Marketing Communications

CASE 14 481

rent more than 70 m^2 , so that small and large exhibitors

have equal chances.

Finally, every year Batibouw organises an information

day dedicated to inform exhibitors. Also, during the year,

Batibouw organises two lunches. At these lunches, a guest

speaker connected to the building industry is invited, for

instance the renovators of the Atomium Monument in

Brussels or the company building the highest towers in Dubai.

FISA devotes a lot of effort to generating publicity and

media exposure for Batibouw. The value of media exposure

of the fair was estimated to be around €175 000. Batibouw

organises a press conference every year, where there are

about 120 visitors.

Good organisation

The logistics of a fair are very complex. Therefore every year,

the organisation produces a toolkit. This toolkit contains the

regulations of the fair and a checklist for exhibitors on

security, water, electricity, parking subscriptions, etc. Most

exhibitors do not need the organisation to help set up their

stand; they hire a stand building company. Some exhibitors

create their own stand. They can ask the Batibouw organ-

isation to supply what they need to build their stand. Also,

during the fair logistical problems require fast and effective

solutions. If there are any disturbances at the fair, the organ-

isation tries to take care of them quickly. For example, at

one time in one of the halls there were companies which

were exhibiting tools that made a lot of noise. The exhibitors

wanted to show their tools and used them in the halls.

However, the noise was very disturbing for other exhibitors.

So the organisation parsed a new regulation where exhibitors

can demonstrate their tools, but they can do so only in a

sound-proof cage.

The organisation is aware that some stands will have

more traffic than others, depending on where they are

situated. Some exhibitors explicitly ask to have a specific

position in the hall. The organisation, however, works as

follows: the companies that have been exhibiting for the

longest time at the fair get first choice. Eighty-five per cent

of the exhibitors immediately register for the following

year, and 99% of them want to have the same place as the

year before.

Controlling the profi le of Batibouw’s exhibitors

Of course, exhibitors have to be part of the building

industry. Batibouw only accepts manufacturers, exclusive

importers or agents at the fair. When the organisation

receives a new request from a company that wants to

exhibit at the fair, it always checks out the company first.

FISA also looks at the promotional materials of the com-

pany and visits its showrooms. The organisation can refuse

to allow a company to participate, if it believes that the

company is bad for the image of the fair or if it does not

comply with the fair regulations.

How exhibitors can improve the

effectiveness of their fair participation

Professional exhibitors know their objectives before par-

ticipation and work towards these. When the organisa-

tion asks exhibitors why they participate at a fair, the reply

is often: ‘Because our direct competitors are there too.’

This is the wrong motivation. Other exhibitors say that

they are participating because, if they do not, people will

think that their company is not doing very well. There

are not many exhibitors who come to the fair with real

objectives like a clear view of the products to exhibit, the

costs, the market potential and the number of contacts to

be reached.

The return on investment of trade fair participation is

often hard to measure. Some exhibitors measure their

contacts by counting the number of brochures distributed.

That is only a start because an exhibitor does not know

what happens to those brochures afterwards. Some fairs

are real selling fairs. However, Batibouw is less of a selling

fair.

Exhibitors sometimes evaluate the success of fair par-

ticipation by the number of visitors to the stand. Exhibitors

can also count the personal contacts. However, it is more

relevant to measure the cost per useful contact at the fair.

Based on a FISA study, the price per contact (based on

stand prices and number of visitors) for Batibouw is less

than €10. There are lots of magazines on building houses.

Advertising in these media results in a certain cost per

person reached. In terms of the cost per contact, to par-

ticipate at Batibouw is less expensive than to advertise in a

building magazine, and the exhibitor reaches the same

target group. In any case, every exhibitor should work this

out according to their particular situation, based on the full

cost of fair participation and the number of useful contacts

or sales leads made. Since the cost of fair participation is

known to the exhibitors, the cost per contact is easy to

calculate.

The fair can have a strong impact on company and product

image, customer activation, brand awareness and creating

an emotional link with the brand that an exhibitor can set

up due to fair participation. Some people call Batibouw the

biggest bar in the country. Professional visitors especially try

to treat their potential clients in such a way that a positive

impression of their company is created. However, it is

difficult to isolate the effect of fair participation on these

perception- and image-related indicators. The most import-

ant indication of fair participation ROI for an exhibitor is the

profits as a result of participation in the fair.

Exhibitors can also think of brand activation and CRM at

their stand. For instance, an exhibitor for a brick company

promised a cheque for €100 if a stand visitor promised

to buy bricks from the company in the year to come.

The company asked clients which bricks they preferred and

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