July 13-16, 2020
A Marketing and How-To Guide for Exhibitors
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Table of Contents Using This Guide...................................................................3 Pre-Event Preparation...........................................................4 Promote Your Participation and Reinforce Your Brand........................4 Setting up Your 3D Exhibit Booth......................................................6 How It Works for an Attendee.........................................................10 Staffing a Virtual Event....................................................................11 Chat with Customers in your Booth.................................................12 Virtual Conversation Tips.................................................................14 New Varieties and New Product Zone Set Up ..................................15 Technology Requirements................................................................16
Marketing Resources..........................................................17 Local Resources...............................................................................17 GardenComm.................................................................................17 Graphic Design Options .................................................................18 Creating a Video ............................................................................18 Public Relations...............................................................................19 Green Industry Media Contacts.......................................................19 Social Media...................................................................................20
During the Event.................................................................21 Driving Engagement in Your Booth..................................................22
Post Event Best Practices....................................................23 CultivateVirtual.org
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Using This Guide We’re excited to have you exhibiting at Cultivate’20 Virtual this year! As the world around us has changed and we all adjust to a “new normal” the very same is happening with Cultivate. We are proud to provide this online opportunity for you to interact with your customers and for the green industry to gather, conduct business, learn best practices, and meet long-time and new industry friends. This guide is designed to help you prepare for the online show so you will have a great experience as an exhibitor. There are tips on setting up your 3D booth, promoting your presence at the show and reinforcing your brand, how to staff the event, how to engage attendees, and more. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the AmericanHort team. We are dedicated to working with you to ensure you have a successful virtual experience. Contact: Elizabeth Williamson by phone at (614) 884-1204, or email at: ElizabethW@AmericanHort.org, or Sherry Johnson by phone at (614) 884-1144, or email at SherryJ@AmericanHort.org.
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Pre-Event Preparatio n Like any trade show, the key to success is preparation. The same is true when planning to exhibit at Cultivate’20 Virtual. This virtual event is a great way to promote your brand through digital marketing. This is a chance to communicate and market in a new way. The Virtual Trade Show Exhibit Hall gives attendees the ability to browse exhibitor booths. An Exhibitor Directory makes it easy to locate specific booths all with a click of their mouse. Nonetheless, promoting yourself as an exhibitor drives traffic to your booth to ensure you meet the customers you want.
Promote Your Participatio n and Reinforce Your Brand Promoting your participation in Cultivate’20 Virtual will help make sure your current and prospective customers know they can find you at this event. Exhibiting also provides an opportunity to drive awareness for your brand. Here are a few ways you can promote your brand and your presence at this online event: • Email an invitation to visit your virtual booth, or schedule time to talk with you or other members of your sales team. You might use a video message in your email to make your message more unique and personal. Here is a sample invitation letter. • Use social media to promote your presence at the show. • Create promotional graphics that your staff can forward to their business contacts to help spread the word about your participation at Cultivate’20 Virtual. CultivateVirtual.org
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• Promote the fact you are exhibiting in your company blog or e-newsletter. • Create a homepage graphic on your website stating you are an exhibitor; have a call to action to visit you and/or to schedule an appointment. • Mail – you might consider sending a postcard or letter to current or prospective customers by mail. • Plan for live or recorded product demonstrations. If you demonstrate live, establish a schedule that you can promote in your pre-show communications. You will need to link to either your company’s own web platform or a Zoom or GoToWebinar meeting hosted by your company, where you can conduct a scheduled demonstration. • Add the show logo and the fact you are exhibiting to the email signature line for all your company associates. See an example in our Exhibitor Marketing Tools.
Helpful Tip Attendees can easily find exhibitors based on multiple search criteria. Clearly name the documents and files you upload your booth so attendees can easily find the information they need when they are searching the content in your booth and when they are reviewing their digital briefcase after the show.
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Boost your Brand Awareness via Sponsorship Consider a sponsorship opportunity at Cultivate’20 Virtual. There are many ways you can boost your presence through sponsorship. • Become a Sponsor of the Main Lobby; highly visible with limited availability. • Have a new product to highlight? Participate in the New Product Zone. • Have a new plant variety to promote? Participate in the New Varieties Zone.
