How to be ‘present’ at trade shows without showing up
ATM 2025 (Arabian Travel Mart), one of the biggest travel trade shows of the region, has just called it a wrap. Over 55,000 visitors. 2,800+ exhibitors from 166 countries were part of the 32nd edition that explored the future of tourism, shaped by connectivity across borders, industries and communities.
Insights from the event have been fabulous with many calling it a masterclass in tourism. But this blog post isn’t about ATM 2025 or how technology plays a transformative role in shaping the travel and tourism industry's future.
On the contrary, this is for those brands or clients that missed ATM 2025 and are now pondering how they can still cash in on an event that they never attended but wished they had to tell their brand story.
This is where as a PR professional, you give your wand a little swish and dive into your PR tool kit and pull out an effective tool– newsjacking.
Read more about: Your 4-Stage Guide to a Successful Media Event
So, what exactly is newsjacking?
Newsjacking is adding your thoughts and opinions into trending news stories to get your brand noticed. Or if you want to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth aka David Meerman Scott who coined the word ‘newsjacking.’
“If you are clever enough to react to breaking news very quickly, providing credible second-paragraph content in a blog post, tweet, or media alert that features the keyword of the moment, you may be rewarded with a bonanza of media attention.”
How to apply newsjacking
Now, that we know what newsjacking is, let’s get to work to put this strategy into action. And what’s better than applying it to the ATM show itself. Here are some newsjacking suggestions for your brand:
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- Try a Contrarian POV Post: Offer an opinion that challenges the key narrative seen at ATM: For example: if everyone is talking about reimagining tourism this year at ATM–you get behind meaningful accessibility.
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- Curate an insightful Post-ATM trend recap: Summarise ATM’s key themes (from publicly available content) and pepper it with your insights. For example: ‘ATM 2025 was all about technology and connectivity. Here is what brands should focus on next…’
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- Create a ‘Spot the differences’ or “Did you notice” visual or carousel: Scour the reportage on ATM and highlight overlooked insights, odd patterns to recurring stereotypes from previous editions and give it a cheeky take. For example, you could pull together a post, ‘5 things you noticed in ATM 2025 and what it means..’
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- Find interesting quotes of speakers at the ATM conferences and retweet it with your angle: For example: You could say, ‘ This speaker was spot on. But here’s my take…’
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- Use ATM to launch a timed product, insight, or report: While the ATM buzz is still on, try releasing your brand’s travel-related content For example, Your brand could release a whitepaper, a blog or even a campaign “inspired by the conversations at ATM 2025.”
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- Join the hashtag conversation (you may be Late, but you can still be impactful): Give #ATM2025 a clever spin. For example: You could do a post using the hashtag #ATM2025, stating, ‘Here is #ATM2025 from the sidelines…’
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- Finally, make a virtual booth: Carve out a virtual brand experience through a video, animation, or post as if you had a booth at ATM 2025. For example, you could do a post: “Couldn’t afford a 10×10 ATM booth? Well, no problem. Take a look at our cool virtual pop-up…’
Read more: Media Event Types & How to Select One
Now it is your turn…
Some best real-world examples of newsjacking
For inspiration, here are three of the best real-world examples of newsjacking we love:
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- Oreo – “You Can Still Dunk in the Dark” (Super Bowl Blackout 2013)
During the unexpected blackout at the Super Bowl, Oreo immediately tweeted an ad that said, “You can still dunk in the dark." And it was retweeted over 15,000 times while garnering over 20,000 likes within the first hour. All of this without paying millions for Super Bowl ad airtime. - Arby’s – Pharrell’s Hat (Grammys 2014)
Pharrell wore a big brown hat at the Grammys 2014. Arby’s (whose logo looks like a cowboy hat) tweeted: “Hey @Pharrell, can we have our hat back?" There was viral buzz which then skyrocketed when he later auctioned the hat for charity, Arby’s bought it keeping the buzz alive for longer. - Aviation Gin – Ryan Reynolds and the “Peloton Wife” (2019).
- Oreo – “You Can Still Dunk in the Dark” (Super Bowl Blackout 2013)
- After a Peloton commercial received backlash for being tone-deaf, Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation Gin cast the same actress in a spoof ad within days. The ad went ultra-viral garnering millions of views, media coverage everywhere, giving free marketing without a huge campaign
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