Octover 2003

10 show strategies for the future, excerpted from Francis Friedman’s white paper on trends and challenges 2003-2010

By Francis J. Friedman, with Contributing Editor Martha Collins

For most of its history, the International Juvenile Products Show was a typical manufacturing trade show, bringing buyers and sellers together for a

three-and-a-half-day exhibition that coincided with the industry’s buying cycle. The show has always been a must for independent retailers, but throughout the 1990s, consolidation and a rapidly changing business environment led to the industry being increasingly dominated by big box stores and retail buying associations.

To keep pace with the accelerating rate of industry changes, the association worked with Francis Friedman, who conducted focus groups with manufacturers and retailers and provided in-depth analysis of the structural shifts in the market. In addition, they conducted in-depth post-show surveys, in conjunction with Exhibit Surveys. “We asked about everything from show hours and services to exhibiting logistics and ideas for future shows,” says Bob Waller Jr., President of the 400-member Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA), which owns and manages the show.

For starters, a significant number of respondents said they needed more time on the show floor, but an equally significant number said the length of the show was just fine, which is a reflection of the diversity of buyers within the industry, says Waller. Faced with these conflicting needs, JPMA designated the day before the show officially opens as an appointments-only day when exhibitors could schedule private meetings with buyers.

While it’s traditionally a fall show, the predominance of large retailers changed the buying cycle from fall to spring, so JPMA moved the show from October to May in 2002. “This was extremely well received by the large box stores, but got mixed reviews from the independent retailers,” says Waller.

What smaller retailers did want, according to the research, was more programming. “So we added value by bringing in speakers to disuss industry trends and issues,” says Waller.

The show has been in Dallas since 1980, where the multi-level International Apparel Mart offers logistical challenges for 400 exhibitors and 3,000 attendees in 600,000 gross square feet. JPMA’s research indicated that retailers wanted to be able to navigate the show floor more easily and comfortably. “We color-coded aisle signs to coordinate with the floor map, added extra information booths and greeters, increased the number of rest and refreshment areas, and added roving food carts,” says Waller.
Ongoing strategic planning is critical to the show’s success, and the research needs to be ever-more sophisticated, according to Waller. “We use the data to monitor industry trends and keep in touch with the needs of our members and buyers.”

This climate of continual innovation is typical of the entire trade show industry. The sweeping global changes in business technology, structure, marketing and supply-chain management that have dramatically altered the relationships between vendors and buyers will change the role of trade shows as a marketing medium as the decade unfolds.

The recent trend toward privately produced corporate events signals that exhibitors have taken back some of the functions they previously assigned to trade show organizers. For one thing, the trend toward consolidation in many industries means fewer but larger buyers, who have more clout with vendors. These key accounts establish closed-loop buyer-seller relationships with their vendors — off the show floor. Large buyers see new products from large sellers in private presentations in their own offices.
The relative importance of trade shows in buyer-seller relationships, communications and transaction volume has declined over time. While the total dollar level of trade show industry activity has increased, it hasn’t grown as rapidly as the increase in communications and transaction volume from other types of marketing activities.
The information sharing, new product introduction and relationship building that previously took place only within the walls of a trade show can now take place off the show floor in open venues through multiple channels of communication and at times and places determined by the market. Information sharing, customer relationship management, supply chain systems, and direct marketing programs all take place outside the trade show and are becoming part of the daily fabric of standard business practices.
The challenge for show managers in this decade will be to determine how in-person trade shows fit and contribute in a business environment dominated by supply-chain management and e-commerce systems. What kind of programs must organizers offer to provide compelling reasons for attendees and exhibitors to participate in their events?

Whatever the industry, trade shows are still the only medium where the customer pays to hear sales presentations. And therein lies the key to the future. As the structure of trade shows evolves over the remainder of this decade, show organizers and exhibitors must cooperate more closely than ever to attract customers by focusing on 10 major elements of future success.