• Sponsor one of these programs: • An education session on a topic related to your product or service • A keynote address • The Women in Horticulture program • An industry round table discussion • Daily show emails
For details, contact: Elizabeth Williamson by phone at (614) 884-1204, or email at: ElizabethW@AmericanHort.org, or Sherry Johnson by phone at (614) 884-1144, or email at SherryJ@AmericanHort
Setting up Your 3D Exhibit Booth There are two main aspects to setting up your 3D exhibit booth at Cultivate’20 Virtual. The first is the booth design layout and customized color. The second is uploading marketing collateral and information about your products or services for booth visitors to download into their virtual briefcase.
Helpful Tip Watch our tutorial video on setting up your booth here.
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1) Design Set-up You may choose from one of six booth structures. To customize your booth and promote your brand, please provide a logo to the AmericanHort exhibit team or your assigned staff member for use in your booth header and determine a primary color by the designated deadline to be used in the booths as shown below.
Helpful Tip Have a file of your company logo that is 180 x100 pixels. This or a very similar size is the standard logo size on the event platform and will work best for you during booth set up.
The areas colored moss green in each booth shown below will be changed to your brand color. Your brand color needs to be provided as a 6-digit HEX number. If you prefer not to customize your booth to your brand color, the booth will remain moss green.
What is a Hex Color?
A HEX color is a 6-digit, 24 big, hexadecimal number that represents red, green, and blue. There are 16 million possible colors. Not sure what your HEX colors are? If you have your RGB or CMYK color codes, you can convert to a HEX color number using a hex color tool. RGB to HEX: rgbtohex.net rapidtables.com/convert/color/rgb-to-hex.html
RGB or CMYK to HEX: convertacolor.com
Another way to get your HEX color is in a document like Word, Excel or PowerPoint - use the select color feature and insert the R, G, B numbers and below this will be your HEX color number.
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Cultivate'20 Virtual 3D Exhibit Booth Optio ns Click on the images below to view details on content areas size specifications.
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2) Booth Content
Video Upload Specificatio n R ecommendatio ns
The second aspect of completing your 3D exhibit booth set up is uploading booth content. You can upload audio and video files, product brochures, product images, and more. Below is a chart with recommended file format and size specifications.
• • • •
Quicktime MOV H 264 codec 16:9 aspect ratio 1920x1080 or 1280x720 HD dimensions (which will convert down to 605x340)
You will be assigned an AmericanHort team member who will be available to answer booth set up questions and provide other assistance should you need it.
Suggested files and file formats to upload into your 3D virtual booth: Content Media Type
Content Examples
File Format
• Stereo audio • 16-bit • 44.1kHz (bit rate is variable) • No files over 2GB (recommend 500-800 mb)
Click here to see the complete content technical specifications. User Experience
Audio
Welcome message
WAV, MP3
Video Upload
Welcome video, product demonstration video, product images video, advertisement, etc.
MOV, MP4, MPG, WPV
Marketing brochures, product listing, price sheet, etc.
The content item will display within a window (iframe) within the virtual experience.
Link – New Tab
.pdf, jpg, png, word, excel, ppt (We strongly encourage PPT slides, word, and excel documents, be converted to a .pdf file format) http browser link
Link - iframe
http browser link
This link will open within a window (iframe), within the virtual experience.
Video Embed Documents
The audio or video file will open in a new window or an iframe within the virtual experience.
YouTube, Vimeo, Ustream
Download and print functions are available within the iframe display. This link will open in a new tab.
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How It Works for an Attendee After logging in, attendees can enter the various areas of Cultivate’20 Virtual from the Lobby. The navigation bar or clickable navigation tiles (on the walls, above doorways, etc.) are used to move from room to room. Attendees can enter the Exhibit Hall by clicking on the “Exhibit Hall” icon at the bottom, by clicking on the doorway to the Exhibit Hall, or from the blue directory sign in the foreground of the Lobby.
Once an attendee has entered the Exhibit Hall, they can either scroll through the 3D exhibit booths, or search for a specific exhibitor by company name or product category.
