Exhibitions are increasingly taking centre stage in Zimbabwe and most sectors
of the economy are using them to the foreground and showcase their brands to their
target markets. Participating in exhibitions can, however, be prohibitively
expensive especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which, in most
cases, have no marketing budgets. This can be very frustrating to both
entrepreneurs and brand marketers.
To most entrepreneurs lack of financial spells the dashing of their hopes of
participating in exhibitions but this should not be the as there are many other
ways of participating in an exhibition without necessarily going the whole
the distance of renting out an exhibition stand and staffing with a standing team. We
examine below some of the strategies which you, the entrepreneur, or your
enterprise can employ to benefit from exhibitions without necessarily taking up
a stand at the event.
• Visitor
One way of benefiting from exhibitions without participating as an exhibitor is
by visiting the exhibition. This is especially important for would-be exhibitors
and small and medium enterprises (SME) as this provides a golden opportunity
to learn from those who would be exhibiting. For example, budgeting for
exhibition space is a major headache with many first time exhibitors who, most
often, are at a loss as to what size of space they require in order to meet their
brand marketing objectives and targets.
Visiting an exhibition before participating in it gives you the chance to ask
some participants some questions regarding some exhibition planning problem
areas such as stand size. Most exhibition stands are manned by stand staff which
means that you may not be able to see and talk to the entrepreneurs themselves.
If this is the case try talking to the stand staff team leader and if this does not
prove helpful, try observation and estimation. For example, if a particular stand
has impressed you as the sort of size that would be ideal for your exhibition, the
the following year and no one can give you the stand’s details, observe and note
how it is made and estimate its dimensions.
Use the visit to note how exhibition stands are manned in terms of team member
numbers and how they discharge their duties. Every situation is a learning
opportunity. You either learn how to do something well or how not to do
something. The visit allows you to have a feel of what it is like to be a visitor.
This enables you to plan your next exhibition with such experiences in mind
thereby enabling your enterprise to portray itself as one which is insightful of
the small little things which visitors care about when they visit exhibitions. The
visit enables you to identify other opportunities to participate in an exhibition
without taking up a stand such as sponsorship.
• Sponsorship
Sponsorship is an opportunity to provide goods or services which carry your
brand’s name. The exhibition organisers benefit from the goods or services
which you provide while your enterprise benefits from the brand awareness
which is achieved through the exposure of your brand to the market. Some of
the branded goods which you can provide include lanyards, exhibitor badges,
tote bags. The Zimbabwe Agricultural Society (ZAS), the organisers of the
Zimbabwe Agricultural Show leases the Exhibition Park benches per month
and enterprises such as Colcom Holdings Limited brand the benches especially
during the show to gain brand marketing mileage. Even exhibition venue waste
disposal bins can come in handy as a brand marketing strategy through
sponsorship.
When going the sponsorship route ensure maximum brand marketing mileage
by choosing items that are likely to be used more often. For example, while
lanyards appear to be better than tote bags in that they are worn around the
exhibition venue by many exhibitors, a tote bag of high quality has a longer
brand exposure period which goes beyond the event.
If you choose to sponsor items such as benches, refuse bins or venue street
signs, go for those through which higher volumes of traffic such as those near
the main entrance, near toilets or food outlets. If you can, sponsor the main
gates to the event. Coca-Cola in the past has sponsored one of the Exhibition
Park entrances along the busy Samora Machel Avenue which commands a lot of
both vehicular and human traffic even beyond the show days as such
sponsorship runs for a year.
• Sales teams
Another way that you can use to take advantage of exhibitions to market your
brand is by using your sales team to make sales during the exhibition. This requires
the permission of the exhibition organisers who may charge your enterprise.
While this is not yet a common practice in Zimbabwe especially at bigger
events such as the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, during the 2013 SMEs
International Expo Yellow Pages Zimbabwe used this strategy successfully to
sell directory space at the exhibition. The company’s sales team members went
round exhibition stands to sell directory space to stand staff and handing out
free copies of the company’s 2012 TelOne Directory.
The team even sold space to attendees of the accompanying one-day
conference while it was in session. Although Yellow Pages had a stand, your
enterprise can still approach exhibition organisers for permission to sell your
products and services without necessarily taking up a stand. Organisers
normally deal with exhibitors but all is money that comes to them including
your fee for selling your brands to exhibitors.
Some enterprises “participate” in exhibitions by selling goods and services
outside exhibition venues. Many Harare residents are aware of a Luna Park
which stations itself near the Exhibition Park along Rekayi Tangwena Avenue
when the Harare Agricultural Show is in the season to provide amusement services
to the show’s visitors especially children.
The open space near Luna Park is another area where some enterprising
young men sell car guarding services to some of the exhibition’s visitors. If you
are going to ride off the presence of an exhibition to market your brand without
engaging its organisers to ensure that your activities are within national laws and
local authority by-laws.
• Advertising
Another strategy which you can use to market your brand using an exhibition
without participating fully in the event is to take up advertising space in
exhibition publications like exhibition directories, newsletters and magazines.
Advertising in exhibition literature is generally expensive but it may turn out to
be way cheaper than fully participating in an exhibition. For example, in 2015
for US$600 an enterprise could buy advertising space in the ICT Africa
exhibition’s directory compared to US$1250 which was required in
participation and stand rental fees. Fully participating in the exhibition would
cost way more than USD$1250 as there are other expenses to meet such as
stand staff’s welfare, internet services costs and insurance for the stand, staff
and exhibits among other costs.
Ordinarily, exhibition organisers deal with exhibitors and, therefore, exhibition
literature advertising space is normally reserved for exhibitors only. However,
there is no harm in negotiating with organisers for space for your brand even if
you are not an exhibitor as not many enterprises turn away an extra dollar.
• Speaker
In Zimbabwe, it has become common practice for exhibition organisers to have
conferences and workshops running concurrently with their events. This
presents another opportunity for you or your enterprise to participate in the
show without being an exhibitor. Organisers of such conferences and
workshops look for reputable, renowned, professional and knowledgeable
people to present or speak during their events. If you fit the bill, offer to speak
at concurrent events. This presents you as an expert and this markets you, your
enterprise and its brands.
If given an opportunity to present at such events do your homework well and
execute ruthlessly well. You may be an expert in your field or industry but if
you do not make noise about it to create your profile, organisers may find it
difficult to believe you when you offer to speak. Comment on issues in your
industry. Network with other businesspeople run a newspaper column or a blog
to build your profile. Offer to sit on boards of community initiatives and display
your expertise. This goes some way in building your credibility as a speaker or
presenter.
Although participating in an exhibition fully is more beneficial than any of the
above strategies, they help you to benefit from exhibitions without the stress
that goes with the exhibition planning and participation effort. To maximise the
marketing mileage for your brand you can use a combination of the strategies.
