Exhibitor Newsletters

Important tools for educating exhibitors

By Marc Goldberg

Whose job is it to ensure that exhibitors perform well at an exposition? Is it the exhibitor's?

That sounds logical. After all, it's their sales that will be affected by the outcome of the show. Show managers create the sales atmosphere, attract the right buyers and provide myriad opportunities for exhibitors and attendees to interact. Surely they are not also expected to bear the responsibility for the success of each individual participant. Are they?

The simple truth is that unsuccessful exhibitors will probably not return to your event. So whether or not you accept the idea that you're responsible for their success, you must at least recognize that their success -- or lack of it -- will directly affect your job.

The Trade Show Bureau reports that almost 40 percent of first time exhibitors do not return after their initial exhibiting experience. Why? There are a number of reasons. Perhaps they were not prepared to sell in this unique medium. Maybe they didn't plan the event -- they just showed up. Many probably had no focused, achievable objectives. Some could have participated for the wrong reasons, and others may have picked the wrong show.

Whatever the reason, the sad fact is that these are your customers. You and your staffworked hard to convince them to exhibit, and the investment your organization made isnow gone. If the statistics hold true, you will spend a large part of each year finding newprospects to replace the 40 percent you'll lose. Wouldn't it be better to accept theresponsibility for your exhibitor's success, and take positive steps to assure thatsuccess?

Education is key
For many years, show managers have invested both time and money to help trainexhibitors to succeed in this unique marketing medium. Boothmanship seminars havebecome popular, exhibitor manuals get better each year and some show managershave even begun hiring industry experts to roam the show floor critiquing exhibitorperformance and offering concrete suggestions for improvement.

Exhibitors themselves have taken great strides to improve their segment of the industry.The International Exhibitors Association has helped legitimize the profession andencourage continuing education. Several professional exhibitors have written excellent"how to" books, and there are videos, conferences and travelling seminars available.

Unfortunately, these efforts are probably only influencing the top percentage of theindustry. If you manage a mid-size show with exhibitors who participate in only one ortwo events each year, chances are good that they haven't been exposed to any of theseeducational tools. Exhibitors are busy people. For many, exhibiting is only one aspect oftheir job, and they simply don't have time for a lot of continuing education.

For these exhibitors, many show managers are discovering that exhibitor newslettersare the key. Not newsletters that simply list show colors, hours and set-up timesalthough that's important, too -- but newsletters that teach, inform and help exhibitorsplan their participation in your event.

Exhibitor newsletters are easy to produce, inexpensive to distribute and, if properlywritten, easy to read. They can be four pages, two pages, black and white or two-color.Some show managers produce them on copiers in their office, while others opt forprinting the pieces. A well-produced, professional newsletter will often be seen by manyexhibitors and prospective exhibitors -- as a "value-added" benefit of participating inyour show.

There are two schools of thought on the number and frequency of exhibitor newsletters.Some show managers produce quarterly newsletters, regardless of when the show takesplace. For them, it's important to keep up continuous communication with exhibitors andprospects. (In this case, the newsletter can serve as a sales tool for prospects not yetcommitted to your event.)

Other show managers feel that newsletters should start about six months before theshow, with three or four issues sent in the months prior to the event. The first issue ismailed six months before the show, the second at four months out, another, two monthsin advance, with a final newsletter distributed one month before the show.

The frequency of your newsletter will be determined by deciding how much you have tosay. Make a list of everything you need to communicate to exhibitors, and estimate howmuch space each item will need. Then determine how many newsletters this will require,and whether or not your budget can absorb the cost of production.

Content
The content of your exhibitor newsletters is crucial. If not written to meet exhibitorneeds, the newsletter will become one more item they don't read. Not only should theinformation be relevant, helpful and timely, the copy should be short, concise and easilyread. Try to avoid "editorials" on what a great show you have, and provide tips that willenable exhibitors to improve their performance. Articles with lots of bullets, ornumerical lists work well.

There are basically three types of information to convey to exhibitors: show-specificinformation, general information and exhibitor education information.

Show-specific information. This is basic show information that all exhibitors need to know. It's basically a rewrite of the most important points covered in your exhibitor manual. It might consist of the show hours, move-in and move-out schedules, registration instructions and due dates for show service orders. You could also include articles or "snippets" on your pre-show promotional offerings and advertising schedules.

Some show managers include detailed descriptions of the attendee profiles -- not in aneffort to sell booths, but to help exhibitors plan their activities to match attendee needs.A review of the badge colors is a good idea, as is a review of any lead retrieval systems.

Show-specific information can also include reminders to order tickets for certainfunctions, and a review of any seminars or floor demonstrations in which exhibitors arelikely to participate. Exhibitors can be reminded about new product showcases, contestsor booth awards programs.

If you've created any new rules, regulations or policies since your last event, thenewsletter is a good place to explain them. Exhibitors may be used to the "old" method,and may not have read about the change in the exhibitor manual.

General information. If your show is sponsored by an association, you might want to list the benefits of membership in the exhibitor newsletter. With several sponsors, you'd at least want to list them all, and if there's room, provide a brief overview of each one. If the association has a special program or fundraising operation under way, you might include a brief mention.

