Issue 01, 2011

The Official
Socialwalk Newsletter
Contents
page 2
A Trade Fair Is
a Trade Fair Is a
Trade Fair?
Not Any More!
Barry Siskind shares about changes in the
trade fair climate today. The younger genera-
tion of trade fair attendees is tired of being
bombarded by a horde of information. They
seek personal engagement. Read on to find
out steps you can take to transform your trade
fair to meet the challenges of the twenty-first
century.

Photo used under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0) from bootload (via Flickr)

page 4 page 6 page 8 page 8

Is It A 7 Insights to Sound Bites The next

Profitable Connecting Online Matching Services could Issue
Investment with benefit you greatly at events, but

or A High Customers
Find out what we have installed
do you know how to use them?
for you in our next issue of the

Cost to at Your
Get some sound advice before
newsletter.
you say yes to your online-busi-

Implement Stand ness-matching vendor

Technology? Damian shares with us what

people really see, when they look
Do you want to up your game?
at the stands in your trade fair.
How about improving your trade
Are you sending the right mes-
fair with the use of technology?
sage across? Are you attracting
Some event organizers, unfor-
the right people and how would
tunately, face the difficulty in
you put them in the right buying
justifying the ROI of technology.
mood? Read on to find out!
Yes, implementation of technol-
ogy may come at a cost, but
ultimately, it will be a huge benefit
to your event. Read on to find out
the systematic way of measuring
ROI.
Photo used under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0) from joi (via Flickr)

1
 Issue 01, 2011

The Official
Socialwalk Newsletter

Photo used under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0) from bootload (via Flickr)

A Trade Fair all sizes and descriptions. But the scene is

changing dramatically as we move further
of trade fairs. Coupled with the sheer num-
bers, this outlook has naturally made Boom-

Is A Trade
into the twenty-first century. ers the focus of exhibitors’ attention over the
A younger demographic is not comfort- years. But their influence is declining with the
able with the current trade fair environment. arrival of the next generation on the scene.

Fair Is a The primary motive for attending annual

conferences and trade fairs has shifted from GenXers (28 to 39 years)

Trade Fair?
wanting to see new products and services to GenXers are the children of workaholic
gaining professional development and educa- parents. They are the first generation of
tion. More and more attendees are focusing “latch-key” kids— children who came home

Not Any on the technical sessions and spending as little

time as possible visiting exhibitors.
from school to an empty house because both
parents were still at work. Quite the opposite

More!
An industry that ignores the new reality
does so at its peril.
by Barry Siskind How the demographic Is changing
According to the Center for Exhibition
of Boomers, GenXers put their personal lives
before work and career. They have been called
“helicopter parents,” hovering over their
children, driving them from one activity to
the next. GenXers are extremely comfortable

T
rade fairs and conferences
have been the mainstay of
the MICE industries. When
executed properly they can
be tremendously profitable
for the organizer, a great source of business
for the exhibitor and a place to learn for the
attendee. The result has been a world-wide
overabundance of fairs and conferences of
Industry Research’s recent white paper Power
of Exhibitions in the 21st Century, “Most
exhibitions and events have already been
impacted by a new, younger demographic of
attendee.” The CEIR study identified three
distinct groups:
Boomers (40 to 63 years)
Boomers are career-driven, defined by
their work and understand the business value
with technology and tools such as social
media. For this generation, attending a trade
fair is viewed as an intrusion on their private
lives, particularly if they sense that organizers
and exhibitors are treating them in the same
way as their parents.
Millennials (18 to 27 years)
Millennials are generally passionate about
issues greater than themselves. This altruistic

