Looking back to last year's blogs on briefing a new stand designer I thought we should look how you choose between them and pick your new partner.

Hopefully by now you’ve had in at least three different stand designs from different companies.  They all look great but how do you judge them and decide who to go with?  Here’s a few thoughts on the way I’d make a decision:

Stand / Brand Interpretation

It’s very easy to look at a stand design and rule it out because your logo has been placed in a way you don’t like.  I agree that it’d be great if any designer could view your website and any branding guidelines you have and be able to interpret them correctly.  However,  designers are designers because they’re good at extrapolating ideas and taking them further than you could.  Hence, I say don’t look at the design as fixed, look at it as a complex set of elements that can showcase what you want and be changed to fit your ideals better.  So look at the designs with an open mind.  View the overall impression, the way the tall elements bring attention to your brand from afar, the way the demonstration requirements have been designed and the way the look and feel of the quality fits your brand.

It’s easy to score points for design but make sure that you’ve given them the right information to start with.

Experience

What experience have you had whilst dealing with the designers?  Were they open to ideas?  Did you speak to the designer directly or were your briefs/opinions interpreted and past on by a sales (sorry, Business Development) Manager? Did their values sync with yours?  If you were able to visit their offices/view their website etc - how does that make you feel?  Do those feelings suit you and your brand?  ie don’t expect a basic pre-packed grated cheese if you are a cheese aficionado and hunt out specialist cheeses.

Response Time

Be honest now - are you a demanding customer?  Do you expect answers immediately and to speak to the manager whenever you want?  We all should expect that level of service so think back to how quickly and in detail you got responses to your questions?  If they can’t be bothered to respond quickly when they’re trying to win your business, how are they going to be when it’s contracted?

Price

Last but not least - price.  Do check the quote in details - what does it include and what is excluded?  How many graphics are shown?  What lighting is included?  Is it sufficient for your needs?  Be very careful here - you may change your mind and need more items afterwards and these could come in very expensive so let’s hope you know what you’re comparing.Can you re-use the stand for less cost next time?  What is the cost of storage?  How easy will it be to change for the next show?

As I scan the web and keep up to date with news and information on events and exhibition I occasionally find interesting articles that are worth forwarding.

In these days of budget control I thought this was worth a mention.

How to Reduce Your Exhibiting Costs by 30% in a Recession

For the full article click on:

www.accessdisplays.co.uk

We’ve already covered when to look at using a stand designer and how you find them but now you’ve got to sit down and write a detailed brief that covers the key facts about the client, their brand and their requirements.  This can be quite a tough job when you have all the information in your head but need to pull it together into a simple easy to understand format.  I’ve outlined below some key areas that I use - each section includes hard details but also some more personal feedback and obviously an open invitation to come back with questions.

Event Information

Facts:  When? Where? What exhibition? How much space you’ve booked? Stand number?

Hall Layout (with relevant entrances/features)

Stand Floor Layout (is there anything on there that you need to cover or make a feature ie a column)

Rules and Regulations for the hall incl. height restrictions.

Personal: Is the event up and coming with halls packed with Rolls Royces where the stand will really have to work hard to stand out?  Are there many other companies with similar products exhibiting?

Background Information

Facts: Name of client.  Why they’re attending?  Have they attended before?

Personal: Background on the event and the client presence at it.  Why is the client putting the stand design out to tender?  What do they expect out of a stand designer?

Stand Requirements

Facts:

Are you selling services or physical products? How do you sell these items? ie small demo areas for 5-10 persons or one to one briefings?

How many demo/sales areas do you need?  What product is on show?  Incl. dimensions and product literature and other relevant info ie it must be shown with a 42” Plasma fixed to the wall and a computer with at least the keyboard and mouse on a shelf.

Do you need a storage area? Do you need a meeting room? Do you require a relaxed coffee area?  If so, do you need water & waste or just an area to serve?

Do you need a raised floor to allow for extensive cabling to each area of the stand?

Personal: Do you have any past pictures of stands that can outline areas the client like or disliked?  What are the key issues that the client sees?

