January 26, 2022
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Spire Agency

Faithful to the belief that the world around us should be well-designed, Dallas-based Spire Agency elevates B2B brands through strategic brand design that builds bottom lines. The agency helps companies achieve better results faster by developing brand assets that are targeted, innovative, relevant and cost-effective. Spire Agency’s ultimate goal is to elevate their client’s B2B brands, creating positive and memorable interactions between the brand and its audience.


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Spire Agency’s Mike Stopper Evaluates the Value of Time in B2B Sales Cycle
Spire Agency Posted On January 18, 2022


The dropping of the ball in Times Square and the singing of “Auld Lang Syne” seem far behind us now as 2022 is officially on the clock. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are synonymous with champagne, kissing, fireworks, black-eyed peas, resolutions, and college football. But when you think of it, time is probably the most identifiable part of the New Year.

Whether you are counting down the final 10 seconds of the year, waiting for the clock to strike midnight, or you’re turning the mental page on another calendar year, it’s perfectly natural at this time of year to reflect on time—past, present, and future.

Time is perhaps the most important commodity in the world. Everyone has an equal amount of it. And it is incredibly precious. In both our personal and professional lives, it’s important to make the most of our time. After all, “Time is money,” as Benjamin Franklin once said.

“Time isn’t the main thing. It’s the only thing.”

—Miles Davis, American Jazz Musician

A recent Gallup Poll survey revealed that the average workweek for U.S. full-time employees consists of 47 hours. That almost adds up to an extra full day of work every week. So, we thought we’d look at important time measures in B2B marketing, and how we spend the precious hours of our workday.

Decision Making

Compared to time spent before the pandemic, buyers are investing more time in purchasing decisions, says Iron Paper. While we may have more time to research, this uptick in time spent is also a result of limited dollars from the stunted economy. Every dollar spent is scrutinized because every dollar is precious.

  • The process of buying lasts up to four months for nearly 75% of buyers, according to Marketing Charts.
  • The B2B News Network found that B2B buyers spend 40+ hours researching products and services.
  • Today’s sales process takes 22% longer than five years ago, according to Biznology.
  • The first five seconds of page-load time have the highest impact on conversion rates. Website conversion rates drop by an average of 4.42% with each additional second of load time, says Portent.

Email

“You’ve got mail.” And perhaps, more of it than ever before. Anyone who said email marketing is dead never met a pandemic before. Email reaches buyers throughout the day, every day.

  • 58% of adults check their email first thing in the morning, according to Capterra.
  • Employees spend an average of 13 hours per week in their inbox, says Campaign Monitor.
  • B2B prospects spend 10 to 60 minutes each day looking at promotional email, according to WebFx.
  • 35% of marketers choose to send three to five emails per week to their customers, says HubSpot.

“It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.”

—Steve Jobs, Apple Founder

Blogs

Work-from-home has given more buyers the time to read, or even write, blog posts. Blogs are impactful from a search engine optimization (SEO) standpoint, but also provide a steady stream of content for your inbound marketing program. However, the content has to be beneficial to the reader or you can lose them quickly.

  • The average blog post takes three hours and 55 minutes to write, says Orbit Media.
  • Marketers have only 122 seconds to make an impact and engage their audiences with branded content before losing them, according to Influence & Co.
  • The average reader spends just 37 seconds reading a blog post, according to Tech Jury.
Search

Search is the first dollar you should spend in media, as it intersects with someone deep in the buying funnel.

  • About 64% of marketers actively invest time in SEO, according to HubSpot.
  • 74% of business buyers will spend over half of their total research time online, according to Big Commerce.
  • One in five smartphone owners worldwide use their device every five minutes, says IAB.

“Time, time, time. See what’s become of me.”

—The Bangles, “Hazy Shade of Winter”

Social

Social media is the one form of media that can be in front of buyers every day. We religiously dedicate time to it in both our personal and professional lives, and it can be a powerful sales channel when used by brands appropriately.

  • 86% of people use social media at least once a day, according to WebFx.
  • Every person spends roughly 8.4 minutes per day on YouTube, according to Tech Crunch.
  • 33% of a user’s total internet time goes to social media, according to WebFx.
  • The average LinkedIn user spends six minutes and 55 seconds every day on the platform, says SimilarWeb.
  • Optimal Facebook posting time for B2B is 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, according to Sprout Social.
  • Optimal time to tweet for B2B is between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays.
  • Optimal B2B posting time for LinkedIn is Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and at noon; Thursdays at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.; and Fridays at 9 a.m.
  • Optimal posting time for Instagram is 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Time’s up. As you evaluate the year ahead, know where your B2B buyers, and even your B2B self, spend time. And spend the time interacting with them at many different brand touchpoints to ensure the time spent with your brand is valuable. After all, time waits for no one.

To stay up to date on Spire news, awards, and blog posts, subscribe to our Spire Wire newsletter.


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Spire Agency Wins Pharmaceutical Morris & Dickson
Spire Agency Posted On December 18, 2021


Morris & Dickson, the fourth-largest full-line pharmaceutical distributor, has selected Spire as its new marketing partner.

