Come one, come all - marketing methods at trade shows and conventions - Brief Article

Home Channel News, Sept 3, 2001 by Andrew M. Carlo

Hardware Show vendors pull out the stops to attract traffic

CHICAGO -- Like the carnival barkers on the midway offering passers-by a prize or an experience like no other if they just step up to the booth, last month's National Hardware Show here had its share of vendors ready to lure show attendees, buyers and drifters through the use of "any means necessary" tactics. Their techniques ranged from the straightforward but eye-catching to freebies to the downright bizarre.

Porter-Cable/Delta power tools, a division of Jackson, Tenn.-based Pentair Tool Group, had its newest machinery on display. Standout items included the latest offerings in the cordless power tool group, such as a cordless brad gun, jig saw and router. But what stopped many visitors in their tracks was Delta representative Burt Whitman, 72, toothpick in mouth, intensely manning the latest Delta 16-inch variable speed scroll saw while carving pieces of birch and mahogany with a steadfast gaze.

Each piece, cut to precise specifications, was being put to use in a masterful project that stood behind Whitman -- a replica of the Eiffel Tower forged with the assistance of glue and tape. By the end of the show's second day, and after scores of visits from intrigued passers-by, Whitman had completed the piece.

"They see this and they wonder what you're doing and how you're doing it' said Whitman, a former hardware dealer who has been performing demonstrations at trade shows for a decade.

Whitman, for one, believes demonstrations are the best way to get a message across about a product. "It can get to more of the general public," be said. "It's just a matter of showing it. You see what it does and how it handles."

After watching Whitman at work with the saw, one show attendee announced, "That's what I'm getting for Christmas," a line that spoke volumes about the effectiveness of the demonstration technique.

Vendors, however, had plenty of other strategies to get people to stop and look at what they had to offer.

Belkin, the Compton, Calif.-based manufacturer of computer and electronic components, wanted to do something a bit different at this year's show, according to product manager Dean Bellows. The result was a mountain made up of 2,500 six-foot extension cords that were being given away. The cords feature a 360-degree, rotating head so that when plugged in it lies flush against the socket and allows furniture to be placed closer to the wall. Belkin was also giving away six-faced Stanley socket outlets.

Show attendees were quick to eye the free pile -- and even quicker to grab the giveaways. By mid-day Sunday, opening day of the show, the mountain of extension cords had been sliced nearly in half.

"They'll be back to our booth and we're fine with that," Bellows said.

The allure of freebies should not to be taken lightly, according to Merrell Tomlin, executive vp of Rayovac, the Madison, Wis., battery manufacturer.

Dozens of cases of bright yellow mini-flying discs, adorned with the Rayovac logo and the slogan "Power solutions flying off the shelves," were piled chest-high in its booth.

"It's just low-level marketing," Tomlin explained, noting that if children play with the toys with their parents, grandparents or pets -- the Rayovac brand name is ever present. "You're keeping your name in front of them."

What Rayovac was really trying to hawk, however, was its new double-A, triple-A and 9-volt battery charger designed to give an hour or less recharge to batteries zapped by digital camera use.

Along the lines of the bizarre was the Rooster Group/McGuire Nicholas booth. The San Antonio-based manufacturer of work clothing and accessories called out to the show-goers with a unique tactic -- a three-person improvisational acting group accompanied by a keyboard player whose style teetered toward sound effects rather than music.

Rooster marketing director Jeff Brown said he recruited the Chicago improv actors for reasons other than a sales pitch.

"Not much selling goes on here anymore," Brown said of the hardware show. "We just wanted to say thank you to our customers."

Outfitted from head to toe in Rooster/McGuire Nicolas clothing, tool belts, knee pads and boots, the "Drill Bits," as they dubbed themselves, launched into a bizarre bit centered around the need to build a greenhouse. While performing around the framework of a small house, the group babbled lines seemingly straight from Jupiter while the keyboard registered punch lines of unmelodic notes.

"I think people are kind of puzzled by it," said Gary Taylor, the leader of the group. "We just said let's have some fun."

That fun caused many show-goers to do a double take, and likely ponder just what in the wide world of hardware was actually going on.

Props that bring out ohhs and ahhs have always proven to be an effective method of stopping, hooking and reeling in traffic. Both Char-Broil and Klein tools, which features famed driver Michael Andretti as a spokesman, hosted racing cars in their booths. Vise-Grip locking tools stationed a six-foot, menacing robot at the entry point of its exhibit. Beneath the robot, which was constructed from junk metal and came complete with a deadly grip, were ads designed as comic books. Titled "It Came from the Under the Workbench," the comic books were free to all who cared to pick one up.