MAR K E T I N G
The unforeseen and unprecedented global
impact of COVID- has made each
and every one of us have to adapt, and
quickly.
I never imagined that businesses would be
deploying entire workforces to work from home, or
that the UK, and indeed most of the world, would
be placed on lockdown. But there’s one thing that
I knew would remain strong, and that’s the passion
and dedication of our industry.
From the work being done by Liniar to „D print
PPE masks, Extrudaseal turning around huge
orders for sealants used to create barriers to protect
supermarket workers, there have been some really
fantastic examples of our industry adapting in any
way that they can to help play their part in the fight
against Coronavirus.
We’ve always known that FIT Show is a unique
platform that reaches far wider than our three
day event at the NEC. FIT Show is a fenestration
family, a community, and one which will continue
to pull together and push through these challenging
times. And that’s why we have launched our
#FITShowFamily campaign to help keep our
audience connected and serve as a portal to share
useful content during these unprecedented times.
All social media posts that are shared across
Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook using
the #FITShowFamily hashtag are displayed on a
dedicated page onwww.fitshow.co.uk/fit-showfamily.
It includes guest content in the form
podcasts, webinars and video interviews from
across the FIT Show community.
We are also working hard to ensure that we
keep the plans in motion to deliver the best event
when we open the doors next May. The whole
team has adapted our communications strategy to
reflect the current climate. It’s our priority to keep
the lines of communication open with all of our
stakeholders, letting them know that we are still
here, understanding how their businesses are having
to adapt at this time and ensuring that we are on
hand to support in any way that we can.
In the temporary absence of face-to-face
interaction, our audience is tapping into the benefits
of channels such as LinkedIn and Twitter to stay
connected, share useful information, keep their
brands front-of-mind and help one another through
these unprecedented times.
I’ve been massively impressed with the way
the events industry as a whole has responded to
the current crisis. It takes four days to build up
two halls for FIT Show, but in just two weeks our
industry transformed the entire ExCeL Centre into
a fully operational hospital with •,––– beds. This
was closely followed by the NEC and many other
exhibition centres across the country. And what a
transformation we will see, again, when we open
our doors on FIT Show '21 next May.
And whilst many brands have temporarily
shifted to virtual communications in the absence
of face-to-face meetings, our industry, by its very
nature, thrives on social and physical interactions
– touching, seeing and feeling products. What
other marketing channel allows you to connect
with your customers and prospects face-to-face, at
the same time as bringing products and services to
life – engaging and inspiring each and every one of
the human senses? There is no more powerful and
effective marketing platform than live events.
FIT Show ‘ž is quite rightly a long way off in
people’s minds, but I believe we can alllook ahead
to May ž–ž with hope and aspirations for a much
more prosperous period for the entire industry.
Come next May, after an extended period of brands
not being able to make those all important face-toface
connections, there’s no doubt in my mind that
FIT Show ž–ž will be more important than ever.
FIT Show – a beacon
for the industry
As corners of the industry look to reopen for business, FIT Show event
director, Nickie West, looks ahead to May and a very different
business landscape.
May www.ggpmag.com
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