Next week in Las Vegas, Expo! Expo! will be held and the trade show floor will be open on December 7, 2011.  Our event suppliers will be showing off their products/services and enticing show organizers to consider them as future partners.  So what marketing tactics will they be using?  I wonder if they might have a QR code or two on their booth display or use them in the booth?

The show organizer audience is tech savvy and I bet the majority have smart phones.  Now the question – do they have a QR code reader downloaded on their device?  And if they do, are they actively using it as they walk the show floor?

As I amble up and down the aisles, I will be looking for the best examples of QR code usage.  It will be enlightening to assess how many exhibitors have embraced this tool and if they are pleased with the results?  I will have my trusty iPhone with me and plan to record what I see and experience.  Then I will report back to you on the ones which were successful and the ones which could be improved.

Expo! Expo! exhibitors make sure I know about your usage of QR codes so that I can stop by your booth.  I would like to report on your success.

This should be a great experiment and learning experience for us all.  Gee, I wish I could offer a prize for the best QR code usage at the show.  I hope a blog post will be sufficient.

Recently, I was interviewed by John Buchanan for an article he was writing for Association Conventions & Facilities.  The article is titled: Integrated Event Marketing – Leveraging Technology to Connect and Engage.

Below is the beginning of the article and one of my quotes.  You can read the entire article by clicking the link above.

For more than 60 years, associations have marketed their annual conventions and other major meetings based on a few simple facts, such as that they attracted a well-defined, industry-captive audience, provided important education and career-development content and fostered networking. Over the past decade, however, the Internet has eroded that traditional dominance when it comes to content.  Technologies such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter have enabled networking on a scale never before imagined. As a result, the very definition of a well-defined, industry-captive audience has changed.

Meanwhile, social media has revolutionized the entire notion of how associations should market their events. The challenge is how to integrate traditional marketing practices with social media, to arrive at a strategy driven by new synergies. For example, Catherine Lincoln, CAE, senior manager, international/ humanitarian foundation, at the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery (AAOHNS) in Alexandria, VA, uses print advertising in the association’s two monthly magazines, as well as its newsletters, to promote her annual meeting, which draws 9,000 attending physicians and other medical practitioners and experts from all over the world to a North American city each September.

In addition to the association’s publications, Lincoln also relies on a sophisticated, segmented email marketing program. But, she points out, the consistent success AAOHNS has with its annual conference and other major events is a result of compelling and widely acclaimed content, not a particularly well-applied marketing tool.

Association marketing experts are unanimous in their agreement with that essential point.  However, says Michael Faye, president of Chicago based association marketing firm AssociaDirect, in today’s market, winning content is only half the battle. The other half is a truly integrated marketing campaign that leverages all available technologies and other key capabilities.  By Faye’s current standard, an integrated event marketing plan should include a microsite tailored to the individual meeting; a PURL or “personalized URL” campaign that targets and exploits known characteristics of individual attendees; a segmented email campaign; and a text platform based on mobile phone technology.

With currently available technology, Faye says any association meeting planner can use a PURL platform. The process is fully automated and reasonably inexpensive. It allows association planners to create 15,000 or more personalized websites that are tied to a database of detailed information on the individual tastes and preferences of all prospective attendees.

By targeting content to individual constituencies, planners can increase their registration ratio and, in effect, create a sub-tier of attendees who otherwise would not have been enticed to come to the meeting.  The next technological battleground, Faye says, will be mobile platforms that can connect and engage attendees 24/7, while still relying on PURL, email and texting tactics.  Now, however, Faye and other observers see association meeting planners
who are falling farther and farther behind the curve, rather than aspiring to the cutting edge.

