by Robert F. James

When the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association decided to courtthe personal computer industry at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show,a legion of subtle and not-so-subtle changes took place. Organizers leaseda new, stand-alone facility and flagged it prominently on floorplans asthe "computer hardware and software" area. Computer industry guruslike Microsoft's Bill Gates and Compaq's Eckhard Pfeiffer headlined theconference program. Pre-show promotions featured a sharp-but-simple restyledlogo and Mac- and Windows-style icons -- graphic elements that also dottedshow decor and signage. Single- and double-page ads in computer resellerand end-user magazines introduced a new slogan, "CES -- What the World'sComing To." And, in the months preceding the show, senior managersmet face-to-face with major computer manufacturers and software developersto personally deliver their message: Winter CES was leading the movementtoward convergence (the impending union of computer-based high technologyand garden-variety home electronics). All these strategies advanced towarda single goal: to build the image of Winter CES as a leader in personalcomputing.

Image. That ever-elusive vaporware. You can't find it on a balance sheet.You can't pack it in a crate and consign it to a freight forwarder. Youcan't lock it in a security cage for safekeeping. But more and more showorganizers are recognizing that, when managed correctly, their image canbe their most valuable and enduring asset.

Among other things, a good image:

• Puts your show first in the minds of exhibitors and attendees -- and keeps it there;
• Makes exhibitors and attendees willing to spend more money on your event;
• Helps you launch new events, products and services;
• Opens doors to new markets; and
• Helps you attract and retain top-notch employees -- even lure them away from your competitors.

Indeed, the payoff from a solid image in the marketplace can be tremendous.Then why is it so hard to articulate and improve upon this invaluable asset?Author and marketing strategist David Aaker, in his book, Building StrongBrands, defines marketplace image as "how customers and othersperceive the brand." These perceptions are affected by your organization'smarketing communications -- the promotional tools you use to influence theirdecision about whether to participate in your show.

When you think about communicating your show's image, don't confuse itwith the theme that you create for your show each year -- it is not. Themesare usually topical or faddish and, therefore, ephemeral. And themes aren'tgenerally repeated from year to year -- they are, therefore, forgettable.Your show's image is something that is lodged in peoples' minds and moreenduring than each year's theme. You manage your show's identity throughthe careful and judicious repetition of key ideas, images and elements thatevoke long-lasting impressions.

Aaker cautions the wise marketer to avoid four pitfalls of image-building:the image trap, the position trap, the attribute fixation trap, and theexternal perspective trap. With foresight and maneuvering, you can avoidthese traps, control marketplace perceptions and communicate your visionfor the future of your show.

Image Trap
The image trap leads you to confuse how exhibitors and attendees perceiveyour show or organization today (as ascertained through marketing research)with how you'd like them to perceive you in the future. If you're caughtin the image trap, you permit research findings about today's customersto virtually dictate your marketplace identity. Aaker characterizes thiswrong-headed approach as "customer orientation gone amok." Youidentify several needs, you fill them, and that's that. Don't let researchabout exhibitors' and attendees' opinions of your show straitjacket you.Instead, go beyond current perceptions and create an identity that reflectswhat you hope to achieve. Treat marketing research as a valuable input --but only one input -- to the process of building an image for your show.

Let's look at an example. Prior to the launch of The Remodeler's Showin 1991, research told the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)that remodelers wanted to feel more like professionals and less like "unskilledlabor." An exposition backed by a credible organization to help fillthat need would be favorably received. Based on this research, NAHB castthe event's image as "The Show for the Pro."

But they didn't let research findings limit the ideas and imagery presentedto prospective attendees and exhibitors. The inaugural show was presentedas not only for "professionals," but also as the start of somethingbig -- an annual nirvana for upward-bound remodelers, national in scopeand produced by unquestioned authorities in the business. Research wasn'tallowed to crowd out vision.

Position Trap
The second pitfall Aaker labels the "position trap." Here, youmistakenly kill off all possibilities of developing an image based on symbolicassociations with your show or organization in favor of your position statement-- a three- or four-word catch-phrase that crystallizes the unique benefitsof your show.

In effect, the position trap causes you to throw out the baby with thebath water. By dismissing ideas you don't think are worth communicatingand keeping only your position statement, you're left without the textureand depth needed to guide a total image-building effort. The goal narrowsto communicating an advertising slogan, rather than a full-fledged identity.Naturally, you want to be sure your marketing efforts communicate your position,but to build a strong image, broaden your use of ideas and imagery thatare tied to:

• the location and timing of your event;
• your organization, rather than the event or events you produce; or
• a symbol, spokesperson or trade character.

Why? Because these are things that endure and can't be co-opted by competingshow organizers. Since they're used most frequently, let's look at strategiesrelated to location, timing and organization.