The family-owned company began in a Shreveport riverfront warehouse in 1841. Today, it is a $4 billion company with over 30,000 SKUs delivered from a 12-acre, state-of-the-art distribution center. Morris & Dickson’s stellar reputation is built on next-day delivery of drugs and related healthcare products to independent pharmacies, health systems and alternative care facilities across 19 states and counting.

“As the industry’s largest independently-owned distributor, we’re putting pharmacies first,” says Jody Hatcher, Chief Executive Officer, who joined Morris & Dickson in April. “Spire has proven its expertise in B2B marketing, and strong knowledge in our pharmaceutical and healthcare space.”

Spire is Texas’ most-awarded B2B branding agency, according to AAF Dallas and the D/FW Chapter of the American Marketing Association. The agency is also on the Clutch 1000 global list of Best B2B Agencies in the World, and was also named to the even more exclusive Clutch 100 list for both Fastest Growth and Sustained Growth. It is also a current member of the Inc. 5000 for the fastest-growing independent companies in the U.S.

Work for Morris & Dickson will initially include messaging and positioning, updated brand standards, social media and sales materials as the company.

“It’s an honor to work on a 180-year-old brand with such a positive reputation,” says Kimberly Tyner, partner and chief creative officer at Spire. “There is a deep, emotional story that’s ready to be told about a genuinely good company that helps healthcare facilities help so many others.”

Spire was founded in 2005 and has had a record year with the addition of clients like Cole Ranch, Customized Communications, Halff, SitePro Rentals, State Bank of Texas, The Solar Company and Yak Access.

To stay up to date on Spire news, awards, and blog posts, subscribe to our newsletter.


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Spire Agency EOY Move | New Office, New Biz & Lots of Awards
Spire Agency Posted On December 7, 2021


Despite a lot of the residual craziness of 2020 rolling into this year, 2021 has been a record and exciting year for Spire Agency. From winning 29 coveted industry awards — the most in agency history per year – to growing our design and account management teams, Spire continues to elevate. And now Texas’ most-awarded B2B agency is changing its Texas address with a move into a brand-new office space.

The search for a new office space was halted in early 2020 when the world shut down due to the pandemic. After a long year and a half of working from home amid global uncertainty, Spire returned to the office in a hybrid capacity during late spring and quickly learned a lesson about our new normal – we still needed more space.

Thus, the search for a new agency home began once again. And after many months of searching, numerous office tours and negotiating, executive team members Steve Gray, Kimberly Tyner, and Mike Stopper found the perfect new location for Spire’s growing team.

The agency was first located in Addison Circle, then moved to the Preston Road location in Dominion Plaza in 2019, and now we’ve returned to our roots in Addison. The new office is located right in the Liberty Plaza I building off the tollway and Keller Springs Road, next to the headquarters for Mary Kay.

“With our growth and ongoing need to add new talent, we were rapidly running out of space. It was important to us to create an environment where everyone had a comfortable and inspiring place to do their best work. I love the new space and now we have room to continue hiring!”

–Kimberly Tyner, Partner & CCO

Once the new location was found and paperwork signed, agency partners Steve Gray and Kimberly Tyner made it a priority for Spire to have a quick and seamless transition into the new space as to not take any agency time away from focusing on client work. From staying late during the week and spending countless hours situating the new space over several weekends, it was their goal to make the new space feel like home for the agency as quickly as possible.

Kimberly wasted no time getting our new walls painted in Spire’s signature Cayenne Red color and planning the layout for the rest of the office. From dedicated breakout areas for the creative team to brainstorm and concept, to more conference rooms for the account team to plan, strategize, and meet with clients, the whole Spire family is extremely excited to be settled in our new office to make memories in and to continue delivering badass B2B branding for our clients.

“I am so thankful for all the Spire team members, both present and past, that have contributed over the last decade to Spire’s growth and our need for a bigger office this year. Our larger office will help to accommodate our continued growth and expanding team. More conference and meeting rooms, more collaborative space to work with our clients, and some incredible views of the North Dallas area out our windows! We look forward to welcoming our clients to our new home.”

– Steve Gray, Partner

The new space features a sizeable lobby, three formal conference rooms, three smaller breakout rooms and a nicely appointed creative war room. Each of the rooms is named after the highest mountain ranges around the world – like Everest, Kilimanjaro, and Denali – to play off the agency mantra of Elevating B2B Brands. The agency’s new kitchen is amazing with 26 feet of counter as a work, eat, and hang space. And the account and creative teams continue to be in an open-concept environment to enhance collaboration and culture.

The address of the new digs is 5055 Keller Springs Road, Suite 510, Addison, TX 75001.

As we continue to obtain new clients, we are always looking for new badass people to join our account team or our creative team. If you’re ever in our neck of the woods, stop by our new office. We are on the fifth floor in suite 510. You can’t miss the Cayenne red.

To stay up to date on Spire news, awards, and blog posts, subscribe to our newsletter.


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Part 3 From Spire Agency | Getting Back on the Trade Floor
Spire Agency Posted On October 13, 2021


Welcome to Part 3 in our discussion on best practices for getting back on the trade show floor. In recent months, we’ve covered pre-planning your tradeshow presence and the major points to consider in your booth layout and design. Now we’re ready for the all-important day-of/follow-up discussion. All the months of preparation come down to just a few hours on the floor with potential customers, so it’s crucial to go in with a plan to make the most of that time and the follow-up window immediately afterwards.

