DODIJE Fabian,wife Sharon, and daughter
So you want to mount an exhibit?
Dodije Fabian, business development consultant of Themes & Motifs, the organizer of the biggest, most comprehensive and longest running wedding fair in the country, gives us some pointers, suggestions, tips, and lessons that are applicable not only to prospective events organizers, but also to other business-oriented individuals:
1. Know your target market
Themes & Motifs has been mounting wedding exhibits since 2001 in Rockwell. Right from the beginning, they knew that they will target the high-end market. They know that they need suppliers that can deliver to this market’s demands.
It’s important to know who you want to focus on. For instance, they noticed that recently, there is a rise in OFW couples who save for a nice wedding, and splurge for that when they get here.
2. Do your homework on what your target market really wants
They know that couples have certain preferences, like imported wedding invitations, flowers, etc. It pays to keep abreast on what’s trendy and what’s new, as the changes in lifestyle and taste of consumers continuously evolve. Know what’s going to work for your target market.
“We saw the trend now like, the rise of wedding jewelry, and before, there were so few female make-up artists, but now most of them are. We also see dogs in weddings now, even cats.”
3. Establish contacts with tried and tested suppliers
There’s nothing worse than having unreliable suppliers who will risk your company’s name, especially when you are just starting. Research on credible suppliers, and always require legal business documents before allowing them to participate in your event.
4. Think out-of-the-box
Following what’s conventional might be safe at first, but could also be restricting. Creativity, on the other hand, could open so many doors for anyone when used properly. There are so many ways to sell an event, and being successful in doing something that others thought irrational is the best way to vindicate an imaginative mind.
5. Be realistic with your budget
No matter how big or how small your venue is, you will still pay for manpower, electrical supplies, provisions, brochures, and of course, the space, so it’s wise to keep tab of what gets out of your pocket.
6. Treat all the participants/suppliers equally
“We have had big-name wedding designers and suppliers who tell us ‘That’s beneath us, we won’t fax you to join your event’ and we tell them ‘So what are we going to do here, we have to be fair to everyone, if you don’t want to follow the procedure, then, sorry.’ It’s not fair to the others who followed our instructions.”
For Themes & Motifs, they believe that everyone should be given a fair chance to participate in their events, from the small-time entrepreneurs to popular suppliers.
The way they do this is, for the wedding photographers for instance, they use the “bunutan” (raffle) system. It might be unsophisticated for others, but it works well to preserve fairness.
As for the other suppliers, the Themes & Motifs management request them to personally register during the first day of the exhibit in progress. Themes & Motifs is the biggest wedding exhibit organizer, so naturally, they are always fully booked, and so this registration is for one year in advance.
7. Be a good example to your staff and to suppliers
This is as simple as following the standards that you set yourself. If you require a DTI license from your suppliers, you yourself should have all the legal documents. If you want them to issue receipts, you should pay for the municipal permits and fees. They could only respect you as you respect yourself.
8. Find the right staff
“It is hard getting the right people to implement [the event] as you envisioned it. You should find competent people, top caliber. We used the referral system.”
Having the right ideas, the brilliant plan, is nothing if you don’t have the right people to help you achieve it. These people should share your vision, and are aware of your goals and standards.
With Themes & Motifs, they asked people they knew for capable people they could refer, and as it turned out, this capable staff they have climbed the corporate ladder in other companies over the years.
9. Do not copy
When Themes & Motifs started Wedding Expo Philippines, they made a template of what to do, what they want to achieve, and what they expect from all the people involved.
With all the painstaking effort, it was quite frustrating for them to find copycats who would only copy everything they did, from the website down to the brochures. Being unoriginal could only last you for a while.
10. Do not hype what you don’t have
“It’s wrong to mislead your consumers, plain and simple.”
“Do not wait for the event itself to discuss and solve problems.”
11. Do not be complacent with safety precautions
It is bad for business to be associated with thievery and pilfering.
“Our events are highly publicized, so it’s prone to bad elements. We have anti-theft campaign to protect everyone.”
12. Do not mount an exhibit in an inaccessible area
“We had an exhibit somewhere in Makati before, and it was one-way, so everyone got lost. It was one of our worst turnout.”
13. Don’t do an exhibit during holidays and long weekends
“Never do an exhibit in December, because nobody would participate, all the suppliers are busy that time of the year.”
Contrary to popular belief, it is December, not June, which is the most popular wedding month for Filipinos. The weather is better, not to mention that most people have more money. So mounting a wedding exhibit in that month is business suicide, as all of your suppliers and customers would be preoccupied.
As for holidays and long weekends, everybody would probably be on vacation, so it’s quite impossible to fulfill the desired turnout.
14. Don’t forget to pray
“We always pray. One thing I learned, no matter what you do, even if you do your homework, if things can go wrong, they will. So the element of prayer should always be there.”
Themes & Motifs’ Wedding Expo Philippines celebrates its 20th edition on March 10-11, from 10 a.m. til 8 p.m., at the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City.