Of the many activities to which marketing communications consultancies turn their attention, exhibition management probably encompasses more challenges than any other.
There are no excuses, no second chances - when those doors open, everything and everyone has to be ready. It is imperative that the client has every confidence in its consultancy and we are pleased to say this is true of Dow Construction Products, who have commissioned The Creative Department to handle their last two appearances at Interbuild. Held at the NEC, Birmingham, Interbuild attracts a huge contractor and specifier audience and is seen by Dow as the ideal venue to help maintain the already high profile of its leading insulation brand STYROFOAM. As with any exhibition, our starting point for the most recent event was to establish the objectives and strategies and produce a critical path time - line. Once these were accepted, it was on to more practical matters.

Making the right choices

Pivotal to the project were the stand design and its location in the hall. First we analysed likely visitor flow and negotiated the best position we could to meet the findings. Then, once the site was booked it was time to appoint a contractor. Each candidate was given the budget parameters along with a written brief outlining the objectives. This included an overall theme for the stand, which had to include a huge television 'wall'. A new sound insulation product,
Immotus, was to be launched at the exhibition and the 'wall' would be used to demonstrate its features and applications. On receiving various design concepts and costs from the candidates,
the selection was made and the contractor appointed.
The Creative Department provided all necessary text and images, supervised the construction right up to completion and controlled the budget throughout.

Other considerations

CPD

The stand was designed to work hard, even to the point where a discrete section was designated for the presentation of RIBA CPD seminars. Featuring Dow products, these ran throughout the day and attracted a high number of visiting contractors and specifiers, who were pleased to take the opportunity to 'top up' their points.

Pre - event

Two months before Interbuild, a three pronged campaign was undertaken to announce Dow's presence at the exhibition. It consisted of a direct marketing campaign, press coverage and personalised invitations sent out to the Dow database. Just prior to the event, we liaised with key trade press journalists and members of the Dow senior management team to arrange mutually convenient times for them to meet on the stand. And, not forgetting the home team, a full briefing session was arranged for everyone involved with the event. This ensured objectives were clear, duties understood and that optimum manning levels would be achieved.

Post - event

Leads generated at the event were recorded and a
coordinated follow - up programme instigated immediately afterwards. A debriefing was held with the Dow team to gather useful feedback for future events. Also, various members of the press had requested that we contact them after the event with additional information on certain topics and in some cases requests for detailed case studies.

Worried that you might make an exhibition of yourself?

Contact Lucy Garrett lucy@creative-department.com
and let The Creative Department take the strain

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