Primary objective was to increase visibility and awareness for the Iridium program through exhibitions and events worldwide; to provide the necessary platform to reach regulatory, policymaking, and service provision audiences through conferences and exhibitions; and to recast the message from system progress to end user benefits as they moved into commercial service.

Categories Of Events Were Identified:

• Global Telecom Exhibitions: Included events of global significance which provided Iridium a platform to demonstrate progress, benefits, and strategies before key regulatory and/or commercial audiences.
• Global Vertical Exhibitions: Included selected events in markets which had a demonstrated need for satellite communication. Participation in these events helped facilitate entry into the vertical markets. These events had a global audience and were considered to be the most significant tradeshow within the industry segment.
• CEO Forums and Conferences: Included events attended by CEO’s who were otherwise impossible to reach. The majority of the events were sponsored by the Wall Street Journal and The Economist.
• Regional Telecom Exhibitions: Included major regional exhibitions where a presence was important to further develop recognition of the Iridium program within each major regional territory.

All events included tradeshow participation, conference speaking opportunities, appropriate sponsorships, hospitality, and public relations events.

Opportunities:

• Demonstrate product to potential end-user
• Lead gathering
• Sales
• Heightened brand awareness
• Stimulate market interest

Program Results:

• Participated in over 50 tradeshows globally on an annual basis
• Produced lead generation and sales
• Subscriber acquisition generating revenue for global regional investors
• Heightened product awareness and benefits to new markets
• Established new relationships with Service Providers leading to sales
• Developed status as leader in markets benefiting from satellite technology as a communications tool
• Established licensing in regions likely to generate heaviest potential satellite usage generating revenue
• Established relationships with regulatory and licensing community globally

Tradeshow Examples:

Comm India
New Delhi, India

Success statement:

“Communications India was a great success for Iridium. In a country with as low a telecom density as 1.6 percent, the very concept of satellite communications was enough to magnetize the Iridium booth.  Exhibiting at the event provided education and awareness for the system and services”.
Manager, Marketing and Communications

CTIA
Atlanta, Georgia

Success statement:

“CTIA was the platform that assisted us in meeting both our sales and marketing objectives. The booth traffic and demographics of the participants ensured us that we had the highest level of visibility and targeted the appropriate audience”.
President

Telexpo
Sao Paolo, Brazil

Success statement:

“Nearly 60,000 telecom executive, managers, and technical personnel from 34 countries visited Telexpo.  Strategic planning allowed for us to meet with numerous attendees who were directly involved in the purchasing of telecom products and services”.
Country manager