Pre-Show Prep

Schedule a pre-meeting logistics/schedule review for everyone involved the week before the show. You want your booth well-staffed for the entirety of the show. Be sure to block off the booth hours on team calendars and add any scheduled meetings and networking events as well as the hours of availability for any executive team members in the booth.

Make sure you’ve had a discussion with your team on the plan to handle leads and follow-up. Many companies make the mistake of spending time and money to go to a show … then their team goes home, gets buried in work, and never properly follows up. One of the biggest oversights is not having a lead-tracking plan ready ahead of time.

“If a given trade show isn’t pre-planned at the level of the Normandy Invasion, it’s doomed to fail.”

– Mark Moran, SimpliLearn CEO

If you are measuring trade show success by the number of leads and opportunities that come out of an event, then your level of follow-up effort is what ultimately determines your success rate. How are you separating the hot, warm, and cold leads? Are you scanning badges, taking business cards, or having booth attendees fill out their information on a notecard? Who will be in charge of compiling all of these leads, tracking follow-up results, and making sure this information is added to your database?

Be sure your team knows that regardless of the collection method you’re using, they need a method to record your notes from each interaction. For instance, “this woman has a daughter in college or loves fly fishing”; make sure you are gathering the data that will allow you to craft a truly personal follow-up to your promising prospects. If you don’t take the time to do this, you will definitely not remember specific details at the end of four days with hundreds of follow-up cards in your hand.

Another helpful tip: Talk with your team about identifying the key traits to look for in a qualified lead. You don’t want team members spending 20 minutes talking with a “potential customer” that really isn’t a potential customer, and in the process missing a truly qualified lead. Identify the type of leads you’re looking for and make sure you are spending your limited time on the floor wisely.

According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, 67% of all expo attendees represent a new prospect and potential customer for exhibiting customers. Better yet, Excalibur Exhibits reports that 82% of trade show attendees have buying authority.

Showtime

Plan to meet with your onsite team about half an hour before showtime to ensure everyone knows the layout of the booth, what your giveaways are, and what talking points to cover. If there is a badge scanner, make sure your team knows how to use it. It’s helpful to have a document that includes hotel information, venue details, and contact information for everyone involved, and be sure you print hard copies for the booth. Also include a checklist to review prior to the start of each day: Are your lead cards ready? Are the gift items stocked? Are the carpets vacuumed, trashcans emptied, and phones/handheld vac charged?

“Your booth should be a backdrop, not a brochure.”

– Tim Asimos, Keynote Speaker

Remind your team that when they are on the floor, they need to be active and look engaging and approachable. They shouldn’t be eating, drinking, texting, catching up on The Bachelor, reading a book, etc. Remember, you have about three seconds for someone to decide whether to visit your booth or not, so being “on” at all times is really important.

Task a social media savvy team member or two with making your company’s presence known during the show. You can post candid shots along with pictures from before, during, and after the event. Take photos of your booth while it’s lively and has a lot of activity. Be sure to include your booth number and event hashtag. This is also a perfect opportunity to promote those fun giveaways we discussed in our first blog post. Invite attendees to stop by your booth to have a cup of coffee, enter a contest, grab a giveaway item, or watch a demo. You might also consider live-streaming contests and giveaways to draw more traffic and create interest.

Prospect Follow-up

Aside from your approach, the most important thing about a follow-up is that you don’t delay in getting it out. Aim to follow up with your hottest leads within one or two days. If you send emails sooner than this, it’s easy for them to be missed because your prospects may be traveling. But if you wait more than a week, your product or offering will no longer be fresh in their minds and you may have missed your window. In our experience, a couple of days after the event is the ideal time to follow up with leads; if you can’t make that happen, then certainly aim for within that first week.

“Trade show leads are like milk — they have a short shelf life, so don’t waste valuable time.”

– Marlys Arnold, Exhibit Marketing Strategist

According to Exhibitor, 5% of tradeshow attendees conduct initial follow-up the same day the lead is collected, while 17% say that they follow up 24 to 48 hours after the show and 40% do it after three to five days.

Schedule time the week after the show to track follow-ups with your team and review the show overall. How was your booth location? Did you have enough visibility and traffic? Was your giveaway item a hit with attendees? Taking the time to track what works and what doesn’t is essential for planning upcoming shows. And remember, you’re only a few months away from starting to plan for next year’s show!

Kimberly Tyner is Partner/Owner and Chief Creative Officer at Spire Agency. To stay up to date on Spire news, awards, and blog posts, subscribe to our newsletter.

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Spire Agency’s Part 2 of Getting Back on the Trade Floor
Spire Agency Posted On September 14, 2021


After a year-long hiatus due to COVID-19, in-person trade shows began in Vegas back in June, with more shows in more cities planned for this fall.

That’s why, earlier this summer, Spire launched the first blog post of our three-part series on trade shows. Our first installment discussed the importance of pre-planning your trade show presence and outlined some helpful dates and to-do items to take into consideration. Now, onward to Part 2—let’s talk booth layout and design.

Every year, $24 billion is spent by U.S. exhibitors for trade show displays. At a typical show, you’ll see booths that run the gamut in terms of design. On trade show days, make sure you’re taking the time to note what your competitors are doing. How are you going to differentiate your company from theirs? Think of a trade show as a giant recon mission to gather intel on the players in your space.