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The Official
Socialwalk Newsletter
group is attracted to work that allows them to
contribute to a cause or the planet. Millenni-
als dream big and, like GenXers, live online.
If focused properly, exhibitions can become
an excellent vehicle to allow Millennials to
nurture their passions.
What should the MICE industry
be doing?
Organizers’ ability to provide meaningful
services to its stakeholders is limited when the
changes in generational dynamics are ignored,
The first step is to start tracking the
changes in the demographics of the people in
the industry you serve. This means not only
your attendees, but also your suppliers, associ-
ates and sponsors.
Next, step back and look at your trade fair
program in its entirety. Is it still relevant? How
is your industry using your event? What can
you do to provide a more meaningful experi-
ence for attendees and exhibitors? Answering
these questions requires an understanding of
what a trade fair is—and can be.
A hundred years ago a B-to-B trade fair
was an industrial fair where manufacturers
presented new products and services to the
public. Over the years, the focus shifted from
production to product differentiation, from
selling to marketing and from one-to-one
relationship-building to social interaction.
In order to continue to be relevant, trade
fairs need to become a place of engagement,
where communities come together to discuss
challenges and look for solutions.
Engagement is what the GenXers and Mil-
lennials respond to best. They regard walking
a floor where vendors are simply pitching
products as a waste of their time. They arrive
having already learned about the products
online and with recommendations gathered
from friends and other community members
through social media sites about who—and
who not—to do business with.
Your trade fair needs to become a wel-
coming, must-attend event where GenXers
and Millennials feel comfortable interacting
with companies on a face-to-face basis. They
will attend your show when the pressure to
buy is replaced with meaningful conversation
about what will make their careers and lives
more rewarding.
How to make the changes
The switch from what you have been
doing to what you need to do in the future is
likely to be something of a “quantum leap.”
Issue 01, 2011
Here are a few tips to smooth your path: “The Times They Are A-Changin.’” Are you
1 Open a dialogue with all groups asso-
ciated with your industry—members,
exhibitor/supplier, associates and sponsors.
a-changin’ too?
Bio of Author
This can be done through an advisory council
Barry Siskind is an internation-
that solicits input from each. Ensure that
ally recognized exhibit marketing
organizations of all sizes are represented.
guru. Over the past 30 years he
Conduct open-ended discussions to find a
has travelled the world delivering
common direction for the future.
2
keynotes, workshops and semi-
Closely align your educational pro-
nars focused on the art of suc-
gram with your trade fair. A recent
cessful exhibiting. He is author
example was an association show designed as
of seven best selling business
a “living laboratory” to present new ideas. A
books including Powerful Exhibit
guided tour of the floor taught delegates how
Marketing. He is also the com-
to put the ideas into practice.
3
munity manager for UFIlive.org
Consider changing the look and feel
a global dialogue focused on the
of your show floor. Trade fairs tend to
issues and concerns facing the
all be laid out the same, with row after row of
exhibition industry. Barry can be
booths. While some larger shows may divide
reached at barry@siskndtraining.
the floor into specific themes, the look is still
com.
basically the same. Think creatively about
how your fair can take on the look and feel
of smaller, inviting communities. Seek your
advisory council’s advice on this.
4 Once you have an agreed-on general
direction, formalize a communica-
tions program. Make sure that each group
understands the program and how they can
contribute. For example, exhibitors can be
asked to develop full-fledged educational
workshops to help attendees develop new
skills required in the industry.
5 Include a matchmaking service to help
attendees and exhibitors maximize
their time. When possible facilitate the use of
the setting of appointments ahead of time.
6 Embrace technology. Of particular
importance is social media, which
is rapidly becoming an important tool for
show organizers. Your demographic research
should include finding out how attendees are
currently using social media.
7 Take time in developing your strategic
approach. Once you have a plan in
hand, divide the changes into manageable
chunks so you can implement each initiative,
test its effectiveness, tweak it and then add the
next layer of change. This means that you are
looking at a multi-year effort. If you stage it
intelligently, the results will be fruitful.
Summing up
A trade fair is a trade fair is …. No, not
any more! To keep your events healthy, you
need to carefully consider the implications of
the recent changes in the demographic profile
of today’s attendees. To quote Bob Dylan,
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 Issue 01, 2011

The Official
Socialwalk Newsletter
Is It a Profitable Investment
or A High Cost to Implement
Technology?
By Elling Hamso and Rosa Garriga Mora, Event ROI Institute

