It’s the story of Tony (that’s me) and the Three Business Conference Exhibitors.
I’m Tony Compton. Welcome to my Marketing Podcast.
My default business event statement is…
People are paying to attend an event. (And yes, that includes their companies…) People are attending, companies exhibit - with people making the decisions to spend budget and maximize event outcomes.
My default business event question is…
Do you know that people and sponsoring companies are paying to attend that event?
Of course you’ll say “Yes!”
So, if you know that attendees and their companies are paying, you should act accordingly. Do you very best to produce and contribute to an exceptional event experience.
Which brings me to my story about the three conference exhibitors. Who are paying to sponsor, attend, and exhibit.
It’s 7:00 am, big city business class hotel. Senior-level business conference attendees. Morning of Day Two. The breakfast room opens inside the exhibitor hall. A dozen or so sponsored tables and small exhibits set around the room, along the walls.
Seating and a buffet in the middle of the room. You can smell the hotel coffee and imagine the business breakfast.
I’m an attendee. But I’ve produced, sponsored, and attended more business conferences than I can count.
So I walk around the room.
Exhibitor Table Number 1 is unoccupied. Nobody home. All I saw was a stained table drape from the sponsoring company with a few scattered brochures on top. That’s it.
Exhibitor Number 2 did a nice job. No table. Quality booth, designed for a modest table space. Two friendly people staffing the booth, up at 7:00am. Ready to go, they knew what they were doing.
Exhibitor Number 3 had a table. With a table drape. And it was also occupied at 7:00 in the morning. By a guy sitting behind an open laptop wearing headphones looking disgruntled into the laptop screen. Unable to meet conference attendees, what’s the point?
Let’s say it cost $10-15-20,000 dollars to sponsor the business conference and get an exhibitor table. Throw in a couple of passes to the event but staff travel is still involved. Hotel, airfare, booth, supplies, shipping… I’ll say $25 thousand for those truly supporting their sponsorship.
So I ask…
Who are CMOs and CEOs who permit poor exhibit hall performance? How about Sales? Or the investors bankrolling it all?
For those who want more marketing and event examples and reasons why I ask these questions… Tune in to my next podcast. Which will deliver more event experiences. It’ll get down to business and right to the point.
Now That’s a Marketing Podcast!
I’m Tony Compton.