Rent or own?

Before you do anything, decide how many shows you plan to attend in a year. If it’s only one, it makes more sense financially to rent versus purchase your booth. But if you’re planning on hitting more than two trade show events in a year, it makes more sense to design and purchase your own booth.

“Design is intelligence made visible.”

– Alina Wheeler, American Author

Find a reputable logistics company that can help you review potential layouts to determine what works best for your needs. If you’re purchasing, you’ll have more layout flexibility than if you’re choosing an “off the rack” option. Either way, you’ll need the specs for your booth before you can design its components.

What is your selling space?

As you work out your booth layout, think through what your prospects need to best hear your brand message.

  • Do you need private areas or lounge space?
  • Will you be giving demos, and do you need a video screen? If you’re giving multiple demos, the stations should become the driver of your booth flow, so that needs to be thought out in advance.
  • What about storage space? Do you have a solution for storing gift items and personal belongings?

And because we’ve all spent a day on the trade show floor and know what a beating it can be on your feet, here’s one more pro tip: When submitting your exhibitor forms, always spring for the plush carpet pad—your prospects will appreciate it and so will your employees.

As you design your booth, remember simplicity is preferred. The booth is not supposed to sell everything, it’s meant to simply draw interest and give very high-level messaging. Think about the main audience for the shows you plan to attend and make 100% sure your booth messaging ties in with that audience.

What is the one point you want to drive home to the attendees of that show?

“Don’t design what you like, design for your audience and what will best engage and communicate with them.”

– Marlys Arnold, Exhibit Marketing Specialist

How is your branding?

Larger booths may provide options to work in supporting message points. For instance, if you have a booth with panels, you could add some secondary and tertiary layers of messaging. But in general, it’s important to remember that you can’t say it all. Be selective. Keep your messaging simple and mostly at eye-level. Let your people take it from there.

Review your booth’s branding and logo placement from three separate vantage points: the front entrance, as you walk up the aisles, and when you’re right in front of the booth. You don’t want to logo your booth to death, but you do want to consider line-of-sight to make sure your brand is visible and recognizable from multiple vantage points.

Lastly, make sure your booth looks like your brand. This sounds simple but you’d be surprised how many companies design booths that don’t provide continuity with the rest of their branding. Whether you’re driving attendees to your website or to a specific product page of your site, make sure you’ve considered how your booth is reflective of your overall brand.

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

– Steve Jobs, American Innovator

Have you previewed the booth?

Once your new booth’s layout and design have been finalized, your trade show fulfillment company will print, fabricate, and assemble the pieces. Weeks before you plan to attend your first show, you should have a scheduled booth preview with both your design team and your fulfillment team to review the booth in full and make sure nothing needs tweaking.

In our third and final blog in this series, we’ll cover all the details on what to do day-of, as well as the all-important follow-up. Look for it soon.

Kimberly Tyner is Partner / Owner and Chief Creative Officer at Spire Agency. To stay up to date on Spire news, awards, and blog posts, subscribe to our newsletter.

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For our client TrinityRail, we used huge digital panels and animation to create a moment that people would remember. The booth design spoke to their forward-thinking and innovation in the rail industry.

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For Texas Capital Bank, we needed a warm and welcoming space for our customer to connect to their prospects and clients. The booth design highlighted their “Texas Capitalism” manifesto through striking graphics and a video component to highlight their ad campaign and testimonials from existing customers.

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Our client Kr8om wanted to create a unique trade show experience that would allow them to connect with potential customers while unveiling their updated brand look and feel. Their new booth did just that, with a bold color scheme, unique leaf pattern graphics, and a custom test tube display, which provided an in-person comparison of Kr8om’s product quality against the competition.

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Spire Named to Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Companies in U.S.
Spire Agency Posted On August 26, 2021


Inc. magazine has named Spire Agency to the #2,938 spot on its prestigious Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States.

Companies on the 2021 Inc. 5000 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2017 to 2020. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2017. They must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2020.

“This kind of accomplishment comes with hard work, smart pivots, great leadership, and the help of a whole lot of people.”

– Scott Omelianuk, Editor in Chief of Inc.

“The 2021 Inc. 5000 list feels like one of the most important rosters of companies ever compiled,” says Scott Omelianuk, editor in chief of Inc. “Building one of the fastest-growing companies in America in any year is a remarkable achievement. Building one in the crisis we’ve lived through is just plain amazing. This kind of accomplishment comes with hard work, smart pivots, great leadership, and the help of a whole lot of people.”

The prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing, privately held businesses in the United States. Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are featured in the September issue of Inc., which will be available on newsstands on August 20.

Earlier this year, Spire was named as the #128 fastest-growing, independent Texas company by the second annual Inc. 5000 Texas Regionals list. With a two-year revenue growth of +105%, Spire was one of just 12 companies from the states’ advertising and marketing industry to make the top 150 spots on the prestigious Texas list.

“As the state’s most-awarded B2B agency, it is an honor for our independent Texas company to make the Inc. 5000 national list for the first time.”

