Be Prepared – don’t shoot from the hip, don’t leave it to chance, don’t let the chips fall where they may. How many times have you attended a trade show and walked past booths of salespeople just sitting there, watching and smiling, yet not proactively seeking out potential prospects or clients? Now what do you think happens when a hungry reporter walks by that same booth? If the reporter does start a conversation, chances are he’ll get the same telesales pitch as every other warm body that cruised by.

Here is what trade shows are not about. Trade shows aren’t meant as an excuse to visit with friends, collect hundreds of business cards for your collection and show everyone how nice your booth looks.
Plan your event with publicity in mind and make it easy for the media to cover the event and brainstorm story ideas. You have to plan your PR ahead time. Waiting until the show begins may already be too late to capture the media’s attention. Successful publicity-driven companies start their PR planning weeks–and sometimes even months–in advance. Sending private invitations to your booth to onsite media people can sometimes set you apart from the others. Ask their onsite media representative from the show association who will be covering what. Ask them for specific names and find out which print media, broadcast media and any online sites they represent.

Without question, you must prepare a press release to announce your exhibit. Once again, a newsworthy angle is all editors think about here. You must be different and unique. You must give editors and producers specific reasons why they should visit you over all the other hundreds of exhibitors. Another press release idea is announcing that a particular expert from your company will be available for media interviews. This points out to the media that you are well-prepared, have selected them out and are ready to help contribute to their publication or broadcast.

PR is only one part of the total trade show marketing effort, and trade show marketing is only one part of the overall marketing plan. Planning and targeting will make all marketing more effective.