ANALYSIS AND OPINION MARKETING AT EVENTS


Putting on a show


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Jessica Rowbury reviews how exhibitors made an impact at Laser World of Photonics in a bid to stand out from competition


W


hen it comes to attracting potential customers at trade


shows, it’s not just the size of the booth that counts. With marketing a more important tool than ever to help firms stand out in competitive markets, the strategies for drawing people in at events are becoming more innovative and unique. At the Laser World of Photonics exhibition in June, Europe’s largest photonics trade show, these ideas were out in full force. From booths that mimicked a chic city bar, to competitions and giveaways, the ways in which companies made their mark was diverse. One attraction used by two companies, which created huge queues at both booths, was serving ice cream. Oz Optics,


a global supplier of fibre optic products, test equipment and sensors, served Maras ice cream, which originates from Turkey. ‘Due to its sticky and thick


consistency, it is renowned for the games you can play with unsuspecting customers. The vendor makes the customers work for their treat by teasing them with twists and turns of the cones. There are also bells that they ring exuberantly as they pass the cone over,’ said Yesim Sezerman, Oz Optics’ marketing and regional sales manager. Laseroptik, which produces


high-power optics and coatings, also served ice cream, but to demonstrate how easy it is for customers to configure their laser optics online. The Laseroptik Online Portal (LOOP) has more than 1,200 coatings, 9,000


Hamamatsu had Japanese elements worked into the design of its booth


Zemax had a prize wheel to help drive traffic to its stand


“The booth should look good and should not act as a deterrent or even a delimiter.”


substrate materials – with a choice of 21,000 coating designs. The vibrant red ice cream truck named its flavours after coating types and nearby posters likened the simplicity of building an ice cream – choosing a flavour and a cone – to configuring optics using its online tool. Hamamatsu took a slower


Oz Optics’ booth aimed to show its technical capabilities while incorporating its cultural roots


Laseroptik served ice cream to demonstrate that configuring an optic online is just as easy as choosing a flavour


10 Electro Optics August/September 2019


approach with food, using it less as a means to attract new customers but catch up with existing ones. ‘For us, trade fairs mean more than just generating leads. We always invite our customers to visit us and take the opportunity to discuss current projects with them. In order to be able to do this a bit detached from the normal trade fair atmosphere on a stand, we invite them to a delicious meal,’ said Alexander Kirst, project coordinator, marketing at Hamamatsu. Both Oz Optics and Hamamatsu incorporated elements of their heritage in their booth designs – Hamamatsu decorated its booth with Japanese plants and served authentic food, and Oz Optics’s Turkish


ice cream and blue and yellow company colours representing founder Ömür Sezerman’s favourite Turkish football team, Fenerbahçe. Incorporating elements of identity is important for attracting skilled workers, according to Avantes founder Benno Oderkerk. With talent acquisition remaining a challenge in the photonics industry, it’s not just customers that companies are hoping to attract at events. ‘Attracting skilled personnel – particularly fresh graduates – means having the right branding and story, which creates a corporate identity that’s unique and therefore stands out,’ he said during a recruitment panel discussion at EPIC’s annual meeting earlier this year. ‘We see this as very important for attracting young people.’ While Avantes definitely has an


interesting history – the company was formed by just two people building spectrometers in a shed – it’s thanks to clever marketing that the story is now well known and thought of fondly by those in industry. Another way of attracting


young people is through photography. Cobolt, a developer of CW and Q-switched lasers, has included a selfie wall within


@electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com


Oz Optics


Laseroptik


Zemax


Hamamatsu


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