7 Kickass Trade Show Branding Secrets
Want to build your brand at trade shows? Your company has company. In survey after survey exhibitors say that building awareness is their #1 or #2 trade show marketing goal. But how do you do it? Here are 7 ways to help build your brand into an industry powerhouse: 1. Get a bigger exhibit: There’s a reason everyone wants to see the Grand Canyon: it’s really big! Similarly, one of the key factors that exhibit attendees remember most is booth size. So get a bigger booth space, and then fill it with color, movement, sound, surprise, humor, engagement, and/ or beauty that demands attention and appeals to the senses and emotions. The more engaging content you provide, the longer they will stay- and the more they will come back. 2. Create graphic impact: Ensure attendees can’t ignore your exhibit by using bright, bold colors, big images such as photos and illustrations, and easy to read messages. Think of creative ways to turn your message into an easy to understand visual- and give attendees a reason to take photos! 3. Design for 3 dimensions: Create impact and messaging for all public-facing sides of your booth, especially for island exhibits that can be viewed from 4 sides. Consider placing professional greeters at all 4 sides, and using them to draw attendees to a central message delivery focus that is compelling, interactive and encourages them to stay longer. 4. Be consistent with your other marketing: Your trade show exhibit and your trade show promotions should reinforce the look and messages you share via your website, brochures, and advertisements. Look for surprising ways to showcase your brand colors, logo, message, and imagery that draw people in, make them look twice (or three times), and encourages them to take photos. 5. Remember that your brand is more than a logo: Your brand is defined by the position you’ve taken in the marketplace, the promise of value you give to customers, and the personality your company has in its interactions with the world. Keep in mind that studies show looking at ART both reinforces the perception of luxury for consumers, and also triggers the part of the brain that experiences love. 6. Create a brand experience: Trade shows are an immersive environment that takes place over several days. Take advantage of that by creating an experience that activates your brand in the minds of your booth visitors. Look for “outside the booth” ways to deliver your message that are compelling, surprising, inspirational, entertaining, funny, and/or beautiful-attendees will walk away with a deeper understanding, a feeling of connection, and a longer lasting memory of your brand. 7. Make it visual, take it viral: Your brand exists outside the confines of the exhibit hall, shouldn’t your attendees’ experience? Guests who are experiencing you for the first time, those who are being reminded of your message, and brand loyal fans all love to share experiences that inspire them. Create a powerful experience in your booth, and give them a platform to share it from! Hash tags, QR codes, and a branded “selfie station” with something bold and visual that people will line up to take photos with can give your booth a viral buzz that ripples well beyond the space and time of a 3 day show. The reason for building your brand is so that you are remembered – and preferred. So when you are at a trade show, do these 7 things so that attendees will walk away not only knowing exactly who you are and what you can do for them, but how they FEEL about you and what you MEAN to them.
