In a previous column (click here) I detailed how to make it known you’re “green” during your trade show experience. I covered the trade show booth, general marketing tips and effective ways to disseminate your information in a green way.
You’ll next need to get the word out and create a buzz (more PR functions); these can be done through announcements, events, and so forth. Just make sure they are green.
Prior to exhibiting at a trade show or consumer show, you need to get the word out about your company and the fact that it will be exhibiting green. If you are already at a show that has a lot of green exhibitors, making it known you are green will not get you noticed, so make sure you know who else will be exhibiting at the show to prevent this from happening. If you are in the company of other green exhibitors, focus on specific green differences that set you apart.
Remember, when you are getting the word out, you need to do so in a green manner. This means minimizing the waste you create from your press releases as well as your promotional materials. In other words, be consistent. If you don’t, the press will make this their story, not the angle you really want covered.
How to Get Noticed
Here are some things to consider that should help you create a buzz in an environmentally friendly manner:
• Create tips on how to maintain your eco-friendly lifestyle while traveling. Feature these tips in your press release as well on your website. Offer a free booklet for people who stop by your booth and mention the article that the press hopefully wrote about you or your website.
• Make an announcement about a stance your company is taking in response to the latest environmental news. Drive people to your booth to get involved and take action. Offer them a way to stay connected and be informed on this issue, which provides you a way to keep in front of them on a regular basis.
• If you decide to thank a journalist for covering your story by sending a gift (something unnecessary), make sure you keep the environment in mind. Make sure the company that you are using to deliver the gift is environmentally friendly in its packaging, and if you can find it, in its method of delivery (such as a bicycle or hybrid vehicle) otherwise this could create an article within itself.
If you really want to create a lot of buzz, consider having a party or an event that demonstrates who you are as a company, and that makes green travelers aware of how your environmentally friendly values tie in with theirs. Just make sure you do the following:
1. Keep it simple. Sometimes it’s as simple as replacing the bottled water with water coolers, offering recycling containers on-site, or asking the facility to minimize any use of disposable serving ware. Remember, flashier isn’t always better. It can mean being more wasteful.
2. Make the food appropriate. Many are not aware that serving healthier cuisine, such as organic/vegetarian food, constitutes a green meeting. If you do not do this, you will not connect with the values of the consumer or business driving the green trends.
3. Be conscious of your location choice. Although 51.9 percent of 235 surveyed meeting buyers, according to a MeetingNews survey, indicated they were aware of the idea of green meetings, 36.6 percent of them knew little or nothing about green meetings. This means that you might have to educate them on which location better meets your needs.
4. Align yourself with companies with whom you can partner. Why not partner with a company that can offer eco-conscious products for your guests?
Get Involved as Speaker, Sponsor
Don’t forget that exhibiting at a trade show or consumer show can be a costly endeavor unless you truly know how to maximize every opportunity, including getting involved in the show. What better way to make travelers or business individuals know your position in the green arena then by getting involved as a speaker, sponsor or so forth.
Learn from the mistakes you see others make and create your own programs for people to have a better green experience at your hotel, B&B, inn, etc.
Look at every opportunity available to get involved and demonstrate your “green” difference from talking about important issues that green individuals care about and staying healthy on the go, to minimizing their carbon footprint and showing them how you are making a difference, while at the same time, offering them a wonderful vacation/meeting experience.
Colette Chandler is an expert in consumer health and environmental trends and is the president of The Marketing Insider, a marketing and communications consulting firm that teaches companies how to profit from consumer trends and understand the consumers who influence them. Learn about the media training services she offers, including her Walk the Media Tightrope audio program, or the study her firm conducted on attitudes of green and health-conscious consumers at www.marketing-insider.com. Sign up for her newsletter at www.marketing-insider.com. She can be reached at (614) 776-1416 or at cchandler@marketing-insider.com.
