Page 38 - February 2017 Voices
P. 38
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Lessons from a Master Chef
by Phyllis A. Harmon, DTM - Public Relations Manager
Have you ever wandered through the people walking by, and was always chopping, stir
exhibitors section of a conference or public event? frying, or doing something to attract a crowd.
Brightly lit booths, splashes of color, attractive What set him apart from everyone else? The
displays, and staff eager to discuss their products aroma of cooking chicken? His banter with the
or services are all there for your entertainment audience? Perhaps, but I think there was more
and consumption. If the exhibitors to it than stagecraft.
have done their jobs well, they Joe knew his audience. He incorporated the
walk away with contact lists and five senses of smell, touch, hearing, sight, and
a hefty increase to their bottom taste into his presentations. While the audience
lines. was savoring steamed chicken, he served up his
One January, I worked with recipes – his secrets to mastering the art of wok
Joe at one of America’s largest RV cooking. He was a master of his game, and the
shows. The show attracted a million audience ate it up.
visitors to Quartzsite, Arizona What can we learn from Joe
during the week of the show. Joe, that will help us be more
the exhibitor, demonstrated successful in our roles
and sold carbon steel woks and as club Public Relations
bamboo steamer baskets, VPs? Here are a few of the
I collected money for lessons he taught me:
him and dispensed
product. What he did, that Attraction—If people
no other vendor was doing, can’t find you, they won’t
was steam chickens – every day. buy your product or service
At around lunch time, the aroma Unlike Joe, most of us don’t have
of cooked chicken wafted throughout a million people walking past our club
the exhibition hall. People flocked to the booth, meeting doors. But that doesn’t mean we can’t
and the woks and steamers flew off the shelf. He reach out through social media, club websites,
didn’t put money into expensive advertising - he print media, or online bulletin boards to attract
put it into chickens. He used his time and effort a million visitors to our door. In one of my
to appeal to his customers’ senses. clubs, a member put a notice in Nextdoor.com
As I walked through the show, some booths and attracted her neighbors to a meeting where
seemed to attract more visitors than others. they joined. Well-designed, graphic-heavy flyers
Exhibitors who had crowds around their booths attract attention. I attracted over 50 people to a
were entertaining their audiences. I saw plenty kickoff meeting using Facebook, personal emails,
of unstaffed booths and booths where the staff and flyers to charter a club in 30 days.
looked bored and didn’t make eye contact with
the passersby. I saw people glance at those booths Entertainment—give them a good show
and move on. and teach them something
Then there was Joe. He was always onstage, Joe was always on stage. He bantered with the
extolling the virtues of the products he was audience, dispensed cooking advice and samples,
selling. He made eye contact, joked with the and shared recipes during his presentations.
38 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 8 FEBRUARY, 2017 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 8 FEBRUARY, 2017
