Exhibition News June 2022 | Page 21

Geo-cloning what do we think the opportunity is and who are big players .

“ We then turn that into getting on the phone and the quantitative research . In the world of packaging we are speaking to a load of brands and design agencies who would be appropriate visitors , to see whether they ’ re interested . We talk to 100 to 150 people to see what the feeling is around this as an idea .
“ Where geo-cloning has a benefit over a straight launch , we already have a community of exhibitors who want to target those markets . We speak to the exhibitors and saying ‘ we ’ re thinking about this as an idea and would you support it ?’ At that stage it ’ s not a sales conversation it ’ s market testing .
“ You want to get to stage before you decide to launch , so that you ’ re not going in blind at all . You go in with the sense this event will reach a certain turnover . There ’ s a threshold we went to meet . What we would hope to come out of those conversations is 30 , 40 or 50 companies that will follow us if we do this . It ’ s really essential when launching something new that we know we ’ re going to have a certain number 30 %, 40 % or 50 % of the floor plan filled by companies we work with already .
“ In terms of geo-cloning that ’ s the crucial aspect .”
Embedded communities The key to the success of geo-clones is having teams on the ground in each geography and recognising that not all elements will work in each location , Brooks says : “ There are different flavours each city . There ’ s a variation in the elements , the pieces of the puzzle in each market . And that reflects where we think the opportunities are in those markets .
“ If you take drinks , PLD , we know there ’ s really significant spend on highend drinks packaging in France because of the Champagne and cognac markets , and in the UK primarily because of the whisky market , but also now craft gins . So , we made a decision PLD has a home in France and UK where it doesn ’ t
“ The principle is we are running events in the heart of the communities we serve – we ’ re not expecting visitors to travel , but our exhibitors to travel .”
have a home in Italy . There is a drinks market in Italy but it ’ s not a drinks market characterised by very high spend on elaborate packaging .
“ ADF is only annual event in world dedicated to aerosol market . Aerosol market is a big international business but it ’ s really a niche that can only support one global annual event . At the moment there ’ s limited rationale in launching another .
“ In London , from our research , the
beauty market is big enough to run PCD , the drinks market is big enough to run a PLD and the broader luxury market we think is big enough to support an additional Packaging Premiere .”
Cultural differences . Cloning a show in a new location is not as simple as replicating all the elements exactly the same way , Brooks adds .
“ When you ’ re working with the same brands across international markets , you need to be aware of tone of voice in communication . In the UK market , tone of voice can be quite informal . You might have to step up to a bit more of a formal register in the French market . We ’ ll use the formal ‘ vous ’ rather than ‘ tu ’.
“ We would have different bits of visitor experience . In the UK VIP lounge we ’ ve had things like massages , but the French team have a different view on how appropriate and welcome that would be to their audience .
“ At our show in Paris , we have to be very careful not to serve prosecco . We have to serve Champagne . We would be heavily criticised for getting that sort of cultural choice wrong , whereas
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