Branding

Facts:  Do you have branding guidelines that you can forward to the client?  I would recommend that a stand design reflects all other marketing and branding but there may be particular elements that the client wants to see.

Do send logo files and links to online marketing as well as brochures.  As much as you can to give the designer a feel for the clients brand.What colours are key?  Is the client after a black/dark design or  light, bright clean lines?

Personal:  What’s your instinct on what the client likes and dislikes?  Do they like creativity or are they more staid and formal?  How open will they be to new ideas?

Budget

Facts: How much do you have to spend?  You must give the designer a ball park figure so they know if they’re building a Jaguar or a Honda.Be clear about what this budget should include.  At this stage I wouldn’t expect a quote to include electrical installation,  AV and internet but I would expect to see a list of graphics, lighting, furniture and finishes.  Things can be fine tuned later on but you must make sure you’re comparing Apples and one quote/design includes AV hire and another doesn’t.

On the last blog we discussed why you’d want to change a stand designer when you’ve already got one.  Now we’ll expand the conversation to look at how you find someone to meet your needs.  You may want to use someone with experience of the suppliers but equally you may want to manage this yourself.  As ever with marketing, I recommend you start with some questions to make sure that you know what you want out of the designer.

Where are you based?  Do you want a stand designer that you can meet regularly?  Do you want a stand designer in the country that you’re exhibiting in?

Where is the exhibition?  Check the exchange rates to see if it’s advantageous to use local or foreign designers - obviously this changes day by day but it’s worth consideration. I’ve found it can be worthwhile taking a large simple stand over to the US to install there but it’s not often cost effective to bring a US stand over to Europe.

If the exhibition is in the US don’t forget that you need to use local labour and pay drayage (movement of the goods from your vehicle to the stand) both of these can add considerably to your costs.

How much are you willing to pay?  Think about your brand and the quality level you want.  As with any supplier you can pay a lot for a highly spec’d, top quality build but are you just paying for the stand designer’s brand and reputation?  You can also pay the bare minimum but end up with rough painted wood which doesn’t reflect the clean lines and profile of your brand.

Who do you know?  Can any of your partners or suppliers recommend any stand designers? Are you still in contact with old colleagues or companies within your industry - ask them who they use.  I do find that it’s good to use designers who have experience of the industry I’m working in.  It’s much more challenging to use a designer who builds fantastically creative backdrops when you need a high tech ergonomic design.

Are you connected on LinkedIn?  Join some exhibition based groups and ask them for recommendations. 

Even with all my contacts and industry knowledge I’m always interested in meeting new suppliers and building relationships.  As such I did all of this recently and found some new suppliers in the US and across Europe, all of whom came recommended and were worth starting a conversation with. 

I’ve recently been exploring options for a client who wanted to put his stand design to tender.  This is always a fascinating experience as I usually start from scratch.  I may know a great bunch of stand designers who can quote but are they the right people for this job.  Are they going to provide the right level of service at the right price?  Do I need to look further afield and bring in a fresh pool of talent?

This blog series is going to explain the processes to go through and outline some thoughts on how best to brief the stand designer to get the quote and stand you want.

In my role as freelance event manager I sit in an interesting position.  My priority is the clients needs, but I also maintain relationships with the suppliers so they feel motivated and part of the team.  I manage politics and different cultures - would a European stand builder understand the constraints and issues of an America corporate? Would an American corporate appreciate the creativity of a European stand builder?

My preference is always to pay for quality - of products and of service.   Some clients don’t want this and cost is the number one priority.  I’ve let clients skimp on costs previously and it never works out well in the end.  The direct contact may feel good that they’ve got their budget down but then their bosses come along and are not happy about the way the brand is displayed.  Even in these times where everyone is fighting for new business, you have to pay for quality.

So why would you change designers if you’ve been working with someone for a couple of years?  After all you’ve built up a good relationship with them, you know how to get the best out of the staff on site, they know what the client needs and how they react to new ideas.  Change isn’t always easy but it is usually refreshing and opens up new avenues.

