The MRO Show

One of the more interesting and original ideas to come out of the MRO Show this year was this product display.

At first glance, this looks like a skid arrived at the booth and was overlooked and not unpacked. In reality, it did several things, according to Kim Williamson, trade show manager for Aviall.

Kim explained that it shows the range of product types as well as the uniformity of product packaging. As always, Aviall is the "box the parts come in."

This was a simple act that drew attention to the space and the products. It allowed for a number of products to be shown without taking up precious real estate (the booth was only a 20x20 or 20x30, most of the space dedicated to conference space).

It became a conversations tarter that got casual attendees to talk and veteran guests to open up (maybe with a "I didn't know you did that" query).

And, it had the bonus of already being mostly packed on the down.

TTSG

It's not about the booth

I had dinner with a colleague from the industry last evening. We traded stories and leads and finally got to philosophy. After several minutes of spirited discussion, we both concluded one thing:

It's not about the booth.

While this seems an overstatement of the obvious, too many exhibitors and suppliers view the trade show experience as about putting up an exhibit. Great for those who want to think that way. But as suppliers and supporters of strategic marketers we really are solutions providers. As I've said many times, if you do this right, you can do it on a bear piece of concrete. However, you shouldn't have to do that. But the perception of exhibit marketing is changing as is the approach.

More exhibitors, facing reduced budgets because of tightening credit and higher shareholder expectations, want a lighter booth and don't want to store a thing for months out of the year unused. Suppliers want to keep designing and producing effective space-using exhibits that keep saws turning and warehouses full. Hmmmm...do we need to rethink this model?

That's not to say exhibits need to go away. Quite the contrary--the best and most effective way to sell to new and existing customers is face to face. there isn't a replacement for that. That said, that means that the exhibit space needs to be a strategic location for selling and effective in execution.

Fewer, more targeted exhibits that are part of a larger strategy--well-timed and placed trade advertising, trained staff, consistent messaging.

Let's not shoot for the tactic but aim a bit higher.

TTSG