Can Attendance = Presence at a Trade Show? BT Heading SXSW by Kevin Dwinnell

Like any start up, we need to be cash conscious but sometimes separating the “wants” from the “needs” is not easy. We really want to be at SXSW. But in terms of it reaching the audience who buys our service (the brand marketer needing a branded browser), we don’t know if it’s the right show so we don’t know if it’s a need.

Outlined here is our strategy and thoughts for the show.

1. We’re not buying ads at the show.

This is a marketing spend that may help with awareness but, most likely, won’t drive a sale on its own.

2. We didn’t get a booth at the show.

This is a calculated risk. It’s a big cost driver, but gives the personal connection with a prospect that can deepen the interest and really get close to a deal.

3. We’re sending one of the team to attend.

Here’s the big leap of faith and why we’re doing it.

• We have talent in Austin. Michael Kaply, our lead developer, lives in Austin. But proximity isn’t the real value. Mike is one of those rare talents who is not only an amazing and accomplished coder, but he’s aware and articulate about the needs of the business person – and he’s an extrovert. If you’re going to put this task on the shoulders of one person, he’s the guy. (No, I did not give Mike a chance to edit this blog before publishing.)
• Much of the pre-show preparation is the same. Regardless of how we’re attending (booth or just a body), we want to go into the show with a set of pre-scheduled meetings. We’re contacting our partners and prospects, finding out who will be attending and arranging times to meet.
• The networking in the off hours is half the value of the show. It’s amazing how beneficial talking to the person next to you in a line can be, and if you actually get quality time at an after-hours event, even more so. We’ll find out how high our “half-the-value” estimate is.
• The high-quality leads of people seeking us out at the booth will be partially offset by the value of extended interactions at the networking events.

We’ll naturally discuss the results here. But, we’d really like you to meet Mike there and learn how Brand Thunder can help you engage your audience. So, if your headed to SXSW, drop us a line at our Contact page and we’ll arrange a time to meet.

Posted in Commentary | Tags: brand, brand thunder, Branded Browser, custom browser, Marketing and Advertising, South by Southwest, start-up, sxsw, trade show | No Comments »

First Trade Show Preparations – Brand Thunder Heads to National Sports Forum by Kevin Dwinnell

It would be easy to think heading to Phoenix at the end of January is a simple case of escaping the mid-west winter. That’s only partially true. Brand Thunder is attending its first trade show, the National Sports Forum, January 26 – 28, to show off our branded browsers.

So, how does a startup that’s trying to preserve cash decide to attend a trade show? It wasn’t an easy decision. We’re frugal in many respects and the cost of attending a tradeshow is no small matter. In the interest of sharing, here are the decision points and discoveries we made in this process.

1. Know your target audience.

We’re a growing company trying to reach critical mass. Our data suggests sports teams understand the value of our branded browsers, move from prospect to client at a reasonable rate and have audiences that adopt our product at a rate that satisfy our clients and our business model.

2. Know the show’s audience.

The show’s sales staff told us that major teams and their decision makers attend. We researched this claim. And while past results are not an indicator of future performance – the odds looked good. Based on the attendee list we just received, this has borne out.

3. Cost effective booth design.

Elegant doesn’t need to be expensive. Through Guru.com we found Pixl Designs who gave a very reasonable estimate, and outstanding results, despite the design challenge of communicating the visual power of our browser themes in a vertical format. We wanted banners to hang from the curtained framing provided by the show creating a booth feel without a booth expense.

4. Cost effective banner production.

We chose to use 2’x6’ banners due to the low, online prices we found. Prices were so low, we ordered early anticipating the potential need to reorder. The truth was Just4Banners.com delivered excellent results, at an amazing price. The order was placed late on a Monday and in hand by Wednesday – despite choosing 3-day shipping.

5. Getting attendees to stop.

We have a range of tactics to generate booth traffic including video loops demonstrating the transformation from standard Firefox to immersive branded browser (also produced by Pixl). Monitors showing the video will be positioned to attract passersby and “sell” on their own or act as real-time examples for our sales staff to discuss. We’ll also have useful information from our other sports team partners as “leave behinds” and a contingency plan for a daily giveaway – just in case. This show has such a focused audience for us, we can’t risk missing this lead generation opportunity.

6. Have a full schedule prior to the show.

We’re now in process of using our network to help arrange as many meetings as possible prior to the show. The goal is to have the off-show hours filled with appointments – at least as much as possible.

We’re optimistic about this event, and in a few weeks will discuss our learning from it. And if you have any suggestions for us to act on before we travel, please share them!

Posted in Commentary | Tags: Branded Browser, custom browser, firefox, Lead generation, Mozilla Firefox, sports marketing, startup, Target audience, trade show | 3 Comments »