| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| gil |
A trade stand at a BIG ShowAnyone on here done one ?How did it go ? How did you plan it ? What did you do differently from a stall at any other show/market etc ? How much did you budget for doing the stand (excluding cost of stall / banner behind stall) ? Additional promo material ? Displays on the stand or on boards behind it ? Looks as though I've got a trade/exhibition stand for half a day at the Royal Highland Show this June (tastings only, no sales to the public at the time), in a tent showcasing food and drink from selected small producers in this region. I'd like to make the day really work for the winery. I've got a new wine to launch round that time as well, and am thinking of tying that in. Would be good to share experiences. |
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| dpack |
i have not done that type of presentation but
planning performs best of |
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| sally_in_wales |
Take peoples email addresses for a mailing list by offering a draw for a few bottles of something, that can be effective and a way to remind everyone later in the year that you exist | ||||||
| snozzer |
Re: A trade stand at a BIG Show
I work in the Tradeshow and event industry so feel free to PM and I will give you as much advice and guidance as possible so you can maximise your investment. Snoz |
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| Chez |
Arvo too, although he specialises in the lighting and rigging side of things. I'll give him a nudge to log on  .
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| sally_in_wales |
Re: A trade stand at a BIG Show
Snozzer- could we prevail on you to do a short article for the site a some point on the basic principles of this, strikes me those of us that currently do smaller events could still benefit from any tips that help bring some of the professionalism of the really big events even to smaller stalls at county fairs or suchlike. 
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| snozzer |
Re: A trade stand at a BIG Show
Of course, I will pull one of my exhibitor experience presentations apart and rework for downsizer |
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| sally_in_wales |
Excellent, thank you very much! | ||||||
| mochyn |
Lighting. Really important. Just ask Arvo... | ||||||
| crofter |
Also plan to spend a bit of time post-show to follow up the promising leads... | ||||||
| Stacey |
Yep -
What sally said about the prize draw What mochyn said about the lighting And make sure your display is as professional looking as it can be. Find out the dimensions of your trading spcae and play round with different ways of displaying it and layouts. Find somewhere at home you can actually lay it all out to see what it looks like. Do lots of sketches etc Make sure you have enough publicity literature as well. |
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| mochyn |
Keep it uncluttered. Use levels. | ||||||
| snozzer |
Sorry, I really disagree with that one for 2 reasons. Firstly unless you are explicit with the mention of data usage you will be breaching data protection and liable to fines etc. Secondly, all this achieves is building a database of people who wanted a free bottle, not people who are genuinely interested in your products. I promise to reveal all the secrets for succesful exhibiting in a short article soon 
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| Behemoth |
Pleanty of pens, leaflets/business cards and contact form as this would seem to be an awareness rasinig experience rather than direct sales.
Immediate competition to enter and then a few ideas to follow up with 'special promotions 5% discount to those who register now', e.g. "summer nights", "harvest time", "winter warmers", "christmas gift box" etc. Don't forget to make the time to trawl the other stalls and see if there are any others that you may be able to work with, other food and drink, events, hotels etc |
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| sally_in_wales |
Point taken, but if you are clear about the use of the info- to update about new flavours, special offers etc, and people specifically sign upto that and of course you comply with the rules about not using it for anything else, surely that has a place? |
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| Helen_A |
If taking personal details - register with the DPR and you are fairly well covered then, as long as you give peeps an opt out...
I think its pretty much understood by most that if you hand over a business card you are agreeing to be contacted though - make it clear that you are going to mail them about future products and you'll be fine. What does occur to me is that you will need to check about the prize draw element, as some of the rules on those have got a little tricky recently - especially wrt alcohol if you don't have an offlicence (grrrr) Helen_A |
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| Chez |
Definitely - "Sign up here for our quarterly email newsletter! News about special offers, 'wine profiles' and the story behind each season's vintages." People then know what they are signing up for, so legally you are covered - and if you include an 'unsubscribe' option in your newsletter you are fine. |
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| hedgewitch |
Think in plenty of time about furniture or equipment you might need. If you hire at some big shows this can be very expensive, so if you want chairs, take a couple of folding ones with you. Same with things like table covering etc. About 10 years ago I was charged 50 quid a day for a chair. I have never forgotten that.
