour notes, for example, that "what's considered good Spanish in Spain isn't necessarily good in Mexico." Moreover, he warns, "Direct translation is not the way to go." The truth of that statement should be clear to anyone who's ever read an instruction manual for an imported product. The embassy or consulate should be able to refer you to a qualified translator.

Printing and mailing
Quality and cost are primary considerations when deciding whether to print materials here or abroad. And those questions must be answered case by case, according to the resources available in each country. Consider, too, the convenience of reviewing and revising materials. Fax machines and overnight mail make it easier, but there are still the time differences to contend with.

Even if you do print your materials in the United States, you don't have to mail them directly from here. You can send them to mailing services such as Interpost Systems and TNT Skypak. "Those services get bulk rates on international mailings and will usually pass the discount on," says Ramsey. "They'll ship your materials to the country and drop them into the mail stream."

St. Amour recommends sending bulk mail to Mexico for redistribution, and working with a Mexican mailing house in order to cope with the complex addressing system. "In Mexico, titles are an integral part of the person's name," he says. "To address a letter to 'Mr.' or 'Sr.' instead of using a title is an insult." But the mail won't be read if you use a title without a name. "Personalization is very important," he says. And be sure to include the "colony" number; without it, the piece won't be delivered at all.

Then again, maybe you don't want to "mail" all your direct mail. To reach his Russian VIPs, Pond used FedEx to send a bulk package to a company in Russia that hand-delivered each invitation. There was no cost savings -- the company charged $5 -$15 for each invitation -- but there certainly was status, plus a greater certainty that the invitations would arrive.

How early is early enough?
You already know that attendance promotion must be started earlier for an overseas show than a domestic show -- you've heard it a hundred times. What you really want to know is how much earlier. That varies by country; again, your in-country partners can provide guidance.

Ramsey notes that for certain countries, it's important to send invitations early enough for recipients to navigate the red tape. For example, the Chinese need 90 days to get government approval to leave the country. And in India, Peru and Nigeria, people often must produce an invitation in order to get a visa.

In Mexico, St. Amour recommends mailing the final piece no later than one month before show date. Otherwise, it won't reach the addressee in time.

And Cartlidge cautions show managers to take into account the summer holidays in Europe. Almost everyone is on vacation in August. Even if your mail arrives on time, no one will be there to read it.

Beyond direct mail
Direct mail is the primary channel for promoting attendance, but it's not your only option. Investigate print and broadcast media as well.

EJK runs trade magazine ads a couple of months before a show in Mexico, and then runs ads in the business sections of newspapers the week before a show. Because Mexico City has so many newspapers, says St. Amour, readership is quite specialized. "You must know if a paper is, for example, left of center and not read by business people," he points out. Thus he suggests letting a public relations agency select publications, rather than doing it yourself.

Paid advertising is good, but free publicity is better. Bresenhan gets coverage for her consumer shows by hand-delivering news releases to newspapers within a 200-mile radius of the venue. The cover letter is in the local language, as both courtesy and attention-getter; but the release is in English, the language of the show.

Ads in the show directory are another possibility, but watch your timing. When Tamara Christian, Director of Marketing for National Trade Productions, Alexandria, VA, called to place a full-page ad for the USA Pavilion at the International Trade Fair for Sanitation, Heating and Air Conditioning in Frankfurt, Germany, she was astonished to learn that the directory was sold out two years in advance.

Radio is a vital part of your media schedule if you're among the many show managers targeting Mexico. "Business people spend a lot of time in their cars, especially in Mexico City," says St. Amour. "It's rush hour from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m." Radio advertising is one option, but interviews get you more exposure, at no cost, and are fairly easy to arrange. "There's no shortage of business shows that are interested in talking to show organizers," says St. Amour. "I do five or 10 interviews in the two weeks before a show. Sometimes a show will do a special on an industry sector, and we can bring several exhibitors and someone from the related association."

By tapping all the resources available, from U.S. government agencies to local media, you'll gain specialized market knowledge and access to an audience that can net record-breaking international attendance for your show.

A patchwork of promotionsKarey Bresenhan must stay up all night thinking of new ways to promote her quilt craft shows. Here are some unusual tactics that have paid off for Bresenhan, President of Houston-based Quilts Inc.:

• "For our public shows, we try to get agreement that if we come to the city, we'll be on the cover of the tourist publication," Bresenhan says. If that's refused, she requests editorial coverage. The least she'll accept is a listing. "But if you don't ask, you get nothing."
• The show is listed on Quilters On-Line on the Internet. "A surprising number of people found out about us from that," she says.
• Many Americans attend the shows abroad. Consequently, at the fall International Quilt Festival in Houston, there is a booth promoting the venue of the next international show. The booth promoting the 1996 show in Lyons, France, will feature a video on French silk quilts.
• Bresenhan has already obtained permission from the management of Lyons' enormous shopping mall -- Europe's largest -- to post handbills in store windows to publicize the show. They'll also do quilting demonstrations in the mall.
• In each country, she seeks a museum to mount a quilt exhibit in conjunction with her show. The museum then publicizes its exhibit to attract the show attendees. That gives the show free publicity, plus the added prestige of museum affiliation.

International resourcesThe International Association for Exposition Management (IAEM) is a central resource for both its own materials and publications from other sources. Offerings include two audiotapes, "International Mailing List Sources and Mailing Cost Options" and "Attracting the Latin American Attendee;" the Fact File, "How U.S. and European Fairs Differ;" and these books: The Global Negotiator, Dictionary of International Trade, A Manager's Guide to Globalization and World Business Desk Reference. Contact Mitchell Sevcik at IAEM, (214) 458-8002.

For more guidance on international direct mail, contact:

• European Direct Marketing Association
  Belgium, 32 2217 6309
• Direct Marketing Association International Council
  New York, (212) 768-7277