In order to attract the right calibre of visitors to the show, the event organisers will carry out a comprehensive marketing campaign that will include advertising, e-shots and direct mail combined with a full PR service. However, exhibitors should not just leave this to the organisers.

With many years' experience of exhibiting, I know first hand that exhibitors need to take a proactive approach to promoting their presence at an exhibition if they want to get the most out of it. It is vital that full use is made of all the sales promotion, direct marketing and public relations techniques that are available to exhibitors before, during and after the show to maximise the quality and quantity of visitors who come to their stand.

Exhibitors should take advantage of the free publicity opportunities that are offered by the show organisers in advance of the show. It is important to return all PR and application forms promptly, attaching any press releases or further information on interesting news stories that can be considered for inclusion in the preview features that the organisers will have arranged to run in key trade publications.

Prior to the show, you should send out invitations to customers and prospects so that they will be looking for your stand when they arrive and can plan some time to come and speak to you.

Get organised

By the time the show starts, you want to be fully organised and ready with all promotional collateral printed out, including brochures, press packs and business cards, and follow up responses. Spend some time researching the expected number of visitors to ensure that you print the right amount!

The marketing and promotional effort should then move into its second phase: attracting visitors at the show to the stand.

It is often thought that on-stand promotions such as free giveaways, are not an effective tool because visitors tend to take the freebies and then run off. However, in my experience, an effective promotional offer to accompany an exhibition stand can achieve outstanding results. Be innovative, as you will want to be remembered. Don't be afraid to use a product of perceived high quality and value. Ensure also that your promotional giveaway appeals to both men and women and your whole audience.

The most effective giveaways, as highlighted in a recent ‘What's on Your Desk?' survey carried out by promotional merchandise specialist Source-e, are those that not only attract and please visitors but can also be retained and put to use on desks. Mugs, mouse mats, memo-holders, calendars, coasters and key rings all emerged from the survey results as favourite giveaways that visitors to exhibitions have retained.

Don't be afraid to ‘think outside the box' either. USB sticks, PC screen wipes, mobile phone wipers, shaped stress products, ice scrapers, mobile phone holders and document wallets are examples of more innovative and creative promotional merchandise solutions that visitors will also want to keep.

From a logistical viewpoint, it is important to have a strategy on how to effectively distribute promotional merchandise at the exhibition. Consider which visitors should receive giveaways in particular, your target audience, the balance of quality against quantity that will suit your budget and how many products should be available on the stand. Your research into anticipated visitor numbers will come into play here too. The free giveaways are there for a reason - to spread the word about your business to its target audience, so they need to be distributed effectively.

There are numerous ways to generate a buzz around an exhibition stand that will have the visitors flocking: competitions and free prize draws; jugglers, magicians and mime artists; canapés, smoothies; people on stilts, and the old favourite - glamour girls.

Grabbing the attention of passing visitors is an important way to open business discussions, so make sure you ‘stand out'. If you provide a spectacle for people to talk about, then word of mouth should ensure a steady stream of visitors to your stand.

There is, not surprisingly, no better place to see companies making good use of giveaways at an exhibition than at The National Incentive Show (NIS).

At a recent National Incentive Show, an exhibitor was giving away a new Mazda sports car. This caused a real buzz and attracted many visitors to their stand. But promotional giveaways don't have to be hugely costly to be effective. Think the whole process through and take a proactive approach to its marketing.

If exhibitors capitalise fully on all of the marketing opportunities that are available, then they will maximise the return on their investment and leave a show knowing that they have made the most of it. This should increase the chances of winning new business, which is what exhibitions are all about.

Finally, don't forget the post show experience. If you said you would contact somebody, then do so as leads are nothing without being followed up. Remember to send everyone who visited your stand a follow up letter, perhaps with a leaflet or brochure - that is of course if you remembered to ask for a business card! Hosting a successful stand at an exhibition is really just the start of it!

The benefits of ADVANCED MEMBERSHIP

Some BPMA members enjoy more benefits and service from their membership than others. This is because they are Advanced level members who have opted for a package with many additional features.

In order to provide a better service to its members, within its review of the advanced membership package the BPMA asked members and the industry what they most wanted from their trade association.

It subsequently found that the majority of members wanted to make significant savings on the many valuable products on offer in addition to the comprehensive range of services currently being offered to them as standard members. The solution was already there - become an Advanced level member! By doing so members are able to benefit from a host of huge savings, which include:

• 10 listings in the directory and blue pages in Promotions Buyer,
• 50 listings on the website,
• A small classified ad in Promotions Buyer,
• A banner on the BPMA website,
• One e-mail offer to 15,000 end users and access to some 5,000 named incentive buyers,
• The facility to benefit from a product showcase worth some £150.

Advanced members will also have unlimited access to the already strong portfolio of leading brands plus exclusive access to supplier deals and discounts. It is estimated that advanced membership can bring savings of up to £1,225.

The Advanced member package will therefore not only provide a business with a whole host of additional benefits that help to promote the company but will also help generate leads. These major savings are enormously valuable additions to the already vast range of benefits that make BPMA membership so cost effective and powerful.

The BPMA continually strives to provide a better value added service for all its members, fulfilling its three-fold remit as both a dynamic marketing service, a point of advice and information for the industry and an essential sourcing service to purchasers. Therefore, its drive to encourage members to take advantage of more of the benefits it offers is part of its service to help them to run their businesses better.

To find out more about the BPMA advanced member package contact the BPMA secretariat direct via the website: http://www.bpma.co.uk/

Gordon Glenister, BPMA Director General