Creative Trade Show Marketing Tips

As an exhibitor at a trade show, you want everyone in attendance to pay attention to your booth. As an attendee, every booth starts to look the same pretty darn quickly. This is why it is so important that you go above and beyond when marketing your booth at any event. The more creative you get with your approach to getting people interested in your booth, the better your success will be at the trade show. Here are a few of our creative trade show marketing tips to help you when preparing for your next trade show.

Create a visually stunning trade show display

If your booth stops people in its tracks then they are going to notice you. Chances are they might even remember you. Do what you can to make your trade show display stand out from the crowd. Some ideas for building a display or media backdrop that will get attention include:

• Take ideas from the art world instead of the world of advertising. Everyone at the trade show is advertising what they have to offer. They’re taking their cues from the advertising and marketing gurus. Be different and look at ways to show off your stuff that are inspired by art galleries and interior design magazines.
• Be bold with your colors. Go for the fancy graphics done in unusual color combinations when designing your trade show displays. These will certainly attract attention.
• Make use of video, lights and audio where allowed. Not all venues will let you distract trade show attendees this way but those that will are offering you a chance to demand attention.

Go high-tech to get trade show attention

In today’s world, the quickest way to get attention from your potential customers is to use today’s technology. This is true at trade shows. Some high-tech ideas for marketing at trade shows include:

• Use interactive multimedia presentations when doing demos at your trade show booth. Set up a few laptops at your booth and offer people a way to use them to better understand your brand.
• Use real-time technology to update people who are not at the event about what’s going on there. Live blogging and video streaming of your demos will market your trade show activities to a broader audience.
• Make use of mobile technology. Use mobile apps to connect with trade show attendees and drive them to your trade show display. You can use various apps to advertise your brand, announce drawings happening at your table and just remind people to come check out what you have to offer.

Remember the value of the face-to-face connection

Despite the value of being high-tech, you don’t want to forget person-to-person marketing. Hire some cute, friendly folks to hand out fliers and direct attendees to your booth. Host an after-show event with free cocktails and do some major networking with trade show attendees. And present yourself in an upbeat but not excessively enthusiastic way to everyone who comes to the table. A good personality makes a regular trade show display memorable.

Have experience creating a visually stimulating and interesting display? What did you do, and how successful was it?

About the Author:
Dennis Nixon is the Sales Manager at Smash Hit Displays, a trade show display company for vendors throughout the United States.