Plushies in Action

Last week, Marketers’ Marketplace hosted by The Direct Marketing Association of Singapore (DMAS) seemed like a regular networking event – Free flow of drinks, finger food, keynote speeches, and a room full of marketers networking with each other. But this seemingly humble event has scored a glowing review for their personlisation department, at least with me. Here’s why:

Item 1. Name magnets
This magnet was NOT suppose to read ‘WELCOME’, it should have my name ‘JASMINE’ (instead of ‘WELCOME’) printed in it. It was unfortunate that I had registered to attend only a day before the actual event, so it was too late to get my name printed on it. Oh well.

Item 2. Photos of you
Throughout the event, a photographer went around snapping photos for groups of people. The photos were then projected on screen minutes after they were being taken. The organisers then went around identifying people among the masses and personally handed pocket size photos of you. View photo gallery.

Item 3. Immortalised on Singapore Post stamps
This was sponsored by Singapore Post MyStamp. It was real quick and easy, they snapped a photo and we had our very own photo stamps within 5 minutes!

Item 4. Star Networker of the Evening
(After the event) 2 days later I received this email ….

A “glamour” shot photo plus becoming the Star Networker of the Evening… just like everyone else. Still, it was good enough.

All I can say is, full marks for personalisation efforts DMAS!

Extra bonus points for famous desserts sponsored by Hilton Hotel’s Checkers Deli and Royal Plaza on Scott’s Carousel. Plus very attractive free resort stays as lucky draw prizes (albeit I didn’t win a single prize). 

Hmmm…. maybe I should consider dropping my entire box of name cards for lucky draw the next time?

Don’t get it?

Well, you’ll first have to watch Avinish Kaushik’s video – Measuring Micro and Macro Reactions.

In case you are wondering how a presentation on web analytics is going to be exciting, well I watched the video twice. Seriously. This guy is definitely worth 50 mins of your time, especially if you are a B2B (or B2C) marketer. What an excellent presenter!

Never knew web analytics could be fun, and simple too. Thanks to Avinash and Google.

My top 3 Avinash humour from the video:

1. The B2B people fundamentally believe that robots visit their website… and that’s why most B2B websites suck.

2. Bounce rate = I came, I puke, I left

3. Most people on the web do business as if they are having One Night Stands (reminded me of my previous blog entry on Sex and Social Media)

As a B2B marketer for 6 years, I am embarrassed to say that I’ve not been diligent with web analytics until recently. With our 2009 marketing objectives heavily focused on online initiatives, this video came in just in time. I’m learning that my next year’s web projects need to be more data-driven rather than faith-based, which previously had been the latter.

Now I can’t wait to get my hands on Avinash’s book titled Web Analytics: An Hour A Day.  Never in a million years would I have imagined that someday, I’ll be reading a book on web analytics (traditionally such books are my best bed time stories, they put me to sleep).

According to reviews on Amazon, his book is Accessible and Marketing Driven. That’s good, exactly what I’m looking for. But it’s over 400 pages!!! It sounds worse than a marathon to me, with a 50/50 chance of survival. Oh well, we’ll see how it goes.

Avinash’s book is available in Singapore at major bookstores.

It’s that time of the year again to start thinking about Marketing plans and budgets for 2009. Just on budgets, B2B Marketing Budgets – Data from SiriusDecisions shows statistics on how B2B marketers are allocating their marketing budgets. Although it’s probably US figures, it’s quite accurate when comparing it with my spendings here in Singapore.

According to the stats, trade shows contributed to the largest spend in lead generation budgets. (For me, trade shows spending rank just slightly below Email marketing). It’s not surprising at all, considering the high 4 to 5 digits cost of a regular booth or table top, and not to mention the even more expensive silver/gold/platinum sponsorship packages.

B2B marketers still see trade shows as a necessary evil: For brand awareness, building a database, or lead generation. But most of the time these shows cannot pay for themselves, let alone generate positive ROI.

Having said that, the game is not over. The secret to trade show success is to think END-TO-END INTEGRATION. Don’t participate in a trade show as a standalone activity. The show itself is just a part of it, consider pre-show and post-show promotion.

Here’s some examples of what you can do for pre-show and post-show promotion:

- Host pre-event and post-event webinars
- Organise online contests and quizzes
- Communicate to your base. Send out special invites to clients and prospects
- Publish your participation through existing business communication like your website or newsletters
- Offer special product/service packages to attendees
- Complement with any other upcoming or on-going campaigns or product announcements

You will also need to do some math by calculating estimated costs per potential qualified contact. And don’t forget your At-Show strategies.

To find out more, download Ruth P. Stevens’ webinar recording on Exhibiting for Bottom Line Results.

So there you go. Your 2 days trade show has become a 3 months campaign. But it’s worth it. Like what Tim Gunn on Project Runway says… “MAKE IT WORK!”

Related article by Nicholas Guan from The Open Room:

- Social networking sites popularity comparison in Asia
- Facebook penetration in Asia Pacific 2008

Related article from Go Big Always:
- The big marketing mess