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TIM LESMEISTER - Trade Show Executive

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Continued from page 19<br />

Out of the Garage… and into the exhibit booth. WD-40’s marketing has<br />

helped make its spray lubricant a mandatory tool in most households.<br />

Car Connection. Since WD-40 is a basic necessity for both professional<br />

and amateur auto mechanics, a tie-in with NASCAR racing works well on<br />

the show floor.<br />

is a slight reduction from 2008. However,<br />

our participation in corporate-sponsored<br />

events such as the ACE Hardware<br />

Convention & Expo and True Value is now<br />

between 50 and 75 a year. We consider<br />

these “a way to do business.”<br />

Bob: What about your current marketing<br />

mix?<br />

Tim: In terms of trade shows specifically,<br />

the trend line has been up and down –<br />

this year it’s up. Our overall mix changes<br />

from year to year. I’m a big fan of testing<br />

new marketing techniques to reach our<br />

targets in the most effective and efficient<br />

way possible. And as technology changes<br />

and our brands change, our corporate<br />

priorities change. These all affect our<br />

approach to meeting our annual financial<br />

commitments.<br />

Bob: Can you give me examples of new<br />

techniques you’ve tried recently?<br />

Tim: As I mentioned earlier, I’m a big fan<br />

of testing new ideas. Recently we tried<br />

word-of-mouth viral marketing, direct<br />

response, digital media and we’re starting<br />

to do a lot more with our website and<br />

blogging. We participate with many of<br />

our customers in their radio, print and TV<br />

ads. We also recently tied in with movies,<br />

most recently the hit Marley and Me, and<br />

it was a huge success. We constantly try<br />

new things. If they do well, we expand<br />

them, and if not, we learn from the<br />

experience and move on. MLR!<br />

Bob: How large is your staff and who do<br />

you report to?<br />

Tim: There are 14 of us in the marketing<br />

department. We take turns attending<br />

trade shows along with our sales staff of<br />

about 35 who all report to one of our<br />

sales vice presidents. I report to WD-40’s<br />

president of the Americas.<br />

Bob: What does a typical WD-40 exhibit<br />

look like?<br />

Tim: We have a few standard layouts that<br />

showcase all of our products. We use<br />

Exhibitgroup/Giltspur to design and<br />

build our custom exhibits and Skyline for<br />

pop-ups. We finalize our shows as far as<br />

six months in advance. By that I mean<br />

everything about the show is defined<br />

and paid for, staff is assigned to work<br />

the exhibit, our service contractor is on<br />

board with all our requirements, hotels are<br />

reserved, etc.<br />

Bob: How do you track results?<br />

Tim: If it’s a selling show, we simply<br />

track sales. If we’ve been exhibiting at<br />

a show long enough, we have a history<br />

that enables us to make comparisons,<br />

identify trends, etc. Recently, we have<br />

seen fewer attendees at the shows. At<br />

some shows, we just track the number<br />

of leads generated since we know<br />

that a percentage will convert to sales.<br />

Everything depends on the goals we set<br />

up in advance – our MLR matrix.<br />

Bob: How are you dealing with reduced<br />

attendee numbers?<br />

Tim: It’s somewhat expected, but still<br />

concerns us. It becomes one factor<br />

among many in deciding which shows<br />

to exhibit in. Even the selling shows<br />

which we continue to support present a<br />

challenge when attempting to match last<br />

year’s numbers. Companies are reluctant<br />

to carry heavy inventories so we are<br />

seeing them buy less.<br />

Bob: Isn’t that a challenge you face with<br />

other marketing media, not just trade<br />

shows?<br />

Tim: In today’s environment, more than<br />

ever, we have to evaluate our investment in<br />

our brands. It is not “business as usual”<br />

20 March 2009 <strong>Trade</strong> <strong>Show</strong> <strong>Executive</strong> www.<strong>Trade</strong><strong>Show</strong><strong>Executive</strong>.com

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