Trade Shows And How To Compete With The Immortals

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In every field, there are the "Immortals.” 

These are the people or companies who perform and achieve above all others. 

The term comes from the name given to the elite of the all-conquering Persian armies of the 6th and 5th centuries BCE. 

These soldiers were Darius's shock and awe troops against the Spartans and many other defeated armies of the ancient world. 

In marketing, we can learn from the immortals of the present or recent past. 

People like David Ogilvy, the founder of Ogilvy & Mather, Manuel Arroyo, the Global Chief Marketing Officer of Coca-Cola (sales genius with a marketing job title), and love him or hate him, Elon Musk. 

There are many immortals to choose from, and it's highly likely that you have your own roster of greats. 

In the exhibiting world, things are no different. 

There are world-leading show organisers, exhibitors and stand builders (we aspire to be among  those). 

We’re fortunate to work and meet with many leading exhibitors. 

They are super organised, highly focused on results and, for the most part, fun to work with.

Because of the traits described above, they rarely stress about their show plans and execution. 

And it's that planning and attention to detail that sets them apart from mortal exponents of face-to-face marketing. 

Here’s how we know when we are dealing with the latter. 

• Short lead times for events
• Vague objectives (that may change)
• Design by committee
• Long gaps in response to design or equipment changes requested by the client
• Last-minute changes to graphics 
• Design briefs that change or vary a lot from the original
• Missed deadlines for artwork. 

I mentioned that high-performing exhibitors are focused on results.  

They measure and compare many things, from footfall and leads collected to the products that scored the highest interest among stand visitors. 

Also, they see trade shows as a guide to what's concerning or attracting buyer attention in the wider marketplace. 

Some use short surveys; others use the stand team to put uniform questions around one or more issues to visitors. 

They go deep on the value they can extract from their participation. 

What we've noticed is that you don’t need to have the biggest stand to do this. 

You do need to prepare thoroughly, and you do need time to think. 

We can help you compete with the immortals in your events. 

Let's have a conversation if this kind of event thinking appeals to you. 

If you missed last week’s link to some stands we’ve recently delivered, here it is again.