Make the most of Ecobuild
It’s coming up to that time of year again when building product manufacturers are busy finalising their plans for attending what is the construction sector’s largest show: Ecobuild.
For the past 10 years, Ecobuild has dominated the calendar of many construction businesses that are concerned with sustainability. Every year it attracts over 30,000 decision makers, from architects and developers to local government specifiers and major contractors. Needless to say, it’s a big show. In fact, the largest exhibition in the UK construction industry. So, if you are a manufacturer, supplier to the construction industry or building/contracting company, how do you make the most of attending Ecobuild?
Here at Dragonfly PR, we’ve been supporting construction clients at Ecobuild for the past 10 years, so here are our top tips.
- Don’t go to the effort of producing press packs – submit everything online
As a truly sustainable show, Ecobuild does not welcome traditional printed press packs. The best way to share media information is to upload it to your website portal as an exhibitor. It’s also a good idea to save press releases and photos to a USB and have this handy to give to editors as they visit your stand during the show.
- Invite editors and bloggers to your stand, in plenty of time
Ecobuild is a great opportunity to showcase a new product or technology to an editor. We find that one-to-one demos work best. Editors’ diaries get really busy at Ecobuild as they try to make the best use of the little bit of time they have at the show. Sending out invitations (by email) to the key editors whilst informing them about anything new or newsworthy that you will be demonstrating is a good way to raise awareness and build relationships. You should invite them to meet someone like a Technical Manager or Product Manager who has a good knowledge of the product and understanding of the industry. As a PR agency, we arrange these meetings and give our clients a list of editors and times they will meet them at the show. We can also be present to make introductions and take editors to the stand, when required.
- Use social media to attract visitors to your stand
It may sound obvious but it’s surprising how many companies don’t maximise their use of social media, such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram to generate interest in their stand, both before and during the show. Make sure you use the #ecobuild2017 hashtag. It’s also a good idea to have your company’s live Twitter feed on a screen on the stand, which attracts interest as people walk past. Make sure you tweet regularly about your activities during the show and share photos and updates via LinkedIn and Instagram. Start your own hashtag relating to Ecobuild and your presence there eg #ecobuildventilate - for a ventilation company. The aim is to generate new followers on Twitter, drive more traffic to the stand and engage directly with potential customers.
- Don’t spam people with e-newsletters and free invites – they will get these anyway
It is a good idea to send your top customers an e-ticket, so they can jump the queue and ensure they get easy access to the exhibition. However, we don’t advise sending out mass mailings to offer free tickets to people as the magazines already do this.
- Keep up the momentum throughout the show
It’s tempting to launch all your ideas on day one of the show, but this means that for day 2 and 3, activity tails off. Sure, the first day of the show is the busiest and the most likely day that the press and potential customers will attend. However, make sure you have a schedule of activity, not just for day one, but throughout the show. For example, day 1 am: product demo, pm; chance to meet the technical whizz who invented it. Day 2 am: Background to developing the new product/technology; Day 2 pm: come and try the product for yourself – and be videoed! Day 3: try our Industry quiz – pm; last chance to see our product demo!
For more details of how we could help with social media, PR or digital marketing for Ecobuild or any of the construction exhibitions, please contact us on 01709 300130 or email hello@dragonflypr.co.uk