Case Study
Costa Sunglasses
How to maximize media coverage at a trade show
Overview
Trade shows have long been a haven for product launches and media appointments, but how do you make the most of these opportunities? Tradeshows are also not what they used to be, with participation down from both brands and media. This means that means in order to maximize media coverage and success, you need to be more organized and strategic than ever, from pre-planning to follow-up; you can’t just set up a booth and wait for the coverage to come.
At ICAST, the fishing industry’s largest trade show, Verde supported Costa Sunglasses launch of their new Untangled 2.0 collection, garnering over 50 media placements, seeding product to over 25 media outlets, and taking home a “Best In Show” award.
Tactics
Organization and planning are the keys to success with trade shows. This may sound obvious, but things can get hectic quickly on the ground, and people are busy buzzing from booth to booth. Mapping out the outcomes you want to achieve and locking in appointments ahead of time can help to assure that you’ll have visitors to your booth, and gauge the media interest in your launch or product line. The more work that you do planning for a trade show, the less work it will be on the ground. While some of these items might sound like givens, these are the small things that can easily get lost in the shuffle, when you take them all together, they help make for a successful show.
For ICAST, Verde created a list of fishing, outdoor, and broad market media to target -- with an eye on maximizing coverage for the new Untangled 2.0 Collection. Here are some of the ways the Verde team organized for ICAST:
Held a virtual media event the week before the show to get folks familiar and to build excitement
Appointments were booked ahead of time with digital calendar invites were sent out to ensure attendance and punctuality
Made notes on each journalist prior to meetings - noting what publications they write for, if we had seeded them product in the past, and any other relevant information
Seeded product during meetings
Took notes following every appointment. With a busy schedule, you can quickly forget a specific meeting or conversation. This one is simple but important!
Followed up with media after the show with an online media portal and complete asset library
The Results
- Successful pre-show virtual event to build hype
- Pre-booked appointments every 30 minutes for the duration of the show
- Over 50 total media hits from all types of media, from endemic fishing media to broad market
- On-camera coverage from 17 different outlets
- “Best In Show: Eyewear” award, included in over 20 media hits
- Seeded product to 25+ media outlets
- Created online portal with information and assets for post-event followup
- Planted the seeds for long-lead pitching opportunities & built relationships with journalists that pay out long after the show
Virtual Events & Media Portals
While a tradeshow itself might only be a couple of days, getting the most out of these events means engaging with the media before and after the show, too. With a virtual media event the week prior, many media folks were already aware of the new Costa collection. This helped to build some hype, get some information across, and to generate excitement. After the show, Verde created an online media portal with new product information and assets, making it as easy as possible for media to cover the collection, and giving us a great piece to follow up with.
Product Seeding
At the end of the day, there’s no substitute for getting products into the hands of journalists and media. Verde went big with product seeding, providing each journalist we met with a pair of sunglasses from the new collection and managing requests from the virtual events. This is where the organization and note-taking pays dividends, too, detailed follow-up, knowing who got what, goes a long way in getting coverage.
