As I was saying in the last post we did a trade show in November 2007. It was held down in the RDS but run by an outside events company. It was expensive enough to take a stand. The one that we took was approx, 1250 + vat for a 4 by 1M stand. Long and narrow. They company who were organising had a reasonably good PR \ advertising blurb but in reality I am not so sure how much of it got implemented. The problem with these shows is that they want to get you signed up and paid and then not spend the budget and scrimp on essential things like promotion.
The result of them not spending the money was that footfall was low in comparison to other shows down in the RDS. They were also a bit tight on spending on the floor as it were. The lighting was poor. So everyone had to stump for extra lights.
Also, the wireless connections down in the RDS were not working so you couldnt access internet (a bit dodgy if you are trying to process txns online)
Between the jigs and the reels the footfall never really picked up, and even though we were in a good position sales were way below expectations. After the show, I got on to the organisers to let them know I was not happy – they weren’t that concerned – I think they were happy to have it over and done with and to have made some cash. But the reality is that on the discussion forums to which we all look/participate there was a lot of chat about how unimpressed people were with it and that they would not go back next year. So the upshot is, don’t allow yourself to be sucked in to marketing\sales nonsense and go with your head. If an organiser has not done it before and is very expensive – BEWARE. Look before you leap is definitely the way to go.
Be interested in hearing other peoples experiences
April 8, 2008 at 9:54 am
Good to see you back!
I have started to do fairs this year and agree with a lot of the points you raise. I would say that attendance has to be considered as part of a marketing strategy and that it’s best to attend with the intention to get more out than selling your products e.g. securing some press coverage, market research, etc.