Building Brands Through Exhibitions & Events
Why do all manufacturers want to participate at exhibitions they see important to their
business? Let’s just say it is the industry norm around the world and the truth is it’s
not just sales that drive companies. Building their brand through the expo & other event
related activities that bolsters this exercise of building a brand in a highly competitive
space.
As a keen observer of this trend, I have seen that exhibitions are also growing bigger and
better, almost competing with international standards. Now case in point- PALM. As a leading
expo for professional audio and lighting in India the Expo has been organically growing
for the past so many years. Adding a plethora of facilities and features to help companies
not just grow their sales or marketing managers to just advertise and promote their products
but to also strategically build their brands. Now really what does this all do for the
customer is very specific to the product & the strategy. However a holistic approach to
the same gives companies an ability to build a brand recognition that no amount of sales
discounts could. That is why many organizations are keen to spend this money as a part of
their allocated marketing budget.
Music Branding:
HARMAN, the leading Professional audio brand, who I am closely associated with, have
spearheaded this over the past few years by building the HARMAN Live Arena @ The PALM
Expo which in itself has become a movement and an Intellectual Property of HARMAN
India.
What worked for them? They took music branding extremely seriously by roping in the top
of the line musicians to perform on their platform and showcased their brands which are
a turnkey audio solution from microphones, consoles, amplifiers and loudspeaker systems
and in addition to that, top of line lighting solutions. This is the key to making music
the best medium to tell your brand story. The thing about performance venue in the Expos
will surprise you that not only the punters/customers want to see the live acts even the
musicians and bands want a slot to perform on these platforms and backline companies too
wish to have their endorsees perform center stage rather than just a visit at the booth.
I can surely say that this is the NUMERO UNO form of brand building at an event. Nobody
can tell their story in the audio industry better than powering music through their products
and HARMAN got it right in India since the first Live Arena.
Looking at this success, many other brands too have followed and I would not be surprised
that in years to come the quality of musicianship that will perform will just grow.
Knowledge Branding
Many manufacturers have conducted knowledge workshops and forums on the exhibition grounds
at scheduled times roping in either a celebrity engineer or applications engineer. These
experts have conducted numerous such workshops making the consumers aware that the
companies are serious about training & empowering their customers. This according to me is
also a very important initiative to establish the brand as serious players in the competitive
market.
Demo Branding
Now this is a crucial thing as most of the time it is approached quite haphazardly. A few
years ago, PALM Expo organizers took a good decision to have a demo area allocated with
timed slots so that manufacturers can demo their products to their customers and many
decisions especially on PA systems are actually taken in these demo areas. Some may think
that there is a snob value associated with attending these demos & certain manufacturers
feel strongly about not wanting to be in the demo zone. But I can surely say that a lot
of people want you to take decisions based on hearing and if you want that business then
you have to be in that space. Some nearlfield monitor companies just take allocated rooms
where they can give personalized demos to their customers and this is a god way to make
decisions & conduct business. Many even allocate a room in a nearby hotel to make it more
personalized and provide a true listening experience.
Stall Branding
I would say that everyone has a stall, everyone has a layout and everyone has the best of
their product line displayed or demoed on the booth. This has historically been the way
all exhibitions have been, now really what kind of stall would really get my attention,
considering I am the target audience?
First based on what product you are showcasing. So the strategy for a microphone company
may totally differ to that from a loudspeaker manufacturer. But I always think that the
importance of being able to attend to the customer’s queries, questions makes all the
difference. It’s a given that I am going to see the companies flagship products and
legacy products at the booth but at the end of the day I am doing business with people
and not their products. It’s also very common to see microphone & headphone manufacturers
having performances & conducting music branding at their booths itself since the headphones
help with creating a noise free environment.
Whether you are a distributor or the manufacturer you cannot ignore that most
purchasing/investment decisions are taken at expos & exhibitions. Brand & product visibility
is the highest during these trade fairs and the aspiration for the customers to attend them
and derive knowledge & pricing is very high. Your ability to convert new customers and to
keep existing ones totally depend on your ability to engage them well during the
exhibitions.
Which leads me to the conclusion that even the most iconic companies have their presence
during the trade fairs and that is something which will only increase. If you really
look at it, their brand recognition and position determines the stake and ability to
purchase the annual real estate on the fair grounds. As the story goes, to be seen is
to be in the market.