Project “Trade Show”: Her Majesty Last Minute

Benefits of participating in a Trade Show are (hopefully) obvious to everyone – you acquire new business, form new partnerships and may even appear in the media, which in turn generates even more new leads. But taking on a project like this also means a lot of preparation and a lot of hard work, both before and after the show.

Ideally, everything would be planned well in advance – Trade Show participation would be included in Marketing and PR plans for the year, with clear budget and objectives, as well as clear strategies on how to achieve the goals set in the plans. Of course, responsibility would be delegated effectively, and the ones taking on the responsibility for the project would be happy to carry the burden.  But we all know life is far from perfect.

When it comes to real life, most companies tend to sketch their strategies and make preparations not too long before the show itself – employing the magic of Her Majesty Last Minute. Even if the decision to participate is made well in advance, allowing enough time to prepare for the show (most Trade Shows in Germany have their booking deadline at least 2-3 months before the show date), real actions are often postponed until the time show participation becomes a burning question. The same can be said about companies relying on external contractors, such as advertising agencies – an agency is normally used to working on a tight schedule and to constantly utilising “last minute” effect, but can the company itself deal with sudden overflow of communication? Can the company cope with sudden need to, for example, approve designs and texts for the written material, right there and then, without disrupting its normal course of work? On the other hand, can the company afford to give all power to the advertising agency and let them make relevant decisions?

Let’s take a look at some figures first. (go to next article)

When reading all this please have in mind that we are here to help you with all aspects of public relations and overall presentation of your company at German trade shows – take a look at our service list here or contact us to discuss your requirements.