1.  Community. Show organizers must focus their activities on a specific community — the industry they serve and the business segments within that industry. How is that community defined, how does it think and act, and what does it need? What are the personality, aspirations and goals of that community?

Entrepreneurial show organizers are often integral members of the communities served by their shows, but for others, understanding their community is an educational experience. Pay attention to the customs and norms of the community your show serves. Be sensitive to how they describe themselves and their business. Your understanding of the community should be reflected in everything from the show program and the tone of advertising to speaker selection and entertainment. Community is about having everything about a show be appropriate to the industry being served.

2.  Value. Value creation will be the key focus for organizers and exhibitors. Content, programming and intimacy are significant components of value creation. Intimately knowing the community served will enable the organizer and the exhibitor to implement specific programs and activities that the community will find valuable and for which they are willing to pay. Average value creates average profits. Compelling value creates premium profits.

Bringing something new to a show is usually an excellent way to create value. For example, new products, new information, new market niches, new means of doing something, new leadership, new Web site features, and new pavillions can add value -- as long as the specific content is valuable to your community.

Providing something that’s unique or scarce also adds value to your show. So, for example, your attendees may want a more formal course of educational programming to gain knowledge that is not readily available elsewhere.

In-depth research, done with the help of a professional research company, can help you understand what your community values and wants from your trade show. When you understand what your community values and is willing to pay for, you can create a highly motivating and profitable trade show.

3.  Content. Content is the intellectual capital that drives your show. With so much information now available free, what content will you provide that’s unique to your community and that will cause them to beat a path to your trade show floor? Content that makes a show a definitive source of industry information has a significant competitive advantage and is able to withstand some of the most intensive battles for market share. Conduct research to find out what content your community wants and how much they are willing to pay to have it.

Part of understanding your community is understanding who you need to have at your show. Does your industry need speakers who can talk about the long haul or about what’s new? There may be industry professionals who are also excellent speakers, but recognize that this is not always the case. It may be necessary to budget for a quality speaker who can bring the content you need. The higher the value of your content, the more compelling your offering, the more satisfied your community, and the more money you will make.

Content isn’t found only in formal presentations. Everyone who comes to a show brings content with them and shares it in the form of networking. Attracting the right industry peers to your show also means bringing content in the form of experience and ideas to be shared.

4.  Programming. What programming must you offer to keep and build community loyalty and repeat business? Does your community need newsletters, mid-year meetings, high-level videoconferences, nationally recognized speakers, or hands-on working sessions?

Programming includes every element of the trade show experience from pre- to post-show. We’re in the experience business, and we program that experience. Think about dealing with you and your show from the attendees’ point of view. Before the show, when they have a question, can they talk to a real person in your office, or do you have a phone system that impedes that? Does the hotel vendor provide a live contact? On site, how do they get from one place to another? Are there enough rest and refreshment stations? Does your staff smile?

5.  Intimacy. Creating intimacy will be one of the significant cornerstones of face-to-face marketing in this decade. We are moving more and more toward a machines and systems society in which businesspeople use electronic communications with little or no person-to-person interaction. So when someone commits to participating in a trade show, they expect to make a more intimate human connection than in many other business situations.

Consider every point of contact an exhibitor or attendee has with your staff, and be sure everyone is trained to be open, responsive, courteous and friendly. For example, if an exhibitor requests something that is outside the show rules, try to understand what it is they want to accomplish and offer an alternative.

6.  Branding. Effectively executed branding strategies create a brand preference whereby your customers only want your brand — to the exclusion of competing brands.
Every brand makes a promise: If you buy me, you will get certain things. Professional branding creates an expectation of trust and reliability based upon your show delivering on its brand promises. If you say your show is “the definitive source” of information or “the largest in the industry,” be sure that it is. Otherwise, you will lack credibility, and people will stop trusting your brand.

Your brand message should always be consistent and that includes the brand image. Some shows tend to change logos and artwork and color schemes from year to year, which makes for an inconsistent brand image. Put someone in charge of the way in which your brand image is communicated to be sure it’s consistent from year to year in all registration materials, graphics, fliers, handouts, floorplans and on the Web site.