Be clear about what is provided as part of the package of hiring the stand and what is not so you don't get caught out. This might be expensive or inconvenient or both. As an example, one I am booking at the moment has power supply and up to 4 sockets included in the price, but if you don't specify that you want this facility and state the number of sockets you need, none would be provided. If in doubt, as the organisers. |
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| crofter |
Also check what is allowed - there may be certain "prohibited" materials to comply with fire regulations etc. |
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| snozzer |
Gil, I have PM'd you.
A few people have asked that I put together a HOWTO on effective exhibiting as that is what one of my companies specialises in. We manage exhibits for tradeshows and consumer events such as Spring Fair, Ideal Home Show and Surf Expo (Orlando) so have quite a broad spread mostly in the larger events, but most of the rules for effective exhibiting at those would serve you equally at smaller regional events and fairs. If anyone has any questions they want answering PM me and I will roll them up into the HOWTO. Ta Snorkel |
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| gil |
Some very good suggestions and ideas in there, folks.
Please keep them coming. Snozzer, will be PMing you, thanks for your offer of article/case study. |
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| arvo |
Hi,
* Yes lighting. (Thanks for the plug, Mochan!) If you get any choice in whether you can use it or not (a lot of agricultural shows though massive are still ostensibly a big old tent, so sometimes not so great for doing that). Though even in the worst of circumstances you can sneak in some crafty little low voltage lights (check out a decent arty jewellers window and you'll see what I'm on about). Also never underestimate the effectiveness and cheapness of several Garage halogen floods from B&Q. (just don't get the ones with a sensor on) They work great and they cost £5 or £6 quid. * Stand attractor. By that I mean something unusual that is going to grab peoples visual attention across a *mad* crowded room. For example - a dirty great jereboam full of wine coloured water with a aquarium pump bubbling away in it, lit from underneath. - Or across a banner behind your stand a whole load of intertwined fake grapevines (maybe lit by some low voltage lights coloured in purple). - Or a cluster of round Christmas tree lights dipped purple clumped together in grape bunch shapes. (a string of one's that flashed would be even better). - Maybe a game for people to participate in (chuck a grape, guess the grape variety of a blind tasting) The purpose of the attractor is to give people something to remember in a big place when they're getting show fatigue. If you've ever been round those huge shows there aren't many stands where you truly remember what went on. And in all likelihood you'll be bunched in a tent/shed with a lot of other people selling similar things. Fantastic though your stuff is, you need to get them across to your stand and then remember you when they've gone. ('Oh those were the people with the 'hook a bunch game' or 'the people where the bloke dressed up as a grape' or whatever.) Hope this helps, feel free to PM me if you're not already bored by my ramblings! Cheers Arvo |
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| Stacey |
Arvo - I don't think there's any dangers of any of us getting bored - more like we're sitting there taking notes
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| arvo |
*shuffles feet*
Thanks, least I can do for all the help I've had on here since I've been on! |
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| Blacksmith |
If you want some small display stands in Metal, wood or acrylic 
http://www.freewebs.com/displaystands/ |
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| mochyn |
Why I mention lighting in particular is that the light in tent-style marquees (as opposed to the permanent ones) is dreadful. This ia my opinion after exhibiting for years at horticultural shows from Chelsea to Shrewsbury. Ironically, the only one with decent lighting was Birmingham NEC.
Completely agree with Arvo's opinions on lighting, and add that, along with feature lighting the general lighting of your stand should be good. Are any of your ingredients in season at the time of the show? If so, they would make an excellent feature. |
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| VSS |
bear in mind though that not all pitches will come with an electric point - you might end up paying through the nose for it. | ||||||
| arvo |
Yup, tents have that whole dingy feel about them. A quick and dirty solution are disco push-up stands (you could also use these to string a banner between.)
This kind of thing http://www.thomann.de/gb/millenium_sls300.htm You can hang stuff off it, but more importantly you can put your dirt cheap B&Q halogens on it. Main challenge is: if you've got it behind your stand the all your light comes from there so its kind of on the wrong side to highlight stuff from a passing punters point of view. A good way round that is, rather than the shop counter style of layout (table at front, you behind it) you could employ a 'U' shaped layout. You stick your stands up first at the front (effectively forming an arch, your banner can go on that) then have what tables you need going back to the wall of the tent on either side (maybe at the back as well.) That way you get two big bonuses: 1) You create an unusual space thats inviting for billy punter, 2) You've got your lighting stands and therefore your lights on the front side of your products so they look all shiny and buyable. Yay you.