– Kimberly Tyner, Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Spire Agency

Spire is Texas’ most-awarded B2B agency, a two-time Marketer of the Year recipient in 2020 from the D/FW chapter of the American Marketing Association, and among the most-awarded agencies by the Dallas chapter of the American Advertising Federation in 2020 and 2021. Working exclusively with B2B clients, the agency helps elevate B2B brands through creative strategy and design that builds bottom lines.

“Our existing and new clients have helped take our agency to a whole new level over the past two years,” says Kimberly Tyner, partner and chief creative officer at Spire Agency. “As the state’s most-awarded B2B agency, it is an honor for our independent Texas company to make the Inc. 5000 national list for the first time.”

Spire was founded in 2005 and currently works with notable clients like TrinityRail, Briggs Equipment, The Howard Hughes Corporation, Bell Helicopter, Halff Associates, and Tyler Technologies.

Inc. Media is the world’s most trusted business media brand, offering entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels, including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print.

 
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Planning a Trade Show? Spire Agency’s Kimberly Tyner Breaks it Down
Spire Agency Posted On July 26, 2021


It’s official: trade shows are back. Summer 2021 has seen the return of the trade show, with Vegas leading the way with major shows like World of Concrete, as outlined in our recent May blog spotlighting Sin City. The return to in-person shows is good news for B2B marketers, since trade shows are the second largest source of B2B revenue in the U.S.

In June, Spire authored another blog on trade shows, outlining their effectiveness in the overall B2B mix for generating brand awareness and sales leads. But how exactly do you maximize awareness and leads at a show?

Our goal at Spire is always to help our clients put their best foot forward, so we’ve put together a new blog series that outlines what we’ve learned over the years. Whether it’s your first trade show or your 500th, it never hurts to review the basics, especially after the industry’s long COVID-induced hiatus.

Our three-part series on trade shows will outline critical points in Pre-planning (Part 1), Booth Design (Part 2) and Day-of/Follow Up (Part 3). For Part 1, let’s talk about what a brand should be doing in the months and weeks leading up to the show.

Preparation Is Key: 6 – 12 Months Out

Set a reminder for the key registration dates of all trade shows you plan to attend in the upcoming year, and reserve that booth space as soon as you are able (ideally, not long after the previous year’s event). The earlier you can start planning your trade show presence, the better. As the stat below shows, 32% of exhibitors have begun planning six or more months before their show. In terms of floor space, the early bird really does get the worm. You want to review the floor plan and make sure you get the most visible, high-traffic area you can get for the size of your booth.

“28% of trade show exhibitors start planning their trade show marketing 1 – 2 months before the show. 22% start planning 2 – 4 months before the show, while 18% are very prepared, getting ready 4 – 6 months before the show.”

– Display Wizard Exhibitor Survey

Next, outline your goals for what you want to accomplish. Are you looking to boost brand awareness or build a customer database? For some of our clients, trade shows are about keeping up their brand presence while spending time with meaningful customers. For others, it might be about establishing a brand presence in a new space or unveiling new products or services. Once you’ve defined your goal and how to measure success, you can weigh additional opportunities at the conference.

“Exhibiting is like chess—success starts with a great strategy.”

– Marlys Arnold, Exhibit Marketing Strategist

Make sure you are listed in the directory and inquire about ad placements, sponsorship and speaking opportunities; this can be key in getting more recognition for your brand. Can your company sponsor a breakfast or even a lounging/charging station? Get your hands on a schedule of events as early as possible, so you can gauge impactful opportunities.

Speaking opportunities offer an incredible chance to get your brand out there as an expert in your field. If you can be there on the floor or speak at the conference, it also helps to drive people to your booth and build those relationships. Know where the convention will be posting its “call for speakers” and be ready to apply.

Hosting an event or party is a fantastic way to create networking opportunities off the trade show floor and to leave a lasting impression on your prospects. In the past, Spire has arranged everything from hot air balloon rides to nightclub parties, whiskey tastings to glitzy Las Vegas soirees. In terms of brand impact, there’s really nothing more effective than a well-planned and executed event. Show your guests a good time and you’ll build strong relationships in the process. If the budget doesn’t allow for a full event, a nice dinner goes a long way. And be sure your team books flights and blocks rooms before the hotels sell out.

Targeting Your Audience: 6 – 12 Weeks Out

Around three months before your conference, you should start thinking about how you’re going to drive your customers and prospects to your booth or event. Get a list of attendees and their contact information as soon as possible. If you have mailing addresses in addition to email, think about sending a direct mail piece—the higher the prospect level, the more a high-end, custom approach is worth considering. In the past, we’ve sent dimensional custom invitations and cleverly designed room drops to drive traffic to booths and networking events.

Once you get people to your booth, you want to make sure attendees have a memorable experience from start to finish—from the booth design itself (more on that in our next blog series) to the interaction with your team to the giveaway item they leave with. Begin thinking through what those items will be well in advance, leaving enough time for sourcing and customization. There is always an opportunity to add a memorable, fun element of your booth, no matter the budget. On the lower end, a premium snack gift, like water, cookies or mints, goes further than the usual fare like pens and koozies.

If you have a larger budget to work with, brainstorm gifts that are relevant to your space. What’s new, fun, and cool? Break your prospects into categories to get more bang for your promo item buck: everyone gets the basic item/mid-level gifts for warmer prospects, and a premium option goes to top-tier customers and prospects. A high-end giveaway drawing also helps draw traffic. Remember, fun giveaways equal more visitors to your booth and more prospects. Get creative!

Lastly, consider a tool like mobile conquesting during the conference. These location-based, demographic, and behavioral targeting ads can be placed across apps and web browsing sites within your selected area and can be very effective. You can even use dynamically updated ads that show the user their distance from your location (booth) or geo-fencing ads that target users in your competitors’ locations down to a 500-feet radius.

Two Weeks Out

Send your customers and prospects an email that highlights your booth location at the show and any sponsored events, like breakfasts or speaking engagements. Let them know you’re looking forward to seeing them. This is also a good time to highlight any fun giveaway or raffle items at your booth.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our trade show blog series where we’ll tackle everything you need to consider when designing your trade show booth.

To stay up to date on Spire news, awards, and blog posts, subscribe to our newsletter.

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Advertising  / Events
Trade Shows Return to the B2B Mix | Spire Agency Tells Us Why
Spire Agency Posted On June 3, 2021


Over the years, Spire has created exceptional trade show experiences from Dallas to Dubai, Chi-Town to Sin City. But last year, the events and exhibition industry lost a staggering $30 billion  worldwide. For B2B businesses, event planners, and many more involved, this hit hard.

Thanks, COVID.

But despite being a tough trade show year, Spire is already seeing a substantial bounce-back in the event space. As outlined in our recent blog post, Vegas has quickly opened back up in a big way this month, with highly attended trade shows like World of Concreate and Champs.

As B2B markets and other companies move back into the normalcy of these events, it’s advantageous to look at why these trade shows have historically been an impactful part of the marketing mix in reaching new customers within a high-touch environment. So as we look ahead to the summer and fall trade show seasons, let’s explore why 41% of companies consider event marketing and trade shows to be their top channel for lead generation.

Building Brand Awareness

Over 90% of attendees at trade shows report that they are on the hunt for new products and services, while 88% of companies attend to promote awareness of their brand. Trade shows are opportunities to connect with potential clients you may never meet again; 45% of participants attend only one trade show per year. Here at Spire, we believe these events are a unique opportunity to connect with attendees, make connections that could last a lifetime, and ultimately give your audience a greater understanding of your product/service. In addition, these visitors will tell more than six other people on average about their trade show experience—a profitable word-of-mouth opportunity!

Making Sales & Leads

According to the most recent study, 83% of businesses report that their main goal at a trade show is to increase sales. These exhibitions have consistently proven to help with sales to new buyers, competitors’ dissatisfied buyers, and current customers. Attendees often travel from all over the world and bring grand opportunities to exhibitors.

  • 81% of attendees have purchasing power and are key decision-makers in a company.
  • 77% of these attendees find at least one new supplier at shows, giving your company a fair shot.
  • As many as 49% of attendees plan on buying at least one product or service presented.
  • 67% of attendees are serious prospects.
  • Face-to-face contact results in sales closing quicker (an average of 3.5 sales calls).

These statistics reflect trade shows’ remarkable opportunities for sales, leads, and the overall ability to create new relationships through networking.

“Trade show leads are like milk – they have a short shelf life, so don’t waste valuable time.”

– Marlys Arnold, American Author

Time Well Spent

Trade show attendees spend an average of nine hours on the exhibition floor, not including the time for multi-day events. This means nine hours of your company putting their best foot forward, showing off their best products, and making connections that could last a lifetime.

A Reflection of Your Brand

If you’re thinking that you can get out of attending trade show events, it wouldn’t be without consequences. Not only would your brand miss out on the benefits that trade shows present, but the public’s perception of your company decreases by 5% if your brand doesn’t show up. This applies to various companies, including local, national, and international brands.

In addition, many current clients enjoy seeing their providers at these exhibitions. Face-to-face time is averaged to be worth $142 at a trade show, $117 cheaper than a meeting scheduled in the office. As many as 65% of companies attend to meet with clients to capitalize on these savings.

ROI

Trade shows are an incredible investment for your company and reap many benefits. If you’re not sold, here are some numbers, according to the most recent reports:

  • 52% of executives think trade shows drive the most ROI.
  • 73% of B2B marketers believe exhibitions are best for consumer engagement.
  • 22% of marketers reported that multi-day events are the most impactful.

It’s safe to say that trade shows bring opportunities that brands can’t find anywhere else. Yet, as the impact of COVID-19 continues to impact our market, what can we expect next?

Leaving “In-Person” in the Past?

Although trade shows are beginning to take place once again, 55% of event planners still hold safety as their number-one worry. Due to this, many professionals believe that in-person events will be more common toward the end of 2021.

As these event markets continue to recover, these situations bring up a reasonable concern for many.

“Go beyond the norm and invest in something unique to make trade shows worth your time, energy and hard-earned money.”

– John Ruhlin, American Author & Speaker

Some 60% of event planners have changed an in-person event to a virtually held event within the past year. 66% have postponed an event, and 87% have completely scratched an event, canceling it altogether.

Some hosts have become accustomed to this new digital world, holding events online and inviting others to join via videoconferencing platforms like Zoom. Many enjoy the flexibility, the low costs, and the ability to work from home. But these online experiences aren’t as impactful as they may seem. While companies may spend less money and time in virtual events, they tend to pose new challenges and don’t quite measure up to the in-person events of the past.

