Building bridges abroad.

Proven strategies for reviving interest overseas in your U.S. trade show.

Being the largest trade show in the Western hemisphere for an industry sounds impressive, but such a standing doesn't ensure that members and exhibitors will have an opportunity to market to the full range of prospects. In a global economy, it takes a truly international show to reach potential markets.

That's what Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI), Washington, D.C., discovered a few years ago with its international trade show, a biennial event. PACK EXPO 90 had shown a decline in international attendance from the 1988 show (3,517 international buyers compared to 4,027), and PMMI realized it needed to position itself as a global leader if it were to open new world markets for its members and exhibitors.

To spark a turnaround, PMMI President Charles D. Yuska focused the energies of staff and volunteer leaders on creating a marketing plan to stimulate international relationships, increase worldwide visibility, and boost international attendance at PACK EXPO, beginning with the 1992 show. Efforts included

* adopting a new theme that better reflected the image PMMI wanted the show to project;

* sponsoring a trade mission for influential overseas visitors;

* applying for non-U.S. buyer certification from the U.S. Department of Commerce;

* surveying exhibitors to gauge their interests and perceptions about the show;

* assessing the potential for penetrating different markets;

* defining new market niches;

* developing targeted promotional materials and a detailed event schedule, including multilingual materials;

* promoting the association's show at international counterparts' shows;

* seeking funding and program assistance from federal programs;

* using past chief elected officers and retired association leaders as volunteer guides on the show floor; and

* forming alliances with overseas counterparts.

Beginning with perceptions

A trade show needs worldwide prestige to attract international buyers. PMMI members drew unfavorable comparisons between PACK EXPO, held in Chicago, and its overseas counterpart, which tended to draw a wider international audience. Members, exhibitors, and trade press voiced the perception that the U.S. show did not adequately project an image of having new technology on display.

The first, simple step in changing this impression was to adopt a new theme for the show. PACK EXPO--International Packaging Week became PACK EXPO--The World of Packaging Technology. The new theme stressed technology as a major benefit of attending and highlighted PACK EXPO's position as a world packaging technology leader.

PMMI also surveyed exhibitors in advance to find out about new technology that would be available and then included this information in direct mail pieces and other promotional material.

Offering a preview

To convince overseas visitors that coming to PACK EXPO was beneficial, PMMI organized a preview event to coincide with a printing industry exposition also held in Chicago. The association invited representatives from influential organizations overseas with interests similar to PMMI and media representatives from international industry publications. PMMI provided round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations along with an honorarium. Local press also attended, as did PMMI officers.

PMMI showed this select group every aspect of the PACK EXPO process. Activities included a press briefing, a familiarization tour of the city, a tour of a similar exposition, receptions, and private dinners with the group. Participants were able to spend valuable networking time with each other and with PMMI's officers and board members.

The contacts generated by the preview trip resulted in extensive international editorial coverage before the PACK EXPO show, increased international press attendance at the show, and improved overall awareness of PACK EXPO as the premier packaging trade show in the United States.

Seeking stature 

To compete with international trade fairs in the global marketplace, PMMI had to bring buyers to the show that could deliver exhibitors' key export markets. An important strategy to reach this goal was applying for the Foreign Buyer Program administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Selection for inclusion in the Foreign Buyer Program identifies a trade show as being a high-quality, internationally significant event and tells potential buyers that the show offers them good business opportunities.

The approximately 18 shows a year accepted for the program generally average a 25 percent increase in international attendees. For example, PACK EXPO 92 experienced a 49 percent increase in international attendance over the 1990 show, an improvement that PMMI largely attributes to participation in the Foreign Buyer Program.

Criteria used in selecting events for this program include high export potential, broad international interest, wide spectrum of U.S.-made products or services, international recognition as a leading event, degree of interest by U.S. exhibitors in receiving international visitors, extent of overseas marketing, quality of logistics, type and quantity of incentives offered to international delegates, and willingness to undertake a memorandum of understanding with the Commerce Department.