SEG Marketing
“It’s amazing to me in 2011 that anyone is still having the conversation about whether they should segment their membership and market to specific niche audiences so you can tailor messages to those specific audiences,” Faye says. “A lot of associations are still sending one big ‘preview mailer’ and the same registration packet for their conventions to all members.” That is an obsolete model, with the law of diminishing returns at play, Faye says.  At the same time, says MaryAnne Bobrow, CAE, CMP, CMM, CHE, managing partner of independent association management company and meeting planning firm Bobrow & Associates in Citrus Heights, CA, some tried-and-true marketing tactics of recent years are under siege. “For example, with new technologies comes new levels of anti-spam prevention,” she says. “So, you have to start to wonder if your email broadcasts, which we have all relied so heavily on, will get categorized as known spammers.  That’s an issue that some email broadcasters are struggling with right now.”

Push Versus Pull
As more and more people rush to opt out of the relentless onslaught of unsolicited daily communication, the concept of opting in for something is revolutionizing the practice of event marketing.  Therein lies the unique  appeal and power of social media. It is the very antithesis of traditional “broadcast” marketing. Instead of “pushing” information, it “pulls” a customer into a two-way conversation with clear benefits for both parties.

Despite its obvious appeal, however, social media also has created a backlash from meeting planners who are resistant or even afraid of it.  “We are in a classic 80/20 situation, where I would say that 20 percent of the association members of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) have embraced social media and some of that 20 percent are doing it superbly,” says Joyce McKee, CEO of McKinney, TX-based association convention marketing consultancy Let’s Talk Trade Shows. McKee was also co-chair of the IAEE Social Media Task Force that last August released the white paper “How to Properly Use Social Media to Enhance and Promote Your Event.”  (see page 20). “Then you have the other 80 percent, who are either dabbling in it or who are considering it and trying to figure out what to do with it,” she says.

To read the rest of the article, please click here.

It seems that QR codes are everywhere, doesn’t it?  So it would be logical to see this new marketing tool on the trade show floor.  And we have.    But the question arises, is it effective or just some fad that will fade quickly?

If smart trade show exhibitors realize the power they have in this small design and drive attendees to videos and well thought out landing pages, it has the potential to not only capture the interest of a person, but move them down the sales funnel.  It is my prediction that the use of it will continue to grow.

This Wednesday, October 12th at noon Central time, Lew Hoff of Bartizan and I will conduct a webinar on this topic.  The title is: QR Codes are Everywhere Now – But is it a Fad? Or a Useful Marketing Tool?

In preparing for the webinar I have searched the internet for some examples to use in our presentation.  I found this graph regarding the QR code usage and its rapid growth:

The growth of this marketing tool will yield great examples of usage, and then those poor ones where we will have to wade through (or eat)  like the cupcake photo below.

This is a great example of QR code usage:

The webinar is being hosted by The International Center for Exhibitor and Event Marketing (ICEEM).  To sign up for this free event, please click here.  I will look forward to your attendance and your thoughtful questions during our Q & A portion.

The Dog Bless You site is up to 251,400 “likes” and they need more!!  For every 5,000 “likes” they are donating a service dog to a soldier living with PTSD.  They have gifted 14 dogs, as of this morning.  So please visit Dog Bless You on Facebook and give them a “like.”

Ember and I thank you for this!!

We all love our names!!

Most of your prospects have a very crowded inbox.  To distinguish yourself from the hundreds of emails in that inbox and obtain a response is an ongoing marketing challenge.  Using names in unique way that grab attention and a response is a big challenge.

One proven way is by using PURLS (personalized URLs).  For those of you are unfamiliar with this technique, they look like this:

www.JohnSample.NewEngagementRules.com

Not only is the name used in an email, but it drives the respondent to their own interactive web portal.

In a recent discussion with CJ Levendoski of Action Point Marketing, we were covering the various points of producing an integrated campaigns.  Now these campaigns use a combination of direct mail pieces, e-mail messages, and interactive web pages that are personalized for each prospect.

CJ shared that they worked with Live Marketing, an integrated marketing agency, for the 2011 Exhibitor show held earlier this year.  The PURL above is actually from Live Marketing’s campaign.  If you click on that link, you see this personalize hello – a welcome for John:

This page provides relevant information in the form of video, event broadcast schedule, white papers, a Twitter stream and other materials.

