Trade Show Management
The Request
I was initially hired by Onyx Healthcare USA as a marketing coordinator, then I was later promoted to a marketing specialist to manage trade shows for the company. My duties included: booking trade shows, renting booths, managing lodging and equipment logistics, staffing, creating promotional materials, and managing pre-event and post-event marketing.
The Story
On my first day of work, I was already put in charge of marketing for the industry’s most anticipated trade show, HIMSS. The company had a 20’x20’ booth designed by the company’s headquarter in Taiwan, which didn’t get much attraction due to many reasons. In the following years, I worked on improving our booth at the trade show.
In my second year with Onyx, I hired a local company to design the booth, which grew to 20’x30’. I selected interesting products to showcase at the trade show as well as did effective pre-event advertisement. The location was not ideal for maximum foot traffic, but I clearly improved the impression of the company with my booth management. Visitor attendance increased by 370% and booth survey responses were positive.
In my third year, I grew the booth size to 30’x40’ which was double-decked and it was a big hit at the trade show. I chose a location near the entrance, hired experienced event staff (previously the company was using in-house employees who lacked trade show experience), and also created giveaways to engage visitors.
In my fourth year, I grew the booth size to 40’x40’ and picked a location on the main aisle. Our booth was designed with attractive glossy materials, which other booths don’t use. I also created a simulation tour for visitors to walk through while our salesmen provided product explanations to expand the conversation. It was a very focused experience which sparked many conversations for large deals later on.
End Result
Ever year, I built upon the previous year’s booth and marketing to continuously improve the overall trade show experience and increase ROI. Over four years, the booth grew from 20’x20’ to 40’x40’, ROI from the trade show increased from $1:$2.38 to $1:$10.92, and visitor booth impressions increased by an estimated 600%.