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Instructio ns for Entering your Booth 1. Log in to the virtual environment. You will arrive at the Lobby. 2. Use the navigation bar or wall icons in lobby to find the booth you are assigned to represent. 3. Enter the exhibit hall and find the booth you are assigned to represent. 4. Enter your booth and find your name listed on the info/rep card. Your chat bubble next to your name should be green indicating you are online. (If you do not see a green bubble, visit the virtual Help Desk.) 5. You will see the rep dashboard to the left of the info/rep card. Please click on this to begin managing your booth’s chat.
Staffing a Virtual Event Staffing an online trade show is like an in-person event. You will want to have your sales team trained on your show goals and objectives, your new products, and any special offers or engagement activities you have planned for your booth. Have your staff wear branded apparel and even have a coffee mug or cup with your logo on it, as this might be visible on screen if you are having live video chat with customers or if your staff participates in networking events like the morning coffee chat, afternoon industry interaction discussion groups, or a virtual happy hour or social event. You can help your staff stand out in these video environments by creating your own virtual background, or use one of the available Cultivate’20 Virtual backgrounds to customize your video presence. CultivateVirtual.org
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Chat with Customers in your Booth When a visitor enters a booth, you will receive an alert so you and your team can greet your visitor and have a conversation through two primary chat options: Private 1:1 Chat This is a chat between a Booth Rep and an attendee. You can have up to 10 private chats occurring at one time. You can also add another Booth Rep to your 1:1 private chat.
Helpful Tip During booth set-up, you can activate a notification that will set off a door bell ring when an attendee enters your booth.
Public Group Chat The Public Group Chat will automatically launch when an attendee enters a booth. The Public Group Chat window allows Booth Reps and attendees to engage in a group chat. Booth Reps and Attendees who join the Public Group Chat can view the history of comments and Q&A within that Public Chat by scrolling through the list of posted comments and questions. If you click out of the box, you can open it again by clicking on the Public Group Chat icon.
For more details on how the Public Group Chat and Private 1:1 Chat work, click on the links below to view two additional training documents. An AmericanHort team member can assist you with any questions you have on how the chat function operates. Booth Representative Private Chat Booth Representative Public Chat
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Current Participants shows who is still viewing the chat window. As a Booth Rep, you can download the Public Group Chat log from your assigned booth (attendees do not have this option). Reps also have the option to ‘delete’ comments for within the chat (attendees do not have this option). Learn more by watching this video on chat functions. The Info/Representative Card gives attendees the ability to get information and reach out to the Booth Reps. • Attendees can engage in a 1:1 private chat with a Booth Rep by clicking on a green chat bubble. • If a Booth Rep leaves their assigned booth to enter another location within the Virtual Environment, the chat bubble will remain green, and booth attendees will still be able to send a chat message to that Booth Rep. • If a Booth Rep logs out of the environment, the chat bubble will be grey, indicating the Booth Rep is unavailable for chat. • Attendees can e-mail a Booth Rep at any time.
Helpful Tip Encourage your team to connect their LinkedIn profile to their Cultivate’20 Virtual registration. This can be a great way to connect with attendees. You can provide LinkedIn profile links when registering your booth staff, then make sure to allow attendees to view LinkedIn Profiles. CultivateVirtual.org
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Virtual Conversatio n Tips • Greet attendees at the start of the day, welcoming them to your booth. • Assign a team member to chat with individuals lingering in the Networking Lounge to move them to a live education session. • Ask attendees for their feedback on your new products, what they’re seeing at the show, or a Main Stage session. • Suggest the best datasheet/video/booth that will extend their learning. • Introduce attendees to experts or executives by inviting them into a small group chat. • Monitor your booth’s public chats and contribute relevant comments to keep the conversation moving. • Use the watch list to record notes and capture conversations on top prospects.
Attendee Profile Card
Each visitor to your booth will have an Attendee Profile Card. When viewing an Attendee Profile Card, a Booth Rep can: • Email the attendee • Add the attendee to the 'Watch List' • View the attendee's number of booth visits • View the attendee's chat history - active and history • Make notes that are viewable by all representatives • Download • Click on the “Chatted With” hyperlink to view the chat and email it to yourself
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New Varieties and New Product Zone Set Up In these digital displays, you can upload videos, photos, jpeg files, etc. that showcase your newest plant varieties or new product innovations.
