Recap of the 2014 International Boatbuilder Exhibition and Conference marketing efforts and award winners
The International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition and Conference (IBEX), owned and produced by Professional BoatBuilder magazine and the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), is the marine industry’s largest technical trade event.
IBEX reports that this year’s show is sold out with 573 exhibiting companies and more than 7,000 marine professionals registered to attend.
Here is a round-up of some of the more noteworthy marketing aspects of this year’s IBEX Show.
IBEX Mobile App
For the third year in a row, the IBEX Show uses the ChirpE mobile app solution to make it easier to navigate around IBEX’s exhibit halls with complete show information.
The IBEX app was designed specifically for use in a trade show environment. It is user-friendly, and operates on all major smartphone brands. The IBEX App gives easy access to the List of Exhibitors, booth numbers, a searchable exhibit floor, live links to all social media, a list of events, and complete information on seminars, workshops and locations, and more.
Attendees received app notifications while on the Expo floor via Bluetooth from the mobile app sponsor, Volvo Penta, with their company profile and booth locations where attendees can view their featured products.
The app is available for web, Android or iOS devices and attendees download the IBEX Mobile App for free.
Marketing Toolkit
IBEX created a full promotional toolkit for exhibitors to help them promote their presence at IBEX. Exhibitors can download free logos, banners, press resources, social media post samples and more. IBEX also offered a number of on-site, digital, and print advertising opportunities in addition to product or event sponsorships.
IBEX Infographic
The IBEX Show created an infographic highlighting key details and statistics for the 2014 show.
The infographic features reasons to attend – showcasing innovative marine products to expect at the show with a boat illustration – as well as an overview of education sessions planned at the event.
Highlights of Tampa, the host city for the 2014 event, are also included in the IBEX infographic.
2014 IBEX Innovation Awards
The 2014 IBEX Innovation Awards honored 19 products that were recognized for technical advancement.. NMMA created the Innovation Awards program to recognize significant contributions to marine technology. The winning products were selected from 90 entries by a panel of experienced technical boating journalists from Boating Writers International (BWI).
Marine Industry CSI Awards
NMMA’s Director of Engineering Standards, Robert Newsome, presented 46 manufacturers with 2014 Marine Industry Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Awards for excellence in customer satisfaction. The Marine Industry CSI Awards honor manufacturers that actively measure customer satisfaction and pursue continuous improvement to better serve the customer. Award recipients achieved and maintained an independently-measured standard of excellence of 90 percent or higher in customer satisfaction over the past year, based on information provided by customers purchasing a new boat or engine during the period between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014.
Exhibitor Video Awards
The Exhibitor Video Awards (EVA) honor the best product and company videos submitted by IBEX exhibitors. The goal of the EVAs is to showcase the technology and innovation exhibitors are bringing to IBEX and to create an interactive way for IBEX exhibitors to promote themselves and their products or services.
EVAs will be awarded in three categories: Best Company Video, Best Product Video and People’s Choice.
The winner of the 2014 People’s Choice Award (based on Facebook votes) was SeaStar Solutions for their All-New SeaStar Jack Plate video:
Discover Boating Makes Splash At IBEX
Discover Boating’s Stories of Discovery ‘storyteller’ Jake Owen made a special appearance at IBEX yesterday, touring the show floor to check out our industry’s latest innovations and attending the Party for a Purpose to meet and greet attendees. To kick off Jake’s visit, during the Industry Breakfast, NMMA President Thom Dammrich showed a highlights reel of Discover Boating’s work with Jake and talked about the great success of the tour as well as the Stories of Discovery series–two key pieces of the overall campaign. As a result of this work, and Discover Boating’s other successful campaign elements, more than 3.5 million people visited DiscoverBoating.com this year, a 54% jump over last year.
In addition to these efforts, show management maintains a solid presence on social media sites – with an emphasis on LinkedIn and Twitter where professionals are more likely to interact. Updates for the 2014 IBEX Show have been particularly active on Twitter throughout the show to engage and inform both exhibitors and attendees.
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