DEFINITION OF TRADE FAIR/SHOW

A trade fair/show is an event held to bring together the members of a particular industry to display, demonstrate, and discuss their latest products and services. Major trade shows usually take place in convention centers in larger cities and last several days. Local trade shows may be held at a local arena or hotel and allow businesses in the area to connect with prospects.

The trade fair itself can be enriched in purpose and made more attractive by a series of side events. The decision to be taken is related to the type of the events to be organized which should be logically connected to the theme of the trade fair and dependant again on resources available and management capacities.

Such side activities can eventually be assigned as self-contained projects to partners, who in some cases are able to sponsor such events, while the organizers ensure their proper integration in the trade fair. Among activities to be considered are:

• Buyer-seller meetings;
• Conferences;
• Technical seminars;
• Lectures;
• Company visits;
• Fashion shows;
• Folklore and touristic shows

Other countries in a region may already be organizing or planning to organize trade fairs. Rather than competing, seeking for complementarily or eventually cooperation can be more productive. If the participation target is the same, exhibitors and visitors would need to make a choice which may entail weakening one of the two events or both. A distinctive theme and focus or an alternation in organizing the trade fairs may ensure success.

THE PURPOSE BEHIND ORGANIZING TRADE FAIRS

Business tours: a group of suppliers/exporters meet potential buyers or partners in selected foreign market(s). This can be a powerful means for business generation and knowledge-building, provided that the programme and meetings are correctly targeted. The drawback is that a (very) limited number of suppliers/exporters can afford to participate and quite often they are from the business elite of the sector. The vast majority of SMEs are excluded. The positive side is that the business elite can contribute to build a favorable image of the country. Other than for its intrinsic merits for export development, business tours are worth considering also as an exploratory and preparatory phase for a trade fair.

Participation in international exhibitions: It may consist of individual or group participation. Similar to the business tours in its pros and cons, it has the advantage of offering an exposure to a larger audience, even if not proactively selected. Participation in an international exhibition can also be an occasion to take the pulse of the market in respect of the planned trade fair and eventually promote the event.

Promotion campaigns: These may take various forms; from a communication strategy pursued through international sector specialized publishers, to a campaign involving foreign trade promotion organizations and sectoral associations. Such promotion campaigns, in spite of their strong image building impact, if properly conducted, lack the interactivity between the business operators. They should then be considered as support to other more direct promotion and business development activities, such as business tours, buyers-sellers meetings and a trade fair.

Buyer-seller meetings: This business generation approach aims at identifying trading opportunities in a systematic and methodological manner. Quite often of a regional dimension, it aims at bringing together potential trading partners from different countries who could take advantage of these opportunities. The buyer-seller meetings, attended by carefully selected enterprises, provide a platform for conducting concrete business negotiations. Under this approach, which can be highly cost effective, trade development services of support are generally provided to enterprises when they lack the resources to initiate individually expensive international marketing activities. Buyer-seller meetings can be organized back-to back to a trade fair, thus facilitating business matching and increasing the joint outreach. This would also ensure a substantive participation in the buyers-sellers meetings, which is otherwise the risk factor in this trade promotion approach. Trade promotion is not a time-bound and short-term activity, but a continuous and coherent effort of a country, where a trade fair can be one of the elements. Several sets of different activities can be implemented, having in common the trade development goal. Whilst each one has its own purpose and function, one does not elicit the other. Their blend, to the extent possible, can produce the best results in a holistic and integrated vision. The choice is rather a matter of opportunity costs. The decision is the consequence of the degree of development of the sector, of the objectives pursued and of the resources that can be mobilized. It is anyhow worth considering that a trade fair, whilst the most complex and risky event, it is the only one capable of generating revenues towards its sustainability. Buyer-Seller Meetings at MEET IN AFRICA, Tunis, Tunisia BASICS FOR ORGANIZING TRADE FAIRS SC-12-219.E 15

Website: A sectoral website can be a powerful shop window for a national industry, provided that its indexing allows for its easy traceability in Internet. It cannot however be considered per se a promotion instrument, capable of replacing those described above. It should rather be considered essential as a collective support tool for the other trade promotion activities at sector level, to enhance their sustainability and impact. The same applies also in the case of a trade fair, for which the availability of a website should be considered a must.

Types of services offered:

There may be the following services can be offered:

1. Self Service – always preferred.
2. Pre-plated service
3. Floating Service

Table Set ups:

1. Buffet set up
2. Counter set up
3. Class room set up