S
uppliers exhibit at trade shows
to meet potential customers and
turn them into business. The net
value of that business has to be
greater than the cost of exhibit-
ing, or the exercise returns a loss, the Return
on Investment (ROI) is negative. If the profit
generated from the show is twice the cost,
the money is doubled, ROI is 100%. Profit
and ROI is the same thing, the same result
expressed as a money value or a percentage.
The challenge for every exhibitor is to
maximise sales as a result of the show whilst
keeping costs as low as possible. Or if costs
increase, profit from sales have to increase by
an even greater amount.
This is the simple formulae faced by trade
show organisers when contemplating the cost
of new technology to improve exhibitor ROI.
One example of exhibition technology
allows for pre-scheduled appointments (PSA)
between exhibitors and visitors. This is also
known as the Business Matching service.
On its own, the PSA tool makes the visitor
study exhibitor offerings in advance and book
a vacant slot in the appointment calendar.
Instead of randomly browsing the exhibition
floor and hoping there will be a qualified staff
member free to talk at any exhibits of interest,
the visitor is now on a preplanned and more
purposeful journey. The exhibitor has a calen-
dar of appointments with visitors who take a
considered interest in his products or services.
Taken one big step further, the trade show
organiser will host qualified buyers, paying
for their travel and accommodation, ensur-
ing that the exhibitor diary is filled with high
quality appointments. In return for being
hosted, the buyer has to undertake a mini-
mum number of pre-scheduled appointments.
Whereas the cost of simply making a PSA
system available to exhibitors and visitors is
limited and may not have a big bearing on
the fee charged to exhibitors, a hosted buyer
programme means significantly higher costs
to the exhibitor.
Photo used under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0) from cambodia4kidsorg (via Flickr)
How does the exhibitor know that it is
worth the extra money? The quality of leads
will obviously be higher when carefully
selected buyers have been hosted to attend
the exhibition, but how much more purchase
value will they generate for the exhibitor?
The only way to find out is for exhibitors
to measure their return on investment from
trade show participation. How do they do
that?
The ROI Methodology
The fundamental principle of value gen-
eration from trade shows is that participants
have to do something as a result of their visit
which in one way or another provides value
to the exhibitor. The visitor may go away from
the boot feeling impressed, educated and
inspired, but if he takes no action which is
different from what he would otherwise have
done, there is no value to the exhibitor. Think-
ing and feeling creates no value, only actions
can lead to more sales.
The most obvious action is to go back to
the office and sign a purchase order, but it
usually isn’t as simple as that. Take a motor
show for example. Car manufacturers exhibit
their new models to attract distributors, fleet
buyers, individual buyers or fleet car users,
journalists, just to mention some of the main
categories of visitors. What specifically does
the exhibitor want representatives from each
of these visitor categories to do as a result of
spending some time at their booth?
Let us just consider the individual cus-
tomer, a memer of the public who contem-
plates buying a new car. He is in the target
segment of our imaginary exhibitor who has
a 20% market share in this segment. Statisti-
cally, one in five will become a customer, the
probability of purchase is 20%. But our exhibi-
tor knows that if he can get a target customer
to test drive the new model, 40% of those who
do so end up buying the car. So from past
experience, statistics or estimations, the seller
knows that a test drive increases the probabil-
ity of purchase by 20 percentage points. Let us
say that the average profit on the sale of a car
is $1000, one extra test drive as a result of the
exhibition is statistically worth $200. By track-
ing test drives caused by exhibition visits (and
nothing else), the exhibitor is able to calculate
the monetary business impact.
For each category of visitors there will be
different calls to action. The journalists should
write favourable reviews, the fleet car driver

