Experiential marketing has slowly crept into the trade show industry, taking hold first in large businesses’ trade show exhibits and then gaining more popularity among smaller brands as well. Experiential marketing in the trade show industry was a bit of a conundrum at first, but it has grown steadily more popular as time has worn on. Now exhibitors are embracing it in many different ways. Not sure how you can embrace this exhibiting trend yet? Consider introducing experiential marketing to your next trade show booth in the following ways:
Provide a Sense of Infotainment with Your Experiential Marketing
Infotainment is the concept that you can educate someone in the process of also providing them with entertainment. By providing this experience in your trade show booth, you’re better able to make a lasting impression with your audience. What’s more likely for someone to remember- a pamphlet handed them by one of many exhibitors during the day or a race car simulation game demonstrating the speed of your service? The experiential marketing element of a race car game inside the trade show booth is far more memorable than someone passing out brochures and trying to pass out their free pens. Infotainment need not be as elaborate as a video game, though, so consider how even providing a memorable yet informative experience can capture more interest in your goods and services.
Give Fans a Test Drive of Your Product
One of the most fun ways you can introduce experiential marketing is to immerse someone in your product by way of offering a test drive. In one client’s trade show display, we built a race track to literally allow trade show attendees to take mini race carts for a test drive. This was a great experiential marketing tactic that had people lined up to race their peers. Even if you don’t have a product as cool as a racing cart to exhibit, this can similarly be implemented by allowing people to edit their photos with your product inside your trade show booth or by allowing people the opportunity to literally hammer on your products to demonstrate their durability.
Provide a Game Connected to Your Product
There are games such as those we described as infotainment and then there are games that are on brand such as a Plinko game that offers participants the ability to win some of the corporate gifts you produce. We provided such an experiential marketing event for one client at an HR show and their small trade show booth had more people in it than any other exhibit at the show. This kind of experiential marketing was on brand and really got trade show attendees excited about the kinds of corporate gifts that they received as a result of participating in this experiential marketing.
Use Experiential Marketing to Immerse People in Your Brand
A great way to connect with your trade show audience is to immerse them in your brand by providing an experience with your product. This kind of experiential marketing can be powerful because people connect back to the memories they made in your trade show booth such as setting up a video shoot, encouraging a private jam session in a sound proof booth, painting the colors that make up your product, or exploring an underwater seascape using virtual reality. The key to these experiences are to use experiential marketing to tell your brand story without having to rely on outside messaging or tag lines. This leaves a lasting positive impression that translates outside of exhibiting at a show. Experiential marketing like this creates a memory that when called upon brings them back to your goods or services.
As 2020 begins, think of how you can reach more people on the trade show floor through the power of experiential marketing. This can be an excellent way to increase your trade show ROI and distinguish yourself from your competition. For more great ideas, consult your exhibit design partner.
