Building business brands at RX events
To celebrate Global Exhibitions Day, we shine a spotlight on the innovative and exciting ways RX exhibitors use our face to face events to build their brands. From product launches and keynote presentations, to lead generation, live demonstrations, and activations, it’s all part of the magical mix. And we couldn’t be happier at their success!
Did You Know?
The exhibitions industry contributes €179bn* in total global economic impact each year by driving innovation, connecting industries, and bringing people together face to face, to collaborate and do business. Exhibitions have experienced one of the most significant bounce backs post-COVID, proving that in person connection is increasingly valued regardless of industry or geography. And this trend is set to continue, with the tradeshow industry expected to grow by 15% in 2024.
Business is certainly booming for our customers at RX. The pent-up demand to reconnect face to face was evident in the record-breaking levels of participation recorded at many of our events in 2023. From newly founded companies eager to create market visibility, to international brands seeking to reinforce their market leadership, RX events offer our customers rich opportunities to engage new audiences, build brand awareness and create business opportunities, supported by our innovative suite of digital business building tools.
Create market visibility for new brands
According to UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, 80% of exhibitors are small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) who rely on trade shows to build business networks, elevate their brands, enter new export markets, and generate vital sales leads. Australian entrepreneur Megan Pollock, founder of Second Scout, took part in her first trade show – RX Australia’s Life Instyle – in 2022 following the launch of her range of ‘wooden helpers’ that make life easier for families with young children.
"I under-estimated the importance of market visibility when I launched Second Scout. Attending Life Instyle enabled me to put myself out there and get my products physically in front of people….Being such a tactile product there is simply no substitute for retailers being able to touch and try it out – discovering that the wooden tiles are magnetic is always a eureka moment for them!" - Megan Pollock
Life Instyle provided Megan with RX’s Lead Manager app, so she could scan the badge of every visitor on her stand and log their contact details: “I secured instant customers, but the benefits of exhibiting are ongoing. The customers I gained have already turned into repeat customers. They are also providing me exposure as more customers, retailers and wholesalers discover my products in store. Trade shows have a lifetime value too.”
Accelerate brand recognition in new markets
Many RX customers, like Starburst Data, uses our events to enter new geographical markets. Since it was founded in 2017, the Boston-based company has grown into an industry-leading data mesh enterprise, and it believes that RX UK’s Big Data LDN has been a key partner in its success.
Starburst Data’s partnership with Big Data LDN began in 2021 when the company participated as a Gold Sponsor to establish its presence in the UK and European market. It has since come to regard the event as a strategic point in the calendar, providing the perfect platform to introduce and showcase its solutions, amplify its voice, and position the company as the industry leader in data lake analytics.
As a Diamond Sponsor of Big Data LDN 2023, Starburst had the largest exhibiting footprint on the show floor. Over the two days of the event the company welcomed over 2,400 visitors to its stand and attracted 1,600 attendees to its plenary keynote. It also delivered approximately 200 demos, held 90 meetings, and generated more than 550 qualified leads for follow-up.
“The real magic of Big Data LDN lies in the connections we've formed. It has been instrumental in fostering not only client relationships but also strategic partnerships, fuelling our growth. Furthermore, it's not just about us; it's about our customers. They've had the opportunity to showcase their data successes, creating a vibrant community of knowledge-sharing among data professionals. Our sponsorship evolution underscores its transformative influence on the business. It’s not just an event; it’s a catalyst for growth and collaboration in the world of data, analytics, and AI, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it.”
Launch new products to a captive audience of buyers and distributors
“To see what’s news” is the No. 1 reason why people attend trade shows, making them the perfect platform to launch new products.
Puerto-Rico based Carbonwave is the world’s leading developer of ultra-regenerative, plant-based advanced biomaterials produced using seaweed. The company has been exhibiting at in-cosmetics Global since 2022, when it launched SeaBalance – the first multifunctional, seaweed-based emulsifier for cosmetics. One of their primary motivators for taking part was the prevalence of ‘emulsifiers’ as one of the top visitor product search terms at the previous event. Carbonwave’s aim was to tap into this trend, generate leads and identify distributors in every region.
Carbonwave generated over 600 leads and secured many hundred more at in-Cosmetics Global 2023 and 2024. The company can also directly attribute its first major multinational brand launch featuring SeaBalance (coming soon) to a connection made at the 2022 exhibition. As a result of their success, Carbonwave now boasts 17 distributors globally and has won multiple awards. Not only has this driven huge awareness of the company and its products on a global stage, but it has helped to significantly boost visibility, Commercial products featuring SeaBalance are now starting to launch with major brands around the world, with Carbonwave citing participation at in-cosmetics Global as a strong catalyst for its sales and marketing programme among distributors, brands, contract manufacturers and formulators.
