Secret ‘Roving Reporters’ At Trade Shows & Events

By Tonita Proulx, Business Partnerships

Published: June 20, 2014

Ever wished you had time to be everywhere, talk to everyone, and accomplish everything you need to make your trade show or event as impactful as possible? In reality, most company representatives just don’t have the time they need when it comes to the event day.

Consider having your very own “roving reporter,” to add value, provide services, answer questions, and leverage events and trade shows. There to focus solely on gathering content and building content library for immediate and future use, roving reporters help you get more out of the event and as much as possible out of the investment.

The Strategy

Take a roving reporter approach to add value, provide services, answer questions, and leverage events and trade shows from a “wandering” content perspective. Focus solely on gathering content and building a content library for immediate and future use.

Experts predict that more than 50 billion devices will be connected to the network by 2020. The surge in numbers of devices, compounded by the growth of mobile video usage (video is already #1 in online content views), presents tremendous opportunities for B2B companies. Instead of telling people your brand, product, or service is the best, show them. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. A video is worth and can bring significant value to your time and effort spent.

The goal of a roving reporter, like Envano, is to gather and produce as much relevant content (photo, video, stories) within the time and scope of the event and budget. Based on selected services, leverage that content and extend event in the interactive space as a significant element of content marketing strategy.

From testimonials and customer feedback to product education videos to at-event sales presentations, roving reporters capture everything.

If you don’t necessarily need more of your own branded content, another value in roving reporters comes in a ‘competitive campout.’ Think roving reporter in reverse. Instead of gathering your own content to leverage, take advantage of a qualified, outside resource to gather precious information about your competition at trade shows or events – in the form of testimonials, video, photo, promotional materials, and more.

Case Study: Envano & AGCO

AGCO Envano

When AGCO wanted to engage with customers and prospects before, during and after Farm Progress, Husker Harvest Days and Agritechnica, they turned to Envano. By weaving all aspects of social media together, including: Facebook, YouTube, Scribd, Twitter and Blogger, AGCO was able to extend the exposure and value of participating in these shows as well as allow those that could not attend to get a virtual experience. This venture also led to a major jumpstart for their overall Social Media launch which helps AGCO stay in direct communication with their fans globally.

This helped AGCO leverage social media to expand reach, humanize brands and create connections, quickly deliver relevant content, leverage the voice of the customer, drive positive experiences, gain consumer insights, and influence preference and loyalty, all while establishing their thought leader position in the agricultural equipment industry. Together, Envano and AGCO’s efforts at the event won 2009 Best of NAMA Award for Broadcast News.