Buffalo Home & Garden Show

Situation

Each spring, the Buffalo Home & Garden Show attracts nearly 40,000 visitors to the city's Convention Center over its nine-day run. At the show, more than 500 exhibitors offer the latest trends in landscaping, home improvement and décor. Considering the fact that it has been an annual event for six decades, it is TC&C's challenge to make the trade show appear fresh and exciting each year to the media and general public. In 2008, "going green" became mainstream, and we sensed an opportunity to capitalize on the trend.

Execution

Many of the show's exhibitors were launching new environmentally friendly products that promised to save consumers energy and money over the long term, so we had a lot of material to use in promoting this angle. The show's theme was Rooms to Dream. Each room was designed with a green theme, complete with repurposed furniture, recycled items and other products that had little-to-no impact on the environment. Because we wanted to be comprehensive with our green message, we created an environmentally friendly press kit using recycled paper. TC&C was aggressive with its media pitches and follow-up calls, and had a full interview schedule for the show manager beginning days before the opening weekend.

Results

The 2008 show garnered heavy media coverage. While most coverage took place opening weekend, we also secured several opportunities to highlight different show features throughout the week, resulting in a sea of green headlines. The coverage was generally positive and included a total of 18 print and online placements, 15 television stories and six radio interviews. According to a post-show survey, over 80% of the attendees said that the news coverage motivated them to come.