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TRADE SHOW EDITORIAL LIAISON

Written by: Andy Marken

Article Overview: Take a Walk in Their Shoes

TRADE SHOW EDITORIAL LIAISON

It's difficult to understand why more and more editors who cover trade shows wait until the last minute to register ... unless you've "been there and done that."
We've all read about successful company presidents who regularly tour their facilities to get a first-hands look at what's really going on in their businesses and the tremendous insight they gain. Attending some of the recent trade shows with press credentials as a contributing editor provided a similar experience.
Weeks before the show starts, we receive:
* special little packages from companies concerning their announcements
* invitations to lots of press parties
* a first-hand view of what many firms pass off as press kits

We also receive:
* Lots of phone calls from people who want to fill executive agendas at the shows
* Volumes of faxes
* Stacks of press releases
* An inordinate amount of "must read" e-mail media alerts

...more
For the editors on the receiving end, who must also get their regular work done, all of this can take a lot of the fun out of going to trade shows. No wonder they postpone registering until the last minute!
The pre-show stalking of members of the press typically falls into the following categories.

Good, Bad, Yours?
1. The New Kid Calls -- Everyone in the field has to start somewhere, but it's difficult to understand why the newest people in the office (who know nothing about the company, the products, the market or the media people involved) are the ones who most often assigned to setting up editorial appointments. Most are worse than brokerage house boiler room calling teams. They simply don't have enough product, technology, market or competitive positioning information to answer any questions.
They're simply calling to fill in 1/2-hour blocks on the schedule.
No one should be allowed to work with the media until they know the publications, their editorial environment and their areas of coverage as well as the company's products and applications.

2. The Admitted Innocent -- The individual who is up-front about his or her new position and the task at hand.
One e-mail read: "Firstly I'm new to (name of agency) and therefore new to (name of company). But we'd really like to set up a meeting with our senior executives for you to discuss (product) at our booth (location)."
The editor isn't seeking the PR person's job history, just the facts -- what's new, what's different, reader benefits and reasons why he or she can't miss the opportunity of meeting the client.

3. The Triple-Hitter -- These people are thorough. They send an e-mail, they fax, and then the call to make certain you received the messages and want to know when you can meet with them. He or she knows a little about the product but can't differentiate between information of interest to end users, corporate buyers, integrators or dealers/resellers.
...more
4. The E-Mail Attacher -- This contact doesn't provide a brief summary as to why you've been blessed to receive his or her message, but they do know a little about the Internet because they attach the entire news release for you.
For the Internet-challenged, the attachment automatically gets stored into one of your hard drive's working areas. After receiving the message, the recipient has to go from one working area of the system to another to open the file, review it and determine if it's worth keeping.
It's a pain. It can also jeopardize the integrity of the recipient's system, which can be an even bigger pain. Twice this past year, we've received attachments that immediately released a virus when they were opened and infected about a dozen important files. When you receive a message from the "outside world," you're supposed to follow safe computing and run an anti-virus program against the file before opening it. Unfortunately, few people practice really safe computing, so they end up wasting hours cleaning up files--or worse, stripping and rebuilding their entire hard drive.

5. The More-Is-Better Approach -- Anyone who has called the media to set up meetings will inevitably get the person who says: A) "I don't schedule appointments, so send me information and the booth number and I'll drop by." or B) "My calendar for the show is packed, but I've set aside some time to patrol the floor. Send me the information and I'll make it a point to stop by."
Translation: Don't hold your breath.
I made the mistake of making that statement prior to a recent show. We received an e-mail with the complete press kit attached -- three releases and a company backgrounder. We also received faxes of all three releases.
Can't anyone summarize what's going to be important at the show in one page? If you can't explain it in one page, you obviously don't know what the company is trying to accomplish.

6. The Over-Confident Approach -- These people call one to two days before the show, announce which "major" (sometimes not so major)
...more
company they are with and then add, "So when do you want to meet with us?"
"Gee...I don't know. I'll have to cancel my meeting with Intel, IBM, or Microsoft because of your heartwarming offer."
Of course, the professionals who promote the companies mentioned don't do that. They plan their show attack early. Their people know who they are talking with and why the meeting is going to be important to the editor, reporter, columnists or analyst. In fact, they and the other PR people who really focus on understanding and serving the media, have a list of individuals they work with all year long. They schedule specific meetings for specific company people and topics...and that's it. They don't try to fill every slot with someone/anyone.

7. The "You're On the List, So You Must Be Interested" -- Every business and trade publication will send a number of their editors and reporters to cover a specific trade show. Some publications divide the convention center into grids and have people gather information from companies in a specific sector and then feed it back to the proper reporter. Most, however, divide the show into product categories and the people responsible for that subject area will cover companies in their areas of interest.

Increasingly, show management sends PR people information on who has pre-registered for the event to assist in determining exactly who will be there so the right contacts can be made. Seasoned PR people scan the list and pick the people they know cover their product areas. Then, they contact them for specific meetings.
Newbies and schedule-packers view the list and reason that if the press person is covering the show, he or she must be interested in the company's products and they most certainly want to meet with company management. Wrong!
...more


The Wheat Among the Chaff
Fortunately, there are good PR agencies and people in the field who make the profession look good.

1. Pre-Show Briefers -- These people know ahead of time that there's going to be a show, they know what the company's going to be unveiling or emphasizing, and they contact/brief their key editors prior to the show. The reporters and editors have a chance to write their news before coming to the show. Then, if they have a 1/1 meeting, it is to round out the information or to discuss specific topics such as industry trends, applications, channels of distribution, initial user comments on the product/service and information on what industry analysts think of the announcement

2. Custom Contacts -- These are professionals who regularly work with and assist 20 to 40 press people on a fairly regular basis. They check the pre-reg list and pick their targets based on:
- their interests
- what's hot in the industry
- what the company is highlighting at the show

They call and/or e-mail the media person with a very specific message and the reason for the meeting. They may even be so bold as to suggest the best executive to talk with for the information they need.

3. The Unobtrusive Impact Player -- These people have a plan of action that's designed to have an impact on a wide range of editors. They carefully develop their plan, the timing and the follow up. Usually, these efforts are for emerging companies or products that want to produce an impact with their launch. They use the tools that are available to get visibility and results for the company.
In one instance, the media received an e-mail telling them to be on the lookout for a special announcement package. Two days later, they received an overnight package giving them details of special activities they were planning in their booth, times of the activities and the names of key people who would be available.
...more
The editors knew who, what, when, where and why. They not only came to the activities that focused on their areas of interest, they covered the company and its products.

The key to successful trade show editorial liaison is knowing why the publication would want to meet with you and making certain that the right individual is available to deliver the message.
It's amazing. Companies will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for their booth, booth construction/set-up, show staffing and sales literature to reach, inform and persuade show attendees. But when it comes to contacting the people who can have the most impact on the firm's success (editors, reporters, analysts and columnists), more often than not, their PR people sabotage their own efforts.
Smiling and dialing without firm objectives and a plan of action means members of the media have to take time from their deadlines to answer calls; read e-mails; file or trash the e-mail; or wade through the faxes.
No wonder most don't sign up until just before the show or are even willing to fight the crowd to register the day of the show.
If you don't believe it, take a walk in their shoes.
# # #

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