From The Editor’s Desk (Feb 2022): 6 Tips for Better Media Pick-up of Trade Show Releases

Now that restrictions are starting to lessen a bit, in-person trade shows and expos are taking place once more. CES 2022 recently wrapped up in Las Vegas, and with it came a plethora of press releases devoted to the latest technologies, including health tech, auto tech, Edu tech, computer software, computer hardware, IT, AI, blockchain, and any other type of cutting-edge technology out there. As such, PR Newswire saw a surge in CES-related releases in January, which made us consider what makes a good trade show-related release.

To help prepare you for any future trade shows you and your company might visit or exhibit at in the future, we’ve put together some pointers to help you gear up for the writing process of your next press release.

1. Plan for Success

As simple as this may sound, some writers forget the basics of dates and locations when it comes to their trade show press releases. The rules of good PR abound, no matter what type of release you’re writing. Rule #1: Answer the 5 W questions (Who, What, Where, When, Why) in the first paragraph.  If you don’t know when the trade show happened or where it happened (thus, not explaining these details to your readers), it shows a lack of preparation for the release at best and how the release plays an unimportant role in the trade show at worst.

With trade shows, it’s not just about dates and cities, either. It’s about specific times in the day when you’re presenting when your booth is open when you’re available for discussions with potential partners, where your booth is located, what stage you’ll be speaking on, or what room you’ll be signing agreements in. Always provide these particulars in the release to further enlighten your readers.

Hyundai Motor Company gets it right when they give their readers the city of the trade show, the building name, the hall, the booth number, and the dates of their availability at CES 2022.

2. Remember What Your Grammar Teachers Told You About Verb Tense

 A lot of writers want to prepare their press releases before an event. They’ll write it and ready it for distribution in the middle of the event, when they’re at the trade show, for example. Sometimes, novice writers don’t remember the key detail of their verb tenses when writing ahead. They’ll write in future tense (because at the time of the writing, the event is in the future), such as they will be attending an exhibition to launch its latest AI products.

However, they should be writing in the present tense (because the release is being distributed at the time of the event). Make sure the verb tenses are logical for the distribution time of your press release, so it doesn’t come off as strange or mistimed.

Hisense hits all the tenses logically in their opening paragraph, wherein they discuss how they attended CES and how they will introduce more products to African markets in the future.

3. Ask for Permission

Along with knowing the ‘when’ and ‘where’, it’s important that you’ve prepared yourself with all the necessary permissions and authorizations. If you signed an agreement with another company, be sure to run your press release by them. Are they okay with the content? Do they agree with all the statements in the release? Is the way they’re presented positive?

For multimedia, do you have permission to use the image? Did you take it yourself or borrow it? Are there individuals in the image that need to sign off on its use before the photo is distributed with the release?

Always make sure you have permission or authorization to distribute trade show news from

• the trade show
• individuals mentioned in the release
• companies mentioned in the release
• individuals in multimedia
• other companies if their logos or personnel appear in the multimedia

Pro Reminder: It bears repeating no matter how professional you are: make sure you’ve spelled everyone’s names correctly and you have their job titles rendered correctly. Nothing looks worse than you bragging about an agreement with another company and you’ve misspelled their name or misrepresented their position in the company.

4. Make sure that the release addresses the ‘Why’

We’ve mentioned this in previous blog posts, but a trade show release must address the “Why” component. Why did your company attend the trade show?

Did you have a booth? Was your CEO presenting at a sub-conference? Did you receive an award? Whatever the reason, be sure it’s mentioned not only in the release but in the headline.

Likewise, you need to organize your release so that the main reason is the top news aspect. Funnel down from the main reason for your attendance to other (though not necessarily less important) events that might have taken place during your time at the trade show.

For example, let’s say you will be attending a trade show next month because you’ll be introducing a new product. At the same time, you’ll be meeting with key distribution partners, possibly signing some contracts, and picking up a few awards as well. Your release should look something like this:

TCL Electronics begins its release by highlighting its award win at CES. They then pivot to discuss new products they had on display at the show, to explain why they won their award as well as introduce the products to readers.

5. Tell Readers What to Expect Next

Similar to Award-Win Releases, trade show releases need to provide readers with a glimpse of the future. This show is done. What’s coming up next? Will you be attending another show in the future? Will you expand into a new market thanks to this trade show?

Whatever the case, be sure that you keep your readers engaged by offering them something to look forward to. The end of your release is where you can pique the interest of your readers, as both Coway Co., Ltd. and GOVEE MOMENTS LIMITED do in their releases. A press release by Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute includes a link for interested partners to book a meeting session online and a link to its Virtual Press Office, which contains press materials.

6. Multimedia Must-haves

Don’t use photos or videos taken on a phone. The quality is low. Everyone will realize it was taken with a phone, and your release will lose a bit of oomph. Trade shows are all about showing. Use high-quality, meaningful multimedia that shows the unique characteristics of your products, services, or company. Focus on clarity, brightness, and content. Don’t have a picture of a jumbled bunch of individuals or products stacked all around one another.

Some ideas for trade show multimedia:

• Photos of products being exhibited
• Photos of company individuals interacting with visitors
• Photos of visitors testing out products
• Videos of trade show highlights with visitor interviews
• Videos of presentations made by company personnel at the trade show
• Videos demonstrating how the products on display work

Again, be sure you have the relevant permissions and copyrights for any multimedia you might distribute with your release.

Pudu Robotics and PlayNitride Display Co., Ltd demonstrate high-quality multimedia assets that boost their releases’ pick-up possibilities without adding too much clutter to the release.

7. Trade Shows to Watch Out For in 2022

Now, put these ideas into action as you look forward to future trade shows and expos. Be on the lookout for some of the following events.

* Event dates are accurate at the time of publishing.

READ MORE: Like the press release tips from our Senior Editor Nathan Brown? Read more of his tips and advice here.