Leverage Your Show and Save Media Dollars

By Jean Whiddon

Although most trade shows spend significant dollars on direct mail and other marketing tactics, you can maximize your print and interactive advertising investment more than you might realize through barters and other media negotiations. Print ads continue to be a strong driver for trade event registration and should be part of an integrated marketing campaign.

Bartering for advertising not only saves valuable marketing dollars, but also creates an opportunity for relationship-building between the show organizer and the industry publication, thus maximizing ROI. A good media negotiator knows who he/she’s dealing with, and the details of the potential negotiation. This attention to detail allows the negotiator to understand which cards he/she is holding, and how to leverage it for what he/she wants.

Below is a mix of sample “gives” and “gets” you might use to negoti­ate advertising deals. In some cases that might mean the advertising is free in exchange for alternative/trade “currency.” Your goal is to spread the marketing dollars further and the most exposure for the budget.

XYZ Expo Gets: Publication Gets:
  • Print ads (schedule of place­ments TBD as trade agree­ments are signed)
  • Banner ad w/ hyperlink on publication’s website
  • Banner ad and/or event de­scription in eNewsletter with hyperlink
  • Use of subscription list
  • Advertorials
  • Specialty Coverage in Calendar of Events, etc.
  • Insertion of direct mail piece in publication
  • E-mail blast(s) to subscribers
  • A publication bin in each entrance of the Expo
  • 10’ X 10’ booth with pipe and drape. Includes a sign and five (5) exhibitor badges.
  • Attendee Show Badges if booth is not supplied
  • One (1) Conference Show Registration
  • Listing on XYZ’s Expo Partners Page with logo and hyperlink
  • Pre-registration attendee list (only mailing addresses will be available) 1X or 2X use TBD based on trade
  • Post-show attendee list (only mailing addresses will be available) 1X or 2X use TBD based on trade
  • A dedicated furnished meeting room located on the show floor during the duration of the show. Includes a roundtable, chairs and a wastebasket. This will only be offered in lieu of booth.

Jean Whiddon is President & CEO of Fixation Marketing, www.fixation.com, a full-service marketing firm specializing in creative integrated campaigns that boost attendance and exhibit sales at trade shows and special events.

Tags: , , , ,

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 26th, 2011 at 3:13 PM and is filed under Direct Marketing, Events Marketing . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

Comments are closed.

«
»