With just a few weeks to go before the 2018 CV Show gets underway, media and exhibitors gathered at the NEC in Birmingham for the Media Preview Day. The pre-show event provided an early opportunity for journalists to meet with the industry exhibitors, discuss the key topics of the moment and discover the latest news and products appearing at the show itself.
Over 50 exhibitors made the journey to Birmingham, despite the sudden Siberian conditions, giving the assembled journalists the opportunity to get the most up-to-date information on the show to come. David Crawford, Sales and Marketing Manager for the CV Show, heard first-hand how useful the gathering was for the assembled media, saying, “I was talking to a journalist from an Irish magazine who’s over here and he just loves it. He comes here every year because it’s efficient for him. He wants to produce pre-show features, therefore he needs information that’s not always readily available from exhibitors, but he can come here and they’re ready to speak. And I think particularly good for probably those exhibitors that don’t have their own PR operation, the lesser known ones, if you like. Where they don’t have much exposure to the press or certainly don’t have contacts, and they can come here and build them. [There’s] great value in that.”
Rob Skelton, Show Director, also shared how exhibitors benefitted from the day, “An exhibitor’s come for the first time to the Media Day. They said to another journalist, ‘This is one of the best days I’ve had to use to get in touch with part of the media, why we haven’t come before, I do not know.’ The endorsement of the day, that somebody who’s a regular exhibitor has come to this for the first time. It’s a good story.”
Alongside the chance to speak directly to the media, the Preview Day also gave exhibitors an opportunity to engage with the CV Show’s social media team and promote their businesses and expertise. Also returning to the Media Preview Day was the option for exhibitors to participate in the CV Shows YouTube video, as David Crawford explained, “We felt that the media day needed a new element to it, so we decided on video with NC Creative, who run our social media, and based really on fairly simple questions and short answers. Last year we made four videos out of that which rotated on our website. People liked it, they used it for their social media and things like that. It’s a valuable channel for us now and, I think, ideal for an event like this.”
Rob Skelton agreed, saying, “It’s the exhibitor talking enthusiastically about what they’re going to have on their stand. From a social media point of view, it’s quite easy to watch for the 10 minutes and there’ll be a dozen or so in each 10 minutes, about 90 seconds each, that gives people a flavour.”
Last year’s show exceeded 20,000 visitors once again, reflecting the benefit of the increased exhibition area compared to previous years and the areas dedicated to specialist industries. Both the Workshop Zone in Hall 4, focusing on servicing, parts and maintenance, and the Cool Zone in Hall 3A dedicated to refrigerated vehicles and bodywork, return for the 2018 show. The Innovation Hub is expected to be busier than ever this year, with demonstrations of the latest technologies that are improving efficiency, reducing costs and delivering better service across the industry.
David Crawford explained, “There’s a lot planned for it this year; a seminar theatre where we address emerging technologies and new things that are happening in the industry, which is through expert speakers and audience participation. It’s a new element to the show and it worked well last year, we think it’s going to work even better this year now that it’s known about and will be promoted strongly as well. It’s another reason for attending the show as a visitor because you can see all the exhibitors but you might actually learn something that prepares your business for the future.”
With a little under eight weeks remaining until the show opens on Tuesday 24th April the planning and organising are entering its final stage, but any exhibitors wishing to attend still have the opportunity to arrange exhibition space. David Crawford explained, “We’re around 95 percent full at the moment and exhibitors are still booking. An exhibitor that books now still can avail themselves of the full marketing support of the show. If they leave it much later then they might not get all the elements, but people do still book there. We will eat away at the available space. We’re basically sold out in three of the four halls, we’re just selling upwards of another hall at the moment.”
The overwhelming message from the Media Preview Day was one of positivity, both about the CV Show and the opportunity it offers to exhibitors and visitors alike as well as the opportunities that lie ahead for the industry, as David Crawford said, “It’s a proper business to business audience. It’s a chance for them to showcase their products and to engage with existing and potential customers. They say there’s quite a lot of demand; it’s there but, just getting it released is a little bit more difficult. I don’t know if that’s shared across the whole marketplace but a few of the people I spoke to here today said that.”
Visitors can view all the latest details including the floorplan, exhibitor and product locator listed under the ‘For Visitors’ tab at www.cvshow.com.
