Building Media Relationships and Cultivating Facetime

Rick Trigatti Interview with Inside Logistics
Cimcorp North America President Rick Trigatti poses for a photo during an on-site interview with Inside Logistics at MODEX 2018 in Atlanta.

An inspired and precisely executed public relations push before, during and after an industry trade show is essential to ensure the maximum return on investment during an event and to reap the rewards of media exposure. That’s why PR is a critical component of trade show planning.

While capturing new sales leads and prospects is a high priority, securing media coverage should be a paramount goal for any company exhibiting at a trade show. The companies that succeed are almost always the ones with one or more smart, experienced and determined PR professionals on hand to attract, capture and hold the media’s attention.

For four days last April, the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta became the center of the supply chain industry universe when it hosted MODEX 2018. Showcasing the latest manufacturing, distribution and supply chain solutions in the materials handling and logistics industry, the event boasted a record 28,000 attendees from more than 800 companies.

MODEX, alternating every other year with its sister trade event ProMat, is a staple event for material handling and logistics equipment and systems manufacturers, integrators, consultants, and third party logistic providers. [Here’s a primer on the key differences between MODEX and ProMat.]

Every company in attendance at MODEX 2018 had the same burning desire – to be noticed as the brightest star amid a vast constellation of competitors. Two of MODEX’s 28,000 attendees were DPR Group Account Executive, Edward Lin, and then Vice President of Marketing and Operations, Liz Palm.

While Liz was at MODEX to serve as a brand ambassador for DPR Group, Edward attended the show on behalf of Cimcorp. Headquartered in Finland, with offices in Canada and the United States, Cimcorp has built and installed over 2,500 logistics automation solutions in 40 countries across six continents.

Building Relationships

Onsite at MODEX, Edward’s primary mission as Cimcorp’s envoy was to build brand awareness and cultivate meaningful relationships among trade press, editors and journalists. Press coverage can capture a prospective customer’s attention and elevate our clients to the short list of the prospect’s buying cycle.

“My main goal at MODEX was to draw editors to Cimcorp’s booth and put Cimcorp on their radar for future stories,” says Edward. “It’s really about establishing and nurturing relationships.”

Effective PR pros don’t just fire off a press release, stand in front of the company’s exhibit booth and wait for editors to appear. Edward invested time in advance to research the media players, coordinate-face-to-face meetings, network, create a message and develop a strategy to promote Cimcorp.

“The biggest thing is to get that facetime with the journalists. I think meeting face-to-face leaves a strong impression on editors. In the age of internet-driven PR and marketing when even phone calls are starting to dwindle down, establishing a personal relationship is critical,” says Edward.

While at MODEX, Edward also had important, and all too rare, face-to-face interaction with his Cimcorp colleagues, including a strategy meeting with Cimcorp marketing team members from North America and Finland.

Partnership + Preparation = ROI

When considering exhibitor fees, travel and lodging expenses, and time spent in preparation, MODEX, ProMat and other trade shows represent a significant investment for any company. The costs can be hard to justify, but if you prepare properly and partner with a PR and marketing agency that really knows the industry, the added value of media exposure and ongoing press coverage will greatly enhance your ROI. Out of the conversations with numerous journalists at MODEX, Cimcorp was able to gain several interviews, bylined article opportunities and featured stories in high-profile publications in the materials handling and supply chain spaces.

“In a lot of other industries, you’ve got just your one little space in the market. In the overall supply chain universe, you’ve got manufacturing, logistics, shippers, all in galaxies of their own yet interconnected,” Edward explains. “That’s something a lot of people, and a lot of agencies, just don’t understand. They don’t understand those relationships. We do.”

Charles Wisniowski is DPR Group’s Marketing Writer.

What People Are Saying

In less than six months, DPR Group has helped Protech develop and launch a new website and successfully introduce Protech Cloud Business Solutions to the market. We truly value the expertise and services that the DPR Group team brings to the table and look forward to a long, successful relationship together.

Brian Bruffey
Protech

DPR Group’s PR campaigns have helped us increase the visibility of U-TECK’s products for the utility, telecom and construction industries, especially our WeedEnder® vegetation control mattings. Since working with DPR, we have noticed 30% and 50% increases in traffic to our U-TECK and WeedEnder websites, respectively.

Nan Jackson
U-TECK

DPR Group has achieved results for DirectMail.com that have far exceeded our initial expectations. We look forward to a long-term relationship with DPR Group as an integral part of our corporate growth goals.

Robert Salta
DirectMail.com

DPR Group is a trusted adviser to both Quality Associates, Inc. and DocPoint Solutions. DPR’s wide range of PR services ensures that our most important news is what our industry views first.

Scott Swidersky
Quality Associates, Inc.

DPR Group really understands our industry and the unique role InfinityQS plays in it. They provide both strategic guidance and tactical execution to deliver coverage in key trade publications and exposure with industry analysts and third-party influencers. The team is flexible and always willing to roll up their sleeves to assist us in a wide range of marketing activities beyond our traditional public relations initiatives. DPR Group is more than a vendor. They are a true, trusted and valued partner.

Greg Matranga
InfinityQS

DPR Group has provided valuable public relations insight and helped us increase our marketplace visibility on a local and national level. Our partnership has enabled us to focus on growing our client base, while expanding our messaging and showcasing our unique services.

Kim Cubine

Since 2007, DPR Group has been a trusted business partner providing expert public relations and marketing advice. DPR Group has secured tremendous positive media coverage for our firm, bringing visibility to our software and assisting our sales.

Felix Pekar

DPR has been an asset to Barcoding’s marketing department since 2010. Through their expert writing, advice, and connections, we’ve secured local and national media coverage, leveraged the power of search engine optimization (SEO) with a strategy of inbound content marketing, and strengthened our brand’s reputation as a leading systems integrator.

Jody Costa
Barcoding

At Linortek, we specialize in designing and manufacturing controllers for the Internet of Things, a market involving connecting all type of equipment and devices to the Internet. We made the decision to partner with DPR Group because of the company’s proven track record of securing greater market visibility in the high-tech and manufacturing arenas. In addition, the DPR Group team is flexible enough to adapt their ongoing strategies and programs to help us meet our evolving needs and goals.

Liyu Nalven, Vice President
Linortek

DPR Group’s extensive knowledge and experience in PR and marketing have elevated the Cetrom brand, increased awareness of our services across the industry, and secured numerous award wins and media placements. We value the partnership that has developed and DPR’s contribution to our overall success.

Christopher Stark, President and CEO
Cetrom Information Technology, Inc.

The key factor for Cimcorp when choosing a PR firm was finding representation that could create well-written, persuasive content and elevate brand recognition for the company in our industry. DPR exceeds our expectations and helps us beyond content creation. They have become a reliable resource for many of our global marketing initiatives.

Lori Vaughan, Marketing Communications Manager
Cimcorp North America

At this point in time, Hermes has a well-established brand throughout Europe, but the company does not have the same level of name recognition in North America. So we decided to partner with DPR Group to let U.S. retailers know about the full range of e-commerce services Hermes offers for e-businesses and international expansion. DPR Group did a fantastic job for Hermes at the Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition (IRCE), promoting attendance at our sessions and scheduling media interviews before and after. We’ve never had as much press coverage at any U.S. event before. I highly recommend DPR Group to foreign companies seeking to launch their products and services in U.S. markets.

Uwe Bald
Hermes

IT Support by SADOSSecure, Fast Hosting for WordPress