Hey - I'm back from the SEMA show in Vegas where I went to support Riggio Innovations. We had a very successful trip. Here's how we did it. After deciding this was the perfect venue for showcasing the line wrench, we reserved a booth and chose appropriate supplemental marketing purchases. We paid for a banner that hung from the aisle sign for our row. It hung 20 feet up from the floor by wires. We also chose a kiosk ad that was attached to the "You are here" show directory. These purchases drove a ton of people to our booth saying "we just HAD to see this wrench!" We placed a display in the new products showcase and I held a press conference at the convention's media center for roughly 25 journalists and automotive magazine reporters. Probably the most important element was obtaining a list of attendees at the show and contacting them prior to the show with a link to our website with the video from my last post. The result was a staggering 1000+ attendees who want to buy the wrench who gave us their contact info via a lead capturing device we rented for the show. These are critical. More importantly, over 20 leading tool manufacturers CAME TO US to express their interest in manufacturing out line wrench!! We signed 11 non-disclosure agreements and are ready to begin negotiations.
This tremendous success validates the cost of participating in an event like this. It wasn't cheap, about ten grand for flights, accomodations, exhibitor space, supplemental marketing opportunities brochures, flyers displays and booth banners. However in the long run, this will prove to be a very small investment compared to the return. The lesson here is that when considering a marketing vehicle, it's OK to spend a bit as long as you are marketing to the proper market segment. Here's a shot of me and Rich Riggio at SEMA. Take care - next we'll talk about the follow ups and blogs.