Virtual events have several drawbacks, especially for marketing events such as trade shows.

  • 35% of virtual event attendees are no-show, higher than at in-person events.
  • 38% of hosts experience technical difficulties.
  • 49% of marketers believe that audience engagement is vital, yet 67.7% of event marketers find it challenging to engage a digital audience.
  • 58% of virtual events are limited to 300 audience members, yielding fewer opportunities for sales.
  • 62% of digital events only last a day, despite the importance of a multi-day trade show.
  • 73.5% of survey participants responded that they prefer in-person events.

Virtual events may have their perks, but people often require face-to-face interactions when making a business decision.

Trends to Expect

With in-person events on the rise, there are many trends expected to take place within the next year. 74% of survey respondents think that Las Vegas is most ready to host trade shows compared to other struggling markets, such as New York, Orlando, and Chicago. While Las Vegas will dominate the trade show market in the second half of 2021, New York plans to begin hosting trade shows again in November 2021.

Once these events are open, it is expected that safety measures will still be taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

  • Trade shows will become more specific to different markets to limit the number of attendees.
  • 73% of event marketers plan on enforcing mask-wearing, social distancing, and other safety measures.

Despite the long, tumultuous road that the event industry (and the rest of the world) has journeyed this past year, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. In-person events will continue to grow this fall, making it only a matter of time until we return to the new normal.

Rachael Briner is a Client Service Intern attending Southern Methodist University.

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Advertising
B2B Branding Insights for a Post-Pandemic Environment | Spire Agency Offers Insight
Spire Agency Posted On May 17, 2021


Each day brings us closer to reaching a seemingly triumphant exit from spending over a year of our lives in some form of lockdown. The global economy itself seems poised to take off; the expected speed bumps in that process notwithstanding. Leading indicators and economic forecasts point to significant corporate growth over the next three years. Large enterprises all over the world are beginning to open their wallets again and invest in their businesses as they plan for 2022 and beyond. Brace yourselves, B2B marketing and sales professionals, a “golden age” of B2B business activity may be in our immediate future.

What will not be lost on the successful branding executives of the future is that the rules of the B2B marketing game have forever changed. Even as the crisis of the pandemic slowly dissipates, successful B2B branding tactics will not revert to what they were before 2020. The way your audience thinks about your brand and the way they make purchasing decisions have changed—and your brand must evolve, too.

“The only way to grow in B2B is to be better than ‘very good’.”

– Seth Godin, American Author

B2B brands need to be more human

Stewards of B2B brands have rarely been comfortable allowing their brands to “let their hair down.” Despite the stampede of B2C brands over the last 20 years embracing their humanity, B2B has fallen woefully short in the brand personality department.

More conservative B2B brands (yes, I’m talking to you, professional services) have always feared sacrificing some of their professional reputation and credibility if they showed too much flair. It’s an understandable concern, but also one that has always been unfounded.

The last 14 months have greatly accelerated a trend that had been on the horizon for the last five years. B2B brands should showcase their humanity. Our agency has been inundated with calls from organizations that seek help to redefine their messaging and position their brand platforms to showcase their beliefs and mission—not just about their place in the business world, but in the entire world, too.

The time is right to take this step. A WPP study conducted after the onset of the pandemic revealed that 62% of consumers feel that companies should continue to communicate with them during the crisis with a particular emphasis on what they are doing to assist their customers and community during challenging times.

Despite the traditional stodginess of B2B dialogue, at its core, it is still human-to-human. Your audience values authenticity now more than ever. Don’t be afraid to tell them what you believe in and why. Showcase your values and ethics.

Don’t be afraid to tell them what you believe in and why. Showcase your values and ethics.

It’s okay for your B2B brand to have a sense of humor

If making your B2B brand more human doesn’t make your CEO cringe, how about also making your brand a little more fun? Cracking the occasional well-timed joke and tongue-in-cheek one liner is no longer reserved only for B2C marketers with their audiences.

In 2020, marketing research firm Dynata conducted a study exploring if B2B organizations’ reluctance to using humor in advertising and brand communications was justified. According to the study, 91% of the 400+ B2B professionals surveyed said humorous ads can attract attention; 86% said humorous ads can reinforce brand recognition; and 81% said such ads raise awareness. Even more impactful was the fact that humorous ads were 75% more effective in driving website visits and boosted online search by more than 400%. A B2B brand can occasionally be funny and still maintain its professional reputation, and now we have data to back up the positive impact it can have.

It’s been a tough year for all of us. Your audience will appreciate clever and appropriate humor in your advertising and communications. Push your brand out of its comfort zone—a little humor can provide a serious lift to your brand health.

The death of the handshake has been greatly exaggerated

It has been incredible to witness the massive advancements in leveraging digital technology during the past year. By some accounts, organizational adoption of digital technology from April through August of 2020 was on a scale that typically takes five years to occur. Trade shows went virtual; sales presentations took place on Zoom; and millions of professionals around the world were given unprecedented autonomy and resources to work from home on their own terms. In turn, marketers found new ways to connect with their remote audiences.

Thankfully, those new trends are mostly here to stay. But B2B organizations that have long relied on building meaningful and personal relationships with their prospects and clients would be foolish not to get reacquainted with contacts they haven’t seen in a year.

