Distribution of flyers via exhibition venue

[jen]

Hi Guys,

We're thinking of distributing flyers/leaflets via an event/exhibition. We're just going to provide them the flyers for them to distribute.

Has anyone use this type of promotion before? What result are you likely to receive?

What type of questions should we ask the organiser? But I was thinking how does guarantee us that our flyers will be distributed because we're not actually going to be exhibiting at the show?

Advice /input greatly appreciated.

[YEM]

It will be very unlikely that an event organiser will distribute your flyer, even more so if you are not exhibiting.

The problem with this is that when people attend exhibitions, they want to speak to the companies that are there and will take your flyer anyway. If you don't have the budget to exhibit, at least attend as a visiotr and give your flyer out the those exhibiting.

Don't expect others to do your leg work for you. I don't mean to sound blunt but, why should someone buy your products or services, if you can't even be bothered to turn up to the event?

[WakingDragon]

yeah - tricky one this. Ask the event organiser if you can distribute the flyers and do it yourself. Sometimes they will say yes. If you don't ask them you may get rudely ejected by security halfway through chatting up a perfect potential customer.

It depends who the relevant people are really. If you are going to an expo where your clients are exhibiting then a more personal approach is better anyway.

[i'm_not_a_farmer!]

there is another way..... guerrilla marketing

get the flyers printed yourself and hire someone like us (theFarmyard) to distribute them for you. By implementing guerrilla tactics, you can hit your target market (the exhibition visitors) whilst ensuring the leaflets are distributed, plus, you dont pay any site fees or rights to the organisers.

The secret to Guerrilla marketing is making your proposition stand out and having great contingency plans in place should you get moved on. EG. About 2 years ago we did some Guerrilla Marketing for a very well known electronics company outside an extremely well known flower show in SW London. The campaign was to promote a new electric toothbrush. We distributed fresh white gerberas which had a tag attached (containing logo, some copy and the website address) to visitors as they queued and walked to the event. We chose the before mentioned flower show as it was a perfect fit to the toothbrushes' target market (women, 40yrs+).

The first day went fine but the second day, the borough enforcement officer moved us on - Plan B kicked into action. The majority of the visitors we're arriving in London via Victoria station, where there was a bus service direct to the event. It was a different borough to the show so we set up base there.

We managed to distribute the flowers to people as they got on the buses, plus we had the bus drivers wearing them in the button holes of their jackets. People loved the flowers (as they were going to a flower show!), we stayed at victoria station for the remainder of the event and the campaign was a great success.

Guerrilla Marketing can be really great if you remember:

Make your offering creative to achieve stand out, always have a contingency plan, and ensure the exhibition/event is right!

[WakingDragon]

Hmm. Jen, before you think of doing that, check out the council's policies on street flyer distribution before you act. Our borough has a fine for unlicensed distribution unless you are going to spend half the day cleaning up the dropped flyers.

[i'm_not_a_farmer!]

dragon

i agree with you but if you ask and they say NO, then you're buggered. As I said, we did it in a very upmarket part of SW London, where the threat is a fine of several £'000. Our staff are trained to keep the areas clean (because of the possible comeback) but just plead ignorance and you find that you get a warning first and told to stop or move on. If you persist, you WILL get fined. hence the importance of a contingency plan.

The other way is to find out if the exhibitors are issuing goody bags to visitors. Ask for your flyer to be included but you will have to pay for it.

Jen - what is your product and what sort of event is it (Consumer or Trade)??

[YEM]

dragon

i agree with you but if you ask and they say NO, then you're buggered. As I said, we did it in a very upmarket part of SW London, where the threat is a fine of several £'000. Our staff are trained to keep the areas clean (because of the possible comeback) but just plead ignorance and you find that you get a warning first and told to stop or move on. If you persist, you WILL get fined. hence the importance of a contingency plan.

Got to agree with this, be apologetic and don't do it again IF you must use these tactics. I still think that the best approach is to do it yourself, as you can actually talk to your potential customers - remember People Buy People, before they Buy Products & Services

[i'm_not_a_farmer!]

I still think that the best approach is to do it yourself, as you can actually talk to your potential customers - remember People Buy People, before they Buy Products & Services

It is true that People Buy People hence, whenever using staff, always use a company that briefs the staff beforehand, so the correct messages are being communicated. We train all our staff before they go into the field - afterall, they are ambassadors for your brand/company and are interacting with your potential customers.

[Hayles]

Hi

Be really careful. The only time I know that our leaflets were distributed in our absence was when they went into a 'goody bag' that was given to everyone as they entered.

Twice I've sent brochures to wedding fayres after the organisers promised they'd distribute them for us and we never had a single call....

