Going back to 2017, I was sat in the office mulling over all the potential ways to increase our visibility and footfall at an upcoming event. The event in question had a wonderful theme so it didn’t take me long to come up with an interesting stand design/content.
An unshakable niggle I had was stand location and, although I had worked successfully with much worse, I wasn’t happy with the answers my mystical Magic 8 Ball was returning. At this stage it’s usually tough luck, crack on and work with the tools at hand but, I had a plan that could be seen as both slightly crazy and a huge risk to the investment made by the company.
I thought about binning the idea and continuing with the original stand placement, but the calculations added up and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. So, before I approached the gaffer, I put together a plan showing all my reasoning and workings (secondary school math papers finally paying off!).
As part of my preparation for all exhibition and event attendances, I like to print off huge plans showing the layout of the location. I track the movement of all delegates throughout the day and this dictates where the team and I operate certain tasks.
So, what was the big risk?
I wanted to move our stand outside of the exhibition hall and plonk it against a lobby wall at the top of the escalators. All alone. Away from where the delegates would be ushered. The event organisers had never had such a request and had to “make a few calls”, which was no doubt a lot more troublesome than they let on, thank you Deborah Ward-Johnstone and the Revolution Events Ltd team! My gaffer at that time, Mr David English, saw the potential immediately but did point out that such a move would raise questions from above. Questions that I would have to answer.
Thankfully, the day went fantastically well, and the reward justified the risk. The location proved to be perfect operationally, allowing us to speak to the delegates we had identified as our main targets multiple times and, given our stand-hooks, they were more than happy to do so. The move, which caused sleepless nights and fear of unemployment, ended up being applauded by many, including the Restore board and stakeholders at the time.
I have managed exhibition and event attendance for numerous businesses in different sectors and to this day, my top three all contained risks. But, calculated thoroughly and then checked and rechecked. It also pays to have a superior who believes in you and puts their faith in your work and judgement. (Take note board/SLT members and stand behind your marketing team! Thank you David!)
So, take the risks my fellow marketers, just remember:
Measure twice, cut once!
