5 Essential Components of Successful Brand Promotion at a Trade Show

Want to knock your next performance at a trade show out of the park? You need our 5 essential components of successful face to face marketing.

#1 Entertain

Think about the last time you went to a trade show, exhibition or event as an attendee. Which booth or brand did you talk about after the event and why?

The likelihood is the answer will revolve around how cool/inspiring/entertaining it was. How will you entertain?

For example, more or less every exhibitor at an NEC Birmingham trade show will follow the set marketing pattern.  Identify their customer’s problem and offer the solution, trumpeting that they will save them money too. But this isn’t the stuff of memories. The booth that did make an impression was the one with the best features like demonstrations or samples etc.

#2 Educate and inform

Various surveys have found that just over half of the attendees at major trade shows and similar events attend because they want to learn about something.

Knowing that people are on the hunt for information is all well and good, but what else will you offer them that draws them in?

You could, for example, hire hospitality staff for your next NEC Birmingham event so you can offer delegates a place to sit, relax and enjoy a cup of coffee.

#3 Storytelling

Telling a story is as old as the earth itself. In the fables and fairy stories are memories of the past and they work because they appeal to emotions. From jeopardy to happiness and sadness, telling a story hooks people.

Appealing to emotions is an important part of face-to-face marketing, especially at a trade show. As humans, we tend to react first and then allow rationale to kick in. How could you use storytelling and emotion at your next trade show?

#4 Strategy

Pitching up and standing at a booth all day at a trade show is no guarantee of success. What are you there for? Why that NEC event and not another?

A strategy lays out your goals and objective.  What you want to achieve and how you will go about doing this. But the strategy will only be effective if everyone staffing the stand know what it is and the role they play in it.

#5 Definition of success

After the show has ended, the roller banners are back in the box, the promotional staff team thanked for their efforts and are on their way to their next event and you are left asking yourself was that a success or not?

The only way to answer that is to understand what your measures of success are. What this measure is entirely personal.  Maybe it’s a full list of possible leads or the fact that 1,000s of people got to sample your new product.
If you defined success – and met it – what is your next target for your next event?

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