Are You Wasting Your Event Time

It’s 158 days away. But as the days tick down members of the defence and aerospace community will by focused on one thing — the 2020 Farnborough International Air Show.

As Northwest Aerospace Alliance members, Viva specialise in providing PR & marketing support for aerospace businesses. 

We know that biennial trade shows like #Farnborough don’t come cheap but — if you plan ahead it could turn out to be your most cost-effective brand awareness exercise of the year. 

We’ve collated our top PR and marketing tips for getting the most out of the investment, particularly if you’re taking part in Farnborough this year. 

PRE-EVENT

• TELL THE WORLD – If the exhibition offers any branded marketing material, use this on your website, social media and email signatures. Invite your customers and prospects, especially if you are using the exhibition to launch a new product or service.  Engage in the social media conversation around the show by using the official hashtags. 
• THE EVENT GUIDE – Aka, the useful book that you pick up at the front of the show with maps, info and lists of brands. Be sure to submit relevant information for this – don’t just expect to be included in a brand listing. 
• GETTING IN THE PRESS - Magazines and other media outlets will be writing about what visitors to the show can expect and will often run a ‘show preview’. Contact relevant media, get the deadlines for submitting your show info and most importantly, send it in time, in the right format (hi-res JPEG photos, the correct number of words etc.) and to the right person. 
• PREPARING YOUR PRESS PACKS – If you are launching something new at the show, you’ll benefit from having a press pack prepared. Don’t forget to include contact details too. If a journalist has picked up your press pack in The Media Centre, takes it away and then wants to learn more about it to write a feature, who should they contact at your business? Make it easy for them. 

ON-SITE

• THE MEDIA CENTRE – Here you can benefit from getting in front of press from all over the world. Use this as a platform to host press conferences, make company announcements, workshops or seminars. You have the opportunity to share your brand message with the world - make the most of it.  
• NETWORK & ENGAGE – At Farnborough, there’s The Delegations Programme and Meet the Buyer conference opportunities, plus a welcome reception and networking cafes around the exhibition to give you plenty of opportunities to engage with potential customers and share notes with others in the industry. 

POST-EVENT 

• KEEP IT GOING & EVALUATE - Follow up with all of the new contacts you’ve made. It’s easy to get lost in the post-show fatigue but this is prime time to keep the momentum going and act on all of your hard work over the last few days. Evaluate the experience whilst it is fresh in your mind. This will help with next year, if you’ve decided to do it all again…

Tony Garner of Viva has managed media events at trade and air shows around the world. To find out more about our expertise click here