LevelAge Corporate Communications

Following the honouring of some exhibitors at the 2022 edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), there was an uproar from some members of the public who questioned the suitability of some of the winning entities. One such company that some felt did not deserve an award was the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), which won in the mining and engineering category.

They queried how the parastatal, which they felt was struggling, could have scooped an award in any category at the international exhibition. This brought into question the issue of the criteria used by the ZITF panel of judges to come up with the winners in various categories.

The issue was addressed last week by Sunshine Corporate Communications Managing Consultant, Lenox Mhlanga who was part of a panel discussion on the topic “Key Lessons Learnt from ZITF2022” which was hosted by LevelAge Corporate Communications. Mhlanga has been a judge at both the ZITF and the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show for many years.

Mhlanga prefaced his presentation by explaining that the results of the judging process were not in any way reflective of the current status of the organisation that was exhibiting. Rather, he said, it was a value judgement of the exhibit itself and nothing else.

The public relations expert highlighted that in view of the uproar, there was need for show organisers to educate the public and exhibitors about the awards and the attendant processes. He stressed the independence of the judges from the ZITF Company, which organises the exhibition.

“Perhaps that (judging criteria and process) is something that we need to teach the public that what we are judging is basically what is at the trade fair, the exhibits at the trade fair. I think another thing that exhibitors should know is that the judges’ panel is independent of ZITF. (It is) selected from a wide cross-section of people from business, from NGOs and just right across. Most of these people are experienced. They have been judging for five or more years. So in terms of credibility and integrity of the judges’ panel, that I vouch for,” he said.

Mhlanga outlined the judges’ criteria, which were made up of four main items.

“So there are four critical points that we look at. That is the overall impression, originality, the information presented at the stand and the quality of personnel at the stand. So those are the key criteria that we look at. For the overall impression, we look first at the impact. What is the first impact when someone arrives at the stand?

“The attractiveness, the movement, the colour, the graphics – all those factors are considered. So overall impression is quite key. In fact, when it comes to issues around originality, you’ll notice that; that has the most marks because that’s what attracts a visitor to your stand, you know that first impression – what we call the wow factor,” Mhlanga said.

Mhlanga highlighted the importance of the visual impression of the stand and the relevance of the overall exhibition to the trade fair’s theme.

“As visitors approach the stand, what is it that attracts them to the stand? What is interesting about the stand? Packaging? What are the benefits to the visitors? You might have give-aways. You might have displays on the stand. What is the relevance? Usually, relevance is linked to the theme of the ZITF and that is the key point. We’ve noticed that a number of exhibitors have missed this point completely. This is something you need to consider each time you exhibit at the ZITF. How does your exhibit relate to the theme?” he said.

The Sunshine Corporate Communication boss explained the originality and information criteria.

“Originality is the display. What is the display depicting? Is it representative of who you are as an organisation? In terms of information, what kind of information is there – static or information from the personnel? Sometimes people read the information for themselves on the stand and in some stands, exhibitors choose to take their visitors through. So it depends on what you choose to put out there in terms of information,” Mhlanga said.

Mhlanga emphasised the importance of stand personnel both as a judges’ criterion and a success factor for the exhibitors’ participation efforts.

“Personnel is very, very important. Again, quite a number of points there, 20 points. Presentation is key. A lot of organisations have found that people in uniform are easier to identify than people wearing their own attire. A lot of people believe that it is not representative of the organisation. What is there about presentation – make up, cultural sensitivity, language and attitude? Are the people at the stand welcoming? Are they eager to assist? And also are they knowledgeable about the company, the organisation (and) the products? All these things are taken together in terms of personnel,” he said.

Regarding competitions and awards, Mhlanga advised exhibitors to minimise the number of competitions they entered and to go for those which pertained to their sectors.

“There are those who think that if I enter my organisation in four competitions then I will at least win one. We would advise that you select the competition which is most appropriate to the industry or the sector that you are in. Obviously, there are those who believe that they are good enough to enter the overall competition, the best Zimbabwean stand competition. That one you can aim for but also try to look for a competition that relates to your industry best. Some exhibitors won because they didn’t have as much competition as in other groups. That is also very key. So choose the appropriate competition that you fit into,” Mhlanga said.

Successfully participating in an exhibition takes a lot which includes dealing with stand designers and constructors as well as other service providers to ensure that one’s organisation is ready to serve visitors when fairground gates open. Sitting on the opposition side are the stand designer and constructor who also have a lot on their hands to ensure that each of their exhibiting customers gets their stand on time.

Exhibition customers and other stakeholders rarely get an opportunity to get a peek into the experiences of suppliers such as exhibition stand designers and suppliers in the run-up to a major exhibition. Last week exhibition industry stakeholders got the opportunity to hear from an exhibition stand supplier when Makie Mbanje, the Managing Director of Showcase It, a stand design and construction company presented at a Zoom meeting organised by LevelAge Corporate Communications on the topic: “Key lessons learnt from ZITF2022”

Asked to comment on what did not go well at the 2022 edition of the ZITF, Mbanje highlighted that her company had to contend with some customers who had low budgets and very high expectations.

“A lot of the budgets were very low. Clients have very high expectations and low budgets. Sometimes it is very difficult to execute the goal, the vision that the client wants (to achieve). If you want something nice increase your budget,” she said.

Mbanje indicated that another pain point during the trade fair was customers who made last minute orders.

“Another thing is last minute (orders). We are talking about ZITF now (and) clients could start preparations now. But you find that people come last minute and it makes it very difficult for service providers. The honest truth is that it is difficult to say no to a client because you want the money but that comes with some pressure. You might not deliver if you take on some of these last minute clients. It compromises the quality for those who may have booked and confirmed two or three months in advance,” Mbanje said.

The Showcase boss advised other service providers to turn down last minute orders to avoid disappointing those who book early as well as not to stretch their teams.

“So for service providers, we should be strict with our cut-off times. That’s the truth. We should say we can’t do it anymore because it does compromise quality. The team will be so tired. Key lesson: we should not accept last minute clients because the truth is that we are then put under unnecessary pressure and it compromises the quality of the other exhibition stands,” she said.

Mbanje said that delays in decision making, as well as artwork and approval delayed production.

“Another thing is the delay in artwork and approval. I think for us that’s a pain point,” said Mbanje.

Commenting on what could be done better in future exhibitions, Mbanje reiterated the need to make timely orders on the part of customers.

“What could be done better is all stakeholders (should) fulfill their obligations. That means not waiting until the last minute. (Customers should) have more preparation time. That will make life much easier,” she said.

Mbanje advised other players in her industry to prioritise research to keep abreast with global trends and customers’ tastes.

“The other thing we need to do is to keep researching stand designs and benchmark with other countries and see what they are doing in terms of stand design and construction because it could be bad for business for us if we are complacent and think that we can still offer the same stand designs that we did five (to) ten years ago,” she said.

Mbanje is a former General Manager at Showmasters, a stand design and construction company, which closed in October last year citing “circumstances beyond our control.” She formed Showcase It and commenced business in January this year. Four of the stands that her company designed and constructed won awards during this year’s edition of the ZITF.

LevelAge Corporate Communications

ZITF awards judges’ criteria unpacked

Exhibition stand suppliers’ pain points