New Products New Varieties
Both the New Varieties Zone and the New Products Zone will have a directory listing that will lead to a booth. The directory listing will have your logo and will click to your New Varieties or New Product Zone digital display.
The set up of a New Varieties or New Products Zone booth is very similar to the set up process for your own company 3D booth. AmericanHort staff can help answer more specific questions about this set up.
Click here to view the New Varieties and New Products Zones content areas size specifications. CultivateVirtual.org
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Technolo gy Requirements Here are the Minimum System Requirements: • • • • •
1024 x 768 screen resolution minimum 1.4 Mbps internet connection minimum Allow Flash Disable Pop Up Blockers Disconnect from a VPN (if possible)
Operating System Processor RAM Windows 10 1GHz Windows 8.1 + Pro Windows 7 Android 4.4+ Apple Max OS X 10.9+ Apple IOS 8.4+
1GB
Click here for the full technology requirements.
Internet Browser Internet Explorer 8+ All recent versions of Google Chrome Safari 5.0+ iPhone/iPad – Safari/iOs 5.1+
Hardware
Media Playback
Audio: Sound Card with HTML5 Speakers Streaming enabled browser Video: Screen with 1024x768_ resolution Apple iOS support http streaming Android Phone/Tablet enabled browser – 0S 2.3 or higher, Chrome, Native Brower Android http 2.3+ streaming enabled browser Windows Tablet – IE 10+
Internet Connection Dedicated high speed connection of 900kbps+
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Marketing Resources You may have your marketing collateral already available in digital format to upload to your booth. Should you need assistance creating digital collateral, now or in the future, here are some suggested resources.
Local Resources Tap into a variety of local resources to find expert assistance with your digital marketing and communications needs. Search online for local ad agencies, freelancers who do website development, graphic design, copywriting, and more.
Helpful Tip For the easiest set up process, collect all your booth content prior to setting up your booth. Use the Booth Set-Up Check List as your guide.
Many cities have a local chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA), or the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) you can contact to identify freelance experts.
GardenComm GardenComm is an organization of professional communicators in the green industry, including authors, bloggers, staff editors, syndicated columnists, freelance writers, photographers, speakers, landscape designers, television and radio personalities, consultants, publishers, extension service agents and more. You can search their membership to find the talent you need. Learn more at GardenComm.org. CultivateVirtual.org
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Helpful Tip
Graphic Design Optio ns There are several all-purpose design tools that make graphic design simple for the average person. Using these tools, you can create digital ads or graphics for use in social media, emails, or even in your booth based on set dimensions or pre-built templates. You can edit and add effects as needed to create your perfect design. Here are some to consider: • Adobe Spark • BoldDesign • Canva
• Desygner • Fotor • PicMonkey
These tools can be used to resize your company or brand logo for your 3D booth.
• Snappa • Stencil
Check out the Exhibitor Marketing Tool Kit at CultivateVirtual.org/marketing-tool-kit for customizable assets to promote your participation in Cultivate’20 Virtual. You will find downloadable templates for: • Cultivate’20 Virtual logos
• Social Media Guide
• Email Signatures
• Digital Ad Sizes
• Social media post and cover photo graphics
Creating a Video Whether using a high quality or professional video camera, your laptop or computer, or even your smartphone, here are a few tips to help you create a welcome video for your booth or create a video to promote your brand, new product, or new plant variety. Click here for tips and suggestions for creating a video, from audio and lighting to filming on a smartphone. CultivateVirtual.org
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Public Relatio ns Issuing a press release announcing the launch of a new product or service is a one way to get the word out about your great new item. Here is a sample press release to help you draft your own release. It can also been found in the Cultivate’20 Virtual Exhibitor Marketing Tool Kit.
