What's on Your Web Site?

By Rachel Wimberly -- Tradeshow Week, 10/9/2006

Quick, what are the two or three most effective ways to draw a huge crowd to a consumer show? Radio ads? Check. Television spots? Check. Newspaper ads? Check.

A well-designed, easily navigable, packed-with-information Web site and online ad campaign? Uh ... really?

Apparently so. In Tradeshow Week's annual consumer show survey, 59 percent of the respondents said that the Web site was the top attendee marketing medium or method driving the bulk of their total attendance.

Take these numbers into account:

• Lisa Kropf, director of marketing and sponsorship for dmg world media's Home Interests, North America division, said there has been a 400-percent increase in online ticket sales for the company's 40 annual home and garden shows in the last year.
• Daniel Vincent, CEO of Alive! Expo, said 60 percent of the total tickets for his last show held in May at Atlanta's Cobb Galleria Centre were sold online.
• Ryan Marshall, public relations manager for Advanstar Communications' series of Cycle World Intl. Motorcycle Shows, said his company recently sent an e-mail newsletter to 71,000 people that drove many of them to the show's Web site.

Two very different elements come into play when deciding how to effectively use the online world to spread the word about a show: the Web site and online ad sales.

The Web site is a tool to increase ticket sales and raise brand awareness. Eric Udler, show manager for Chandler Venture Group's Super Pet Expo, said his company offers coupons for a $1 discount to attendees who register and buy their tickets online.

Beyond luring people to the site, he said, "basically, we're buying their e-mail address for a dollar." He admitted that kind of marketing lead was invaluable compared to traditional, more expensive methods, such as direct mail.

But, it's not enough to just offer coupons, prizes or online drawings to create interest in a show. The site also needs to have all the necessary show information at the attendees' fingertips.

"It's important to realize you have to make the Web site as easy to use as possible," Udler said. "If not, you'll be inundated with phone calls from people wanting information, and you'll have missed opportunities."

Alive! Expo is a health and wellness consumer show launched in 2005 that has a comprehensive Web site set up for its upcoming Seattle event, Oct. 21–22, with the show's description, what exhibitors and products will be there, a list of speakers and special events, travel and accommodation information and, of course, online ticket sales. All of it is presented on a nice-looking, easy-to-use site.

"The investment (in the site) was absolutely worth it," Vincent said. "I didn't think the site would be as important in the beginning as we find it is now."

There are 13 shows in Advanstar's motorcycle series, drawing crowds of more than 50,000 to several locations throughout the United States, but Marshall said even though a lot of people visited the shows' Web site October through February, when the events take place, there wasn't a lot of site traffic during the other months.

"One thing I found is, if you have content, you will get repeat visitors," Marshall said. "It's all content-driven. We have a news section and press releases that go out all year round now (to generate continued interest)."

Marshall started with the company in May and had a hand in revamping the motorcycle shows' site. The efforts paid off with the new site that has a list of all of the shows with information and ticket sales for each organized in a clear and concise manner. Even though there's a $1 service fee to purchase tickets online, he said, many people would prefer to pay it rather than stand in long lines to get in the show.

There are separate Web sites for each of dmg's home and garden shows, such as the Indianapolis Home Show, which last January drew more than 106,000 people to the Indiana State Fairgrounds. All of the sites have plenty of pertinent details: show hours, directions and parking, ticket sales, special events, everything and anything you would need to know before attending.

Kropf said 50 percent of the attendees visit the shows' Web sites before they ever set foot on the showfloor.

"They're not even necessarily going for the discounts, but for convenience," she said. "It's just the way people are buying."

Web sites have stepped out of the shadows as a primary marketing tool to increase attendance at shows. And, as print advertising has waned in value over the last few years, buyers are increasingly turning to the Web.

"We're spending more dollars on Internet advertising. Over the last few years, advertising has changed from the traditional print, TV and radio, to now more online. It's about driving people to the Web site," Kropf said. "For our advertising budget in the past, online was thrown in. It's very different now. We include online advertising as part of our media buy, and we're definitely investing in it."

Marshall said Advanstar stopped buying newspaper ads for its motorcycle shows a few years ago and put more focus on the electronic market, even with some of its pitfalls.

"The problem I find with Web site advertising is putting value on it," he said. "Anyone can say, 'I get this many hits,' and I just don't know."

The number of hits on a site determines how many people potentially are seeing the ad, but it's hard to quantify if you don't know whether the company's reported hits are unique page views or repeats from the same person clicking on the site multiple times.

Marshall said buying online ads can also be frustrating because there is no uniform rate structure.

"The prices for these E-ads are widespread and range from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars," he added. "Everyone's trying to gauge what's the best return, and you have to make the best informed decision. It keeps us on our toes."