VC in DC: Trade Show Marketing

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30

Image via Wikipedia

I was speaking with someone over this past weekend and shared that I blog on a regular basis. I described that I try to give "practical advice" related to start ups, financing and growing a business. The response was a question, "Don't people need impractical advice more?" like alternative ways to market, sell, raise money, etc....

My interpretation of "alternative" advice was what to do when you lack the money and manpower to accomplish what you need to for your small enterprise to grow. And if there is a single good area for alternative advice, it is the use of asymmetric (guerrilla) marketing by a start up at a trade show.

Here's the scenario, you want to make a big splash at an upcoming industry trade show. You have little to no money to do so. You cannot afford trade show space and you don't own a booth even if you could get the space. It is nonetheless critical for the company to join the fray and get in front of potential customers.

I have done this with everything from stickers on escalator hand belts ($50) , to posters in trade show elevators ($250) , to hotel key cards with my logo in the trade show's main hotel ($250), to rogue banners hanging from the hotel across the street ($500), to college acting groups staging fake demonstrations dressed as hippies outside main venues of trade show evening events demanding access to my product ($500). More on these in a minute. If you're ready to make a splash, ok with people getting a little angry with you, and capable of a stunt or two. Well here's the plan, and you may just have a lot of fun. I always did........

1. Understand the physical geography

Weeks or months prior to the targeted show, go to the trade show venue, surrounding hotels and any known venues for evening events. Get a grasp on where people will walk, pick up buses, catch cabs, have lunch and meet for drinks. Know the lay of the land literally. I know this costs money but it is the fundamental first step. Meet the bell captain in your target hotels. Say hello to the head of housekeeping. Talk with the convention center and hotel staff responsible for handling the trade show organizer.

2. Determine which real estate and assets the trade show controls

This means everything from key cards in convention hotels to trade show venue itself. By key cards, I mean the hotel keys one receives when checking in to the hotel. They are cheap to have printed and generally a hotel will accept your logo'd key cards for usage at a convention for a small fee (as low as $250 or you may get it for free). Hotels across the street or around the corner, where many trade show attendees will stay, but are outside the trade show's control are key targets. Will the trade show provide T-Shirts, Hats or Buttons to any housekeeping, front desk or bell staff? Does the hotel have an internal video channel running on the hotel's TV's? Find out what assets exist.

3. Get a sense of the rules

Some trade shows, usually mature, larger ones, have a great deal of staff and do a good job of controlling the assets you seek to leverage over a couple of days. To the degree you can, without tipping your hand, get a handle on these rules.

4. Understand that you will need 4 to 7 gambits

Sadly, some of your gambits will be spotted immediately and removed quickly. Some will not as people can often mostly assume someone else authorized you to replace the hotel's regular coasters in the main bar with the ones with your logo. All it really took was a tip to the bartender ($50) and your coasters ($125). Also, your gambits need to be executed in close timing proximity to one another immediately prior to the trade show opening. Think 4 or 5am on the day of opening. As you soon be explaining that you didn't know it was wrong to place bumper stickers on the convention center's trash cans ($75), or put decals surrounding hotel elevator call button plates ($50), or decorate the hotel's fake plants with small hanging monkeys/birds/ornaments ($125) or place logo'd doormats outside the convention center's doors ($500) or tape posters in key locations in the rest rooms ($150) or put logo'd toiletry baskets in those same convention center restrooms ($250). Some of your soldiers won't make it off the beach and you should expect some losses.

That you did all of that as well put large buttons on the hotel maids ($100 tip/$100 buttons), desk staff and T-Shirts on the bell staff ($200 tips/$150 T-Shirts) when you weren't really allowed to do so, well, you should anticipate a stern conversation in which you demonstrate profound ignorance. Won't do it again, you should say, not this year - not here.

5. Hijack a little spotlight in a main event

Most trade shows will have a large evening event for entertainment and networking purposes. Buses from main hotels to the event have bus drivers who might like to wear a new hat ($100 offered prize to bus driver spotted with it on - done very publicly - early on - as well as the price of the hats.). Or my personal favorite, the college drama group staging an attention gathering event (as little as $300) outside the large, evening event venue. They need the "freedom and power" your product provides and they are protesting its limited distribution (by trade show attendees). To be clear, I would usually have to explain to the head of the college drama group that I wouldn't have a protest permit or anything like that. If the police came to move along, be polite and get the hell out of there. They were always cool with this. And the police never came though the trade show people were usually plenty mad. Then again, they would pick a public sidewalk which was visible from bus drop off but didn't impede traffic flow.

Another favorite spotlight stealing tactic is bring celebrity impersonators and a photographer with you to the event. Elvis, Cher and Marilyn Monroe will work really well with a lot of folks. If your show is in Las Vegas, they are plentiful and affordable (as low as $500 for evening per star). Capture their emails so you can send the picture or put a button/lapel item on them associated with the picture process. Or make sure Elvis has your hat on.

Later when you're successful and the company is progressing well, you will spend the $30k or $75k to do the trade show properly, And, you'll likely look back on these shenanigans with a private smile. I do.

And when you get to spend all that money, you'll know which method generates the best results.

Image via CrunchBase

This looks like a great event for those interested in the latest internet and social media technologies. Aside from the star power of the speakers and Jason Caplain, it is also reasonably priced. I am going to try and get there.

It appears to the be 2nd time this has been held so I would appreciate comments from any previous attendees.

Here are the featured speakers: