Manned exhibitions

Local outreach – Exhibitions and fairs
Over the past year or two individuals have decided to book small booths at fairs and exhibitions. These have been a success in the majority. These tips should help your event go better. There are lots of exhibition types, from local farmers markets, shopping, peace. All are possible. One that has been used by a few people is the Mind Body and Spirit exhibition. We asked Nick Payne to tell us a little about how he approaches them. To find out where the nearest Mind Body and Spirit exhibition is Google "MBS fairs" for local venues and dates. They are generally quite large with up to 5,000 attendees.

First things first
Form a core planning team of 2-3 people to take responsibility for the planning of the project.
Agree on objectives of project: e.g. nos of DVDs give away, nos of people who listened to a DVD at stand etc, then you can match against outcomes ( what actually happened).

Staffing the Stand
Usually the stand is staffed by teams of 2 people, for stints of either 1½ or 2 hours. This is a great opportunity for a lot of people to help in getting the message out.

“It’s not what you say, it’s the way that you say it”. ‘It’s about a feeling, a smile – and a passion for propagation.’

It is important that everyone who is going to do a stint on the stand knows how to work the equipment and feels comfortable and happy talking to people.

Booking a stand
State you are a registered charity, and are not selling anything – rather that you are giving away free DVDs and materials. Apart from the possibility of a reduced/free rate for your stand, you may also be able to get a free ½ page ad in the show magazine (if there is one) as well as no charge for electrical sockets etc. Make sure you establish the size of your pitch you are getting, and any extra charges that may apply – and then, if necessary, try some gentle negotiation. Booking - prices vary from £50 - 150 for a table 6'x2' depending on size of exhibition.
See if they offer workshops as part of the deal. These can be great fun. Some exhibitions will give you 30 minutes to show a DVD and talk a bit about your chosen subject.

Location
If possible it is always recommended to visit the venue before the event to check out for any potential problems, establish distances from electrical sockets to your stand etc. It is preferable to get a position against a wall, or at least on the outside circumference of the room, as this minimises visual distractions behind you. Be aware that quite often you may only be offered a 2 metre wide ‘pitch’, which will limit your display potential. Sometimes it is possible to get a free upgrade to 2.5 / 3 metres – especially if you are prepared to take an odd corner or alcove space that is on the edge of the main ‘commercial’ area. Just make sure that people will have to walk by you as they explore the other stands. Having a bit more space around you can be a positive advantage, as people are less distracted by neighbouring stands.

Setting up your area - equipment
Ideally you will have some panels which will define your area, as well as providing a background ‘wall’ to put graphics on. These panels should ideally be at least 2 metres high.The SE region uses the MAVIS graphics, printed out as 3 A0 size laminated posters. To display all 3 you will need a background area 2.5 metres wide. It is possible to use just 2 of the 3, in which case your background area can be just under 1.8 metres wide.

What also has worked well is having a 26” LCD TV (with integrated DVD player) which shows a rolling loop of something of your choice. There are plenty of good introductory DVDs you can use. Try showing Designed For Joy or You’ve Got it. Other material can be bought direct from www eurcomshop.com. (Email gettingsupport@hotmail.co.uk if you want material set up on a loop system.) This can either be played at low volume, or with no sound at all. The combination of attractive moving images and thought provoking text works well as a visual attractor. It can also provide a useful link to the actual DVD giveaway, as you can say that the sequence on the TV is also on the DVD. It's also useful to have wireless headphones or small active speakers.
It helps to have a picture of Maharaji on the screen as many people on seeing his face, make connections to other media forms -Sky TV, posters in libraries, DFJ DVDs etc
Local contact numbers or the words of peace website can be used so people have a way to follow up if they are interested.

Material to give away
You need loads of DVDs to give out, (at least 300 for a 2 day event) plus dispensers and some printed material for those that prefer to read. People are very receptive to hearing about this. The new leaflets should go down a treat. There is always an info table at these exhibitions where you might be able to put another dispenser + DVDs. It's good to distribute as many DVDs as you can, but not to get fixated on numbers. A few good connections are far more satisfying than a hundred "leaflet collectors".

Talking to the visitors
People sometimes need a little encouragement to even take a free DVD - they can't believe there's no catch. Just start chatting to people. The DVD is really all the info they need but be prepared to answer questions. Talking with people can be a real pleasure. It is such a gas to watch people take in what's on offer - come to their own understanding of the possibility - and then take a DVD and materials. Sit back and enjoy the experience, though it can be a long day from set up to take down and tiring, so have a shift pattern so no one gets too stretched.

Feedback
Nick says; Two nicely dressed women stood for the longest time looking at our stall in Ilkley and then one said "Jeez, you are surely getting far more proactive than you were years ago" - so you never know how long people have been checking this out. Every bit helps!