NB (Unfortunately my sausage making isn't anywhere near as good as Mochan's lighting design. )
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| hedgewitch |
Take plenty of water to drink and something to snack on. If it is busy, you might not get the time to leave your stand for food and drink. And many exhibitions and shows charge a fortune for food and drink too - even though I am usually spending someone else's money when I attend, I dislike paying over the odds and especially if the available stuff is rubbish. | ||||||
| Barefoot Andrew |
[mini-hijack]And when I actually finish that exhibition planning software (actual money-paying freelance work has been taking priority) I'll be in touch for your comments like you promised [/mini-hijack].
A. |
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| snozzer |
Here is a short (honestly) and rough guide to exhibiting. It is based on one of our exhibit management packages, I cut out a lot of the extraneous detail, but hopefully you get the gist.
Most important things are Pre Show Marketing, Staff Training, Data Capture and Post show activity. A full exhibit management plan is about 40-50 pages and takes about 5 days to prepare for an individual company and of course is very specific for their brand/product and the event they are exhibiting at, this is quite a simplistic and general plan. If this was a client, it would include actual dates, actions, deliverables and metrics. The goals section for example would include actual targets such as "5000 people sample the new launch wine" or "100 trade buyers details captured". We would then work back from total exhibit costs (including our fee) to set a price per return such as £15.75 per new trader buyer captured, or £0.08 per consumer tasting/exposure as these ROO figures are really important to establish if a) The event is/was worthwhile b) Trace back to source new business/sales ____________________________________________________ RHS Exhibition June 2008 – Trade exhibition Product offering Fine high-end country wines made by traditional methods using traditional Scottish grown fruits. Product range is currently 11 varieties with a mystery 12th being launched at the show. Consumers demographic • 30-60 yrs • ABC1 Likely to be a foodie or Downsizer-type, or wannabe with career and money to afford to buy the experience. In search of novelty and exclusivity; keen on provenance / authenticity; new taste sensations. Wanting a wine to go with dinner; special occasion meals (weekends/dinner parties). Likely to be influenced by TV media and personalities such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Monty Dom, Jamie Oliver Market channels Direct to end consumer (mail order, internet, Farmers Markets) Off-trade (wine merchants, delis/fine food shops) Selected on-trade (hotels/restaurants selling seasonal food from local ingredients) High-end visitor attractions Trade customers have a commitment to local, seasonal food; see it as a marketing opportunity for themselves; uniqueness. Tend to be 50-somethings; into good food and drink themselves. There is a loyal following of completely different customers who buy on the 'local' ticket, and are thrilled to find someone making wine in the South of Scotland from places they have known all their lives. These consumers cross all demographic boundaries. Goals • Brand and product exposure beyond SW Scotland/Cumbria, including Scottish Central Belt customers/consumers with higher disposable income, and a wealthier market in general. • Acquire more of the discerning trade customers (eg Gleneagles Hotel) • Access the wider Scottish market - Scots see anything Scottish as being 'local', not just a 30-mile radius - national pride. • Identify interest from exporters and agents • Product tastings to prove fruit wines are generally as good as or better than traditional wines (consumer and trade). • Build brand and product awareness against other producers • Sell product to trade • Build trade sales pipeline • Build database of potential trade customers • Network with similarly-minded beer breweries, possible view to later cross-marketing. • Take mail orders from end consumers • Build database of potential consumers Exhibiting Actions The Royal Highland Show Scotland’s premier Farming & Food event and one of the UK's leading agriculture shows - despite the bad weather and the wettest June on record, a whopping 148,000 people turned out to see the 2007 Show! Visitor profile An exit survey undertaken at the 2007 Show indicated that ABC1 socio-economic group represented 65% of total visitors 40% visitors in farming or allied industries / 60% public The farming contingent will be out in force at the RHS - it's one of the few 'holidays' in their calendar. Pre Show marketing To improve visibility for the product and brand a pre show marketing campaign will be run to include Database – Build a trade database of Local, Scottish, National and International trade customers and agents. Mailings – Write to each trade contact announcing details of exhibition and inviting them to attend for the mystery launch. Email – 3 general emails to current trade and consumer database to make aware of attendance at the event, to include information on the mystery launch. Emails should entice the recipient into attending and should contain the RHS logo and link to RHS ticket sales. Ticket