7.  Multiple Forms of Business. Progressive trade show organizers will evolve over this decade into operating three forms of business: the in-person trade show business, an online trade show business and an online transaction business. As masters of content and community, show organizers will be forced to redefine themselves to be value-creating content providers. They will no longer define themselves just as in-person trade show organizers.

Attendees will seek online information and, increasingly, online transaction processing. A show organizer must evolve the business model to include many forms of communication, content, intimacy and community. If the organizer does not move online, a cyber-provider will invade the market.

Moving online means much more than just having a Web site. You should be capable of organizing both in-person and electronic show products. By the end of the decade, the newer site capabilities will be fully interactive. Advanced multi-media software will permit full booth tours and customized in-booth product demonstrations. Professional purchasing technologies will utilize these communication capabilities to manage advanced forms of online buying and selling.

Internet service providers can create templates, and the quality of these will improve tremendously in the next few years. Start small with something you can manage with your current staff, and when you get an understanding of what can be done, you can invest more resources.

8.  Research. High-quality research will be an integral part of the business planning cycle. The questions will get tougher and the answers harder to find. Research will help you discover the deeper issues in the community your show serves, as well as solutions and values that can be implemented in content and programming.

The typical post-show questionnaire done in the past will give way to more sophisticated motivational and value-scaling research to answer the question: “What is it we need to offer that will motivate you to attend?” Today’s survey response might be: “I want to attend to see new products.” With motivational research, the deeper answer may be: “I want to see new products so I can have a career advantage over the guy in the office down the hall.”

Research by an outside company should be a line item in every show budget. You will need research to develop objectives going into the show or event, and research to help measure whether you achieved those objectives.

9.  Excellence. Competitive pressures and rising customer expectations will make excellence a competitive differentiator in market success. This means enhanced methodologies for understanding your community and meeting their needs — even to the smallest details of an implementation plan. Excellence equates to market success and creating a sustainable business model in an increasingly complex and competitive environment. If the experience is excellent, attendees will want to come back.

Excellence means being comprehensive in implementing every aspect of your show. For example, if you’re going to be the compelling event in your marketplace, you have to have the most compelling speaker and that may cost more. If you’re cutting corners on speakers, that may translate into standards being lowered and you will not deliver excellence.

Include a statement of excellence in your mission statement. Post it for everyone to see as a constant reminder of expectations. When doing research, have people rate your show on scales related to excellence. This can apply to everything from customer service calls to the exhibitor manual.

10.  Exhibitor/organizer co-marketing partnership. In this decade, the success of a trade show will be directly related to the combined strength of exhibitors co-marketing the show in partnership with the show organizer. If every exhibitor aggressively promotes the show to its potential audience and brings its best products and best people to the show, the trade show will be very strong. This will be true for online and virtual events as well.

Organizers will have to bridge the gap between themselves and the exhibitors to get each group to realize that they both are in the attendee business and must work together to market the show. Any “us-vs.-them” attitude must give way to a united “we” attitude to co-market a show to the common customer — the attendee. New marketing tools and methods of cooperation will have to be developed in order for exhibitors and organizers to harness the strength of their co-marketing partnership.

Strategies in motion
The balance of this decade will see increasing competition among the various marketing methods. Trade show organizers must form co-marketing partnerships with exhibitors to build and strengthen their trade show investments, while expanding their business across all media and focusing on community, content, programming, value creation and excellence. Establishing brand loyalty will be critical to a show’s success.

Show organizers cannot watch their exhibitors build new buyer-seller transaction systems and continue to offer these exhibiting partners the traditional trade show product. The new trade show model will be a cooperative venture between show managers and exhibitors, based on research, communication, innovation, experimentation, intimacy and high value creation.

Martha Collins is a freelance writer/editor who has covered the exhibition, convention and meeting industries since 1993. She can be reached at mccwriter@aol.com.