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Don’t view trade shows only as a chance to schmooze with potential customers, collect boxes of business cards and impress everybody with a glitzy booth. If you do your publicity homework as carefully as you plan your displays, you can be well on your way to creating thousands of dollars in free print space and air time at the next show.
Too many businesses exhibiting at trade shows wait patiently until they spot a reporter coming down the aisle. Then, if the reporter stops at their booth, the person inside the booth moves in with the same tired sales pitch used on everybody else who walks by. Unfortunately, by the time the show begins, it may already be too late to capture the media’s attention. That’s because the smart companies work weeks and sometimes even months ahead, establishing strong media relationships that can pay off big long before the show is under way.
 What to Do Beforehand
- Before you do anything, read the show manual. Everything you need to know about the show should be there, including information on the schedule, registration, service forms, floor plans, exhibit specs, etc. You might find something that scuttles your plans.
- If you’re exhibiting at your industry’s trade show, you first need to find out which media are covering it. The best place to learn that is from the show’s PR staff. Ask them if they can turn over to you names of print, broadcast and online media who they are targeting. It’s important you know that, so you aren’t pitching identical story ideas.
- If you find the PR staff is pitching an idea that is a good fit with the product or service your company offers, ask if they could include your company’s name as an example in their pitch.
- Prepare a compelling news release. Explain the most interesting thing your company will have on display. Perhaps it’s an interactive exhibit. Or the unveiling of a new product. Or the person who came up with the idea for a new software package your company is offering. Be sure the release mentions awards, favorable results from independent tests on the product, or anything else that will catch the media’s interest. The release also should include the name and telephone number of the key contact, and the price of the product and where people can buy it.
- Target publications that would be interested in the show. An engineering magazine, for example, would be a prime target for a large engineering show. Call the publication and ask for a copy of their editorial calendar, which lists all special sections and topics in the coming year. You might not be able to tell from the calendar whether or not the trade show or convention gets its own stand-alone publication, a section within the magazine, a single story beforehand, or one story after the show. If you’re not sure, call the publication and ask. Editorial calendars, by the way, are free from the publication’s advertising department.
Want to know more?
 Download Special Report #24 “How to Create Media Publicity at Trade Shows and Conferences” for only $10.00.
In this report, you will learn:
- What media people want to find at trade shows
- How to contact the media instead of waiting for them to contact you
- Little extras you can offer that will make your booth stand out from all the others
- What to do if you're attending a conference, don't have a booth and want publicity
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