Sales – If the RHS provide a ticket affiliation/discount scheme, then provide all databases names with a link to discount tickets or offer a promotion code. Link to RHS website – Advertise on main website details of the show, when it is, where to find your stand and details of the mystery launch. Get the full exhibitor list from the event organisers, identifying those companies who may be potential suppliers, partners or customers and make contact with each introducing the company and products. Press – Build Scottish, National and international press lists. Prepare a press pack containing information on product and brands and details on the mystery launch (Include a link to a Press download section from your website) inviting all press to attend your stand for a complimentary bottle of mystery wine. Exhibit Prepare and produce exhibit stand, paying attention to brand consistency and the 3 second attention rule (Visitors will only pay attention to your stand for 3 seconds as they walk the aisle, make sure it is instantly clear what you are offering. Ensure the stand layout allows for the staff to access stock, speak to visitors, and offer samples without getting in the way of visitors coming onto or near to your stand. Good stand layouts will allow them to come and browse, touch, feel, smell and taste exploiting all the senses. In a prominent position easily viewed from the aisles place a well designed sign to make trade buyers and agents aware you want to speak to them (“Trade accounts welcome” “Distributors/wholesalers required”) Get the exhibitor manual from the event organisers as soon as possible and ensure one person is gievn responsibility for preparing the exhibit. Pay attention to risk assesments and H&S assesments. Check for ordering deadlines as many services such as electricity will have a surcharge for late ordering. Check which are sole supplier services (electricity usually is) and which other services can be provided by contractors other than those listed in the manual. Check your insurance, are you covered for exhibiting or do you need to lay off risk with a separate policy (check Insurex) Staff Training All staff are to be fully trained on product range and pricing. Additionally all staff must be fully aware of any legislative issues in force. All staff to be briefed each morning on behaviour stand duty hours and responsibilities’. All staff to have their own data-capture forms and pens. Staff to be given defined hours of attendance to include adequate breaks throughout the day. Identify staff members responsible for Press, VIP and trade visitors. Enforce rules to ensure staff do not use mobile phones, read papers, eat food, apply makeup or stand chatting amongst themselves (when visitors are on the stand, adjacent stands or in the near vicinity) on the stand. If uniforms are to be worn, ensure that sufficient are available to have a new clean and pressed uniform each day. If other attire is to be worn, ensure that it is appropriate for the event, the audience, the weather and is clean and pressed where applicable. What are your staff going to say to visitors. Ask open questions instead of closed questions, the worst question to ask is "Can I help you?", try something like "What do you think a damson wine tastes like?" followed with "Here have a little taste." Product samples Product sampling should encourage visitors to come onto the stand and sample the wine. The golden rule is never to give without taking, so before offering sample take details (see data capture). Product sampling should be done using 3-5cl disposable glass. Each sampling to be supervised (for age) and should be accompanies with a data capture event. Call to action The consumer goal is either sell produce off the stand, or capture sufficient data to market to them later. Set pricing, simple and offer a show special discount and include discounts for larger orders. Provide an order now for home delivery service for those who don’t want to carry bottles around. Offer a Pay now collect later scheme, to take the order and issue a ticket for collection later. Have a data capture system to collect consumer information for post show marketing The trade goal is to either make a trade sale off the stand, or capture sufficient data to make a sale later or to market to later. Offer a trade discount for all orders placed before then end of the show (even if they phone you on the last day). Competitions Have a daily competition with a prize giveaway (perhaps a mixed case of wine). Easy to run competitions such as “name the main ingredient of …” are the simplest to organise and entry forms must be checked by staff for data-capture before submission. Ensure you capture name contact details, preferably phone and email address. Information distribution Prepare a small leaflet for both the consumer and trade audience. Have the consumer leaflet readily available; ensuring it contains brand and product information and an opportunity to buy post show at a discount (discount less than the show discount). Trade enquiries should always be spoken to and a data capture form completed before they are given a brochure/leaflet invoking the never give anything unless you receive something rule. Data Capture A consumer sample should be accompanied with a short data capture to include mandatory information such as sex, sample given and opinion