Paul Richardson says don't dismiss exhibiting strategies this year

I have been working around exhibitions for over 20 years as an exhibitor and a visitor, supporting clients at shows and running press offices. I remain a firm believer in all things exhibiting.

If you read Exhibiting magazine or use this website, I guess you feel the same. So, why do so many companies not want to shout about being an exhibiting company? It seems everyone has gone "event and experiential via face-to-face marketing with brand immersion" crazy.

The exhibition industry seems to go into a panic with the appearance of new buzzwords, but exhibiting is a strong and proven communications channel. If an event is at a venue with stands, it is an exhibition. It may include other elements to enhance the visitor experience, but however it’s branded, it’s still an exhibition.

Recently, experiential has taken centre stage as the "must do" marketing activity. In the early days of experiential marketing, the last place these campaigns were taking place was inside traditional exhibition halls. It was all about taking a brand experience out to the customers, not bringing them into a venue.

In an attempt to clarify the meaning behind experiential, CEO and founder of marketing agency RPM, Hugh Robertson, told me: "Experiential is the opportunity to prove the truth behind a brand’s claim. Our definition of experiential is 'The live physical engagement between brands and people, which can then be leveraged via other media to achieve commercial and communications objectives that create genuine brand advocates'."

It would appear that brand experience is paramount and it could take place anywhere, even on a stand within an exhibition. Does this mean exhibiting and experiential can make good bedfellows, or are they really part of the same activity?

Over the past few years, exhibitions have been assaulted by other media channels including the internet, virtual exhibitions and now social networking. With each one that appears, I seem to see a collective throwing up of exhibitor hands, as if it is the end of the world.

But, over time, each has been absorbed into the offering of exhibitions; the internet has been harnessed to deliver enhanced exhibitor and visitor experiences, and social media is being exploited to drive visitors to shows.

So, I'm saying to you that exhibitions should remain a core marketing tool. New shows continue to launch and the good ones thrive; the Gadget Show at the Birmingham NEC added another day due to demand for tickets and Nursery World at the Business Design Centre reported 100 per cent more visitors last time out.

Exhibitions absorb new technologies and techniques to improve the experience. Does this make the exhibition the most flexible, adaptable and successful channel in the marketing armoury? It certainly has a justifiable claim and I think you shouldn’t pull away from exhibiting, but embrace all these other facets under your exhibiting flag.

If we all begin to realise how good exhibitions still are as a marketing channel, everyone else will believe it too.

About the author
Paul Richardson works for Vivid Ink and can be contacted via Exhibiting deputy editor James Barrett.