Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

Why not hold a tea cermony before the show for invited guests or during the show. I would come. This would be a great opportunity to introduce the product early and explain the history behind the Japanese aesthetic concepts of wabi and sabi, the fulfillment of a sensibility beyond the incompleteness of material things as stated on the website. I think having some of the smaller tubs set up with soothing music playing would be a good idea to generate buzz at the show. Somehow drape the area to almost protect it from the other vendors..give a sense of leaving the chaos of the world and coming into a tranquil setting. Tell your friend that she has beautiful designs. Good Luck.

Michelle

For maximum results, I think you need to plan activities before the show, and during the show, but also AFTER the show.

Events which drive traffic TO your booth are great, especially if you are able to capture names and addresses... but studies have shown that purchases from a trade show are made 6 months, a year, up to 18 months following the show.

I believe the specific numbers I'm quoting above are related to technical rather than home related items... but even so, you should be sure to plan not only to capture info from attendees, but also to have a system in place to follow up those attendees in the weeks and months following the show.

Here's a link to a piece I wrote on trade show planning and marketing:

https://www.hoover-ink.com/thoughts_tradeshows.htm

I've been to the KBIS a few times for different clients. It's so massive that almost anything you do at the show itself will be dwarfed by the huge exhibitors -- like Masco, Kohler, Thermador, et al. Some of them set up stages and hire an entire troupe of singers and dancers just to draw attention to their "big news."

It's almost impossible to be the "hero" at the KBIS with a 10 x 30 booth. One company from South America (a former client) showed up this year in Las Vegas with a 50 x 50 island booth (or even bigger), and had a lot of exotic stuff in it and they were still unnoticed for the most part.

The most successful booths appeared to be those of manufacturers who had specifically invited the key buyers to visit them. They were busy, but they were not necessarily the flashiest or the ones that you'd notice if you were a casual observer.

If you haven't been to KBIS before, I'd be happy to offer observations privately. Suffice it to say it's a HUGE show that takes several hours -- most of a day, I'd guess -- just to walk all the aisles and see all the exhibitors on a casual basis. If you stop to actually watch a show or ask some questions, it could easily take two days.

Save your client some money and don't spend too much getting the best position or the flashiest booth. There's no way you'll match the big boys, and most buyers have their "must see" list in hand when they get to the front door. You're not likely to attract a lot of serious walk-by traffic.

Spend your time and money pre-recruiting the people you want and find a way to get them to visit the booth. And be prepared to follow up with every one of them, whether they stopped in at the show or not.

Separate observation: I think the KBIS is much less a buying show than it was 10 years ago. Despite its size, it looks more like a trade fair or expo than a selling environment. I question whether it really pays out for anyone there, but it does make you a "player" to be there, so I'm not suggesting you ignore it altogether.

Also remember that the day after the show, the whole thing is like yesterday's newspaper to everyone who didn't make it a point to stop by the booth and ask for follow-up information and/or contact.

Hope this helps.

Keyword: Promotional Products. They work.

Everyone loves freebies. They spread the word, and give your company a long lasting advertising message, that isn't limited by the shelf-life of a magazine, or other common advertising mediums.

One popular statistic floating around, is that on average a pen is passed on to/used by 7 people. If that pen was printed with your company logo, it's great exposure, over a long period.

Including your website on as much of your promotional merchandise is very important also.

You're not limited to a pen. Something quirky and different would make a great talking point also.

How about some complimentary bath-bombs? Try JEM Promotional Products - https://www.jempp.com.au/ for a good online catalogue, with lots of different product ideas.

Best of luck

Jeremy

Peter,

I think they would do well partnering with an onsen in Japan. I know you know enough about Japan that you could find one who'd be interested in doing that sort of co-op. It would be more in line with the product and since it'll probably be freezing in Chicago in April it would tie in well.

In my previous life we did many sake tastings and taiko drums. Local geisha are pretty easy to find in Chicago which has a heavy Japanese population.

There's a Japanese event planner in Chicago and her company is called M-squared. I've worked with her mostly for sushi events, but if they need a local person, e-mail me and I'll track her down.

Michael