Support provided by the department varies from show to show but may include designating a project manager to work closely with the association's show organizer, working closely with interested embassies and consulates, and providing samples of multilanguage brochures as well as specifications (furniture requirements, conference rooms, storage area, etc.) for an international business center.

In addition to imposing a $3,500 fee, the Commerce Department asks trade shows participating in its Foreign Buyer Program to meet several requirements, including producing and distributing a multilingual promotional brochure in four or more languages, establishing a separate, "non-U.S. attendee only" registration system, and surveying U.S. exhibitors to determine international business results.

To get further mileage out of its participation in the Foreign Buyer Program, PMMI contracted with its advertising agency to promote the participation of influential consulates and commercial officers in key markets. The agency reported to PMMI's international market development director and the Department of Commerce the names of interested organizations, whether they were going to bring delegates, and what specific exhibitors they were interested in seeing.

Another step in boosting international attendance involved sending a survey to potential exhibitors to find out which companies were active exporters and were interested in increasing international sales and distribution of their products. The questionnaire also asked exhibitors about new markets they wanted to penetrate.

The survey identified more than 60 international markets that exhibitors had been targeting for the 18 months preceding the 1990 show. The Department of Commerce also provided a summary documenting which target countries had the greatest import potential for the industry. PMMI's international trade committee compared, analyzed, and refined these reports to identify the top 25 markets for the association.

To maximize the potential of marketing efforts, PMMI ranked regions according to their degree of marketing potential:

* Tier 1 (most promising)--Latin American countries.

* Tier 2--Pacific Rim nations.

* Tier 3--any other area of the world where PMMI members had exports. For less critical Tier 3 markets, PMMI relied solely on the publicity and marketing provided by the government's foreign commercial service.

A promotional blitz 

A year before the 1992 show, PMMI launched a promotional offensive. It mailed promotional brochures, sent cables and faxes, and placed personal phone calls to commercial officers, consulates, and embassies in target markets. Staff zeroed in on the priority-market overseas posts by offering special incentives, including

* complimentary hotel accommodations for leaders bringing 15 or more delegates to the show;

* additional funds for their promotional mailings;

* complimentary registration and badges for delegations of 15 or more;

* invitations to a PMMI international reception at the show;

* personal on-site briefings for all international delegations;

* participation in major international expositions with a PMMI booth;

* free interpreter and translator services for delegations of 15 or more; and

* special five-night rates for delegations at several hotels.

PMMI attended several overseas shows that are similar in size and scope to PACK EXPO--such as a packaging show held in Germany--and visited the staff at U.S. embassies, later incorporating the resulting leads into the PACK EXPO direct-mail list.

PMMI also applied for funding to the U.S. Department of State Trade and Development Program to target countries with long-term marketing potential. The program promotes U.S. exports to developing and industrialized countries. PMMI received a $60,000 grant to assist in bringing a delegation of 20 senior-level Russian decision makers to PACK EXPO 92 in an effort to open the lines of communication to Russian buyers and help American manufacturers be prepared to do business with them.

Developing targeted materials

PMMI upgraded the look and copy for its multilingual promotional brochure. Almost 60,000 of these brochures, along with press kits and a full-color video with multilingual voice-overs that were dubbed as needed, were sent to target markets and distributed through such outlets as international video catalog shows sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce and foreign buyer posts. Leads were also obtained from exhibitors' international customer lists, previous attendees, and information from other promotional efforts.

In both preshow and on-site promotions, PMMI promoted the use of its six-language, preshow product locators, which matched requests for products with the applicable exhibitor and provided each visitor with a personal itinerary, including a map on which to locate exhibits of interest.

PMMI representatives also greeted delegations upon their arrival. "What we've done is take a group of past presidents of the association, who are retired but still active, and bring them in to help us," explains Yuska. "They know our industry and they're available."

