Over the last 3 years, we at Event Technologies have sent over 1.25 million pre and post show emails to trade show attendees on behalf of over 1,000 exhibitors. We have learned a lot along the way, especially that sending emails to attendees requires a very different strategy from other email marketing efforts (newsletters, emails to prospects, customer relations, etc.). We did a brief analysis of the top performing emails and the bottom performing emails and here is what we found: Subject line The subject line is arguably the most important part of your email. …
Email Marketing
Hoping that qualified buyers will randomly walk into your booth is not an effective way to generate leads at a trade show. The truth is that by the time attendees get to the show, most of them have a list of exhibitors they are going to visit during the expo. As an exhibitor, you need to get on that list before the show starts or else you are leaving the success or failure of your lead collection to random chance. Different strategies are required to communicate with the two audiences you need to address: Your…
Customer The National Grocers Association (NGA) is the national trade association representing the retail and wholesale grocers that comprise the independent sector of the food distribution industry. NGA’s mission is to ensure independent, community-focused retailers and wholesalers the opportunity to succeed and better serve the consumer through its policies, advocacy, programs and services. Event Name The NGA Show had 2,078 attendees and 1,112 exhibiting personnel for a total attendance of 3,190. The exposition hosted 316 exhibiting companies. Challenge The NGA wanted to give their exhibitors an opportunity to communicate with their attendees before and after the event. They had…
CAN-SPAM and the Impact on Trade Show Exhibitor Emails Tradeshow organizers gather attendee email addresses in the course of completing attendee registrations and if they are smart, they require them to OPT-IN or OPT-OUT of receiving emails. So the question is what can be done with these email addresses? Quite simply, the show organizer can send CAN-SPAM compliant emails to the registered attendees regarding the show. In addition, they can send emails on behalf of their exhibitors promoting their activities at the show because the emails are technically coming from the show organizer. These emails can be sent until the attendees OPT-OUT. Organizers start to run…
Customer The American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) is a professional, scientific organization of approximately 10,000 members employed in academia, industry, government, and other research institutes worldwide. AAPS advances the capacity of pharmaceutical scientists to develop products and therapies that improve global health. Event Name The 2014 AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition which had 4,834 attendees and 2,524 exhibiting personnel for a total attendance of 7,358. The exposition hosted 459 exhibiting companies. Challenge AAPS offers an Exhibitor to Attendee Communication Program that enables a small number of the event’s exhibitors to purchase the right to…
Customer A major US based professional organization hosts two (2) major conventions on an annual basis; the annual meeting for all members and a smaller one focused on specific disciplines. Each event includes a trade show floor that attracts major suppliers to the industry. Challenge The organization offers an Exhibitor to Attendee Communication Program that enables a small number (10%) of the event’s exhibitors to purchase the right to send pre-show and post-show emails to the registered attendees. The program provides exhibitors with a vehicle to connect with potential buyers prior to them finalizing their…
According to the latest US Consumer Device Preference Report from MovableInk, 66% of all email in the US is now opened and read on smartphones or tablets. To break it down more specifically, 49.5% of emails opened were on a smartphone, 33.66% on a desktop, and 16.8% on a tablet. This presents both a great opportunity as well as a significant problem. First, most mobile devices do not come with built in SPAM checkers thus getting into the attendee’s inbox is a bit easier. On the other hand, with real estate on a smart phone being…
Implementing an email marketing program that enables your exhibitors to reach out to the registered attendees to build floor traffic provides added value to both you and the exhibitors. However, the program can be a little more complex than sending out normal email blasts. Here are a few tips from our three years and a million plus emails worth of experience. 1. Bad things can happen if you don’t keep your email list confidential. Fortunately the number of shows that “give the list away” is on the decline, primarily because of attendees concerns about data…
Event Technologies was recently featured in a podcast on email marketing in the trade show industry including the new CASL – Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation. With greater concern for the attendee’s privacy and the implementation of stronger Canadian anti-spam laws, there are some permission-based marketing principles you need to put in place, whether you’re an exhibitor or a show organizer. To listen to the Podcast click here:
At the IAEE Expo! Expo! tradeshow last week (December 9-11, 2014), we spoke with tradeshow organizers that struggle with the question of whether or not to allow their exhibitors to send emails to their attendees using the show’s registration list. Some have had terrible things happen with their attendee list, including one organizer, from a big show, that found out that one of their exhibitors was reselling the list. This is not uncommon. Offering access to the registration list helps selected exhibitors drive booth traffic, increases exhibitor ROI and thus retention rates. However, how do…