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“This June sees Point Source exhibiting at ABTT for the first time, with the express intention of raising our profile to a wider target market. For many years our customers have said great things about us and we decided the time has come to spread the word further. ABTT is the ideal forum in which to do this and we hope to gain greater industry-wide recognition as a result.” So said our Managing Director, Stephen Capel earlier this year. Now that we have had time for the dust to settle, we can see our decision was a sound one.
As a hire company that does not distribute our own sales products, it was a challenge to decide what to put on our stand that had not been seen before, or was not already present on an adjacent manufacturers’ stand!
We therefore decided that we should concentrate on bringing across the message of what we actually do, in a recognisable context, with our quality and attention to detail evident for all to see. We chose to centre our stand around our corporate video (currently viewable on the Point Source website at www.pslx.co.uk/video.htm) which features some of our work. This we played through a centrally placed plasma screen and we used some of our lighting equipment to dress the stand in a highly functional way, in much the same manner as we would for a corporate client.
ETC Source 4s were used to direct gobo projections onto the floor around the perimeter of the stand, whilst Martin Professional MAC 700s were used to show off their gobo morphing capabilities on the projection screens framing the plasma screen. These blended images included abstract designs and the Point Source Productions logo in a constant stream of movement. ChromaQ Colour Block DB4s were placed around the projection screens to provide a backdrop of colour washes. All equipment, of course, came from our hire stock.
“It was important for us to bring across the idea of the quality of our work to our customers,” explains Hire Manager, Ian King, “both in terms of our kit and our customer service. We wanted it to be a friendly stand on which to chat, yet at the same time demonstrate our abilities.”
The idea seems to have succeeded since people were impressed by what they saw and to have now recognised our full potential. We offer a price and an attitude which derives from our theatre roots, but with a quality which matches the stringent requirements of the corporate market. We are people-driven for our service, and quality-driven for our kit, which we find is a good combination for both markets. The result is two-fold. Theatre customers find the quality and performance of our kit is a great improvement, being of corporate standard. On the other side, even in the most formal corporate event, a friendly face and approachable manner is welcome and we pride ourselves on our ability to engage with our customers in a very positive and productive way.
Point Source Productions has a dedicated sales division of Alvin Key Clamps (www.alvinkeyclamps.co.uk) in honour of which, Alvin himself made his first public appearance on the stand at the show and he has promised to make a return at ABTT 2008, possibly in the company of a friend!
ABTT was also the ideal time to launch our new Hire Catalogue (version 9). We are very particular about the fact we like to publish our list prices clearly for the clients’ reference.
“We are adamant that we give a price to each individual item of kit so that the customer can begin to assess their budget right from the start. Similarly we itemise all of our written quotes so as to make our pricing system as transparent as possible for the end user. To our way of thinking, this is the major purpose of a hire catalogue,” explains Capel.
“As a growing company, it was interesting to be a first time exhibitor at ABTT. It gave us an opportunity to meet everyone on a level playing field: clients, competitors and other industry members. It was very valuable for obtaining feedback, identifying our strengths and finding out what more customers required from us. It was simultaneously a learning experience as well as a business opportunity,” says Ian King. “Over all, it was a great success and, building on that success, we have seen an increase in medium sized theatre and corporate work.”
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