niche events

Targeted Niche Events Give you Wings

Sam Lippman

President

Lippman Connects

• Introductions

• Be Relevant

• Convert Attendees to Evangelists

• Delight Sponsors

• Questions

Agenda

• 36 years producing exhibitions, conferences, forums, and roundtables

• Produced International CES, GRAPH EXPO, and PRINT

• Consults in strategic planning, management, and marketing

• Facilitates board meetings, user groups, and attendee and exhibitor focus groups

• Produce by-invitation events for the exhibition industry

Sam Lippman Founder and President Lippman Connects

Sharing successful strategies

The platform to increase exhibit and sponsorship sales

The meeting for large show managers

Find. Attract. Retain. Grow

Show Name Attendance Purpose200 industry executives annually

• Exclusively for independent and association executives

• Focuses on increasing revenue and the relevance of events

18 attendees 3 times a year

• Event marketers focus on ways to find, attract, and retain quality attendees

• Tracks lifecycle of attendees• Identifies new prospects and rebuilds lists• Boosts conversion rates

18 attendees 3 times a year

• Exhibit sales and service managers share sales technique

• Benchmarks exhibit pricing, space assignment, and sponsorships

16 attendees 3 times a year

• Show managers with at least 125,000 net square feet of exhibit space

• Exchanges best practices for large shows

Lippman Connects Events

Be Relevant

Relevant

• After 36 years, now an overnight success• I am my target audience• Lippman Connects events lead by example• Just say “no”• Committed to building/protecting my brand

• Introduce new topics for the industry• Highlight best practices and efficiency tools

Highlight Emerging Trends

Convert Attendees to Evangelists

Unique Selling Proposition

I am the FACE and BRAND of my business

Timeline

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Founding o

f Company

(Integra

ted Show M

anagement

and Mark

eting)

First event - LSR

First

ECEF

Added 2nd LSRs/y

ear

Added 3 rd LSRs/year

Timeline

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Year 1

2 - Change

name

to Lippman

Connects

Year 1

0 - Use

subject

line “S

am

Lippman Announce

s…”

First ESR

First AAR

Produce 10 events

Added 3 rd LSRs/year

Attendee Acquisition - IMC

• Attend and speak at events• Articles and webinars• Partner with Participating Publications• Personal lunches, telephone calls and emails• Engage Evangelists• LinkedIn Contacts and Groups • Video summary and testimonials

Attendee Acquisition - IMC

• Emails cross-promote other events– 10 sent for ECEF– 3 each sent for Large Show, Attendee Acquisition and

Exhibit Sales Roundtables– 3 promoting Lippman Connects 2013 Calendar of

Events – Personal emails from me

Total = 40 per year

Attendee Acquisition - Ads

• ECEF has 8 media partners – international, national and regional

• Roundtables have 1 exclusive media partner • Roundtables have regional print advertising

National Publication Ad

• Cross-promotion of events

• Maintain “face of the brand”

• Consistency of format

Regional Publication Ad

E-mail Promotion

• Marketing for qualified LSR prospects

• Cross-promotion of all events

Event Calendar

• Cross-promotion of all events

• Resulted in six registrations for ESR

Number of ECEFs Attended (during 10 year anniversary)

32%

26%

26%

16%

First timeTwo times3-5 times6+ times

ECEF Attendee Loyalty

Delight Sponsors

Personal Invitations

• Category exclusivity• Waiting list for events and categories• No offer/pricing online• Encourage white papers/customers as speakers• Build sponsor support before launch

Load the Deck

• 4 attendees for every 1 sponsor • Roster with photos sent in advance• Welcome Reception• Assigned seating for lunch• Personal call afterwards – “How to improve

ROI”

• Recognize sponsors before, during, and after event• Websites, emails, news releases and flyers• Video screens, notebooks and signs• From the stage• Summary video and testimonials

Feel the Love

Sponsor Loyalty

2001: 13 sponsors2012: 27 sponsors

Host cities booked through 2015,5 sponsors each

6 sponsors each 6 sponsors each

Re-up rate average:78%

Re-up rate average:85%

75% retention rate since March 2011

100% retention rate since January 2012

Sold out in two categories

Exclusive sponsors same for 12 editions (since January 2010)

For more information

Sam@LippmanConnects.com

(703) 979-4904

www.LippmanConnects.com