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Extreme makeover planned for Reed Gift Fairs Sydney September fair
[Fri 30/09/2011 10:57:57]
Exhibition director Omer Soker has revealed the show, which is a regional fair for New South Wales retailers, will undergo a series of changes to give it a fresh look and vibe to improve the experience for buyers and improve exhibitors’ return on investment.
“We are used to our fairs outperforming the market so what we have planned is a major relaunch of the Sydney September fair for next year, so there’s a whole big strategic initiative that will be happening,” he says.
“I have significant investments from Reed head office to boost that fair and also we have got tonnes and tonnes of research. Over the past year or so we have researched not only exhibitors but buyers [as well] and I’ve done a number of in-depth research documents with visitors and the advisory board to really get to the crux of how we can boost the return of investment for exhibitors and how we can attract even more buyers to come to the fair.”
The details of the new look fair will be unveiled in the coming months, but Soker says the emphasis will be on new.
“Research clearly says what buyers want more than anything else is newness. They want to see new products and new things at the fair and that’s what we’re going to be doing with the relaunch.
 “Most people launch all the new stuff at the Melbourne August and Sydney February fairs and the NSW buyers want new stuff, they don’t want to see the same old stuff again. We’re going to ask exhibitors to hold back maybe one product, if they’re releasing 10 products at the Melbourne August fair, just hold back one for Sydney September.
“So if you’ve got 400 exhibitors and everyone has got something new you’ve got a fair that’s fresh and that way we can attract many more buyers to come in [and] promote it much more aggressively and assertive to buyers.
“When they come in they’ll see a fresh look. There’ll be new lounges, new networking areas, they’ll have a section of brand-new companies, first timers, new people coming into it, so that’ll also provide a point of difference and a freshness as well because it’ll give buyers to see new funky things,” he explains.
The Sydney September Fair attracted about 9,000 visitors in 2011. Soker would like to see that figure increase to 10,000 – 11,000 quality buyers in 2012. In comparison, the Sydney February fair, which is a national event, brings in just under 15,000 including buyers from the big companies.
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Reed Gift Fairs Sydney September Fair 