Given their long tenure with the association, these former leaders require no training, but they are supplied with a manual on-site that updates them on staff responsibilities so that they are prepared to answer any attendee questions. They provide each delegation with a show orientation and arrange for separate industry briefings if requested. PMMI pays for these leaders' lodging, travel, and related costs.

Networking on the floor

Exhibitors were encouraged to wear export ribbons on the show floor so that international visitors could easily locate individuals dealing with exportation. International visitors and exhibitors were invited to use the international business center, which included separate international registration, interpreters, product locators, a lounge area, private meeting rooms, credit card phones, and refreshments.

The center was staffed with knowledgeable personnel from the Foreign Buyer Program and the Department of Commerce. These staff could provide virtually any information on any aspect of the show and product exportation. Show signage included universal symbols for easy identification of booths throughout the massive exposition.

Visits to European shows demonstrated to PMMI how international visitors should be treated. For example, overseas shows truly cater to the press by providing food service and fully equipped, elaborate pressrooms. PMMI implemented such practices at PACK EXPO 92 and received rave reviews from industry press.

Matching exhibitors and visitors

PMMI asked U.S. exhibitors interested in exporting to fill out a preshow questionnaire. The results were used to create an export interest directory that listed all U.S. exhibiting companies, addresses, phone and fax numbers, export contacts, booth numbers, product descriptions, and regions of export interest and business interest--direct sale, joint venture, licensing agreements, and so forth.

PMMI bulk mailed the export interest directory to delegation leaders and to all those in their delegation before the event. It was also mailed to preregistered individuals and distributed in the international business center during the show. Visitors used the directory to schedule visits to booths prior to the show and on-site.

Within the international business center, PMMI devoted an area exclusively to matching visitors with exhibitors. Special registration cards were issued to international visitors to track their business objectives and product interest at the show.

This information was sorted by region and posted in the international business center so that exhibitors could obtain leads on the individuals whose interests matched their product. After the show, all exhibitors received a list of the leads and an accompanying report.

Building enduring alliances

All of these marketing efforts demonstrated PMMI's commitment to building closer working relationships with our international markets and business professionals around the globe. Since PMMI launched its new promotional efforts after the 1990 show, PACK EXPO has cultivated alliances with international associations, business groups, government officials, and the press. These alliances help establish a global marketplace in which PMMI can facilitate commerce between the industry we represent and our overseas business prospects.

The results of PMMI's efforts speak for themselves. The 1990 PACK EXPO drew 3,517 international attendees; in 1992, the show attracted 5,201 overseas visitors, including delegates from nearly every corner of the world--Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East. The number of exhibitors increased from 951 to 1,133, and the sale of 814,007 square feet put PACK EXPO in the top five trade shows in the United States.

A postshow survey of 900 exhibitors, conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Commerce, showed that exhibitors received greater access to international markets as a result of PACK EXPO. Of the repeat exhibitors, 75 percent said they received more non-U.S. buyer contacts than at the 1990 show. Of those who provided sales information, 85 percent said they would close sales in the coming year as a result of the show.

Looking ahead

PMMI has not rested on its laurels. PACK EXPO 94, which will be held in November, has been certified under the Foreign Buyer Program.

To take advantage of the recently enacted North American Free Trade Agreement, PMMI has established a full-service Latin American office to provide a strong networking base among the key associations and business organizations in the region. It will also serve as a valuable end-user source that will help promote the overall quality and value of doing business with U.S. machinery manufacturers and will aggressively promote PACK EXPO 94.

With the help of ongoing research and new data, PMMI will continue to refine its international marketing strategies so that it can maintain its position as a global leader in opening new world markets for members and exhibitors.

HIGHLIGHTS

* A STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN uncovers ways to stimulate international relationships and increase worldwide visibility.

* SURVEYING EXHIBITORS about new technology provides key information that can be used in marketing promotions to enhance a show's image as a technology leader.

* A PREVIEW EVENT held in advance of a trade show can increase international editorial coverage.

Bonnie E. Kilduff is exposition director at Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute, Washington, D.C.