PR Experts Address Crucial Aspect of Expo Outreach Programs Often Overlooked by Many Exhibitors
Point Pleasant, NJ — August 21, 2024 — The ACE Public Relations team today announces five PR tips for B2B companies to engage the community at trade shows — locally, nationally, and internationally. These communications tips, along with scheduling and budgeting, provide the basic framework for getting on the radar of a company’s target audience, such as customers, prospects, trade media, and partners.
Emphasizing the importance of strategic communications for trade show success, Monika Dürr, PR Consultant for ACE Public Relations, comments, "Companies often invest vast sums of money to secure a presence at trade shows, yet they overlook the crucial aspect of pre-event communications. This lack of balance can significantly reduce their return on investment. A robust pre-communication strategy not only draws more attention to our clients’ booths but also ensures that they engage the right audience, maximizing their impact of participation.”
Budgeting for PR Communications at Trade Shows
While budgets can vary, a strategic approach to maximizing trade show participation with PR support involves an allocation of resources based on the company's goals and expected outcome. Between 5% to15% of the trade show budget is the average that companies should spend on pre-show and at-show communications and marketing, including advertising and promotions.
“Expos provide excellent opportunities for businesses to connect with their target audience, especially when they leverage the multiple touchpoints before, during, and after the events, which can easily boost a company’s success rate,” comments Heidi Thompson, Managing Director, ACE Public Relations. “Our PR strategists help our clients get the most of their expo participation, while also factoring in the communities that are unable to attend the events, but want to be in the know.”
How Maximize Trade Show Success
Like any important event, preparations start months in advance. The following tips will help companies to maximize their exposure at trade shows:
Prepare the content
Corporate collateral is continuously evolving as businesses grow. Before an event, make sure you have updated content in place to support the trade shows communications — before, during, and after the event. These include product brochures and corporate overviews, as well as customer case studies and testimonials — between 2-5 customers per product.
Promote your participation in advance.
Use PR strategies and communications tools to let key audiences know about your participation at upcoming trade shows — and give them enough time to act on it. These can include press releases, media pitches, emails to prospects, or social media campaigns.
Connect with the media before the show.
PR strategists give companies a direct line of communication to the journalists and other key attendees at an exposition. They inform journalists with key information for show previews. (These previews are valuable tools for sales teams to share with their prospects.) PR strategists also book one-to-one briefings between key executives and journalists — before; during and after an expo.
Plan news announcements
Think about your favorite company inviting you to an event. Great, right? Now if your favorite company invited you to an event and had some cool news to share, even better!
Build a pipeline of news through the year and plan special announcements for the expose, such as a new product or a partnership. Communicate the news via press releases and media alerts to shape both media and business conversations at the show.
Host an event.
Nothing brings people together like free food and drinks. Consider hosting a happy hour or dinner after the first or second day of an expo to draw in the media, customers, and prospects. Hosting an event off the tradeshow floor provides a more relaxed atmosphere that will help to build relationships.
Sustain Momentum
In the weeks following a trade show, be sure to maintain the momentum. Have news in the pipeline so that in the weeks and months following an event, more announcements will be issued by the company, such as new customer wins and third party collaborations. To ensure that all these activities get done, be sure to dedicate a PR resource to the initiative.
To learn more, book a meeting with Heidi Thompson, Monika Dürr, and the ACE team to explore how our team can assist with new or current trade show strategies.
For more information, visit www.ACEpublicRelations.com or send email to OurTeam@ACEpublicRelations.com.
Contacts:
+49 171 2049157
Heidi Thompson
+1 732.496.8213