Waste of 150 full colour brochures :cry:

[Cornish Steve]

Hmm. Jen, before you think of doing that, check out the council's policies on street flyer distribution before you act. Our borough has a fine for unlicensed distribution unless you are going to spend half the day cleaning up the dropped flyers.
As others have said, if you ask for permission, you'll get tied up in red tape. For things like this, where there's nothing being done that's dishonest or unethical, I'd take the initiative. Sometimes it's better to seek forgiveness than to ask permission.

A case in point involved a beta trial we ran last year. I obtained email addresses for members of a well-known organisation. They were published online. We sent a email to these members looking for volunteers for our trial. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and we signed up over 50 people. We received one nasty email followed by a message from the organization's president to desist. I called the president, apologized personally for any inconvenience, and moved on. We achieved our objective and (almost) everyone was happy.

I wouldn't suggest this if you're breaking obvious rules, but most rules are not obvious. Breaking with etiquette is a little more acceptable, IMHO.

[DuaneJackson]

Jen,

We considered doing exactly the same. It worked out a lot cheaper to have a firm like TheFarmyard do it.

We didn't get much of a return on it (and I doubt we'd have got any better if the organisers did it)

It came down to the leaflet not being worded as well as it could have been.

In short, it was a waste of money that could have been spent better elswhere.

[i'm_not_a_farmer!]

It came down to the leaflet not being worded as well as it could have been.


The key is to acheive stand out - if you look at the top marketing agencies in the UK, you will see that they all have one thing in common - Creativity.

If you just deliver a leaflet outside an exhibition, you have to bear in mind that the visitor is about to be bombarded with 1000's of marketing messages once they are inside. Unless yours stands out, you're gonna get forgotten! Creativity could mean distributing a sample with your leaflet, or having it handed out by people in costume characters - it creates memorability.

The thing to decide before handing out the leaflets is what are the objectives - what do you want to achieve? A lot of companies just want to raise awareness for products or services. If you are creative in your delivery, you will achieve raised awareness and unlike other marketing disciplines, it is easy to quantify. 5000 leaflets distributed = 5000 contacts.

If you want to achieve/generate sales, you're probably best exhibiting at the exhbition!

[Real World Hypnotherapy]

In Manchester this is what we have been given by the council.

Flyers - Code of Conduct

Distributing flyers in the City creates and causes nuisance to residents, shoppers, warkers and tourists. This can convey a message that an area is uncared for and by signing this Code of Conduct, you are pledging your support to the city in tackling this litter problem on our streets.

The Commitment

The Promoter hereby agrees to comply fully with the Council’s Anti - Littering Code of Conduct. The promoter will “ensure” that, where their nights are promoted by the use of flyers:

• The distributor takes responsibility for picking up all discarded flyers within 100 metres of the point of distribution, and will do so on a continual basis when distributing
• Distributors must immediately collect any discarded flyers if asked to do so by a Council officer
• Where leaflets are dropped in close proximity to the distributor they should be picked up immediately
• The promoter will have litter pickers to pick up any discarded flyers.
• Where a promoter fails to do so, no further work will be placed with them by either the licensee or any other member of the Pub & Club Network
• Licensees will co-operate fully with the Council and assist with identifying and taking action against any distributors who are suspected of causing unreasonable littering by flyers.
• Distributors should only hand out flyers to those parties interested and should look to identify the correct market to target before they distribute.


Promoter .................................................. ..................................

Premises Title .................................................. ..................................

Date .................................................. ..................................

Venue signature: .................................................. ..................................

Date .................................................. ..................................

[Cornish Steve]

The distributor takes responsibility for picking up all discarded flyers within 100 metres of the point of distribution, and will do so on a continual basis when distributing
Isn't this rather unfair? If pedestrians throw flyers on the ground instead of in a rubbish bin, shouldn't they be responsible for their actions?

[Real World Hypnotherapy]

You would think, but in the eyes of the law it is the person handing them out who is responsible.

People in this country litter so much it is terrible.

Matt

[jen]

Hi,

Wow so many responses, thank you to each and everyone of you who's taken time to reply with great advice, tips and rules & laws. Much appreciated.

We have only found out about the show last week and we contacted them and they said they were booked up so they suggested flyer distribtuion but they cwould do it on our behalf but looking into it and all the replies we've got so far I don't think it's the best method.

We have plans to visit the show so will let you all know later.. It's a consumer show targeted at parents & children.

We were thinking of organising a similar show but have to see as we don't have any experience in this field but we all have to start somewhere- and if at first you don't succeed try again. :wink:

Thank you all so much.

[lightload]

You first need to get permission and then employ someone you can trust or a reliable company to do this. You then need proof that your leaflets have been handed out and not thrown in the bin. The trouble with leaflets is people who are supposed to deliver them, end up throwing them away

[jen]

Hi,

Thank you lightload. Your magazine sounds interesting. Will we get to see a preview to download perhaps?

Regards