There have been quite a few questions regarding tradeshows on the board so I thought I would give a little overview of my experiences, my thoughts and some of the little things that I thought made my experience successful.   

I think that attending a tradeshow is extremely important from a marketing/sales perspective.  It gives you an opportunity to expose your company to a large number of retailers, press and potential customers in a very short period of time.  The trick is getting the most “bang for your buck” so it’s best to narrow down the top tradeshow in your industry.   For me, it is the New York Toy Fair held every February.   While these shows are generally more expensive, you will gain more by the numbers of buyers who will be there as opposed to some of the smaller shows. 

Here’s a list of the 2008 major shows: http://www.greatrep.com/trade_shows.asp 

Some other great venues are your local craft or holiday shows.  These are direct to the public and offer you a great opportunity to see what the consumer is actually saying about your product.   

You have to realize that as a first time exhibitor, you most likely are not going to have great booth placement.  Each year, you will gain higher priority and the sooner you submit your contract, the better your odds are of getting a decent spot.    

So what makes a great booth location?     

• There is a benefit of having a corner booth because you are essentially getting traffic from 2 sides.   The odds are that you will not be getting a corner booth anytime soon.     
• Try to get in the heart of the floor and to the front.  The further you are to the back or outside, the less traffic.         
• Look at the traffic patterns – where escalators are, entrances, bathrooms,  etc.   

Make sure to review all the materials when submit your application.  Very often, the shows promote new exhibitors.  You want to make sure that you take advantage of every possible free marketing opportunity available.    

Next post will include marketing for the tradeshow.   

“Life is like riding a bike. It is impossible to maintain your balance while standing still.”    Linda Brakeall

Gwen Austin, RC Art Toys, Inventor of the Color Bug™  www.rcarttoys.com 

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 20th, 2008 at 9:42 pm and is filed under Toy Mom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.