As Carbonwave looks forward to the in-cosmetics Global 2025 (8-10 April, Amsterdam), VP Sales Jeff Yeh, shares the following advice for fellow exhibitors:
“We would highly recommend researching the show statistics and popular search terms to see where your unique product or service can stand out. If you have a new product, showcasing in the Innovation Zone is a great way to generate additional leads in a different area of the show. Also, in general, in-cosmetics Global does a great job of highlighting and driving traffic to first-time exhibitors; this is a big reason why we got so many leads at our first show.” - VP Sales Jeff Yeh
Win new audiences through activations
Using immersive experiences to raise brand awareness and engage new audiences is an increasing trend at face to face events.
The Swiss-based sheet metal automation specialist Brystonic has exhibited at EuroBLECH every year since 1984, regarding it as an important showcase for innovation, demonstration, and international sales. Eager to get back to business at to the world’s largest sheet metal exhibition in 2022, the company succeeded in putting the ‘wow’ factor into sheet metal, drawing the attention of thousands of international buyers to its automated and sustainable solutions.
Under the umbrella theme of ‘a passion for sheet metal,’ Bystronic delivered a highly interactive experience for EuroBLECH attendees centred on their ‘Flying Theatre’, an immersive 4D cinema ride that showcased Bystronic’s vision of sheet metal as a material of the future. “Sheet metal is an incredible material; not only is it all around us in our daily lives, but it is also sustainable” explained Johan Elster, Chief Sales Officer. “We don't think our visitors knew exactly what to expect on entering our Flying Theatre, but their reactions were overwhelming. Just the fact that 3,800 people, which is 10% of all EuroBLECH visitors, took a ride and got our message was a great success for us.”
DoorDash is a San Francisco–based online food ordering and delivery platform. The company’s ‘Battle of the Brands Featuring Fortnite’ at ReedPop’s PAX West 2023 was an exemplary marketing and communications campaign. Not only did it succeed, it helped DoorDash increase brand visibility, foster customer engagement and build a strong connection with the gaming community; it was also the most successful PAX Arena livestream ever produced.
Leveraging the popularity of the West Coast's most-attended gaming event, and the expertise of ReedPop, DoorDash brought together eight leading restaurant brands, including Burger King, KFC, McDonalds and Taco Bell, with eight gaming influencers. The gamers then battled it out through two adrenaline-pumping weekends of remote qualifiers on Twitch, and a full day of in-person head-to-heads at PAX West, before the grand finale on September 3, the biggest day of the show.
‘Chica’ representing Taco Bell claimed the Battle of the Brands crown, but the real winner was DoorDash who elevated their brand visibility within the gaming community and beyond, with live-streams across multiple platforms reaching 3.5 million+ unique viewers and 2 million+ social media impressions.
Cement industry leadership
Leading supplier of headwear, apparel, and accessories to the golf industry, Ahead has been participating in the PGA Show for over 20 years, and believes the event played a key role in establishing its business and brand.
“We certainly benefitted early on from the brand exposure we receive at the show and our continued commitment to and presence at the show has helped to cement our position in the golf industry,” said CEO Anne Broholm.
“Events such as the PGA Show provide Ahead with a platform to really showcase our products and creativity. But they also do much more than that. We can thank customers, meet with potential new ones, reconnect with industry friends, and tell the ahead brand story to the industry.”
Having gone through a rebranding in mid-2021, Ahead’s team was excited to showcase their updated branding, and display their Fall 2023 headwear, apparel and accessories lines incorporating new fabrics, styles and expanded options for buyers. Their new 50 x 50 ft booth was also carefully designed to facilitate customer meetings and order writing.
“Ahead was laser-focused on face to face appointments with buyers at the show,” said Marc Simon, Event Director. “Anne was also one of 100 top industry leaders participating in the first Golf Leadership Summit, an important new thought leadership gathering organized by the PGA of America that debuted at the show this year. We are delighted to continue our partnership with the company as they approach their 30th anniversary in 2025.”
With over 400 events in 22 countries across 42 industry sectors, RX offers a wealth of face to face and digital opportunities for brands to build awareness, connections and business worldwide. Check out our full calendar of events for more information.
*UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry.
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