Section I: United States (continued) - Trade Show Executive

INSTANT REPLAY
Continued from page 16
a Smartphone, so we decided to go with a
mobile app,” said Pagel. The results: 10,545
downloads of the app; 14,905 views of
exhibitor profiles; and 13,320 views of the
floor plans.
Other shows, such as Satellite 2011,
are developing mobile web sites using
HTML5 instead of flash. “Carefully
weigh the pros and cons of web-based
vs. native apps,” advised Jenn Heinhold,
show director, Access Intelligence. Satellite
2011’s single-sponsored web-based app
generated new revenue in its first year,
she said. The sponsorship generated
7,110 impressions via a company banner,
profile, button and logo on the map.
“For 2012, we will be looking at multiple
sponsors and upsell opportunities for all
exhibitors,” she said.
SISO’s next Executive Conference will be
held Aug. 13-15 in Chicago.
Reach Andrew Davis at (617) 332-8261,
ext. 102 or adavis@tippingpointlabs.com;
Kyle Welch at (972) 536-6321 or kwelch@
hanleywood.com; Mike Blackman at 001-49-
89-6387929-0 or mblackman@iseurope.org;
Joelle Coretti at (203) 371-6322; Vicki Hennin
at (207) 842-5500 or vhennin@divcomm.com;
Cris Levy at (310) 497-4656 or clevy@
encoremediapartners.com; Jenn Heinhold at
(301) 354-1813 or jheinhold@accessintel.
com; Brian Pagel at (770) 291-5438 or
brian.pagel@nielsen.com
QR codes are hot, but they can be tricky to use.
Users must download a barcode reader and
there’s no standardization in codes or readers.
6 Key Takeaways
1. Choose one channel and commit.
"When it comes to digital strategies, that's
the best advice I can offer," said Davis.
Whether it's Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
or Facebook, focus on doing one channel
really well. "Tell your audience why you
are doing it, when you will provide new
content, and how you are going to build a
relationship with them," he said.
2. Create attendance promotion tools
and incentives for exhibitors. "Exhibitors
are the single most successful
attendee marketing channel for our
shows," said Mike Blackman, CTS,
managing director, Integrated Systems
Events. He offers the top exhibitors in
three categories (based on the size of
their booths) who bring in the most
buyers a 10% rebate on booth space
at next year's show.
3. Incentivize attendees for referrals.
"We worked with CDS, our registration
company, to invite attendees to provide
email referrals after they register for an
event," said Joelle Coretti, vice president,
marketing, JD Events. At Content
& Communication World, 700 new
registrants were referred, or about 10%
of the show's 6,985 pre-reg list. For each
referral, attendees were given one entry
into a drawing for one of three iPads.
4. Leverage your database. In 2008,
Diversified Business Communications
outsourced the development of an
integrated attendee database with 1.6
million records to Extraprise. "We spent
hundreds of thousands of dollars," said
Vicki Hennin, vice president, strategic
and business intelligence. But since
the database launched three years ago,
the company has reduced marketing
expenses by 35% and increased attendance
by 5% to 7%.
5. Use mobile marketing to complement
your traditional media campaign. “The
Original Miami Beach Antique Show
used SMS/text messaging to leverage
its existing media campaign,” said Cris
Levy, managing partner, Encore Media
Partners. Radio, TV, print and billboard
ads promoted a 2-for-1 offer via SMS/
text messaging. Each media platform
was tracked with a different key word
to monitor the effectiveness for future
campaigns. “It’s a simple, low-cost way
to engage your audience,” he said.
6. Drive traffic to your web site using
QR codes. There’s no doubt that QR
codes are hot, but they can be tricky to
use. Users must download a barcode
reader specific to their phone, and
there’s no standardization in codes
and readers, warns Levy. “We used
QR codes in ads, brochures and onsite
signage for Satellite 2011 to drive
traffic to our show web site and mobile
web site,” said Heinhold. “Keep in
mind: Where there’s a QR code, there
should be a URL in case the QR code
can’t be read.”
18 September 2011 | Trade Show Executive