Most people attend trade show because they have to, not necessarily because they want to.
To keep up with the who’s who in their particular industry, attendees will flock to industry trade shows to walk the show floor. Check out any of the latest products or offerings, and – ideally. Leave with something they can bring back to help their firm. Exhibitors, on the other hand, are looking to attract attendees to their booth to generate more leads and sales. One way to attract more attendees to any trade show booth is to work to make the booth an experience.
In this post, we’ll discuss incorporating experiential marketing into your next trade show booth. Some of the strategies to help create that can’t-miss booth. Read on to learn more:
What is Experiential Marketing?
There’s conventional marketing, like advertising in print, radio, and TV. These marketing strategies suit brand awareness campaigns by targeting specific age groups or demographics with large-scale advertisements.
And then there’s experiential marketing, a next-generation tactic that consists of directly involving the customer to help share a brand experience or bring a particular brand or product to life in a meaningful way. One of the best examples of experiential marketing is a trade show booth, as the goal is to bring the customer or potential customer to you to share your brand or product and convert any interest into a sale or long-term relationship.
But attracting attendees to your booth is easier said than done, especially if you’re exhibiting at a large trade show with hundreds – or even thousands – of booths all attempting to do the same thing on the show floor. So how can you make your booth stand out at a trade show as a can’t-miss destination? In the forthcoming sections, we’ll discuss strategies to enhance your trade show marketing by making your booth more immersive. We’ll also discuss key features to include at your booth.
Enhance Your Trade Show Marketing with an Immersive Booth
First, let’s define what makes a trade show booth immersive. Simply put, an immersive trade show booth is interactive.
Often at trade shows, booths tend to be more static. Trade show booths have displays, signage, and pamphlets for attendees to learn about brands or products. However, they lack interactivity and may not attract the average attendee.
An immersive booth, with virtual reality, augmented reality, displays, games, trivia, and networking, is a must-see at trade shows. In the next section, we’ll explore some of these strategies in more in-depth.
Key Features to Include in an Immersive Trade Show Booth
So how can you take your trade show booth from static to immersive? Consider these strategies to attract more visitors and generate leads at your next booth:
1. Augmented and virtual reality:
AR and VR offer attendees the opportunity to interact with your brand or product in an innovative and fun manner. These technologies are particularly good if you’re showcasing a product that’s large and complicated (and thereby difficult to fit in your booth or get onto the show floor) or to tell a story about your brand. From a 3D model to a VR headset, virtual and augmented reality allow attendees to interact with a brand or product without it being physically present at your trade show booth.
2. Interactive video walls and monitors in the trade show:
Video walls and touch-screen monitors are other emerging technologies becoming all the more popular in immersive trade show booths. In an ideal situation, booth attendees would interact with a human for information and product-related inquiries. In the interim, touch-screen monitors and video panels can introduce and cater to each prospect’s desired pace.
3. Create your app:
By creating an app for the trade show, you can help people find your booth, which is particularly useful at large trade shows with numerous exhibitors. The strategy may require extended lead time and incur costs, but it can achieve multiple objectives if attendees download it.
Two, you can include videos, product demonstrations, games, and more to help people learn about your product or brand. And three, you can include special incentives for those who download and use your app, such as a ticket to a happy hour at your booth or the chance to win a prize. You can also promote your app via conventional marketing, such as advertising in industry publications leading up to the show or even advertising in the specific show guide.
Additionally, you’ll want to make sure that your booth has a private or semi-private meeting space where representatives from your firm can have more intimate conversations about the benefits of your product or brand. These spaces can also be used to close deals or reach agreements after attendees have had the chance to experience your brand via the methods we’ve discussed in this piece.
The Value of Working with an XM Agency
Creating an immersive trade show booth is easier said than done. It takes the right strategy and then careful planning to see this strategy through. Oftentimes, it can be more than a brand’s internal marketing department can handle on its own. That’s where there’s value in working with an experiential marketing, or XM, agency.
A good XM agency will learn about your brand and its goals and then develop the right strategy and suggest the best technologies to incorporate into your next trade show booth. Ideally, these strategies will have more people attending your booth and leave you with more leads to follow up on in the days and weeks after the show.
