How to Steal the Show at Your Next Tradeshow

Posted by Steve Merino on 16 July 2009 | 1 Comments

Tags: tradeshow

A marketing executive stands between a smiling Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. “My kids are going to love this,” she says. A paparazzi photographer takes their picture. 

This scene looks a lot like a movie premiere. But it’s actually BioClincia’s booth at the 2009 Drug Information Association (DIA)  show in San Diego, California.

To support the DIA launch of the BioClinica brand, we developed a “movie premiere” theme, complete with celebrity impersonators, paparazzi photographers and a social media website to encourage repeat visitors, engage online voters and announce a grand prize winner for an HDTV and Blu-ray player.

The booth was so successful it stole the show, earning ClinPage’s top prize “Best Exhibit Floor Buzz Generator”.

By following a few simple rules, and embracing digital and social media marketing, perhaps you can get the same reaction at your next show.

1. Plan ahead. Remember, for many people, a tradeshow is the highlight of their week, month or even the entire business year. Even though the show itself may only last a day or two, it’s never too early to begin hyping your exhibit. Some successful pre-show marketing tactics include emailing current and potential customers. Direct mail pieces sent a few weeks before the show, and then a few days before the show are also great techniques that can act as “tickets” that visitors can use at your booth.

2. Breakdown the door. A pre-show door drop is a must. Often times, these can be left directly at the hotel rooms of your show’s attendees to get them thinking about your exhibit the day before the show. With any door drop, be sure to give visitors a “sneak peak” into your booth. What is your company’s unique selling proposition? What is your booth’s theme? Is there a giveaway that will drive excitement?

For BioClinica’s DIA exhibit, an oversized door drop in the style of a celebrity tabloid supported the “movie premiere” theme. Inside, the tabloid contained teasers about what visitors would see at the exhibit— such as which celebrities they could get their picture taken with, and how you could register to win a big screen HDTV and Blu-ray player. Armed with this information presented in a fun, relevant way, visitors arrived at the booth already excited and knowing what to expect.

3. Turn your booth into a show. Once you have prospects excited about your booth, don’t let them down when they arrive. Too often, exhibitors dress down their booths into vanilla storefronts for handing out information and branded tchotchkes. Instead, think of your booth as an event. Engage your customers with some entertainment, whether you create a game, a contest with a “wow” prize, or a fun theme that gets visitors buzzing about your booth.

4. Go big. Speaking of “wow”, sometimes it’s better to go big. For example, instead of spending thousands of dollars on hundreds of smaller gifts, consider investing all of your dollars into one large prize. At a tradeshow last year, our client, CBaySystems™ raffled off a new car which they drove right into their booth. The exhibit stole the show, causing lines to extend far outside the booth. The best part? It was roughly the same price point as creating $25 gift bags for all 500 attendees, but it generated far more interest and impact. Sometimes bigger really is better.

5. Engage your audience after the show. Tradeshows only last a few days. But using new social and digital marketing techniques can extend your budget for weeks and even months. At the recent DIA show, paparazzi took photos of attendees posing with celebrity impersonators. But they also received a follow up ticket where they could go online and download their photo from a special microsite created just for the show. Visitors could also vote on the top photos, revisit the show experience, and download more information on BioClinica. After several weeks, the most popular vote getter won an HDTV and Blu-ray player— again, tying into the premiere theme. It was a great way to give the show a longer shelf life, keep people engaged with the new BioClinca brand, and of course, register new customers.

Metrics:

• Over 700 registered voters.
• More than 845 unique site visits.

5 tips for a successful tradeshow:

1. Plan ahead. It’s never too early to start talking to show attendees. Tell them about your exhibit and how you’re looking forward to seeing them.

2. Breakdown the door. A door drop the night before the show is a great way to generate some pre-show buzz.

3. Turn your booth into a show. Don’t use your booth as an information dump. Think of fun, relevant and engaging ways to talk about your company.

4. Go big. One large “wow” often costs the same as hundreds of smaller giveaways, but usually has a much greater impact.

5. Engage your audience after the show. Use social and digital media to keep the dialogue going after the show.

 

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