Are you supporting the goals of young exhibitors?
Last week, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) announced the results of the “2015 Young Professional Exhibitor Needs and Preferences Study.” The study was sponsored by the Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO). (Read more on the study here.)
Here are a few of our take-aways from the study, as it relates to what marketing and communications solutions you can offer to help young exhibitors meet their goals.
- Face-to-face engagement: Create digital and print advertising opportunities, as well as sponsorships, that will increase awareness about their presence at your conference and drive traffic to their booth. Are these companies sponsoring booth demos on your exhibit hall stages? Make sure you’re promoting these schedules so they see a ROI on their sponsorship.
- Product promotion: Attendee interaction is important as it relates to product introductions and demos. They will seek ways to promote new products, such as advertising, social media or updates delivered through the conference mobile app.
Digital may be what first comes to mind when you think “young exhibitors,” but don’t rule out print. Rather, look for ways that print and digital can work off each other.
- Face-to-face engagement: Ask exhibitors to share their booths’ product demo schedules for inclusion in the exhibit hall information section of your show daily. The overnight printing component of a show daily creates an easy way for updates and changes to be reflected in the schedule.
- Product promotion: Add a New Product Showcase advertorial section to your show daily, with cross-promotion on your conference website. Then use a daily email newsletter and social media to share the information with a wider audience.
How do you customize your marketing and sponsorship opportunities to support the goals of young exhibitors?