Green Industry Media Contacts For your use, here are media contact for the four leading green industry media companies. Click here or the logos below for a full list of contacts. Ball Publishing
Great American Media
GIE Media Horticulture Group
Meister Media
HORTICULTURE GROUP Garden Center • Golf • Greenhouse • Landscape • Nursery
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Social Media Social media is an effective way to grow your brand following and promote your marketing message. Use your social media posts to promote your presence at Cultivate’20 Virtual, new products being unveiled, sponsored education sessions or talks, giveaways or promotions, and more. Extend your social media reach by: • Using #Cultivate20Virtual whenever posting about the event on any social media channel so attendees can find your posts • Tagging AmericanHort in your posts so we can see what you are up to and so can our followers. Find us on social media here:
@AmericanHort
@youramericanhort
Helpful Tip When you set up your booth be sure to set up links to your company’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn pages. This makes it easy for attendees to follow you on social media.
@American_Hort
@AmericanHort
Download our Social Media Guide, as well as customizable templates for social media posts and cover photos from the Cultivate’20 Virtual Exhibitor Marketing Tool Kit.
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During the Event One of the benefits of an online event is it is truly open 24/7, but that does not mean you must always have staff available. There are published show hours when activity is expected to be the greatest. These are the ideal times to have staff available to interact with customers. The live event will be open Monday, July 13 - Thursday, July 16 from 10 AM - 5 PM ET, followed by a social hour Monday - Wednesday starting at 5 PM ET. For a full show schedule, visit CultivateVirtual.org. Take advantage of other events taking place to network and meet new people: • Attend the industry round table discussions to network and share your perspective • Attend the evening social events to connect with industry peers • Hang out in the Resource Zone, Networking Lounge, New Varieties, and New Product areas • Go to a live education session
In the Networking Lounge, exhibitors and attendees can mix and mingle, participate in discussions, and more.
The AmericanHort Resource Zone is the place to learn about Cultivate’20 Virtual, AmericanHort, and more. CultivateVirtual.org
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Driving Engagement in Your Booth The best way to generate engagement and traffic to your booth is to have compelling content. Virtual event booths can include any digital content including documents, videos, links to webpages, and social media links. Take advantage of Private 1:1 Chats and Public Groups Chats in your booth to talk with your customers. (See page 12 for more information on chats.) Create opportunities to interact with customers when they visit your booth. • Have a welcome video front and center in your booth • Offer a show special • Schedule product demonstrations at certain times each day of the event and publicize these demonstration times to drive traffic to your virtual booth • Schedule live chat sessions so attendees know when they can talk with someone from your company • Promote interaction with your top management providing access that customers may not normally have. • Consider promoting a different product each day to encourage customers to return and giving you a new message to share each day • Develop a short survey for customers and enter anyone who completes the survey into a prize drawing • Offer a prize drawing in exchange for a virtual business card • During the show, take screenshots of activity in your booth and post it via social media
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Post Event Best Practices To get the most out of your Cultivate’20 Virtual investment, have a plan for following up with business leads in a timely manner after the event. You will have a booth dashboard that will show all the chat room conversations you and your team had in your booth. It will provide other metrics on who entered your booth and what information they placed in their briefcase. This data can help you with your postevent follow up. Helpful tips for follow-up communications: • Thank them for stopping by your booth • Keep the message simple and friendly • Mention what you discussed • Send any information you promised • Reiterate any show special offers • Suggest a follow up phone call
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Conclusio n This virtual format will allow you to meet existing customers and meet new ones in an innovative new way. We hope the information in this guide helps you have the best virtual exhibiting experience possible. AmericanHort will be providing additional training on the event platform, so look for details on these opportunities to learn more. Thank you for taking the time to plan your booth strategy for Cultivate’20 Virtual conference. If you still have questions, please reach out to the AmericanHort exhibit team or the AmericanHort team member assigned to help you with your booth set up for additional assistance.
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This guide is provided to exhibitors of Cultivate’20 Virtual to help ensure you have a great experience. The AmericanHort exhibit team and staff are available to assist you with your exhibit booth set up and other needs. Sources: Communique Customer Resource Center training documents and videos. https://www.virtualtradeshowhosting.com/6-tips-to-creating-a-successful-virtual-trade-show/ https://www.cnewcomer.com/canva-alternatives/ http://www.communiqueconferencing.com/virtual-trade-show-benefits https://www.hexcolortool.com/
Š 2020 All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this document is not permitted without express written content of AmericanHort. CultivateVirtual.org
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