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Johnson & Company Marketing Savvy Contributes
to Success of The MASIE Center's TechLearn '97
Unique Event Format Garners Media and Attendee Praise
TechLearn '97 was a three-day tradeshow sponsored by Elliott Masie's
The MASIE Center of Saratoga Springs, New York. The tradeshow was
held in Orlando, Florida in September 1997. Two months before
the show, jo&co was contracted to:
- Market TechLearn's innovative 'Exploratorium' learning intranet
to vendors as an alternative to more traditional trade show environments
- Promote the conference via public relations
- Engage participation from the trade and business press as well
as support their needs while at the conference
Johnson & Company further heightened the event by sponsoring
a daily newsletter for all attending the show. These marketing
and PR efforts contributed to the client's web site receiving more
than 14,000 hits just one week after the event.
Marketing a Visionary Concept
Having conducted focus groups and learned that attendees are tired
of traditional expo formats, the MASIE Center's aim for TechLearn
'97 was to provide attendees with a hands-on chance to explore products
without the pressure of sales pitches. Johnson & Company
was contracted to market sponsorships in the Exploratorium, a 200-PC
intranet. Given only a partial leads list, the agency was
given the task of delivering at least 50 sponsors. Through resourcefulness,
industry contacts and a lot of work, 68 vendors sponsored the Exploratorium,
a result which the MASIE Center staff said "exceeded" their expectations.
"The TechLearn concept was exceptional, both in terms of its unique
offering and the reputation of Elliott Masie," noted jo&co Principal
Jennifer J. Johnson. "However, you cannot underestimate the
difficulty of marketing a new paradigm for companies used to sponsoring
trade shows or the challenge of pulling this off in a short time
frame within a crowded marketing calendar."
Providing Best-of-Class Promotions
Embracing short and long-term perspectives for promotion of both
TechLearn in specific and The MASIE Center in general, jo&co
built an enduring press list used to pitch before, during and after
TechLearn.
Editor interest was fueled prior to the tradeshow with vendor and
participant materials. Electronic press kits were also generated
for those not able to attend the event. jo&co consultants ran
the TechLearn press room and served as liaisons between the press
and conference participants, assisting with scheduling interviews
and promotional materials.
The conference was successfully pitched to the business press.
While TechLearn ran, the Orlando Sentinel ran a page-one feature
photo and full story. Additionally, the local NBC affiliate broadcast
coverage of the event.
Building 'Buzz'(sm) Around TechLearn
jo&co helped support TechLearn by publishing a daily newsletter
for the show. TheBuzz@TechLearn was created by jo&co in real
time and provided participants with up-to-the-minute news on TechLearn
through daily event summaries. TheBuzz@TechLearn created its own
buzz and was much anticipated every morning.
"TechLearn '97 was a visionary event, and thanks to the work from
Johnson & Company, was a powerful marketing opportunity for
Interliant. We appreciated jo&co contacting us about this opportunity,
and their support before and during the event to ensure that Interliant
received exposure on the Exploratorium Intranet."
- Richard Close, Interliant
"I was very happy & impressed with the effort that Jennifer
and her folks put in to organize the press room, particularly to
help me contact vendors for demos and interviews. They made what
would have been a very messy process very simple, saving me a lot
of time and headache. Kudos to the PR Team!"
- Nancy Weingarten, Publisher
Insider Technology Training
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