Maximising your impact at Interbuild and other trade events

In the run-up to Interbuild (NEC Birmingham, 18-21 October 2009), Rick Osman focuses on how best to exploit your company's presence at trade shows and exhibitions. If there's one cardinal rule, he explains, it's to have a list...

Tell people about yourself

No matter how strong you think your brand is, never forget to tell people what your product is, and what it does. Coca-Cola still reminds the world that it's a drink. Make sure your visitors recognise your event or stand. At seminars, signpost where to go: if someone has to ask the way you've lost their goodwill at the outset. On exhibition stands make sure your signage tells people clearly about any demonstrations, competitions or new products. Even today at Interbuild you'll find booths with no information about their occupants other than a meaningless name on a fascia board. No posters, no leaflets, no wording on the back wall. Nothing.

So put 'display material' on your list.

Editor's note to RIBA Enterprises Clients: Don't forget to use feature NBS Plus, RIBA Product Selector and RIBA CPD Providers Network logos on your stand as they will reinforce your credibility and reassure specifiers. To obtain high res copies and advice on how they should be displayed contact us.

Give your visitors what they want

Making information available to visitors is essential, as is having the correct type of information available in the right quantities. At exhibitions every visitor is different. Some know exactly what they need, while others have no idea. You have to accommodate them all. To do this you should supply information in a variety of formats, from a simple overview of your product range to technical datasheets detailing, for example, how your product complies with current legislation.

Promotional literature should fall into three categories: the big and the brassy to let visitors spot you from a distance; posters or similar to explain quickly what you do; and brochures and technical literature for those that want more detail.

So add 'promotional literature' to your list.

Be welcoming

This is so obvious and yet so often ignored. At seminars greet all arrivals. Make them feel welcome. Before exhibitions make sure the stand design is inviting, not a barrier. Some stands have product arranged like sentry boxes blocking the entrance. Others use unwelcoming colours. Remember, black may look cool and sophisticated on paper but it won't encourage footfall.

Speaking of design, don't let your designer lose sight of your reasons for attending the event in the first place. At a show I went to recently one of the stands actually didn't feature the company's name! Most visitors naturally walked straight past it. Why wouldn't they? It had blank red walls facing an aisle and a tiny entrance tucked away to one side. It was also unclear what the stand was selling. Exhibition stands should never be designed in isolation to the needs of the audience.

So make sure that 'stand design brief' is on your list.

Attend to your attendees

Staff sometimes forget that they're there to attend to event visitors. Don't let them have a drink together until after all guests have left. If you're at an exhibition it might not seem a big deal to spend fifteen minutes having lunch on your stand. Not so. No-one's going to walk on to a stand and approach someone who's eating.

If staff are sitting down they will appear – and probably are – uninterested in the business. So why should a visitor bother talking to them? This applies at all events. Staff are there to talk to attendees, not to each other.

So put 'staff training' down on your list.

Keep it neat

Put all the rubbish away. Don't leave the empty box the leaflets came in by the check-in desk. Don't leave a pile of coats on the table by the wall. Don't let empty cups and glasses build up. Have somewhere to keep all that detritus out of sight. Exhibition visitors will not venture on to a stand if it's strewn with rubbish. The same applies to CPD seminar attendees. No-one likes being surrounded by mess.

So 'bin bags' should definitely feature on your list.

Don't break your promise

Finally, and most importantly, don't fall down on your own promise. If the content of your CPD isn't genuinely useful to architects it will be seen as a betrayal and a waste of their time. So how can an exhibition stand break its promise? By implying one thing and delivering something less. Having a grand and welcoming staircase that visitors are not allowed to go up, for example. Or positioning attractive give-aways out of visitors' reach. Or featuring a cheap competition prize. Mostly though, stands break their own promise by simply not providing the information that interested visitors want.

Many of these hints and tips have been gleaned through CIMCIG's Interbuild walkabouts. The next one of these will be at this year's Interbuild on 21 October 2009. For more information visit the CIMCIG website.

Rick Osman is a CIMCIG committee member and partner in Highwire, a design and marketing agency that specialises in the construction industry.

Back to top