4

The Official
Socialwalk Newsletter
should request from his company a particular
car model, the fleet buyer should compare life
of ownership costs with competitors, etc.
This list of specific behaviours required
from every category of visitors should be the
starting point for anyone planning their pres-
ence at a trade show.
The next planning step is obvious; what
does the visitor need to experience at the
stand in order to do what is required. The
stand experience is always a learning experi-
ence, learning new information, skills or at-
titudes or learning to know new people, such
as an exhibitor representative who will follow
up the potential new relationship.
When the learning experience which
leads to the desired behaviour has been de-
fined, the exhibitor is ready to plan the visitor
experience at his stand. The physical environ-
ment, staff, scripts, displays, etc. This is what
we call the learning environment, usually
what the visitor will refer to when expressing
his satisfaction or otherwise with the visit.
When the exhibitor has planned the visi-
tor experience to achieve the desired behav-
iour, only one thing remains; a large number
of high quality visitors, and this is where the
technology of pre-scheduled appointments fits
into the picture. How many high quality visi-
tors can be taken through the stand experi-
ence resulting in the behaviour change which
provides value in return to the exhibitor.
Some exhibitors have worked systemati-
cally for years categorising and documenting
stand visitors, measuring their learning expe-
rience at the stand through on-site interviews
or post visit questionnaires, and tracing
subsequent purchase behaviour or other
behaviour which increases the probability of
purchase by a known amount.
For these exhibitors, who have a reliable
estimate for the sales value of a visitor, the
value of a PSA system is easily derived from
comparing the number of qualified visitors to
the stand. For everyone else, there is no way of
knowing without starting to measure.
Measurement is a step-by-step process
and not as difficult as it may seem. The steps
of objectives and measurement are illustrated
by the ROI pyramid.
Objectives are first set at the top, what
profit, or return on investment, do we require
from the exhibit, what amount of sales will
generate the necessary value, we call this the
Impact value, what behaviour will lead to the
sales, what learning will cause the behaviour,
Issue 01, 2011
what environment will facilitate learning and
how many qualified visitors do we need.
Measurement always start from the bot-
tom of the pyramid and moves step-by-step
towards the top. The numbers and categories
of visitors are easily recorded at Level 0 -
Target Audience. Level 1 - Satisfaction and
Learning Environment is easily measured
by asking the visitors, on site or afterwards.
Level 2 - Learning data is also easy to collect
if we accept the self reporting of visitors as
sufficient. Level 3 - Behaviour is typically
measured by questionnaires and self report-
ing, but we have to leave a period of time for
behaviour to take place, maybe 2 - 3 months.
Level 4 - Impact, is the value of sales which
should be readily available from company
records. In order to make the final ROI
calculation we need to know the costs of trade
show participation, not forgetting the cost of
staff time for both planning and participating
at the show.
One final issue remains, we call it isolating
the effect of the event. If we measure a sales
increase as a result of the trade show, we have
to consider other factors which could have
had an impact on sales. If a trade show visitor
made a purchase, what is the likelihood of the
purchase happening without the influence
of the trade show. There are several tech-
niques of isolation, the best is a control group
experiment, but there are simpler and cheaper
alternatives as well.
Conclusion
Trade show technology may improve
the quality of visitors or the visitor experi-
ence before, during and after the show, to the
benefit of the main stakeholder, the exhibitor.
But the technology comes with a cost and the
added benefit to the exhibitor must be greater
than the cost.
There is no quick fix which enables the
exhibitor to judge the value of new technol-
ogy, or anything else adding to the cost of
trade show participation with an anticipated
increase in value. Measuring the value cre-
ated is the only way. Fortunately there is an
industry standard method, simply calle the
ROI Methodology, which has been developed
over many years and comes with a full box of
tools for setting appropriate objectives at six
levels and collecting the data and analysing
the results.
Event ROI Institute is a partnership of
consultants dedicated to making meetings and
events achieve the objectives of their stake-
holders. For more information go to www.
eventroi.org.
Bio of Author
Both Dr. Elling Hamso and
Rosa Garriga Mora are from
Event ROI Institute. Event
ROI Institute is a partnership
of consultants dedicated to
making meetings and events
achieve the objectives of their
stakeholders.
www.eventroi.org
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 Issue 01, 2011

The Official
Socialwalk Newsletter
7 Insights to Connecting
with Customers at
Your Stand
By Damian Sim

1
SPATIAL BRANDING
Pre-launch of brands could utilize spatial
branding, where subsequent press release
would leverage on the brand’s visual identity,
and evoke exhibition participants’ memo-
ries of the brand’s stand. Having a project
manager, brand manager and creative director
as the same individual may be an approach
worth exploring.

2
HIGH INTEGRITY IN PHYSICAL
TRANSLATION OF DESIGN
Colour accuracy and finishing, and interpreting designs
to client’s expectations is a common concern. Rather than
laminates on surfaces with unavoidable gaps where it meets
the edges, high quality spray-painted finishing, for instance,
offers potential for a superior impression of a space. Thus
designing with respect to production capabilities builds
trust in quality deliverables.
Colour is an important aspect of a brand’s personality, and
is among the experiential elements between a brand and its
customers. Being among the final touch-points of a brand,
and the forefront of a often substantial investment in mar-
keting campaigns, stands build with appropriate resources
and priority offers potentially high ROI.

3
FUNCTION FOUNDATION OF DESIGN
Among the most common habits with events setup are the unsightly
cables and masking tapes. Apart from aesthetics issues, disorganized
wiring also creates inefficient troubleshooting. Colour coded label-
ling, and hidden behind modular floors and walls, are worthwhile
approaches for consideration.
Understanding the users’ point of view also reveals insights into
functional requirements, such as the importance of maintaining
integrity of documents (within a small space with beverages. Of
course, on top of these would be the aesthetics, which in this case is
the raised mini-counter that hides the visual ‘noise’ of the cups and
documents.
Another perspective includes the alignment and symmetry of fur-
nishings and other spatial aspects, which should not be an exclusive
character of visual presentations of designers. This offers a differen-
tiated impression for guests at the exhibition space.