As an exhibitor you can start the sales process BEFORE the show by asking qualifying questions on page two of this customized, interactive website.  Wouldn’t your sales people LOVE having this information in advance so they could customize the prospect’s experience even further?  The answer is a resounding YES!!

I asked CJ about response rates – what were the typical open rates for these types of email campaigns.  Normally, they can range from 10 – 15% or better.  For the Live Marketing campaign, it was around 12 %.  Now he is a very honest guy and sited that there are those campaigns with terrible response rates and then the outlier ones who have 30 – 40%.

I know first hand that the accuracy of a given list is one of the key factors in open rates.  Almost every corporation has a battle with “dirty data” and error rates in their lists.  And if they have not been kept clean on a regular basis, that is where you get the very poor numbers.

Live Marketing, Say It with Style, and several other companies, use Action Point Marketing services.  I would suggest that you check out this resource  and you might find a way to stand out from your competition before, during and after the show.

The question typically arises in planning your booth for an upcoming trade show – what will we give away to the attendees?  Promotional products are a great way to extend your brand, if selected correctly.  I saw this article on Mashable and wanted to share it with my readers.

I know I have promotional products suppliers who are readers and I would appreciate your insight and comments.  What is trending now with your clients?

Event Swag: 5 Ways To Give Attendees What They Want

Erin Bury

Erin Bury is the community manager at Sprouter.com, an expert Q&A site for startup founders around the world. You can follow her on Twitter @ErinBury and read her blog at ErinBury.com.

At the end of a long day at a conference, event attendees can hopefully walk away with a few key lessons, some business cards, and ideas they can apply to their work. But often, they also leave with an armload of conference swag from trade show participants, sponsors and the organizers. Common swag items include T-shirts, pens, postcards and flyers with company info and discounts.

Swag bags are often filled with the same old stuff, much of which is being tossed in the trash as soon as attendees leave the building. Just because an item is free doesn’t mean it’s desirable or useful, and handing out 100 pens doesn’t mean you’ll convert any of those conference goers into customers or users.

Here’s how to make sure your swag catches the attention of event attendees and doesn’t end up in a garbage can.

1. Make It Something People Want

This seems like an obvious point, but it doesn’t seem like many companies actually think about it. Put yourself in the position of the conference attendee. Would you pick up that item if you walked by that booth? If the item was in a big swag bag, would it catch your attention, or would you throw it away without thinking twice?

Chances are if you wouldn’t use it, neither would anyone else. Also, make sure it’s something people don’t have 10 of already. Sure, USB keys and coffee mugs are desirable, but chances are you won’t be the only company at the event giving them out.

2. Seed Your Supporters

You’ll likely have a small swag budget, especially if you’re at a startup. One idea to make sure your items end up in the right hands is to create a smaller batch of items and make sure they get more exposure.

David Spinks, founder of BlogDash, had a limited budget this year for South by Southwest. So instead of buying 100 smaller items, he decided to get 20 T-shirts and give them out to good friends with the promise they would wear the shirt at least one day of the conference. This way, he got the exposure he wanted, the items actually went to good use, and he managed to stay under budget.

Hashable did something similar but on a larger budget. It sent its biggest supporters to SXSW for free. They wore branded T-shirts the whole time and used Hashable instead of carrying business cards. It was great branding for them, and the attendees were likely happy to wear the shirts in return for a free trip.

3. Go Digital

One of the trademark items at SXSW was the extremely heavy, overloaded swag bag. This year the organizers moved away from physical items and instead created a digital swag bag for attendees, accessible through a SXSW online account. The “SXswag” bag included discounts on apps and services, music downloads and even a free set of “We met at SXSW” Moo cards. It cut down on waste, but the jury is still out on whether the majority of people actually accessed the online bag (I know I didn’t).

Digital swag is an emerging trend and a great way to save money, but make sure it’s easy to access and that it’s desirable enough to get people to log on.

