Get ready for Experiential Expo

Annual Buy Zimbabwe Conference to be held on March 29.
Last week my focus for this column was on the need for every Zimbabwean to take the necessary action towards achieving the universal goal of a US$100 billion economy.
This week my focus is pretty much the same but centred on this idea of an experiential expo.
I know that by now most are curious about this initiative and are probably asking: “Why an experiential expo?”
This Experiential Expo enables Buy Zimbabwe partners and manufacturers and retailers of local products to demonstrate product availability, quality and use for the benefit of those consumers who have lost faith in local products and those that still love their local products.
It is about creating smart interaction between the consumer and the owners of the product.
As organisers of road shows, trade shows and exhibitions we have observed that we are marketing to a niche and more specialised market, which then dictates what we need to change the design and concept of our exhibition stands.
With the advent and spread of Internet and digital satellite television in Zimbabwe, consumers needs have changed dramatically simply because we can now easily compare information about different products and companies.
Consumers now expect information to be delivered in a way that touches the conscience.
The changes in consumer expectations of edutainment — meaning consumers want to be both entertained and educated at the same time, has led to great changes in the way exhibition stands are designed.
No longer are exhibition stands seen as rather two-dimensional by the audience — where you can wander along and simply pick up brochures from stand after stand in the same booth style setup.
Our stands at the Experiential Expo will actively invite the audience to experience the brand, the product, and participate in the exhibition in an interactive way.
So for this year, we would like to introduce a trendy new concept which we like to call the “Buy Zimbabwe home”, which is ideally a home which elicits the emotions of the audience, providing an atmosphere of entertainment for the audience to enjoy a true Zimbabwean feel.
The food, furniture, equipment and the warmth in the home will be all home-grown. While we shall be introducing this concept during the two-day Buy Zimbabwe Conference and Experiential Expo, our desire is to take it to Bulawayo for the 2012 Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, Harare Agricultural Show and many other exhibitions where we can tap into our Zimbabwean roots.
Some of our Buy Zimbabwe partners who have heard about the concept are already excited about the prospects it brings. Readers will appreciate that what we are trying to do here is to create a multi-sensory experience that every visitor will remember for a very long time. We have to ensure that the minds of our consumers are massaged with the thoughts of our great Zimbabwean products once again.
I recall about a month ago a very good friend of mine from Chiredzi, Batsirai Kapenzi, put up a thread on Facebook about Sun Jam which received a lot of comments.
My friend’s relative in Cayman Islands sent in a shopping list which only consisted of home-grown brands and I was made to understand that such lists come in regularly from the Caymans.
Clearly the people I mentioned above have very fond memories about local products and we have to capture such memories through innovation.
So, unlike the 2011 exhibition which primarily focused on “being on the spot”, this year’s experiential expo is designed to “show who our partners are”.
It is not only about creating an image, but showing the content, products, values, innovation, uniqueness and the background of the company.
The idea behind creating an experiential exhibition stand is that people tend to remember the experience and an event that they were involved in rather than what someone said.
An experiential exhibition stand may allow an attendee to look up specific information about the company or the product on an interactive computer, rather than simply listen to a salesperson drone on about the product.

l Robert Garai Muganda is the Media and Communications Executive for Buy Zimbabwe. He can be contacted on: Email: [email protected] Mobile: 0772 714 233 Facebook: Buy Zimbabwe Campaign Twitter: BuyZimbabwe Campaign