For most clients we put the design out to tender every couple of years, not to annoy the stand designers but to make sure that we’re getting value for money and that we’re not in a design rut. I’m always open and honest with the companies making them aware of the situation so that they know that  it’s not quite an even playing field but that there is still a fair chance that the business can be won.  I then leave it up to the designer to opt into the process. Once they opt in, they’re briefed and their every move is mentally noted to make sure that we’re getting the right level of service from the beginning.

You know how when you’re reading about marketing, they’re always telling you to think about "What’s in it for me"?  I’ve tried to bear that in mind but haven’t always had it as my main focus. However, today I had a reality check that really made the message sink in.

Picture the scene:

Child at school looking out at the rain.  They know that they forgot to take a coat, let alone an umbrella to school - well, they’re just not cool!

So instead of a lovely refreshing 20 minute walk home they're feeling a little delicate and text me asking me to pick them up in the car.  Now, I’m a bit of a mean eco mum - I try not to drive the car un-necessarily and I’m happy walking in the rain (although I do usually have the right gear).  Hence I sent a simple text back - "Why???"

As I waited for the response I was intrigued to think about how they might respond - would it be the appeal to my better nature or would it be a more skilful (and maybe manipulative response)?

It suddenly occurred to me that if they replied "it’s raining and I’d love to spend some time with you" I’d probably have taken the car.  Why?  Because they know that I value the time I spend with them and they would have channelled directly into my mind and found the one reason why I might have gone.  They’d have found out my motivator - my “What’s in it for me?

It really brought it home to me that any marketing/communication we send out simply has to have that hook.  If you relate to your customers and tell them how you can solve the problem they have problem they have then they’re much more likely to buy from you.

In the meantime, I’m still awaiting a response to the text...the rain has stopped and I’m not really a mean mum (honest).  I would drive to get them - if it was raining really hard and their shoes had spontaneously combusted! Ha ha!

So when should you start your event and which day is best? Over the years I’ve heard many different event managers comment on this, all with gusto and most with experience to back up their decision.  At the end of the day it depends on your audience and your topic - are you aiming for business or consumer and is it something that people want to make time for in their busy days or would they rather team it up with some drinks and make an evening of it?  The questions (as ever) are never ending but here’s some thoughts to help you decide.

- I’ve found that people like Monday mornings to decompress from the weekend and get their thoughts in order for the week.  Hence Monday’s may not get the best attendance.

- Similarly, Fridays are either frantically full of the work that hasn’t yet been finished or is the wind down day.  Catching up on emails and work in the office so you can leave for the weekend with a clean conscience.  

- So let’s aim for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Being a pragmatist these may already be booked up for travel and meetings so get your invites out early to book these slots.

Should we now go for morning, afternoon or evening?  

- Evenings are great if you want people to network or be sociable - I concede that some are happy to do this on company time but a lot of people will be focused purely on their job during the day and so evenings, give them the option of a learning/networking opportunity with the possibility of a a free drink or canapé thrown in.

- Afternoons have never been particularly successful for my clients.  The audience fills up the morning with work and then it’s hard to justify/find the time to leave for an event.  Something always seems to come up be it traffic, bad weather, another meeting, a shortened deadline - small things can tip the scales to prevent attendance.  Do you want to risk it?

- Mornings are often the best option as people go into automatic pilot, check their diary and head to the first appointment - your event!  OK, traffic can affect timings but you can plan around that.  The crucial thing is that something else hasn’t managed to squeeze it’s way into the diary that day.

And don’t forget to look up bank holidays, any strike action due, election days, school holidays and annual national holidays ie some European companies effectively shutting down in August. It’s a complex business working out the best time and date to hold your event.  The best advice is to research your potential audience and find out how they plan their week.  Fit that research into knowledge about the local calendar and you should be able to make a rational and effective decision which gives you the best chance to get your audience to attend.

Technology is moving on fast nowadays.  After all we can now talk to our phones and ask them to find a suitable meeting time, then email or text the people to invite them.  The only trouble is, we now seem happy to talk to a phone but not to actually contact the person and talk to them about the meeting.  OK, that’s taking it to extremes but I’ve had a few instances recently where I’ve been invited to meetings and yet not one person has tried to speak to me.  Hence - I haven’t gone along.

