Trade show marketing can be a challenge for many businesses. As a normal way of business, many companies attend industry trade shows with the goal of meeting new people and sharing ideas. Lead generation is strategized, but often times overlooked because of lack of time or budget. In the day-to-day life of a brand, physical experiences are just as important as first impressions. Using interactive displays can help create these experiences for both daily conversations and event purposes.

With today’s print technology, brands are able to create a unique display to grab attention and be used as an interactive marketing tool. These types of interactive displays go beyond trade shows. They can be utilized at sales events, showroom floors, reception areas and more. If you want to create a physical experience with your brand, beyond the handshake, consider interactive displays as a way to connect with your market.

Think about when you walk around a trade show and see other ideas on display. What grabs your attention or what do you experience when interacting with a booth? Most successful trade show booths utilize one or more of the below strategies to create something unique and effective.

1.  Grab attention to increase booth traffic

The traditional lighted backdrop and table are a safe and professional strategy for any brand, but those displays tend to blend in with the rest of the booths at the show. With new materials and options for print marketing, brands can boost their visual appearance through a range of options.

Floor graphics offer a unique branded perspective that is often overlooked. Not all show visitors are staring at the backdrops as they are walking through. Whether they are looking at a continuing education course brochure or on their smartphone, their eyes may be looking towards the floor and that offers opportunity to grab their attention to stop by your booth.

Full-size person cutouts are a great way to stop attendees in their tracks and take a second look. The cutout could be a mascot posing or a team member holding a welcome sign. Let visitors interact with it and then welcome them into the booth. Enlarged product displays not only grab attention, but also provide a unique perspective to display a brand and product information.

2. Create engagement for a lasting impression

Interactive displays can grab attention and provide engagement at the same time. They can draw in attendees walking by the booth and generate word-of-mouth to increase booth traffic during the show. A game like “Spin-to-Win” or “PLINKO”, provides interaction for attendees and in turn, creates excitement, attention and leaves a lasting impression for those who interacted.

Everyone loves free stuff and promotional products can still be impactful at a trade show. Taking your marketing a step further with interactive displays, turns into an experience for the booth visitor and will resonate with them longer.

Having a branded backdrop with props is another way to create a memorable experience for your visitors. They can take photos of themselves and share it through social media. Those images will be viewed online by others, including potential leads, and it creates organic content for your brand.

3. Generate leads and followers for future marketing campaigns

Through trade show contests and drawings, a company can capture names and emails of potential leads and utilize that data for future marketing. This cross-channel marketing strategy works together through a physical and online brand experience for your trade show visitors. Giving away a free iPad, basket of goodies or a discount may seem like a gamble, but a prize brings opportunity to obtain new leads and followers.

Have visitors interact with your booth in person and submit their contest entries through your social media pages. An interactive photo contest can be utilized as a lead generation tool and grow your online following. A simple branded backdrop would work for taking photos or a large branded photo frame has become a very popular option as well. Other contest displays like a business card drop box are less interactive, yet still create interest for a chance to win.

If you are looking for ideas on how to create your next trade show booth or corporate display, set up a time to tour our shop to get some ideas on how an interactive display can help enhance your physical brand experience. Contact us to schedule a shop tour or a meeting to connect and explore: Click here.