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 Issue 01, 2011

The Official
Socialwalk Newsletter

4
LIFESTYLE RATHER THAN ‘HARD-SELL’
In contrast to displaying the brand’s products and
details on all possible surfaces, perhaps using the
space as a canvas reflecting values, designs and
experiences appreciated by the target market will
be a better solution to engaging the customer?
This is especially crucial in markets numbed by
an overdose of marketing ‘noise.’

5
LIGHTING AMBIENCE
Stands often seem dominated by spotlights, while lighting has much
often under-utilized evocative potential. For instance, the traditional
candlelight has a certain timeless warmth, while innovations could pair
comfortably with traditions too.
The right category of LED lights, with the appropriate light diffusion
materials, could also create versatile shapes and walls in an extremely
wide spectrum of colours. An immersive hue could also be a powerful
itinerary trigger. The LED walls could also easily create branded venues
within venues. Significant transformation of spaces also improves ROI
when venue rentals are involved.

6
LONGER-TERM PERSPECTIVE TO STRUCTURES
Temporary structures do not necessarily mean shoddy
workmanship. If a reliable builder and designer is
found, utilizing the same structures for several projects
throughout the year would often result in cost-savings.
Consistent spatial experiences also focuses branding
efforts, and allow evaluation of effectiveness of the spatial
branding efforts.

7
WELL-DESIGNED PORTABLE SPACE
Recent years have seen simple portable retail spaces within 20-foot
containers, a more affordable alternative to the motorized trailer-truck
system.
A custom-design with permanent functional fit-outs in the interiors
allows efficient setups, though most firms use only old containers and
limit structural changes to each shell.
Why not design with custom cut-outs and layouts over 3-storeys con-
figurations, and have it PE-certified for both land and sea travel for a
truly bespoke & mobile space?

Bio of Author
Damian Sim is from Space Production.  Based on Swedish standards and global experience,
they create new ‘ambience’ for diverse locations, such as commercial spaces, hotel ballrooms,
radically transformed through new architectural and chromatics paradigms to engage guests.
Among their most recent successes include the 6-months 2009 Swedish Presidency of the Euro-
pean Union meetings, the World Bank meetings, Volvo, Puma and Ericsson pavilions at 11 world-
wide locations of the Volvo Ocean Race. 
 

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 Issue 01, 2011

The Official
Socialwalk Newsletter
Sound Bites:
Online Business Matching

W
ith online business
matching service,
exhibitors can sift
through thousands
of leads to find the
very best deals. Event organizers understand
this very well. Thus, most are willing to invest
in such service to help exhibitors achieve this
goal. Before you say YES to your online-
business-matching vendor, here are two points
to note:

1 It’s all about people

Yes, the booth is purchased by a company.
However, the company is represented by
people. In most cases, people have different
functions within a company. For example, a
marketing manager and a technical direc- Photo used under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0) from joi (via Flickr)

tor from XYZ Company would want to meet

different people in the event. Make sure your
vendor matches up people’s needs (i.e. who do
I want to meet), instead of matching by com-
pany (i.e. company that supplies wood should
meet manufacturer of wooden chair).
2 Is your exhibitor’s time fully
maximized?
Event organizer may schedule appoint-
ments between VIP buyers and exhibitors
before the event. However, there may be
available time slot in between such meetings. and confirm meetings before, during and after
Exhibitors often want to arrange for more event (preferably a year-long platform).
meetings, but have no access to trade visi-
tors’ information. This is where your vendor
can add value to your stakeholders. Ensure
that your exhibitors and trade visitors can
create individual profile. This would allow
the matching system to send out daily email
recommendation on who they should meet,
based on their profile. Allow your exhibitors
and buyers to message one another, request

The Next Issue

Are you ready to take advantage of the changes in the MICE industry? In our next
issue, we bring in Edward Liu, dubbed “The Exhibition Man”, to share his insights
on the upcoming trends, how they will affect you.

E
dward Liu, PBM is the Managing
Director of Conference & Exhibition
Management Services (CEMS) Pte
Ltd, which is headquartered in Sin-
gapore. Currently, CEMS has offices in China,
India, Pakistan, Singapore and Thailand where
it organizes some 10 - 15 exhibitions a year.
CEMS is also active in Vietnam.
Dubbed by Singapore’s Straits Times daily as
“The Exhibition Man”, Mr Liu is the cur-
rent President of the Singapore Association Tell us what you want to
of Convention & Exhibition Organisers &
read in the next issue -
Suppliers (SACEOS); and concurrently, the
President of the Asian Federation of Exhibi- Eileen@socialwalk.com
tion & Convention Associations (AFECA).