Putting the visitor front and foremost is a recipe for turning your show into a smash hit, says Mash Media MD Julian Agostini
What was the Number 1 song the day you were born?
I was out with some friends in a restaurant recently and the charismatic owner asked that question of a customer who was celebrating their birthday. It pricked the interest of those in earshot and before we knew it, he was going round the restaurant asking everyone their date of birth and then looking up and playing the record that was Number 1 in the UK at the time.
Suddenly it was both exciting and slightly nerve-wracking as you waited your turn because the person was automatically defined by whatever was top of the charts when they came into the world… please don’t be something like the Birdie Song. Perhaps it would be something reasonably cool like The Doors or Procol Harum and your status would be strangely elevated in the room. Mine was ‘I’m into something good’ by Herman’s Hermits. Hmmm…ok.
I’m sure you’ll check your own; it’s irresistible. We are automatically drawn to subjects that are in some way personally meaningful to us because we’re emotionally invested. If someone has the same birthday as you, isn’t there immediately a connection, maybe even a bond? You want to talk to them and see what they’re like and there is probably more rope available to them than others that you might first meet. There is a small fascination of meeting someone with something so personal in common; what other synergies will be obvious? Do you like the same things etc.?
So much so that if there was an event for people called Julian Agostini or even just Julian and was only for those bearing that name, I’d have to go. What products, services, memorabilia and content available would be secondary in my consideration of attending, bizarrely. Those things will, of course, be of interest, but I’m already hooked by the name of the event and curiosity would get the better of me no matter what was on offer.
What would you call this event? Seems obvious that it would be Julian (Agostini), which would instantly attract the eyes and ears of anyone so used to seeing or hearing their name. As we all know, any event starts with the visitor; without them, you might get one year but certainly not a second. Given that’s the case, isn’t it slightly strange that so many of our events are named after the marketplace or the exhibitor rather than the visitor?
If you looked down a list of trade shows, would you instantly be able to tell me who the visitor is meant to be? You could probably hazard a guess but why leave it to chance?
Here are few to have a go at?
- Interplas
- Shoptalk
- Labelexpo
- Landscape
I’m sure you worked it out, but why have to? There is so much noise out there and we are all fighting for our place at the microphone to get our message across to the right people. If we engage with our visitors, then the exhibitors will come not the other way round.
Shakespeare famously challenged us (via Juliet) by asking ‘What’s in a name?’ Perhaps your exhibition will be just as sweet no matter what it’s called but those searching on the web will find you a lot more quickly with the right name and SEOs in place. So, even if you want a slightly offbeat title for your event, the strap line should make sure you are easily located.
When visitors are hunting for an event that they should be attending or for solutions that are available at your event, what are they typing in? That’s when the name or strap line is important to ensure you are found. Perhaps the name reflects the visitor and the strap line covers the exhibitors?
At the forthcoming Indies Conference and Awards in London, we have launched a small exhibition alongside it. I wanted to call it the Event Industry and Exhibition Independent Organiser Show or E I E I O… a catchy little song but I was told to Sit Down or Go my Own Way and it didn’t end up as the number 1 choice from my team.
Worth a thought for your next launch, though. See you at the Indies Conference and Exhibition; it’s for all event organisers (even though the name doesn’t quite say it!)
