Navigating Turbulence: Marketing a New Trade Show Amidst COVID-19

Employee Spotlight Profile

Chris Saulnier, Marketing Manager

Plastics Technology
CompositesWorld
PTXPO

Throughout my career at Gardner Business Media, I have been involved in the launch of several innovative events and products. I’ve been part of teams that have created new industry events, such as the Additive Manufacturing and Top Shops conferences and I’ve helped our digital product mix morph to meet the needs of our clients through solutions like our Digital Demos. With each new endeavor comes a litany of challenges and opportunities. My biggest challenge came in the Spring of 2021 when Plastics Technology announced the Plastics Technology Expo (PTXPO).

Chris and the Gardner Business Media team at the 2015 Additive Manufacturing Conference.

Responding to a need expressed by processors, moldmakers and their suppliers, a new trade show for the North American plastics processing market was born. PTXPO was set to debut in March 2022 as the first major plastics event in the Midwest since 2009. Based on surveys conducted by Gardner’s market intelligence team, we knew that a major U.S. plastics exhibition featuring the latest equipment and technology demonstrations was something the industry craved. There was only one problem, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to wreak havoc across the U.S. and world.

As we began to showcase PTXPO to the plastics and mold making communities, we faced the normal hurdles one would expect when promoting a new trade show. Our marketing team had to quickly establish awareness about the event in the market to attract both attendees and exhibitors.

Through Gardner’s industry magazines, e-newsletters, websites, social media channels, and events our team began to spread the word about the show. In an effort to further awareness, we advertised the event in other industry media such as Industry Week and Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing. We also provided our exhibitors and association partners a suite of marketing tools to help them promote their involvement.

The process was slow at first, but through consistent promotion and messaging we had liftoff. Our team began to see the traffic to our website increase and more and more exhibitors and attendees signing up for the show.

As we continued to promote the event, it quickly became apparent that despite our hopes and optimism, COVID-19 would play a significant role in the success or failure of the show. It was time to prepare for turbulence.

As I mentioned earlier, this wasn’t my first rodeo in terms of promoting a new event. However, nothing could have prepared me for the challenges we encountered due to the major constraints the pandemic had imposed on manufacturers, businesses, and people around the globe.

We dealt with a constant fluctuation of exhibitors, as companies faced tough decisions regarding their budgets and the health of their employees. Supply chain, travel and shipping disruptions made exhibiting at a trade show more difficult and expensive than before.

Questions from exhibitors and attendees alike began to flood our website’s chat and our email inboxes. Would the show be held virtually? What would PTXPO’s vaccination and mask policy be? It was clear that our team had to respond, but it wasn’t so simple. The virus was shifting rapidly and we were at the mercy of Illinois,’ Rosemont’s, and the convention center’s COVID-19 policies.

We couldn’t say with certainly whether masks or vaccination would be required by the time the show arrived. We didn’t know. What we did know is that PTXPO would happen in March and we had to figure out how to keep our attendees informed without adding more confusion to an already confusing situation. We also had to be prepared to pivot our messaging and marketing strategy as regulations and policies changed.

It was time to expand our playbook. To address the dire need for consistent communication, we started the PTXPO Update video series. This allowed our leadership to address the changing guidelines week-by-week in a format that was conversational and honest. These videos also allowed us to highlight the growing excitement for the event and pass along critical information to attendees and exhibitors.

As we inched closer to the event, we further emphasized local advertising in the Midwest. Our team designed billboards for the event that ran in the Chicago and Milwaukee metro areas. We also created an ad with AM 560 The Answer, a popular morning radio station in Chicago.

After months of uncertainty, our team finally got clarity on February 9, 2022. J.B. Pritzker, the Governor of Illinois announced that the state’s indoor mask mandate would be lifted on February 28, exactly 30 days before PTXPO. Following Illinois’ and the city of Chicago’s lead, health officials in Cook County dropped their mask mandate and their proof-of-vaccination requirement at the end of February as well.

A large group of attendees enjoy a Moldmaking Tech Talk session at PTXPO 2022

Despite our unpredictable and often bumpy ride, we nailed the landing. PTXPO 2022 was a resounding success, with nearly 7,000 plastics professionals signing up for the inaugural event. I’m incredibly proud of the work our team did to bring the Plastics Technology Expo to life and I think I speak for all of us when I say, I look forward to a less turbulent and even more successful PTXPO 2023.

About the Author

Chris Saulnier

Chris Saulnier serves as the marketing manager for Plastics Technology, CompositesWorld and their associated events. He got his start in manufacturing media in 2015, when he joined Gardner Business Media as a digital marketing coordinator.

Chris also has experience on Gardner’s events team, where he helped produce world-class trade shows and conferences.

Chris holds a B.S. in Journalism from Ohio University. He currently serves on the M.E. Lyons YMCA’s Advisory Board. Chris is an avid Cincinnati sports fan, a 3D printing hobbyist, and a Dungeon Master. He lives in Cincinnati with his wife Lauren and their two cats.