Ready to up your brand’s game at next year’s trade show? A creative and thoughtfully designed exhibit will not only help you stand out from the competition. It will ensure you attract more visitors, grow brand awareness, and achieve your trade show goals. So let us give you some insights and examples into upcoming trends in the exhibiting world – plus our seven best trade show booth ideas for 2020:

1. Create a multi-sensory experience.

You know it’s important that your trade show exhibit makes attendees look your way. But when coming up with trade show booth ideas, don’t forget to engage the other senses. Depending on your product or services, talk to your exhibit designer about how the use of ambient lighting, tactile displays and textures, or scent marketing can be used.

Consider how different options enhance your branding and tie into your exhibit’s theme. Midland Radio’s exhibit uses rugged textures like natural wood and brick to fit their brand and create the feel of a wilderness lodge in the great outdoors.

2.  Invite attendees to relax in your space.

It’s no secret that days spent walking around a trade show and expo are long and tiring.  Visitors will appreciate it if your exhibit has a comfortable place for them to escape the bustle on the show floor. See how McDonald’s exhibit goes beyond only offering tables for eating and also provides lounge chairs for tired guests to sit down. As a unique bonus you could include a free phone charging station!

3. “Go green” with natural plant displays.

When inside a large convention hall, the use of plants can really stand out and turn your exhibit into a calm retreat. You can incorporate them in planters or try the trend of live “green walls.” This modern option can double as an eye-catching way to display your company name, logo, or a slogan that pops against the greenery. It also makes a great photo-op for booth visitors that builds brand awareness when they share it on social media. AdventHealth’s exhibit uses a living plant wall to frame the display’s video wall and draw attention to its message.

4. Build big (and up!) to attract more visitors.

This one may seem obvious, but business can sometimes overlook the value and impact a larger exhibit can have on increasing your trade show ROI. You can “go big” with more than just floor space. You can also upsize your trade show display by building up with hanging signs or multi-story exhibits. Displays like Braskem’s exhibit use the size and height of striking architectural details to command the show floor.

5. Use immersive technology like virtual reality.

Want to think even bigger as you brainstorm your trade show booth ideas? Get ahead of your competition by going high-tech with virtual reality.  For example, Car companies can incorporate virtual driving games that allow attendees to take a “test drive.” But that’s only one way to gamify the experience. Immerse visitors in your booth with design features like interactive floors and video walls.

6. Team up with a full-service exhibit agency.

When you’re ready to turn your trade show booth ideas into designs, save on hassle and extra costs by teaming up with a full-service exhibit agency. A full-service exhibit company will take care of every step of the process for you, from designing and building to shipping and installing your trade show exhibit. That way your own team can focus on its most important task – connecting with potential customers.

7. Offer unique ways to interact with your product.

When it comes down to it, the majority of people that attend trade shows want to see the latest new products and offerings in the industry. This should be central to your design. It’s about more than just displaying your products on a shelf. Incorporate a space for visitors to hold them, test them, watch product demonstrations and learn about the coolest features. Village Farms’ exhibit uses an open bar area to invite their booth visitors to take a seat and comfortably experience and learn more about their products.

Feeling inspired? Contact us today to start the discussion on your next custom exhibit or rental!

With so much focus placed on your trade show exhibit and the event itself, it’s really no surprise that the vast majority of exhibitors fall short on pre-show marketing. In other words, so much effort is being placed on the show itself, that companies are neglecting to market to the attendees they’re trying to attract.

Currently, the average trade show attracts over 400 exhibitors and of show attendees, as many as 76% come to the show with an agenda of the booths they plan to visit. In fact, the average trade show attendee visits an average of 25-31 exhibits over a 2 to 3 day event.

Given those kinds of numbers, it should be obviously apparent that getting on your hopeful attendees’ list of must-see exhibits BEFORE the event could make or break your show. In order to do this, you must first allocate an appropriate portion of your trade show marketing budget to pre-show activities – up to 15%. And then utilize that budget to execute a mix of the following strategies:

1. Involve Your Sales Team Early

Your sales team can be your most valuable pre-show marketing asset. To be effective, be sure that in the few months leading up to your event, they are helping to book face-to-face appointments at the show.

Your sales staff speaks with numerous customers each and every day – and they should be mentioning the upcoming event to each of their contacts. And setting hard appointments whenever possible. Offering an incentive to customers for pre-booking appointments can help to fill the schedule – say a 10% order discount if booked at the show.

2. Talk It Up On Social Media

If you’re not already using social media as part of your on-going advertising and marketing plan, your trade show might be the perfect time to jump into the game. Of course, if you’re already routinely using social channels such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn – spreading the word will be that much easier.

