Tradeshows are here…are you ready or need a refresh to your design? We have put together popular strategies to be your survival guide to successful tradeshow marketing. Utilizing one or more of these ideas will help boost your tradeshow attendee engagement and potentially bring in new leads for your brand.
When planning for tradeshow marketing, it is important to think about before, during and after show tactics that can be implemented towards your target market. Think of it as a campaign where there’s an introduction to your message, a way for tradeshow attendees to interact with your message and a follow up to your audience after the show to bring home that message with a final call-to-action.
Keep your tradeshow marketing message simple
Focus on one or two topics that you and your team can push at your tradeshow. Why? Even if you have multiple topics to discuss or want to touch on everything you possibly can, focusing on one or two topics in your main tradeshow marketing strategy can help your company stand out. What are your competitors saying and how can you say it better or be more interesting to get attendees to stop at your booth first?
These topics should be hyper-relevant to what your industry is currently talking about or something popular that your brand can lean on and grab attention. If you are in the manufacturing industry and attending a tradeshow, how is your company being innovative in the market? Are you creating a product using new technology or new techniques? Showcase those unique features and explain how they can help your existing clients or new leads by making their lives easier.
Once you have chosen your topics, brainstorm ways that you can visually show and tell about them with print marketing. You can keep it small and affordable or go big and make a lasting impression to attendees that will be sure to resonate with them beyond the exhibition show floor.
Pre-show brand strategy
Many brands take advantage of tradeshow attendee lists to send out a pre-show mailers or eblasts that promotes why people should stop by their booth. Here is where you announce your topics of discussion, a special “show only” offer or any other teaser info you can provide that will bring attention to the people attending the show. This mailer/eblast should be branded with your company info and have links or options for the recipient to learn more about your brand before they visit your booth at the show.
Maybe you offer meetings or demonstrations during the show. Be sure to offer your potential booth attendees a way to schedule a meeting or request some one-on-one time with you during the show. This builds a personal interaction which makes people feel more valued when you can set aside time just for them.
Grab attendee attention and retention with these popular large format print strategies
There are many ways to grab attention during a tradeshow and what works best for a brand can vary by industry and exhibitor limitations. Most tradeshow hosts have rules on what you can and cannot do at your booth so take time to know the rules that come with being an exhibitor. Going against the rules or not know the tradeshow etiquette could get your company more attention than you would want.
- Corrugated cut-outs and interactive experiences
Corrugated cut-outs have become a very popular way to grab attention. Life-size cut-outs of mascots or brand ambassadors are a great way to get attendees’ attention and get them to your booth. These cut-outs could be of team members holding funny signs, enlarged product displays to use as teaching tools or interactive games like a spin-to-win to create a crowd.
Designing and printing unique experiences can have a great impact on attendee participation. Having a large and colorful raffle box with the prize on display generates a lot of interest and can be an affordable option to generate new leads.
Offering a photo op with a branded photo frame or backdrop brings an element of interactive fun to both existing clients and new leads during a show. This type of interaction also boosts word-of-mouth at the tradeshow which will draw in more visitors and potentially grow your brand awareness with attendee buzz.
- A professionally branded booth
Once people are drawn to your booth, it’s important to have the appropriate representation of your brand with the use of professionally printed backdrops and furniture. Designing your booth beyond the white company sign hanging on a black curtain backdrop is important, not only to stand out above other booths, but to also show that you invested into the visual attributes of your brand, message and important topics that you want to bring to the forefront of conversation.
A sophisticated backdrop sets the stage for your brand quality, while retractable banners bring life to your unique features and topics of discussion. A branded table cloth or custom printed table brings more life to your booth and allows for attendees to get a great first impression of your company in person.
Some companies take booth branding a step further with custom floor graphics to provide more legible signage or offer another unique way to interact with their booth visitors that is not displayed at eye level. Hanging signage from the tradeshow ceiling is another option to not only showcase more elements for your brand, but to grab attention from across the entire exhibition floor. It may cost a little more for this option, but it almost guarantees more foot traffic to your booth because of the lack of visual competition from that high up.
Leave a lasting impression with tradeshow booth takeaways
Everyone loves free stuff, and when it comes to tradeshows, many visitors are there to fill their bag with SWAG. Promotional product giveaways are an easy way to get your brand in front of visitors and it also keeps your company in front of them beyond the time of the tradeshow.
The challenging part is knowing what to offer for free that isn’t the same thing the booth next to you is handing out. Maybe a person is fine with picking up 10 pens during their time on the exhibition floor and a pen is an inexpensive way to get your brand out there. Offering a unique promo item like a custom printed tile coaster can prove to be more exciting and more memorable, but often times comes with a higher price tag that may affect your tradeshow bottom line.
Getting creative with your booth takeaways can be fun and more effective than traditional promotional product methods. Useful branded items such as notepads or professional journals can offer a practical way for attendees to utilize something long after the show and it keeps your company in front of them on a regular basis.
A business card attached to a candy bar can provide your booth visitors with a sweet introduction to your sales team members. Maybe offering your marketing brochure with a complimentary can koozie is a refreshing way to get attendees to remember your brand. Whatever you decide to give away at your tradeshows, be sure there is an element of uniqueness and branded information that goes along with it.
Post show brand strategy
Brands should always have a post tradeshow strategy that includes both their existing client interactions and potential leads that were generated at the event. This strategy can be in the form of a mass mailer or eblast that provides an overview of what your company showcased at the event, a raffle winner announcement from your drawing or even links to more information that can be found on your website. Produce something that can be a follow up to your attendees and leaves them with a call-to-action to venture further into learning about your company, your uniqueness and the main topics in your tradeshow marketing message.
You can treat your existing client visitors and new leads the same or put them in separate funnels that can be split into more than one message and call-to-action. The leads you gained from the raffle drawing may not be high quality leads to complete a transaction, but you could at least thank them for stopping by and suggest they follow you on social media or sign up for a newsletter for future updates.
If you do have hot leads or existing clients that would like to work more with your brand, you must have a plan of attack to accommodate those people and follow up with them sooner than later after the tradeshow has taken place.
Tradeshow marketing is an important and often times overlooked part of a brand’s annual strategy. Knowing some basic tactics to draw in people to your company before, during and after a tradeshow can be very effective and does not have to be something that breaks your marketing budget.
If you are looking for new and effective ways to stand out at your next tradeshow or event, utilize this tradeshow survival guide as a way to bring new and effective strategies to your brand’s marketing. Need some help with your plan and budget? Contact IntegriPrint to help provide you with creative and quality print marketing solutions.
