Get the most from your PRI Show exhibitor experience with these useful tips from PRI’s veteran sales force.

How can you make your company stand out from the other 1,000-plus exhibitors and more than 3,500 booths at the 2024 PRI Show? How do you make your Show experience as smooth as possible? We asked three in-house experts for advice to help you engage better with current customers, attract new customers, and have a stress-free operational experience.

Pre-Show Promotion

Senior Sales Director Alan Josse advised that after your company’s booth location has been determined, next focus on pre-Show marketing efforts. “Before the Show, spend time working on your marketing plan and timeline,” he said. “Is your sales team going to set up appointments with key accounts? Do you have a list of key prospects you are going to target? Do you send out a newsletter where you can feature the PRI Show logo with your booth number? Are you going to set up a social media posting schedule to build into December 12? Have you submitted a product release through the PRI website where it can be viewed by the worldwide press months in advance of the Show?”

Keep in mind that numerous motorsports publications run preview articles about the PRI Show well in advance of the three-day event. If your company plans to debut any new products or make major announcements at the PRI Show, upload press releases as early as possible online through the Exhibitor Dashboard so media members can reference these announcements in their coverage. Always include photos with the releases as content with photos is more likely to be used compared to announcements without images.
Industry Sales Director Celina Kluba emphasized the importance of pre-Show promotion. “Advertise in the ‘Big 3’ issues of PRI Magazine [October, November, and December] and get a fourth ad free in either September or January. This is a great way to promote your products and booth number at the Show,” she said.
“Send a newsletter to your customers letting them know you will be at PRI and include your booth number,” Kluba added. “Also include the attendee registration link [performanceracing.com/trade-show/attend]. This creates goodwill by encouraging them to come to PRI and saving them the hassle of finding the link to register online.”
When emailing customers, she suggested including the PRI Show exhibitor logo and booth number in all email signatures leading up to the December trade show.
Finally, Kluba added, “Post on social media about your presence at  the PRI Show. Tease new products/displays or Show specials you will have at PRI 2024.”
Proper planning on the operations side is also beneficial, according to fellow Industry Sales Director Scott Hartwick. “Planning in advance is essential and the best way to save money on booth services such as carpet, freight, or electrical by taking advantage of discounts,” he recommended.
For example, the deadline for “early bird pricing” for carpet, chairs, tables, drayage, and the like from Fern is November 15.

At The Show and Beyond

When you are onsite at the Indiana Convention Center (ICC) and Lucas Oil Stadium, utilize the numerous resources that are already available to exhibitors to improve visibility and encourage greater attendee interaction.
“Take advantage of some of the resources that are built into the Show,” said Hartwick. “This can include participating in the Featured Products Showcase or possibly incorporating some onsite signage or print advertising to promote your Show presence to potential buyers.”

Early bird pricing is $75 for each Featured Products Showcase item entered online by December 6. After that date, pricing increases to $100 per item and must be entered onsite. For more information, visit performanceracing.com/trade-show/exhibit/feature-product-showcase.
“At the Show, does your booth design welcome attendees into your space?” asked Josse. “Does your display clearly communicate the benefits of your brand and your products? Are you going to post a Show special on social media each day? Are you going to bring celebrities or influencers to your booth? If so, promote that. Do you need signage or banners to help leave a ‘trail of breadcrumbs’ to your booth? Does your company stand out on the online floorplan and on the Show app?”
Kluba expanded on creating Show specials. “Have a Show special that you offer only onsite to incentivize orders to be placed,” she said. “You can create a second post-Show special valid through the end of December or January incentivizing those who didn’t order onsite to get their orders in shortly after the Show. This also helps continue to track ROI post Show.”
Finally, she emphasized, “Be proactive—have a game plan. Be engaging during Show hours versus sitting in your booth on your phone or laptop.”

Exhibitor Deadlines

SEPTEMBER 24
• PRI November Show Issue Exhibitor Listing
OCTOBER 9
• Lead Retrieval “Early Bird Pricing”
OCTOBER 25
• Lead Retrieval “Advanced Pricing”
NOVEMBER 15
• Fern “Early Bird Pricing” for Carpet, Chairs, Tables, etc.
• Exhibitor Credentials (to be mailed in advance)
• Meeting Room Requests
• Trailer & Rig Parking Pass
NOVEMBER 27
• Electrical & Utilities “Early Bird Pricing”