Cape Town Marathon Exhibition 2024: Reflections and Takeaways

This year’s Cape Town Marathon exhibition was a win for us. Exhibiting both ASS MAGIC and Cadence Nutrition, we were pleased to sell out of both sizes of our anti-chafe balm—a result we didn’t quite expect! The journey leading up to it, though, was anything but straightforward.

Pre-Event Challenges

In the days before the event, we were in a last-minute scramble, organising new stands and a custom banner wall. Just hours before setup was set to close, I picked up the fresh print and headed to the venue—only to find out the setup deadline was 3 p.m., not 5 p.m. (Note to self: double check the exhibition manual!). Fortunately, we managed to access the area early the next morning for final touches.

Then came the second hurdle: our new banner wall didn’t fit the stand space, despite some determined maneuvering by Phillip and me. A passing stand builder said: “It’s impossible.” But don’t ever tell me that—I’m always game to find a way! After removing a panel, we got it to fit just right, luckily we had a corner stand this time around. Lesson learned: exhibition stands sold in 3m allocations actually have an internal width closer to 2.9m. Duly noted for next time!

Testing New Ideas

This year, we leaned into fresh ideas to connect with attendees. Our new tagline, “Chafing Sucks,” printed boldly on a 3m vinyl banner, turned out to be a crowd favorite, resonating especially well with the marathoners. We also launched a smaller, 13g version of our anti-chafe balm priced under R100. Based on insights from the Comrades Marathon expo, this smaller size was aimed at price-sensitive customers and those wanting a trial size before committing to a larger one. I’ll admit, I had some anxiety about how it would sell since we hadn’t done much pre-launch marketing, but thankfully the response was incredibly positive.

Building Customer Connections

Our conversations with customers were invaluable. At checkout, we asked where they were based 

and directed them to their nearest retailer, like Sportsman’s Warehouse, local retail store or Takealot, helping establish brand connections for future visits. We also included a sample of our enzyme-based kit wash with each purchase, giving us a quick moment to share its purpose and benefits.

Post-Exhibition: Joining the Marathon

After the exhibition (thanks to an awesome team, I didn’t need to be on my feet the whole time!) I ran in my first road marathon. With Cape Town Marathon working toward inclusion in the Abbott World Marathon Majors, it was exciting to be part of such an event. I’d heard beforehand that “the marathon really starts at kilometer 30,” and never were truer words spoken!