Yes, virtual tradeshows aren’t going anywhere (and hopefully they improve); but as in-person events return, don’t miss the opportunity to connect with your industry colleagues in person when the time is right.

As naturally social creatures, there is a connection that takes place during in-person meetings that can’t be easily replicated on a computer screen. As COVID transmission concerns continue to decrease, your audience will be eager to see you again.

Don’t shy away from visiting your clients and prospects when you can. I personally have heard of two major B2B purchasing decisions made in the last week where a prominent reason in selecting one competitor over the other was that the selected B2B provider took the time to visit the prospect on location to personally meet them and understand their needs. The provider that lost chose an approach that was entirely digital.

B2B buying decisions are surprisingly emotional ones for your prospects. In fact, a study by Gartner suggests that 80% of a B2B purchasing decision is based on the buyer’s experience with your brand, while less than 20% is based on price or the actual offering. Your audience needs to know you and trust your brand before they risk vouching for you to their company and buying your offering. After all, their professional reputation is on the line when they endorse you for a major enterprise purchase.

Your marketing investment should be tied to fueling your organization’s revenue stream.

Keep playing the long game

In challenging economic times, it is not uncommon to see B2C brands reduce or eliminate their branding and marketing efforts to reduce expenses. We’ve all witnessed this last year particularly in the restaurant, hospitality, and tourism industries.

This is a practice that should never be followed in B2B branding. But with some B2B organizations spending in excess of 10% of their operating costs on marketing efforts, the temptation to cut back during downturns can be powerful.

B2B enterprise transactions are typically characterized by longer sales cycles and more expensive transactions than those in B2C. The focus in building a B2B brand involves focusing on longer-term goals: creating lasting demand, maximizing brand impressions, and reducing price sensitivity. It takes time and consistency to do this correctly. The success of B2B branding efforts should not be measured by weekly sales (like we often see in B2C), but instead realized over the course of fiscal quarters and years. It often takes a long time for these investments in your brand to be realized, but they are critical to the long-term viability of your organization.

Your marketing investment should be tied to fueling your organization’s revenue stream. Cutting back on this investment is the equivalent of releasing the handle of the gas pump: the revenue needed to propel your company will slow to a trickle.

B2B branding and marketing efforts should not be considered just a part of a long-term growth strategy—it is the growth strategy. When the pandemic hit and the bottom fell out of everyone’s annual business plans, smart B2B CEOs turned to marketing for answers and guidance on how to respond to customers. Short-sighted CEOs cut their branding and marketing departments.

Times like these are opportunities for B2B organizations to become more visible, be more memorable, and fill the void in the market that was created when your competitors scaled back. Building brand awareness and driving sales activation must be an uninterrupted effort. Any loss of momentum in this pursuit creates a ripple effect that is often felt for years as organizations struggle to catch up with the competitors who maintained a longer-term vision of building the brand and pushed through the temporary challenges. Keep your foot on the gas.

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AAF Dallas  / Advertising
Spire’s Kimberly Tyner Named AAF Dallas’ Agency Leader of the Year
Spire Agency Posted On March 10, 2021


The 59th Annual AAF Dallas ADDYs will take place virtually on March 11, and Spire’s Co-Owner and Chief Creative Officer Kimberly Tyner will be honored with the inaugural Agency Leader of the Year award.

AAF Dallas’ Suits Awards recognize and honor individuals across various advertising disciplines who support the creation, execution, and delivery of great creative work from the Dallas advertising industry. Each year, AAF Dallas selects one individual from each of nine categories to honor during the ADDYs award show. This is, however, the first time the organization has named an Agency Leader of the Year.

Spire’s 2019 AAF Dallas Shining Star owns a sailboat, so it’s no surprise that she knew a thing or two about navigating the bumpy waters of 2020. Under Kimberly’s leadership, her B2B marketing shop became one of Dallas’ most awarded agencies with 26 major awards, the most in the company’s history. Spire was among the top five most-awarded Dallas agencies at the 2020 American Advertising Awards, and was one of just 17 agencies to win at the District 10 level. The agency also received multiple Graphis and Hermes awards, made Logo Lounge, and was a two-time DFW Marketer of the Year winner by the American Marketing Association.

Her creative inspiration propelled the agency onto the Clutch 1000 global list of Best B2B Agencies in the World for the second year in a row in 2020. Spire was also named to the more-exclusive Clutch 1000 list for both Fastest Growth and Sustained Growth. The agency went on to be named to B2B Marketing’s Top 38 US B2B Agencies and Marketing Round’s 12 Best Agencies You Should Know in 2020.

Kimberly made the cover of the Dallas Business Journal in December for her feature on maintaining culture and creativity from afar. Earlier in the year, Spire was named to *DBJ’*s 2020 list of DFW’s Largest Advertising & Marketing Firms.

More awards. More growth. More press. More wins. In a hell of a year, Kimberly designed a helluva year for Spire by doing the big and small things that mattered most.

AAF Dallas was founded in 1908 and is the local chapter of the American Advertising Federation — the “unifying voice” of the 40,000 professionals in our nation’s advertising industry. The Dallas ADDYs are the first step in a three-tiered competition that culminates into the national American Advertising Awards this summer. It is our industry’s largest creative competition with over 35,000 professional and student entries each year.


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