If you have read my previous posts continuously, you probably are familiar with my business, www.irxp.com which is a B2B platform for marketing. one of three main sections in our website, is Business events and trade shows, which play a vital role in Marketing strategies.

in this post, I'm gonna talk about how exhibition organizers can promote their events more effectively.

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register as UFI member

UFI is known as the home of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry. Almost all the prime business events in the world are members of this association and it helps the attendees to understand the standards of the event are in what scale and quality.
Trade show organizers, venue owners and operators, service providers, and national as well as international associations of the industry and can join UFI.

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after registering as an organizer or venue holder, you can get approval for your event or show.

Start promotion since one year prior to the event

Don't do the common mistake! an exhibition should be promoted 12 months, continuously and permanently. Your exhibition or conference is an annual (or even once two years) event, but your audiences are full time active firms in their industry. They like to hear from you during the year. You shouldn't be silent!

Find affiliate events and programs

This is what I have seen lacking during years of my activity @ irxp.com: CROSS PROMOTION
Take this as an example:
An event in packing industry in Philippine, can promote itself in Malaysia, in exhibitions with same subject or Agriculture and Food, Petrochemicals, Advertising and Printing etc.
In return, they can promote those events in their venue too. Ofcourse the weight of exhibitions and business events are different, and this should be considered in several terms to cover all parties' benefits. this consideration of benefits is the missing key in such plans and make this strong tool useless in many cases, in my belief.

The Easiest to be part of!

Your event should be The Easiest program for your attendees to be part of it! An event is a first come-first serve thing, so it's important to make the reservation and registration process as simple as it can be.

Avoid complexity in your processes image

Assigning agents for regions

This is another controversial issue for many organizers when it comes to marketing their events internationally. Many marketing firms ask for exclusivity on representing your event in their region (which we never do at irxp.com)

My advice to event managers and marketing officers is never do that. I know sometimes it comes with great profit, even getting hard cash in your hands before the event, but this will limit your event of being heard. Monopoly is not the thing you like to impose in to your business. it also affects your reputation.

Try finding innovative ways of segmentation in your market places instead. Try to give incentives to marketing firms, mostly based on revenue sharing plans.

Media press and advertisements

You should establish a very strong relationship with all the press news and media in your industry. Also find a place in your budget for advertising in media.

A good media campaign and constant press release, which obviously should be done professionally, helps your reputation the most. Your brand and your identity will shape mostly in places others hear about you not in your venue. In the venue you just have the opportunity to prove what you have claimed.

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at IRXP, we market and promote business event and trade shows, as well as helping international companies to market their business services or products in Asia and Middle East region.
We try to be innovative in our services, offers and solutions, at the same time affordable for Small or Medium size companies, qualified and prime for large enterprises.