Supercharge Your Trade Show ROI with Ancillary Events
Trade shows are great for increasing brand awareness and putting you face to face with prospects. But if you're watching every budget dollar, (who isn't?) then you know trade show costs add up fast. Booth space alone is easily $100-$150 per square foot, at minimum. On top of that, tack on travel, drayage, the physical booth, shipping, etc.
If you want expand your brand reach, extra sponsorship opportunities are rarely cheap.
In a previous role, the company I worked for held a networking party at a conference every year. Our party was one of the hottest tickets of the conference. I could count on the sales team to stop me during the night to say, "I scored a deal/meeting/demo with {insert prospect name}! I have been trying to connect with them for months! Gah I love this party."
That's why ancillary events, or wrapper events, can help boost your success at trade shows. A side event is an event hosted by your company during the same week as a conference or trade show. This could be a networking happy hour, prospect dinner, or even a pre-show breakfast.
These are effective because your target audience is already in town for the show. You'll own this event from start to finish. Which means you'll control the guest list, event type, and you can collect leads. Your brand will be in the spotlight at a fraction of the cost for an extra event sponsorship.
A few factors to consider when planning a side event:
Timing: Most conferences host a party or large networking event for attendees. Pick a different night for your side event. It's not a good look to go head to head with the show organizer, and you'll jeopardize attendance of your own event.
Location: Pick a place no more than 2 miles from the conference. Most conferences have hotel blocks close to the convention center reserved for attendees. You will increase your attendance rate if you choose a spot that's easy for attendees to get to.
How you will track attendance. No matter the platform you choose, make sure you have a system (not a spreadsheet!) set up to track registration and attendance so you can follow up with your guests. I love SplashThat for registration pages and easy check ins at the door. (They aren't paying me, I just love that platform.)
I could go on and on about side events and why I love them, and plan to in future blog posts. But, I hope I got your wheels turning about incorporating side events into your event plans for next year.
What else do you want to know about side events? Let me know how I can help.