From trade shows to expos, conferences to business breakfasts, structured networking events to my personal favourite, networking events (which involve copious amounts of alcohol and the odd exchanging of business cards!), the difficulty lies in deciding which to attend and what benefits will come of them.
Now under normal scrutiny some of these would be considered as a ‘failure’ – i.e. no business has come as direct result of it. But it is important to look at the bigger picture and consider both your brand awareness and presence. A half hour conversation with someone at a conference may not land you any direct business, but by talking about your brand and inevitably exchanging valued bits of card with your identity on, you’re promoting your brand on the frontline. While difficult to gauge the effectiveness of word of mouth, it should never be underestimated as one of the most simple, raw and affordable forms of advertising. After all, it is the foundation of viral marketing!
But it’s not just brand promotion that can benefit from such events however, the level of knowledge and insight that both you and your team have can be vastly expanded from a simple talk or lecture.
At the beginning of the month I attended the Technology for Marketing and Advertising expo in Earl’s Court, which focussed on providing insight into the emerging trends sparked by new technology (more info on https://www.t-f-m.co.uk/). I listened with great excitement to a talk from Google regarding the current state of mobile advertising and filled many pages of my notebook with all sorts of useful facts (for those of you interested, check out Google’s report on mobile advertising: https://www.google.com/events/thinkmobile2021/presentations.html ) The very next day I met with a number of different individuals who wanted to talk about promoting their brand on a mobile platform. Immediately I could use all of the knowledge I had gained the previous day to convince them that it was far from a phase and would have significant benefit to their business.
On the third of March, I attended a Bladdered Again! Event (https://www.bladderedagain.co.uk/) hosted by D&AD (https://www.dandad.org/) which saw around 400 designers gather in an underground bar in Clerkenwell. While somewhat seedy from the outset like some sort of underground movement, the night was completely unstructured which allowed a flow of creative freedom to talk to whomever you wanted about whatever you liked. Amongst the many trips back and forth to the bar squeezing past some of the most influential names in design, there were grumblings about the economy, feelings on Gaddafi, the latest ad campaign for ‘X’ and of course which was the nicest ale! In all it was a chance to relax with like-minded peers and get excited by friendly competition, a feeling that has echoed throughout the remainder of this month.
Obviously we can’t all go to every event as we would never get any work done! But making a regular appearance at a variety of events can make a significant difference to your team and ultimately your business. I would recommend a careful balance between structured and unstructured events, and also to do a bit of research on who’s attending beforehand as it makes introductions that much easier. Also a well designed business card that says exactly who you are, what you do and how to get in touch makes a crucial impact on an individuals’ opinion of you – it could make all the difference between a friendly chat or landing a significant new business deal.