tick box, optionally each staff member should ask for name, email address for list building. Additional demographics and market research could easily be included to help build market intelligence. A trade sample must always be accompanies with a data capture that includes the following mandatory information name, company name, town/region, markets served, telephone number, email address, sample given and opinion check box. (If given a business card staple it immediately to a data-capture form, collecting additional data where appropriate. Networking Attend all pre show exhibitor events (where appropriate). Introduce your self to as many of the other exhibitors taking business cards/information of them and providing them with yours. Encourage all staff to speak to other exhibitors during breaks. Attend all evening functions and speak to as many of the other exhibitors as possible. After each conversation make a short not about them on the rear of their business card (or one of yours if they did not have any). Encourage staff not to stand in a huddle talking amongst themselves. Post Show (within 2 working days) Immediately get all data-capture forms and enter into a database Email all consumers who provided an email address, but who did not buy offering them a post show discount if they order in the next 28 days. Email all consumers who provided and email address and made a purchase, thanking them for their business and offering them a post show discount if they order in the next 28 days. Telephone all trade buyers who placed an order, thanking them for their business Telephone all trade buyers who did not place an order, thanking them for visiting you and then convert to a sale with a post show discount. Email all trade buyers a post show information pack on your products Email all press contacts, with a short summary of how many samples the visitors had and details of any new/interesting trade accounts. Email the show organiser, thanking them for the event and the hard work they put into it. Email all the other exhibitors saying you look forward to seeing them all again next year. Telephone all potential partners/suppliers from the exhibitors and establish contact ________________________________________________ Feel free to ask questions |
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| gil |
Well, that was not quite what I was expecting.
I was at the Royal Highland Show on Friday,in a hall showcasing regional producers mainly for trade punters, entry mainly by invitation. Very busy, but a very odd experience, as noone who came to the stand declared who they were (which company, or even whether they were trade or general public). There were so many people at the stall (over 300 passed through the doors in 2 hours), that there was no time to deal effectively with them as individuals. There were also quite a few politicians / policymakers, as local and slow food, along with healthy eating, are high on the agenda of the Scottish Executive. I'd gone with a stack of customer contact / registration of interest sheets, and a load of order forms printed out, and never needed them. Didn't even get given any business cards, though a lot of mine went, along with the publicity leaflets I'd prepared. Apparently, the form is that the producers have to wait for the trade to contact them. Hmmmm. I'm not convinced this will result in much business. I got three business cards : one from a chef on Skye who I knew would be there; one from someone fairly local to me who has damson trees and doesn't use the fruit; and one from someone who works on BBC Countryfile, who wants to do a feature. Only the first of these is likely to result directly in sales. Not a marquee : a building with good enough lighting. The stall was quite a bit smaller than I'd been told (6 x 2.5', rather than 8 x 4'), which caused problems with setting out the planned display. People did say it looked good though. I had the complete range of wines, plus the new variety, along with plant material 'harvesting now', leaflets and business cards. Three info sheets ended up being blutacked to the wall behind as there was no room on the table. I don't think the organisers expected so many folk to attend - last year it was only 80-100. Which makes me think that a lot of them were the general public (and perhaps reflects the increasing interest in Farmers Markets in Scotland). It was a fun day out, a good exercise in promotion, and a great atmosphere among the producers and organisers (Scottish Agri College). In the morning, I had time to look round other parts of the showground : the sheep [of course], agri machinery, cattle, heavy horses, pigs. I also had a look round the bigger Food Hall. This was full of the general public eating as many samples as they could lay hands on, and not buying. Myself included.... Lots of well-known Scottish food companies (Macsweens haggis; Walkers shortbread, Stockan and Garden oatcakes); some smaller, less well-known; and the usual opportunistic crop of olive and fudge sellers. |
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| Chez |
I'm glad it went well, even if it wasn't quite what you expected. It will be interesting over the next three to six months (or maybe even longer) to see what feedback/responses you get. | ||||||
| Stacey |
That's an ace guide, snozzer. I'm sure many of us will find that useful. |