Launching an Exhibition? Our Top Tips

Top tips for launching an exhibition

It may take a lot of time and energy, but successfully launching your exhibition and getting attendees engaged with your content is incredibly rewarding. Below, you’ll find some of our top tips for exhibition management before the launch.

Start planning early

We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again: planning is everything when it comes to efficient exhibition management. And, to maximise your time before the hard launch of your event, you need to start planning early. This includes:

• Deciding on a budget: your budget will dictate nearly everything else about your exhibition, so make sure this is confirmed early.
• Choosing a location: the right venue (and surrounding area) could make or break your exhibition, so give yourself plenty of time to find the best one for you. 
• Confirming your target audience: your exhibition needs to attract attendees that will engage with your content. Confirming your target audience will help you tailor your efforts and attract interest for your launch (see more about this below).
• Finding the right time: when are you planning to hold your exhibition? Timing will influence a lot of other planning factors, so make sure you confirm when you want to hold your event (and launch any anticipatory marketing materials).

To put it simply, getting a headstart on your next exhibition affords you the luxury of time before your launch; time to prepare, and more importantly, time to respond to any issues that may crop up before launch day.

Top tip: want more in-depth information about the planning stages? Explore our article on Exhibition Planning: The Ultimate How-To Guide.

Decide on your exhibition aims

When you’re coming up with exhibition ideas, there are several questions you need to ask yourself – one of which is ‘what are my aims for this exhibition?’. This will have a big impact on the direction your event goes in, and will influence the types of marketing, design, and exhibition management strategies you need to employ.

Most exhibitions will meet one (or more) of the following aims:

Awareness and exposure

Exhibitions are a superb way to build brand exposure, particularly if you’re a new start-up or a smaller business. Trade shows, expos, and other types of exhibitions all provide an easy way to share your message and build a positive reputation within your sector.

How it affects your launch: branding becomes even more important, especially for exhibition hosts. These events may also be aimed at private guest lists, or those already invested/working within the sector which will change the launch focus.

Sales

Closely aligning with raising awareness and exposure of a brand, some exhibitions are explicitly designed to create sales opportunities and bring in revenue for a brand or business.

Business trade shows are a classic example of meeting this aim, as vendors and attendees are invited to the same place with the intention of buying and selling products or services.

How it affects your launch: sales-oriented events need to be particularly targeted towards prospective customers, which will affect your wider marketing and launch strategies. For example, you may need to spend more time and energy attracting people to the event.

Experience creation

Cultural exhibitions will very obviously have a different aim than a business expo. For starters, whilst secondary spend via gifts and on-site shops is important, the key goal of these exhibitions is to increase foot traffic. For example, art exhibitions want people to visit – they’re there to provide an experience for attendees over all else.

How it affects your launch: creative exhibitions need to put more emphasis on attracting attendees through the door through wider marketing initiatives. Your exhibition management strategy will need to be more continuous, as you promote the event before and during the run.

Top tip: location can help attract more people to cultural exhibitions, as attendees can have more than one reason for visiting. For example, hosting here at Exhibition Centre Liverpool means that not only do you have access to our excellent Venue, but guests will also be in the heart of a vibrant, exciting city.

Research the industry

When it comes to launching a new exhibition, you want to give it every possible chance of success. One of the best things you can do as part of a comprehensive exhibition management strategy is to research your chosen industry. Try and ask yourself the following questions:

• Which marketing channels are competitors using?
• Which social channels are potential attendees using?
• Is there a location that is popular amongst people in the industry?
• Who attended previous exhibitions?
• Which sponsors already appear at industry events?
• Are there popular layouts or designs you could mimic?

Different sectors will have their own approach to launching an exhibition. By doing your research, you can see what techniques work well within your industry to help your exhibition launch smoothly when the time comes.

Promote your exhibition

We’d argue that the key marker of a successful exhibition launch is that people know about it. Whether you’re hosting an exhibition with a closed guest list, or something that’s open to the wider public, you want to get people talking about your event.

This is where promotion is vital. There are a broad range of methods to advertise and promote your exhibition, including but not limited to:

• Social media marketing.
• Out of home advertising, like billboards and posters.
• Email and outreach services.
• PR work with the press.

Using a combination of these methods will help you create a buzz around your exhibition, and help to make the launch more successful.

Top tip: need help with marketing? At Exhibition Centre Liverpool, we have a fantastic and experienced Marketing team who can help you raise awareness for your event.

Launch your next exhibition with Exhibition Centre Liverpool

With years of experience in exhibition management, amazing Production Services, and a wonderful team of people across the business, let Exhibition Centre Liverpool help you launch your next exhibition with a bang. Simply Contact Us for more information.

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