40. Road Show

What it is:

Road shows are mini-conferences or tours that are typically conducted by a single organization, although related companies that don't compete will often participate. Usually, individual events last for a day or less and are conducted in cities where there is a high concentration of prospective customers.

A cool tool for:

• Ongoing customer training on complex product issues
• Expanding brand awareness through education
• Promoting new versions/releases of established products through informative content

Not so hot for:

• Simple consumer products/services
• Companies that don't have problem-solving information to share
• Organizations without the resources for a major city-by-city tour

AUTODESK
	Autodesk coordinates a number of events across North America that deepen its bonds with developers, manufacturers, engineers and more.

3 key play points:

1. Concentrate on the take-away: what will participants get by attending? Content is King!
2. Coordination of event planning and promotions is crucial; allocate the resources for this
3. You may need to train internal talent or outsource event management to maximize road show success

Bonus Links:

• How to Take Your Marketing on the Road from Exhibitor Online
  
• Content Marketing Definition from Wikipedia (includes events)
  

Chapter 39 - Webinar/Webcast

Chapter 41 - Executive Roundtable