When PACK EXPO WEST was inaugurated in 1995, the Packaging MachineryManufacturers Institute (PMMI) not only positioned the show as "theyear's largest machinery showcase," but also used location-relatedwords and images to help distinguish the new event from its own flagshipshow -- and from competitors' shows. Pre-show ad and brochure headlinesused outsized typography to scream "Las Vegas." Photos and illustrationsfeatured products and applications indigenous to the region. Southwesterncolors were utilized heavily. Even the show logo suggested the location.These elements tied PACK EXPO WEST inextricably to Las Vegas to create adistinct image for the new event.

If location and dates are not identifying attributes, then the sponsoringorganization can be used to enhance a show's image. When the Data InterchangeStandards Association (DISA) sought to boost attendance of their annualconference and exhibit, they highlighted their sponsorship of the event,"DISA's EC/EDI '96 -- Your Next Step Forward in Business Success."Their credentials were spelled out on the covers of all pre-show direct-mailpieces, and hard-edged, computer-related graphic design elements were usedto connote a contemporary organization. The impression created by theircommunications was one of technological leadership, a boost for the show'simage in the EDI market.

Whatever direction is right for your show, keep in mind one word of caution:Be careful to avoid laying on too many concepts at the cost of clarity andconsistency in your communications.You run the risk of appearing clutteredto audiences: disorganized, inconsistent and small-time. A mom-and-pop shop.By focusing on the key attributes of your image and the unique benefitsof your position, you will draw a sharp picture in customers' minds of whoyou are and why they should participate.

Attribute fixation trap
The third and most commonly encountered pitfall Aaker names the "attributefixation trap." If you're caught in this trap, you believe that yourshow's features are all that matter; that attendees and exhibitors are completelyrational when they make the decision to participate in your show; and thatcreating your image is no different from communicating a list of the positiveattributes of your show.

The attribute fixation trap is seductive because we habitually thinkin terms of features. But it's risky to try to build an image based solelyon attributes, because they may not be ultimately decisive for exhibitorsand attendees -- and they can almost always be copied by competitors. Whilepositive attributes are, of course, immensely important to exhibitors andattendees, forging a strong image for your show requires that you stretchthe horizons of your marketing imagination. Don't feature features, featurepersonality.

As every salesperson knows, you close deals by selling benefits, notfeatures. Converting exhibitors and attendees to your show depends on yourability to zero in on a few key benefits in your marketing communicationsand repeat them over and over in a clear, fresh and attention-grabbing way.But it takes more than that to build an image. You need to use all the marketingcommunications tools at your disposal to craft -- and stick with -- a distinctive"personality" that suits your show and your organization, andfeels right to your audiences.

External perspective trap
Aaker's fourth pitfall is the "external perspective trap." Ifyou're caught in the external perspective trap, you fail to look insideyour organization for the people who can help articulate and communicateyour image. You miss opportunities to communicate with employees and helpthem understand your organization's basic mission or purpose.

Your image is in large part based on employees' concerted efforts todeliver value to exhibitors and attendees and make the vision of your organizationa reality. But you shouldn't expect employees who don't comprehend or buyinto that vision to make it happen. To build a strong positive image, besure everyone you employ understands and buys into your show's identity.A good place to start creating that understanding is to develop a workingdocument that sets forth, in simple language, your show's or your organization'smission; and offers simple benchmarks for judging whether a particular marketingcommunication is on or off target.

Among other things, the document should clarify:

• Your vision: your standards, principles, goals, markets and overall operating philosophy;
• Your position: the unique set of benefits you deliver to your customers and the key reasons why those benefits are valued by customers;
• Your voice: the overall approach to selling that, in the creation of marketing communications, you want to guide all choices of words, statements, numbers, facts, features, graphic elements, layouts, colors, type styles, etc.

Look at any show organizer with a strong image and you'll probably finda group that seeks opportunities to distinguish its events by integratingmarketing and sales with show decor, floor layout, education, entertainment,special events, hospitality -- in fact, every service the show organizeroffers. Inside such organizations, team players are encouraged and loosecanons, heartily discouraged.

That's because self-promotion and image-building require fundamentallydifferent viewpoints on marketing. Promoters see marketing -- through advertisements,prospectuses, brochures, direct mail pieces, show decor and so forth --as messages they want to get across to an audience. Image-builders, on theother hand, see marketing as a chance to realize a show organizer's visionand demonstrate that the organizer's events actually deliver as promised.

"Any damn fool can put on a deal, but it takes genius, faith andperseverance to create a brand," advertising guru David Ogilvy oncesaid. The same can be said of your show's image. Nearly anyone can pushconcrete at exhibitors and pull attendees onto it. It takes imagination,willpower and discipline to shape and control what those exhibitors andattendees think.