Make your visit to a trade show pay - publishing industry trade shows

A few issues back (September 1, 1993, page 46), Richard P. Friedman wrote a feature on moneysaving ideas for publishers, in which he touched on using trade shows to develop advertising and circulation. Since many publications are at the height of their trade-show seasons, I'd like to expand Friedman's penny-pinching into a full-scale golden goose, particularly for smaller magazines. What follows is a checklist crafted to help you squeeze a buck out of every nickel, while playing with the big boys on the trade-show circuit.

Identify your motive. Ask why you need to attend a show, and force yourself to come up with a good answer. From a cost standpoint, most trade shows really aren't worth it for a small magazine. You need to fulfill one of two goals: to enhance and increase your ad sales via a trade show); or to boost your circulation via a consumer show). Stick with subject-specific events that attract either your bread-and-butter advertisers or your core subscribers.

Barter for everything. As a magazine in a specific niche, you are in a unique position to trade for services. If you act early enough, it's usually pretty easy to convince a show's promoters that they need you as much as you need them. Try to make it a requirement that for every show you attend, you trade out advertising at least for your booth space and a discount on storage and drayage. On top of that, you can try for larger booth space, a prime location, free or discounted hotel rooms, access to the PA system * to stage an hourly subscription giveaway), mention in the show's program, use of the show's mailing list and anything else you might anticipate needing. Negotiate all barter items and other expenses in advance, in writing, in a single document.

Invest in a portable booth. Acquiring a high-quality, portable display booth means spending a sizable amount of money $6,000 to $10,000) on a one-time basis. It is important to look professional at trade shows, and most handmade booths just don't cut it. We use one that packs up into two checkable pieces of luggage and is virtually indestructible. After five years of hard use, it still looks as good as new.

Travel cheap; work and play hard. You can generally get by with two or three people at any show. Sometimes one energetic soul can even go it alone. Buy discounted airfare well in advance and arrange to fly in on the morning of the show here's where a portable booth is great, since it takes less than an hour to set up) and leave the evening of the last day, saving two nights of meals and hotel rooms. It's usually cheaper to share a room at the show hotel, although you should compare that with the cost of renting a car and staying at a discount hotel in the near vicinity. But remember your sanity: This is one area where reducing the hassle factor sometimes takes precedence over saving a few bucks.

Any magazines you plan to sell or give away should have been shipped direct from your printer (send only your current issue) to your booth to be there when you arrive. Plan this well in advance to get maximum savings from a consolidated shipment, but time it to incur minimum storage fees. Because most trade shows employ union labor, you'll be forced to pay an expensive drayage fee for magazine handling, if you haven't bartered for it earlier.

At consumer shows, we used to give away copies, but after tracking response cards (which we always code in advance for each show), we found that we get much more qualified leads if we sell sample copies for $1 each. This also lowers our costs in many different areas by reducing the number of magazines needed for each show. We give away a free subscription once an hour and will often stage different drawings to garner names of potential subscribers. We've also sold discounted subscriptions right at the show, which include a free magazine with payment. This--combined with the sale of other ancillary products like books, hats, mugs, and so forth--can often generate enough revenue to cover all our costs.

Consumer shows provide a unique opportunity to talk face-to-face with current and potential subscribers, and we always come home with good story ideas. Although most exhibitors at consumer shows are not too keen on talking about advertising, we always bring sales kits for interested parties.

At trade shows, we shift our emphasis to ad sales and direct-to-retail distribution. While one person stays in the booth and concentrates on signing up retailers to sell the magazine, another "works" the show, giving out magazines and talking with current and potential advertisers. Since most exhibitors at trade shows are there to sell to retailers, they really don't appreciate an unsolicited sales call. Therefore, we set up dozens of appointments weeks before the show. Trade shows provide a rare opportunity to talk directly to the client without the interference of an ad agency, so take full advantage of the access.

We approach each show as a mission. We know that for three or four days we're going to work ridiculous hours, get little sleep, eat bad food--and do it all with a minimum of expense and a maximum of good humor. We try to fit in some early morning exercise and some late-night fun, and we always splurge for a great dinner on the last evening. If you're careful about your approach, trade shows and consumer expos can be valuable in a multitude of ways. But analyze each show in an unbiased way and set a goal of "break-even" as the final result.

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