The ADfab Tradeshow Buzz

Every year, flocks of tourists make pilgrimages to see Elvis’ Graceland estate, just to catch a glimpse of the king’s famed “jungle room”. In it’s heyday, this themed room was where his friends and industry movers and shakers came to play. If you hung with Elvis in his jungle room, you had truly arrived.

Over the years, trade show exhibiting has seen a shift from utilitarian to more experiential structures. More recently, focus is being put on having attendees ‘experience’ the space rather than simply view it. With this focus, has come the escalation of multimedia and interactive displays, but is this enough. How can your exhibit draw flocks of attendees to you?

One rising trend in creating successful trade show displays is creating themed spaces. This can be especially effective when coupled with strong branding or marketing campaigns. Themed restaurants in the 90’s drew long line-ups to get in and for the most part it wasn’t for the food, it was for the experience; the experience of eating in a rainforest, a 50’s diner or Hollywood movie set. In the highly competitive world of exhibiting, a themed display may be the perfect way to impress leads and really make your company stand out.

Whether you are using a portable pop-up display system or a custom modular exhibit, consider giving your display environment a theme and giving your attendees an experience they will not soon forget.

Denise

Your trade show displays have to be remarkable in order to stand out from the crowded showroom floor and to make sure you get a return on investment on your trade show investment.

Here are 5 Tips to Get More out of Your Next Trade Show

Set a Goal – What is it you are trying to accomplish at the trade show? Whether its sales, branding or product launching, have a clear understanding of the end result you are trying to achieve.

Research the Tradeshow you are Attending – Get an understanding of what type of trade show displays are normal for the particular event. The last thing you want is to show up to a trades show with a black tabletop when everyone else is offering interactive displays.

Publicize Your Appearance – Make sure that your target market and current clients are aware that you will be presenting at the trade show. They may drop by and be impressed by the new products or services you have to offer and give you some incremental business.

Make Sure you are Ready to do Business – Many companies show up at a trade show and do all the right things to entice new customers and yet are not set up to take a order. Will that be Visa or MasterCard?

Follow up ASAP! – Once you close down your event and head back to the office, be sure to go through the new contact list of potential clients and get back to them with supporting answers as soon as possible.

On Tuesday, as I watched Super Tuesday unfold on CNN, I marveled at the marketing machine that has successfully pushed this virtually unknown Illinois senator to the forefront of American politics. A year ago, the average American didn’t even recognize his face, let alone his name. So how did he get to a place that has Hilary Clinton looking over her shoulder? One could say, it is solely his politics and where he stands on issues of governmental reform but then again, weren’t all the Democratic hopefuls all chanting the same song of change? One could say it is his charm and ability to connect with people on a ‘real’ level but Joe Biden has that same magic (personal opinion, of course) and that was of little help to him in his presidential bid. One could even say it’s the color of his skin but Jesse Jackson proved in 1984 and again 1988 that Americans don’t always ante up when the race card is played. There are a number of factors at play here and one of them is that a brilliant man took $31 million dollars (it helps having friends like Oprah ) and began a viral marketing campaign that has women swooning around the water cooler and a disenfranchised populace believing that change in government can happen and will, under the leadership of a 46 year old African American small on experience but big on vision. He sells a dream and by the results Tuesday, everyone’s buying.

So now the obvious question, what the heck does this have to do with trade show marketing? What Mr. Obama’s team of marketing gurus did was think outside the box and apply some basic guerilla marketing techniques that anyone can apply to help them generate a buzz. Imagine that your trade show start date is election day. How is anyone going to show up, if you haven’t gotten them there in the first place? Sure you could wait to see what the trade show floor holds for you but that would be like handing out a flyer to someone walking into a polling station; if they even showed up. Okay, so now the how. How do you become the Barack Obama of the trade show? Here are some tips.

1. The plan. The difference between a dream and a goal is a timeline. Sure you have some great marketing ideas but unless you break them down into a time tabled list that is realistic, then chances are they will never materialize. So grab your laptop and just put it down and into action. Commit to be committed.
2. Start early. Grassroots marketing campaigns take time to grow. If you book your trade show space a year before the show date, then that should be day #1 of your campaign.
3. Don’t put your eggs all in one basket. Spread your marketing dollars around to various types of media communications. It doesn’t have to be an expensive proposition. The web is a great inexpensive way to get the word out. Make sure that you let visitors to your site know where you’ll be come show time and why they need to be there.
4. Don’t under estimate the power of the word. Word of mouth is an extremely powerful tool and has catapulted sites like myspace to astronomical success. Think about that great restaurant you love, the site you frequent, the products you buy and I bet you someone first told you about them. There’s no crime in shameless self promotion, just ask Donald Trump.
5. While you think of ways to generate new business don’t forget about your existing clients. What ways can you introduce new products and service to your existing clients. Think about special trade show incentives just for them, that let them know you appreciate their business.
6. Consider the element of surprise. Don’t tell potential leads exactly what plans you have for the show. Unveil your new product at the show and create hype around the event. This is the way Apple has unveiled much of it’s product and it works.
7. Consider cross-marketing at the show. Forge a relationship with a company attending the show, that offers products or services that compliment yours. Get together and come up with a promotion that is mutually beneficial. Sometimes the oddest pairings make for the most interesting marketing campaigns. The connection doesn’t have to be as close as you think. McDonald’s happy meal’s cross-marketing with Dreamwork’s Shrek 3 figurines. The connection is broad (kids) so you don’t have to buddy up with your competition or business rival. Think about who uses your product or service and what other products or services they may benefit from…then connect.
8. Finally, just do it! You would be surprised how little thought or effort goes into pre-show marketing. When everyone one is silent, you most certainly can hear even a whisper.

So for your next trade show, don’t wait til election day to get a lead. Start early, implement your plan, knock on doors, think outside the box, shore up your resources, get out there and sell that dream.

See ya in the oval office,

D

What blog wouldn’t be complete without a shameless plug. I practice what I preach and you heard it here first; for amazing portable display ideas visit www.adfabexhibits.com