Experiential marketing has become very integrated into trade shows. In fact, we have developed a culture around experiencing brands instead of just reading literature or viewing their trade show display. However, as trade shows return post-pandemic, experiential marketing will change. People will not want to get up close and personal anymore to play a game. They may not want to touch surfaces that were just used by someone else. Consider the following ways you can still use experiential marketing inside your display:
Put on a Show with a Prop in Motion
There are three things that generally make the difference between a good trade show booth and a great one. Those include color, light, and motion. When you plan your experiential marketing, it can be as easy as including a prop in motion in your booth space. For example, one of our clients made cameras that instantly printed out a picture. We delighted show attendees by building an oversized camera that pushed out a picture on a timer. Every other minute, someone would walk by and see a picture emerge from the camera. That was a great way to engage in experiential marketing because show attendees instantly understood the brand had new digital cameras that included instant printing.
Use Video Walls in Your Display to Provide Experiential Marketing
Video walls are incredibly popular on the trade show floor. They can also be a powerful way to provide experiential marketing by taking people on a journey through your brand. You have many possibilities from an immersive room that simulates your building process to a virtual reality station that shows videos simulating the person picking crops, and more. A video wall can be a new way to provide experiential marketing without the need for people to touch things and figure out what product or service you provide.
Design a Themed Trade Show Exhibit
Do you have a brand story you’d like to tell in a unique way? Try a themed trade show exhibit. This can be a great way to engage in experiential marketing because someone could literally step into your booth space and understand the farm to table concept, be a captain of your airplane, understand the global reach of your technology, and more. There is no need to touch products in an environment like this. To have some fun with it, train your booth staff to address people in a manner consistent with the theme and to wear outfits consistent with the theme. It can be a fun way to offer experiential marketing that is touchless.
Your first post-pandemic trade show will likely look and feel very different. There will be more measures in place to increase social distancing and exhibitors will likely discourage attendees picking things up and touching things. That means your experiential marketing will need to change with the times.
