Marketing Communications

466 CHAPTER 14 EXHIBITIONS AND TRADE FAIRS

salespeople in luxury hotels etc. are used as an incentive to enhance personnel morale and

to motivate employees. Further, new salespeople may be recruited at exhibitions and trade

fairs. Finally, some companies stick to their tradition of participating in certain exhibitions

and do not consider other communications objectives because ‘we do it every year, it is

a tradition’.

In Table 14.4 , the results of a study of exhibition objectives among 104 UK companies^17

are compared with a study among 311 Belgian fi rms.^18 As this table shows, the six most

frequently formulated goals are similar for both countries: interaction with new and existing

customers, promoting existing and new products, learning about competitors’ new products

and enhancing the corporate image are the most important reasons why companies choose to

participate in exhibitions or trade fairs. Taking sales orders seems more important in the UK,

whereas brand and company awareness are more frequently formulated goals in Belgium.

Overall, an exhibition or trade fair combines a number of the following functions: sales

generation, promotion, contact generation, demonstration, research, promotion of the

company and its image, and PR.

For a stand to be successful, both sales teams and marketing must work in tandem.

An exhibition should be as much about customer relationships as about sales. Quantel, a

manufacturer of high-end creative soft ware for the fi lm and TV industry, regularly exhibits

at the National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas and at the International

Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam. Its goal is to generate more sales leads but not at the

risk of diluting the brand equity. At the same convention, Microsoft TV wanted to make

visitors aware of its name in the broadcasting marketplace while ensuring that the sales force

could engage visitors with the product in a suitable environment. At the stand, physical barriers

Table 14.4 Objectives of trade fair participation in the UK and Belgium

Objective UK ( N = 104) Belgium ( N = 311)

Mean (10 points) Rank Mean (5 points) Rank

Meeting new customers 8.87 1 4.25 1

Launching new products 8.68 2 3.86 4

Taking sales orders 7.69 3 2.82 23

Enhancing company image 7.52 6 3.89 3

Interacting with existing customers 7.67 4 3.73 7

Promoting existing products 7.53 5 3.82 5

Getting information about competitors 4.84 10 3.66 8

Getting an edge on non-exhibitors 4.57 12 – –

Keeping up with competitors 4.86 9 – –

Enhancing staff morale 3.90 13 1.72 26

Interacting with distributors 4.80 11 – –

Doing market research 5.77 7 – –

Meeting new distributors 5.01 8 – –

Increasing company awareness – 3.93 2

Reaching as many people as possible – 3.76 6

Increasing brand awareness – 3.63 9

Reaching people in an effective way – 3.60 10

Source : Based on Blythe, J. (2002), ‘Using Trade Fairs in Key Account Management’, Industrial Marketing Management , 31, 627–35;

De Pelsmacker, P., Van den Bergh, J. and De Schepper, W. (1997), Febelux Research in the Image of Exhibitions and Trade Fairs

among Companies and Communication Agencies. Ghent, Belgium: De Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School.

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