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Along with sponsorship and registration fees, a conference
exhibition can be a major source of revenue for the
organisers.
Whether held with a state, national or international
meeting, a conference exhibition provides would-be exhibitors
with an extremely targeted opportunity to reach potential
clients for their products or services.
The responsibility of the organiser is
to ensure that delegates receive maximum exposure to
the exhibition. This is commonly achieved through the
staging of welcome receptions and tea and lunch breaks
within the exhibition area. In the case of medical meetings,
poster sessions and mini-seminars can be another means
of attracting delegate traffic into the exhibition area.
Exhibitors often arrange delegate hospitality after
hours during the conference and organisers can increase
their revenue through the smooth management of these
events in addition to the formal social program of the
conference.
Daily conference newspapers provide an advertising
opportunity for exhibitors and the chance to direct
delegates to their stand.
These are some of the efforts the conference planner
can do be boost delegate traffic:
- Distribution of media releases to trade journals
- Visitor brochures and posters
- Promotion stickers for letters
- Free entry vouchers and trade passes
- Public relations campaigns
- Letters of invitation with reply card attached
for pre-registration
- Tele-marketing
- Identify exhibitors who speak well for television
and radio opportunities
At an exhibition attended by overseas visitors, it
is important to provide some information material in
languages other than English and, if possible, to employ
exhibition staff who can converse in the language of
some of the foreign visitors.
Companies and individuals considering participation
in an exhibition need to do some serious homework before
committing.
This includes discovery of the overall exhibition theme;
the general products and services covered, the previous
year attendance; the anticipated attendance at this
year; competitors attending and - most importantly -
the reason for participating. If the only reason is
that the competition is attending then that really is
not a good enough justification of the time and resources
available.
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