'Three reasons to visit' campaign

Exhibitors can be notoriously difficult to engage in pre-show communications, so InstallerSHOW tasked CIB with developing a content strategy that would mobilise its exhibitors to provide information that would feed a persuasive pre-show campaign, to drive pre-registration and footfall to their stand.

CIB identified that although ‘it’s worth a day off the tools’ was a common messaging platform historically used by exhibitions predominantly targeting the trade, there was rarely any depth developed for this argument. CIB felt there was a real opportunity to strengthen the reasons to believe behind the claim, with messaging that not only encouraged the trade to attend the show but educated them on how to get the most from the show when they were there – so that they would return the next year.

CIB proposed a two-year overarching campaign that changed the usual narrative around successful exhibitions to be more pointedly aimed at communicating the true value visitors took from the show – which could then feed into subsequent campaigns.

For example – testimonials from visitors commonly focus on the ‘experience’:

“It’s a break away from work. You come down, get refreshed, see all the new tools and the great products coming out. It’s a great meeting place.”

“It’s a great social, it’s great to see all the companies, put names to faces and see what new products are about.”

Instead, CIB proposed a content strategy with an end point of demonstrable value:

“I’ve found three new products that I feel are genuinely going to make my job easier. Taking time out today is really going to benefit me going forward.”

“I’ve been debating whether to join a trade association or approved scheme for some time, so it was really great to be able to talk to them all here today, so I can make an informed decision.”

“With so much talk about the phase out of gas boilers, I found the seminars on hydrogen boilers, heat pumps and biofuels invaluable – and I feel much more informed about where to take my business.”

It was recognised that to achieve this, the narrative needed to be embedded across all the comms – pre, during and post. However, the most crucial part was in the initial comms, which would not only achieve pre-registrations but would get visitors into the mindset of getting the most from their visit – driving them to different stands and seminars and understanding their worth.

CIB was therefore given the role of generating pre-show content from the exhibitors, which could feed InstallerSHOW’s website, e-comms and social channels. As obtaining information from exhibitors is one of the most challenging aspects of exhibition comms, CIB’s KPIs were set around how many exhibitors they managed to engage – with the ultimate aim of the content driving pre-registration.

In year one (InstallerSHOW 2022), CIB recommended that a clear theme was developed that the exhibitors could buy into and the ‘Three reasons to visit..’ campaign was devised.

The simple mechanic was designed to get exhibitors thinking about why a visitor should come to their stand – with the stipulation that the reason couldn’t be purely promotional. Instead, the reason had to be outcome based.

For example:

Visit our stand to:

1. Learn about the Government’s £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme to install heat pumps.

2. See for yourself how your skills can be easily diversified into heat pump installations.

3. Find out about our Sustainable Home Network – and how it can help to grow your business.

Tasked with generating as many reasons as possible, CIB assisted in whatever way they could to extract information. Prior to contacting each exhibitor, CIB researched their website and included possible suggestions for reasons in the introductory email. The team also interviewed those exhibitors that weren’t in a position to write their own and wrote the reasons for them.

In 2022, 112 of the 235 exhibitors provided 320 individual reasons. With a hit rate of 47% this far exceeded any previous exhibitor engagement activity. The campaign saw visitor pre-registrations increase by 88% compared to previous year.

Following the first year’s success, the content strategy was evolved in year two (InstallerSHOW 2023). With a much larger show, CIB had a greater task on their hands to achieve the same level of engagement, with 451 exhibitors now booked into the show.

A further prompt was introduced to the theme – with exhibitors still asked for three reasons but this time aligned to either LEARN, TRY, BUY, WIN, SEE or JOIN.

In 2023, 51% of exhibitors provided 510 individual reasons. The campaign saw visitor pre-registrations increase by a further 35% compared to previous year.