The first GLEE (Birmingham NEC) shows I attended were back in the 2000’s. All the big paving names were there. Timber suppliers and Decorative Aggregate suppliers at every corner. 2010 changed everything. All these big names began pulling out with very few still exhibiting.
GLEE was no longer the show for Builders Merchants and Landscaping Suppliers but focused more on Garden Centres.
Jump forward to September 2014, Azpects attended GLEE 14. The stand was colossal at 9m x 6m and furnished with 100 lights, 12 TV’s and a display cabinet fit for Harrods! With all that effort we expected great things. To be honest though, it was a disappointment. Although visitor numbers were pretty good they just weren’t the right people for us. We thought that the product range we had would appeal to the type of visitors that now attended. Some big names made the right noises but it was just lip-service at the end of the day.
Jump to September 2017 and after months of preparation and planning Azpects are off once again to GLEE. This time we took the minimalistic approach. A simple, yet classy pop-up style stand which showcased just four key products. Of course, EASYJoint had a mention but it was more about EASYGrid, Deck Magic, EASY4Cracks and Back to Black Limestone. Products we believed had the power to capture the right sort of attention. Visitor numbers exceeded last year's 7000 over the three days; it was open and many people we spoke to said how good the show was in comparison to previous years.
Over the three day show the stand was manned by Dave Howard, Tom Pearson, Roy Selby and myself. Each one of us spoke to many people, some old faces but also many new ones. The interest was very encouraging and I would class the event as a success.
Landscape 2017
Last year I attended the Landscape Show in Battersea Park London as a guest for one of our customers. It was a good opportunity to gauge how good the show would be for Azpects and I wasn’t disappointed so the decision was made to attend this year. Fortunately, the GLEE show was on the week before Landscape so the same setup was designed for dual use. The exhibitor numbers for Landscape is much less than GLEE (193/608) but the quality and products on show make it perfect for the sort of people we are after. Our main focus is on product awareness. Getting our brand noticed and what people think when they need Sealers, Cleaners and so on.
The stand was manned by myself and Michael Andews. Both of us spoke to many people including Garden Designers, Architects, Contractors and Business owners. Interestingly over 60% of visitors to the show were from the Landscaping sector or garden designers. Just the sort of people we want to show our products to.
In 2018 Azpects will have two stands at the Landscape Show. Bigger areas, more products, more interest!
This article was written by Jeff Carter, Azpects Customer Support Manager
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