Both associations and show management firms often have other shows they want topromote in the newsletter, and calendars of important dates are always useful.

Be careful with this category that you don't get carried away with "fluff" information notrelevant to exhibitors. They could begin to view your newsletter as meaningless, andmiss all the crucial elements you include.

Exhibitor education information. For an educational newsletter, this is where the bulk of your article topics will come from. You might start with an article that serves as an introduction to the exhibiting process. Help exhibitors understand the difference between direct selling and exhibiting. Most show managers don't make this first article a "nuts and bolts" piece, but an overview that sets the tone for the educational segments that follow.

From here, the articles should become much more focussed and instructional. Often, theycomprise the bulk of the newsletter, and offer exhibitors step-by-step processes forcompleting a specific operation of exhibiting. The list of possible topics is practicallyendless, but these have proved popular with show managers and exhibitors alike: pre-show planning, pre-show promotion, using giveaways effectively, using the exhibitormanual, staff training, conducting the pre-show meeting, booth design and the effectiveuse of booth literature.

In addition to these general exhibiting topics, you may require an article specific to yourshow. Food shows, for example, could include an article on how to use food sampleseffectively, while high-tech exhibitors might need information on in-booth productdemonstrations.

Production
Because you're probably not a trained corporate exhibitor, writing some of thesearticles may be beyond your ability, but don't despair. The International ExhibitorsAssociation and the Trade Show Bureau are both good resources for the information you need to compile excellent articles. There are also many freelance writers in the exhibitindustry who can be hired to take over the entire process, or write individual articles.

Also, keep in mind that your newsletter cannot provide an entire education forexhibitors. The purpose of your article is simply to provide specific steps exhibitorsshould take to maximize their exhibiting success. An article on pre-show promotion, forinstance, may advise exhibitors to send personal letters to specific attendees -- it doesnot, however, explain how to write the letter, or what to include.

Contained herein are two articles used recently in exhibitor newsletters -- one on pre-show planning and another on pre-show promotion. Follow these guides to get a feel forhow to create your own exhibitor newsletter articles.

Help your exhibitors help themselves by providing them a base from which to improvetheir performance. They will thank you, they will be more successful, they willrecommend your show to others and they will return. There is an old sales adage whichsays it takes five to 10 times more of an investment to acquire a new customer than toretain an old one. Therefore, an up-front investment in your exhibitors' future willprove a wise investment in your bottom line.

Sample article for exhibitor newsletter:

Pre-show planningThere are three ingredients to successful exhibit performance:

a. Plan completely.
b. Execute aggressively.
c. Follow-up thoroughly.

1. Why am I exhibiting?
2. Who am I targeting and will they be attending?
3. What do I expect to accomplish?

a. learning/teaching
b. generating sales leads
c. introducing new products
d. selling to existing customers
e. increasing name awareness

a. define your message with three key points.
b. develop each point with details.
c. use clear, understandable language.
d. use words that paint pictures.

4. Create a theme -- that one creative thought that will cause prospects to remembertheir visit with you for up to three months.

5. Read the exhibitor service kit.

6. Send in the required forms by the required dates. Look for carpet, electric, plumbing,furniture, floral and other booth accessory forms.

7. Finalize your approach to pre-show promotion -- promoting attendance is a sharedresponsibility between show management and the exhibitors.

8. Order literature, samples, giveaways.

9. Develop a strategy for giveaways, contests or attention-getting devices.

10. Select booth staff. Staffers should:

a. have a good attitude about participating.
b. have a warm, friendly personality.
c. have good product knowledge.
d. come from a mix of locations (home office, field, plant).
e. be experienced in exhibiting.

Sample article for exhibitor newsletter:

Pre-show promotionShow management is responsible for generating show traffic, but it's a sharedresponsibility. You need to invite your target audience -- existing customers, hotprospects, prospects who have been called on but not closed and prospects who haven'tbeen called on.

• Use show-supplied invitations.
• Use your own printed invitations.
• Use a post card.
• Send a personal letter -- followed by a personal phone call.
• Use telemarketing.
• Have your sales personnel identify and contact targeted prospects individually.

• Tie your booth theme into your promotion.
• Use other than #10 envelopes -- they'll stick out more.
• Use a color other than white or manila.
• Hand write or type the address on the envelope. Don't use a label -- it looks like junkmail.
• Hand stamp envelopes - it looks more personal.
• Use a teaser on the envelope. "Inside there is a shameless bribe!" or somethingsimilar.
• Identify the show on the outside of the envelope. "Important information about XYZShow inside."
• Purchase the show's mailing list -- or rent a targeted mailing list from a reputablecompany.

• Use publishers' card decks.
• Use the show daily or show directory.
• Include show information in your company newsletter.
• Develop advertorials -- articles about your company, product or service -- that can bepublished just prior to the show.
• Use a banner in your trade press ads -- "See us in booth 1010 at the XYZ Show."
• Develop and send a press kit to all invited press.
• Invite the press to your booth, especially if you're introducing a new product.
• Use billboards at or near the show site.
• Rent panels at the airport.
• Sponsor hospitality suites, coffee breaks or cocktail receptions.
• Use closed circuit television in the hotel rooms (if available).