As a person I want to be engaged, encouraged and spoken to - emails just don’t always fit the bill.  So here’s 3 circumstances that may just make people think about how they invite people to events and meetings.

Case 1: I was invited to meet up with a new employee at a supplier.  I don’t use the supplier regularly but am willing to stay in touch.  However, I have now been sent 3 group emails inviting myself and other clients to contact them to set up a meeting.  This seems so lazy to me and as I’m not valuable enough to the supplier to warrant a phone call I’m just not going to use them any more.  

Case 2: A venue finding client wanted to host a small seminar in London and they had met a collection of potential attendees.  This seminar did incur a small cost but the Return on Investment on attending was huge - so it should have been an easy sell.  However, the client refused to call the interested parties and get them to sign up.  They were trying to be more subtle and didn’t want to appear to pressurise people. Emails are great but they can be ignored (see Case 1!).  If you really want to get people to sign up you need to do more than just blast them with social media.  Try the old-fashioned picking up of the phone - especially for a small event where you have already got agreement of interest.  It may take more time but I am sure it will get you the sign ups you need.

Case 3: I was invited to visit a local venue recently - the emailed flyer was once again sent to a large group of recipients. Emails such as these are almost junk to me - with so many arriving they have to stand out to get my attention.  So I didn’t pick up on the first email but was surprised to receive another mail, marked urgent, which asked why I hadn’t responded and was I attending.  Again, it’s not a venue that was essential to my business so I put the email to one side to consider and a few days received another mail, once again demanding I let them know if I was attending.  I can’t believe that this small venue had invited more than 100 people so wouldn’t it have been so much more impressive to call me and invite me personally.  I’m not someone who goes to the opening of an envelope but I am someone who has serious business clients who might use the venue.  Group emails may get you some numbers but do they actually get you the quality atttendees that you need?So this may all seem like a rant but hopefully  you can all see that each scenario would have been so much better by the organiser knowing their mailing list, what motivates and engages them and then making sure that they use a variety of communication, especially a phone call to encourage attendance.  Please PICK UP THE PHONE!

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I’ve changed my Safari home page away from BBC news, and turned off BBC Radio 4 in the mornings.  It’s so refreshing! 

I really thought I’d miss the Today programme - it’s so interesting and education but it was also negative and I just didn’t want to start the day worrying about Greece and it’s impact on the Eurozone.  You may call it burying my head in the sand but I find it’s so much more fun to allow my mind to run free listening to classical music (plus my parent’s will be so proud!).

The home page was more of a challenge - news is addictive and I always like to know what is going on around me but once again the media was just bombarding me with negative stories.  I tried having my homepage of one of the blogs I follow but that was too preachy - I like to dip into those when I’m in the mood.  Somehow I found StumbleUpon (ignore the joke in there!).  Now I don’t profess to being an expert and I’m sure I’m only using it in an amateur way but it’s fantastic.  It has opened up the web to me.  By choosing my interests it goes out and finds websites that fit that category that i might like  -  most of the time it gets it right but I can help it learn by ensuring that I say whether or not I like or dislike each of the sites it offers.

In the past week I’ve seen some stunning photographs, read some inspirational stories and laughed out loud at some jokes.  So in your break, why not have a look at StumbleUpon and come back to work refreshed and inspired?

I’m considering launching my own events and thought I’d share some of the questions that have been running through my head.  It’s not an exhaustive list of things to consider but a broad sweep just for starters and it may help trigger some inspiration or encourage you to put aside some time to work on these issues.

• • Who’s your audience?
• • No, really.  Who is your audience?  What do they look like?  How do they behave?  What inspires and motivates them?
• •  Is this a paid for event?  Will this encourage attendance or put people off?
• •  If it’s paid for, how can you create real value for the audience.  It’s not just about telling people about your product but about inspiring them.
• •  Why would your audience attend?  Education, personal growth, fun?
• •  What does your audience want to leave with?  Inspiration/ideas/news/products?
• •  How can you get them to turn up, even if they pre-register?
• •  What experience can you give them?
• •  How long will they stay at the event?  How can you extend this?
• •  How can you build a relationship with your audience before, during and after the event?