In the months and weeks leading up to your show, be sure to Tweet and post information you’ll be covering at the show, any promotions you’re offering and of course your booth number. And don’t stop using social once the show starts. Use these same channels to keep customers that couldn’t make the event engaged and claim new followers by being a go-to resource for the event!

3. Utilize Email and Marketing Automation

Sending short, concise and well-designed email blasts to attendees in the month prior to the show can be quite effective. It only takes a couple of emails over the course of the month and a follow-up a few days before to reap the benefits. Be sure to include any special events or offers you are running at the show – along with your location on the show floor and booth number.

In addition, consider having the email link to a landing page within your website – where attendees can submit a form to request an appointment. Make them an offer they can’t refuse!

4. Leverage Pre-Show Marketing Tools Provided by the Show Sponsor

It is very likely that the sponsor of the event, at which you’re exhibiting, will provide a number of pre-show marketing tools. Many of these tools will either be available to you within the cost of your exhibit space or at an additional fee for tools such as upgraded ad space in the event directory.

Attendee lists are almost always available prior to the event and can be used in your email campaigns. These are folks who ARE going to be at the show, you just need to get them to your booth!!

Like a seasoned team of professionals to help make your company’s trade show marketing efforts more successful? Give ColorCraft a call, and let’s talk over your trade show program – we’ll help you make it more effective!!

In our article “Branding Memories Through Trade Shows“, we talked about defining the word “brand” as a “memory”. And that everything you remember about a company through interaction, it’s products, it’s advertising, what other people say or any other interaction is their “brand”.

Let’s take that discussion a bit further and say that if a “brand is a memory” then you should strive to reinforce that memory by creating an “experience” with your branding. And, by the way, there’s no greater opportunity to let your customers and prospects “experience” your brand than through trade shows and live events!

In this article we’ll specifically talk about 5 of the ways you can enhance the “brand experience” of your business:

Your Brand is a Perception and an Expectation

One of the first steps in transforming your brand into an experience is the self-realization that your brand is more than its visual marketing elements. In the minds of your customers and prospects, your brand is a perception and an expectation.

Through your positioning, the experiences you create, your products and really any other way your audience is exposed to your brand you are creating a perception and YES – setting expectations. Until you fully realize this and make this idea an integral part of your brand strategy – creating the RIGHT “perceptions” about your company and therefore “expectations” that your products and services live up to can be a challenge. Your brand IS a perception and an expectation!

Your Brand is the Total Sum of Your Entire Business

By understanding that your brand is actually the total sum of everything you do and everything that makes up your business, shapes the experience and memory your audience has of your company as a whole. Everything from your marketing visuals to how your phones are answered shape how your company is “experienced” and perceived.

When this experience “feels” good to your customers then positive memories are created around the brand, and when these experiences don’t feel quite as nice…well, that creates a memory as well.

Experience is the Way a Consumer Identifies With Your Brand

To continue the previous passage, through experiences with your brand your customers identify what they like (what makes them feel good) and what they don’t like (what makes them feel not-so-good).

By strategically thinking about and creating positive experiences, whether through your trade show program or other touch points, you have the opportunity to create multiple positive experiences within your customers and create supporting memories of your brand which build loyalty. Or, of course, the converse of that if you’re not mindful of the experience……

Experience Creates an Emotional Bond with a Product or Service

The strongest brands create an emotional bond between the customer and a product, service or the company. Think about how emotionally attached you’ve become to your smart phone of choice or your favorite running shoe company (swoosh!)….

These are bonds that go beyond comfort or features or convenience and price. In-fact, you’re completely OK with shelling out a premium for your brands of choice because of the total “experience” and emotional bond these companies have created around their brand, products and services. You should strive for the same…to connect with your customers on a deeper, emotional level.

Brand Loyalty Can be Defined by the Relationships You Create

Brand loyalty is the holy grail of marketing and branding. And it can only be achieved when your customers have a strong emotional bond with your products and company – but it goes a step farther and deeper….

Your customers must feel like they have a positive relationship with you, your company and everything it stands for to reap the rewards of brand loyalty. The idea of striving to build loyalty with your customers should be front of mind when planning everything from your customer service to your trade show programs. It’s about creating a positive experience and yes, a good feeling, at each touch point your customers have with your products, services and yes – YOU.

Like to learn more about creating the right experience for your customers through your trade show program? Continue reading part two of our brand building guide. Our experienced Team at ColorCraft will help you turn prospects into customers and yes, customers into loyal brand evangelists. Contact us today!