Marketing Communications

480 CHAPTER 14 EXHIBITIONS AND TRADE FAIRS

Figure 14.4 Exhibitors’ satisfaction score at Batibouw 2007

Source : Geert Maes, CEO, FISA.

that they know about the profile of the visitors. The organ-

isation does not give names or addresses to the exhibitors,

though.

Batibouw’s website had 284 246 visitors in 2006 and

445 688 in 2007 during the fair. Over the whole year of

2006, the website received almost a million visitors. FISA

also sells tickets online. A visitor who buys a ticket at the

entrance pays €12, a visitor who buys tickets online only

pays €10. In that way, FISA has the names and addresses of

buyers who buy tickets online. During the year FISA sends

four or five newsletters to visitors of previous fairs. The

newsletters are about building and construction but also

about the other activities of the organisation.

Exhibitors are also surveyed. Eighty-four per cent of

them in 2007 intended to participate at Batibouw 2008,

14% had doubts and 2% said they would not participate.

More than 83% of exhibitors gave a participation satisfac-

tion score of more than 7 on a 10-point scale ( Figure 14.4 ).

The exhibitors are satisfied with the number of professional

visitors and even more satisfied about the quality of the

professional visitors. Almost all exhibitors are also satisfied

about the quality of the public visitors.

How to increase the effectiveness of a fair

for the exhibitors

Batibouw goes to great trouble to make fair participation

for the exhibitors more effective.

Helping the exhibitors to create fair participation

awareness and traffi c

The duty of a fair organiser is to get people into the fair.

The priority of an exhibitor is its place at the fair. Batibouw

offers a whole range of cost-efficient options to exhibitors

so that they can promote both themselves and Batibouw

on a scale that is not too expensive. For instance, FISA

hands out stickers to exhibitors that they can use in their

mails to clients, and posters that they can hang up in their

exposition halls. Exhibitors can use the Batibouw logo – the

turtle – on their mail and their invoices.

Further, FISA has a deal with most Belgian media groups,

both general and specialised. The media give exhibitors a

discount in the months before the fair, if they put an ad with

the red turtle logo in their magazines and newspapers.

Sixty-three per cent of exhibitors made use of the Batibouw

ad material to announce their fair participation. Seventy-

one per cent sent personal invitations, 48% wrote e-mails,

62% did a classic mailing, 31% announced it in the pro-

fessional press, 30% announced their participation in the

consumer press, 13% did a poster campaign, 6% advertised

on TV and 3% on radio.

Batibouw also gives exhibitors the opportunity to rent

a manual scanner for about €100. This allows them to

quickly register information about visitors. Every evening,

the organisation gives exhibitors a USB stick or a disk

with all the information about the visitors to their stand on

that day.

In order to raise awareness about and make visible

examples of ‘good practice’, Batibouw issues communica-

tions awards. One award concerns the best reception. How

are people received? Do the sales representatives feel what

the customer needs and wants? Is the reception friendly?

Another award goes to the best product presentation. The

third award goes to the best communications strategy,

before as well as during the fair. Awards are given to

exhibitors who rent less than 70 m^2 and to exhibitors who

M14_PELS3221_05_SE_C14.indd 480M14_PELS3221_05_SE_C14.indd 480 5/6/13 3:00 PM5/6/13 3:00 PM