They are pricey, a plethora of organisational skills are required and it can prove a logistical nightmare, however exhibitions are still a key platform to launch a product and vital to showcase new products to emerging markets.
I recently attended a leading trade exhibition in the Middle East with one of Freshfield’s newest clients, Super-Click International.

Super-Click International has recently completed an exclusive licensing agreement with Beaulieu International Group which will see the UK-based firm take the product to emerging markets in Asia, Central and South America, the Middle East, Africa and Australia and New Zealand.

Super-Click is an innovative flooring product which is dubbed one of the most versatile click flooring systems in the world. Having been on the exhibition stand myself and illustrated its benefits to the Middle East media, I now fully understand why people in the industry are getting so excited about it. If you have ever put down laminate flooring yourself or if you have had to wait a few days for a new floor to be fitted in your home or office, you will be amazed at how quickly Super-Click can be fitted. It’s a floating LVT click flooring system and the technology behind it means you need little floor prep. Super-Click has been likened to scalelectrics and jigsaws by exhibition attendees and so easy to use that a member of the Super-Click International team demonstrated putting the floor planks together with his feet!

This obviously makes it a simple for me to excite media contacts in a number of countries, however a lot of Super-Click International’s success stems from making key contacts with distributors in target countries and just being themselves.  While it has grown as a business and Freshfield are supporting the brand in becoming a global player, the company has always stuck to its key values and remained a company with a personality. So many big brands go over the top at exhibitions to get the attention of the adoring public but the friendly, yet professional persona shone through in a hall full of firms battling for attention. It was important for me deliver key messages ahead of the event to ensure attendees came to the stand to see the unique product, yet the real pull was the product itself and sometimes when the product, that is all you really need.

As well as delighting regular visitors to the Domotex exhibition the innovative flooring also helped Super-Click International reach out to wider audiences. A number of those who saw the product registered their interest in Super-Click and are looking forward to further discussions with the team. The exhibition was a huge success and while the team are now busy making preparations for a bigger and better stand for Domotex Hannover and Surfaces Las Vegas, the firm will remain true to its brand – the team will act like a global firm but engage like a good friend.

It was a fabulous place to be and it we did indeed see the Dubai sights including Atmopshere bar at the Burj Khalifa, the Mall and the Cavalli Club – Such a tough job but someone has to do it right?