Many trade shows offer an attractive and inspiring complementary programme to attract visitors who are looking for more than just a visit to the show. These ‘off-site’ visits enable targeted visitors to take advantage of their visit to France to discover places or companies related to their sector of activity. The Promosalons delegations, in close touch with the needs of visitors from their country, are in the front line to propose and organise these programmes alongside certain trade shows.
Trade visitors in search of inspiration
At each edition of Maison&Objet, Promosalons Germany organises group tours for German interior designers. For these particular target groups, visiting stands at the show is not always enough to motivate them to come, but being able to enjoy a city like Paris while discovering inspirational elements is a real incentive. For example, a 15-strong delegation from bdia (the German Federation of Interior Architects) and another of 12 independent lifestyle and interior design professionals from Women in Furniture (a German network of women in the furniture industry) took advantage of ‘off’ programmes during their visit to Maison&Objet in September. Previously organised over one day, these programmes were offered over two days, leaving one full day at the show, followed by a visit in Paris the next day. Promosalons Germany, thanks to a privileged personal contact, organised a guided tour in English of the Hermès parent company for these architects, enabling them to discover the expertise of a major French luxury house.
For the Batimat trade fair, Promosalons Germany organised a visit to the Paris 2024 Olympic Village after the trade fair programme, in conjunction with press partner Bauwelt. The visit, led by the Village’s architect, was greatly appreciated by the German architects, who were also accompanied by two editors and a translator to ensure that the visit was translated into German.
Tailor-made support from Promosalons delegations
In the case of Finland, the delegate was able to convince the Finnish Association of Interior Designers to attend the last Maison&Objet after several years of hard work. The Promosalons Finland delegate’s in-depth knowledge of Paris and the show’s offerings enabled her to carry out a great deal of preparatory work beforehand, to ensure that the mission met visitors’ expectations as closely as possible, and that their visit to Paris was optimised. Working with the association’s director, they chose from among the 500 showrooms that work with Maison&Objet as part of Paris Design Week, those that best suited the interests of the Finnish interior designers and were located in accessible areas. For the logistics of the trip, the association relied entirely on Promosalons, which advised on the location of the accommodation and guided the visitors throughout their stay in Paris. The group of ten or so Finnish interior designers were welcomed to a first evening organised by Paris Design Week at the Secret Gallery showroom, thanks to a contact from Promosalons Finland, and then visited 6 showrooms in Paris, not counting the ‘pop-ins’ along the way… The following day, the group was welcomed to the show with a presentation by a member of the organising team, then visited the halls according to their interests before concluding the day’s activities.
The Finnish architects were delighted with their visit, most of whom were visiting the Maison&Objet show and Paris for the first time. They would not have come without the support of the Promosalons representative, who was in constant contact with the association’s director to answer all their questions (access to the Villepinte halls, catering, transport, etc.). These very specific target groups need support because they are small organisations that are less used to travelling and do not have the capacity to organise their own visits. They have already declared their interest in returning to the show in 2026!
Short-term and long-term benefits for trade shows
For trade show organisers, the investment in such programmes is relatively modest and consists of a free badge or Club badge for the members of the delegation, transport and accommodation for the president of the association and the Promosalons delegate, with the other visitors generally financing their own travel. Off-site visits are entirely organised by the Promosalons delegations as part of their services.
This enables the show to welcome visitors with highly qualified profiles, often prescribers who are members of a trade association. These associations also communicate with all their members, which raises awareness of the show in their country of origin, especially as visitors post content on social networks before and during the event. The benefits can be considerable in terms of image: for example, the Finnish architects posted constantly on their Instagram accounts (one of which has 12,000 followers) and achieved over 100,000 views, generating very high visibility on the Finnish interior design market. Another group has already expressed interest in visiting the next show based on this content.
The visitors to whom these programmes are offered are mostly first-time visitors, or sometimes visitors who appreciate coming back in a different setting and benefiting from the networking opportunities offered by such a support programme.
These tailor-made services, which enable highly qualified visitors to make the most of their visit to a trade show, can be organised in a wide range of sectors. Don’t hesitate to contact the Promosalons delegations to find out more.