4. Go Green

One of the biggest criticisms of swag is that it isn’t eco-friendly. Thousands of flyers, postcards and promotional items are created, and many of them are left behind in hotel rooms, or worse, forgotten in a company’s storage room. Digital swag is a great eco-friendly way to cut down on waste, but there are others.

One way is to forgo swag in favor of a charitable donation. Canadian Foodie Girl blogger Andrea Toole attended a conference where a company gave its swag budget to charity, and attendees voted on which cause the money should support. This encouraged a lot of people to stop at its booth.

There’s also plenty of eco-friendly physical swag available if you know where to look. Promotional items company Rightsleeve has an entire section devoted to green swag, which includes everything from recycled calendars to eco-friendly steak knives.

5. Pop Culture Is Your Friend

Some of the most popular swag items at conferences find a way to incorporate pop culture trends. At SXSW in 2010, ShareThis had a variety of stickers with “quotes” from Kanye West (“I’mma let you finish … but ShareThis has one of the best sharing services of all time!”) and Mr. T (“I pity the fool who doesn’t ShareThis!”). They were funny and relevant, while still getting the brand message across. It was no surprise that Charlie Sheen’s face popped up on swag this year at SXSW, and it was in high demand.

Swag can be a great way to get your brand’s message out there and start some conversations about your company. But you don’t want your company’s marketing treasure to be someone else’s trash. Take the time to think about what you’d actually want from a conference, and try to create items that reflect that.

There were a couple of comments to her article which I want you to read:

Vickie MacFadden

The problem with swag is that too many clients only want what’s “cheap”, not what’s effective and targeted.   Ahhh, but that’s another chapter!!

Eco friendly is indeed everywhere…but there’s a lot of greenwashing if you don’t read between the lines!

Buying American made is a trend we are seeing (YES!!), but again, you have to be on top of it. Case in point: factory website says “a US Manufacturer”, but that doesn’t mean all the parts in that item are made in the USA!

Just call me Sherlock!

Victoria Pleavin

I went to an engineering conference in Newfoundland and instead of stuffing bags with swag they stuffed everything in a rain hat ( http://bit.ly/lBZlig ). It was adorable and useful!

I’d recommend adding to that list to think about what makes your event unique and to see if there is anything you can do from that angle.

Chrisa Hickey

I gave away a chance for a $500 custom tattoo at an automotive aftermarket show in Las Vegas. It was a huge hit.

NiteLifeTshirts

Great article. One idea for some event swag are light up shirts.

You can get a custom light up shirt with your logo or brand message from NiteLifeTshirts.com.

Everyone can give away a t-shirt but not one that lights up to surrounding sounds. Attendees will be sure to hold on to such a unique item and wear them. Meanwhile, they will be displaying your custom message wherever they go. As this article stated “Pop Culture is your friend” and these shirts are gaining popularity every day. Try them at the next big event and see the results.

From my webinar archives, let me bring out the one on lead follow-up.  It is always a timely topic, since a whole group of exhibitors ignore it.  I shake my head and wonder why they exhibit at a show when their leads are being taken away from them by the competition who is contacting them post show.

Trade Show Lead Follow-up: The Ultimate Competitive Edge

• Your booth was jammed packed with customers and prospects, and you have hundreds of leads.
• Your CEO was a featured speaker at the conference
• You won an award for the best innovative product or service

Yet none of this matters AFTER the show.

In fact, statistics show that over 70% of trade show leads are never followed up. In this 60 minute webinar, we  share cutting-edge strategies and tactics to ensure leads are followed up with and converted into sales after the show. With senior management scrutinizing trade show costs now more than ever, we’ll show you how to get ahead of the lead follow up curve and look like a hero to your colleagues and boss.

This webinar was conducted last year and provides you with the road map to create a successful follow-up program for all your trade show leads.  Just fill out the information below to have instant access to the webinar and other materials on lead follow-up.

Let me know how you are using the information from this webinar. Or if you are one of the select few who has a plan for trade show lead follow-up, I would like to write about your accomplishments on this blog!