Showcase SA @ Rand Show: Connecting the public sector with South African audiences

“The Showcase SA Expo @ Rand Show 2018 provides an exclusive opportunity for public sector to showcase their expertise and services, interact with visitors face-to-face, demonstrate the various services offered by their departments and show visitors how public sector is living up to its mandate,” says Craig Newman, CEO of Johannesburg Expo Centre (JEC) and official Spokesperson for the Rand Show.

With a legacy spanning over 124 years, the Rand Show has become somewhat of a heritage brand, having entertained, and created lasting memories for multiple generations of South African families since 1894.

Newman says that in an environment which has been designed to create a safe, exciting and entertaining experience for a diverse audience of South African families, there is no better platform to position your brand, promote local products and services and educate the public on how to access those services offered by your department.

“The Rand Show also provides an interactive platform to engage with audiences, communicate policies and legislation, and create interactive brand activations that will create lasting and favourable impressions amongst attendees,” says Newman. “Public sector exhibitors should also seize the opportunity to conduct critical market research, gain valuable public feedback and show audiences how to gain access to your departments services,” he says.

According to Dave Nemeth, of Trend Forward, who has partnered with Rand Show to provide strategic marketing insight, the Rand Show provides the perfect platform to conduct research and gain immediate public feedback. “Results-oriented departments who would like to gather hard data and statistical analysis to inform future decisions would really benefit from participating and using this opportunity generate accurate data,” adds Nemeth.

The Rand Show organisers have also highlighted the power of utilising the Rand Show for powerful marketing campaigns that will create greater awareness around public safety. “Consider the possibilities of running influential campaigns that drive awareness around safe use of our roads, the dangers of drinking and driving, drug and alcohol abuse – and other crucial awareness campaigns that will increase overall public safety by changing perceptions and influencing attitudes and behaviours,” adds Newman.

“We live in an increasingly digital world, one which many public-sector departments have used successfully to drive greater engagement with the public. This has also created an expectation for greater, faster and more streamlined service delivery,” says Nemeth. “However, there is still no marketing platform, which is more powerful than face-to-face communication, and so we encourage these departments to view the Rand Show as an innovative platform to improve their engagement and responsiveness to public needs.”

Welcoming no less than 200,000 visitors per year, 70% of the Rand Show’s audience is comprised of young families with children.

“Rand Show delivers in terms of visitor numbers, but the secret to successful marketing and exhibiting lies in utilising this space as an effective communications platform, creating a personalised experience for visitors and communicating in a positive and memorable way that will positively shape public perception and attitudes,” concluded Newman.