The days are getting longer, the nights are getting warmer, and the smell of freshly cut grass is here; Summer is approaching, and the most recent UK lockdown is fading into distant memory. Summer is on the horizon; As vaccines and waning strength of new variants has placed the first, most deadly and chaotic stage of the pandemic in the rearview, a newfound optimism is in the air across countries with high vaccination rates.
With this optimism, something else has also returned: Physical events. Trade shows, corporate conferences and face to face meets are back on, and the security industry is no different: June will see both San Francisco’s RSA conference and London’s Infosecurity Europe return for the first time since the Pandemic sent events all over the world online, and just last month Eskenzi announced our partnership with the brand new International Cyber Expo Here’s a checklist of everything you should be considering if like many other companies, you’re attending your first trade shows back!
Know your audience
Trade shows do not come cheap. Travel, accommodation, booth space, merchandise, can incur some serious overheads to a companies’ presence at an event. Therefore, to make sure that it’s worth it, speak to the organisers and make totally sure the event is right for you. If it doesn’t provide the kind of returns on investment you’ll require to make the expense worth it, find something more suitable
Make yourself stand out
This doesn’t necessarily mean the biggest, shiniest booth. Some organisations offering free ice cream for inquiries, or a free personalised graffiti water bottle (both real examples I have seen) are excellent ways to bring in leads, and generate some conference-buzz around your stand. Working in an environment with hundreds of other vendors encourages you to think creatively!
Have something to announce before, during or after the show
RSA is seen as a prime place to announce product updates or launches, as well as other industry news. Even better would be some industry research which might allow you to capitalize on any journalists attending. The press will not often meet with vendors just to say hello these days, sadly!
If this is out of your budget, or capabilities, consider a show-floor survey, which you can conduct from the booth, and pitch to the press afterwards.
Accept that things might not be ‘back to normal’
Covid has changed the way we work fundamentally, and unalterably. While the return to physical events will be a blessing to many individuals and organisations, the fact of the matter is that not every company will be returning. Where events might have once been a key component of an organization’s marketing, events and sales plans, the pandemic may have shown some organisations that there are different ways of getting traction, and developing noise around product launches, research, or any other things they may have once used a trade show for.
So get excited about the return of events, but don’t expect everything to be quite as it was…Lots has changed since 2019!
Finally, remember to enjoy it!
Despite the shows maybe not being exactly like they were, take solace in the fact they are in fact happening! Think back to March 2020, and how different the world feels now. Take these opportunities to relish that difference while it is here.
