Posts

The Importance of Exhibitor Marketing

Exhibitor Marketing is a surefire way to generate quality leads and increase brand awareness if done effectively. These industry-specific events allow you to showcase and promote your products to an audience that may have little knowledge of your services. Our industry experts at eShow offer a strategic guide on how to make your next exhibitor marketing campaign one of success.

Lead Retrieval

Lead retrieval is one of the most effective ways to share contact information and network on the event floor that in turn, transitions into qualifying leads. We recommend using a fully integrated lead retrieval system that offers both exhibitors and attendees a universal experience. Our on-the-ground experts equip you with all you need to know for attendee detail tracking, Excel reporting, CEU verification, and more. Self-powered and easy to use, our compact and portable units will help you take entrepreneurship to the next level. 

Show Organizers

Set your next tradeshow up for success with a show organizer designed to optimize your tech stack. Lay the groundwork for long-term growth and expansion by developing a comprehensive strategy and plan of action. Look for a show organizer that provides you with the necessary tools to promote, sell, and manage your next exhibition or trade show. Utilize services like partnership outreach, market research, and more.

Exhibit Sales Management
Exhibitors want technology services that are straightforward and set them apart from the competition. With Exhibit Sales Management, users can easily select booths, add sponsors, and smoothly manage all functions of shopping and finances; they even get access to VEM Exhibitor Analytics for a smart, enhanced experience. Utilize our administrative tools to manage your exhibitors financially (and beyond) with reporting, eBlasts, invoicing, and more.

Attendees

Connecting to your target audience has become more crucial than ever. Engagement and exposure are at the forefront of exhibitor marketing, and we want to help you incorporate new opportunities for growth and ROI. Gamification has become more prominent over the last few years, and we don’t see it going away anytime soon. Gamification is known to spark engagement and increase lead capture more so than exhibiting booths that do not have activation or gaming features. Get ahead of the curve and integrate SmartMatch technology that will ‘wow’ your audience.

A few steps to ensure success from both exhibitor marketing expenditures and sales success:

  • To ensure your company’s business objectives are incorporated into your trade show sales messages, collateral, product positioning, etc., it’s essential to establish specific, quantifiable goals that you want to achieve. Whether the show is online, in-person, or hybrid, the goals should be measurable and achievable.
  • Once you have established your goals, write and design product and company brochures as well as any other necessary collateral. However, hold off on printing them for now as you may need to update them before the show.
  • Create a pre-show email marketing campaign to inform prospects and customers that you will be exhibiting. Offer them a discount registration code if you have one, and let them know what products or services you will be showcasing at the event. This will help generate interest before the event even starts.
  • After the show, create a post-show email marketing campaign to thank participants for attending and provide them with additional information on your company and products. This is an excellent opportunity to convert leads into customers by offering promotions, discounts or free trials.
  • You should work with your sales team to determine what constitutes a qualified lead and come to an agreement on how the leads will be turned over to sales for immediate follow-up after the show.
  •  Establish clear protocols on how and when leads will be distributed to each salesperson as well as the follow-up process. By doing so, you will ensure that your sales team can effectively convert leads from prospects to customers.

Learn more about how eShow can help level up your exhibitor marketing with a personal demo. Our expert team is ready to find a customizable solution that fits your needs and ensures success at your next show.

For additional helpful resources, check out some industry partners we highly reccomend!

/by

Experiential Marketing To Liven Up Your Event

Today’s consumers are exposed to thousands of advertisements every day – and they’re getting burned out. The constant influx of marketing messages has led people to simply ignore the bulk of them. This makes it incredibly difficult for brands to get through the defenses consumers have built up and influence their buying decisions.

Marketers and event planners striving to make an impact must step outside the box and find creative ways to engage their target customers. Experiential Marketing is one approach that can bring exceptional results. Incorporating this concept into your events can make them both more exciting and more effective.

Ready to learn more? Stick with us as we break down precisely what experiential marketing is and how you can use it to liven up your future events.

What is Experiential Marketing?

Experiential marketing involves using immersive experiences to market a product or a brand. It allows brands to go beyond telling consumers why they should buy a product and instead create an intimate, personal experience with it. This gives consumers the chance to feel the emotions that come with actually using a product and makes them feel like they’re a part of your brand. It also gives the brand a chance to build a stronger relationship with the consumer and demonstrate value.   

It’s common for clips of experiential marketing to go viral, thanks to the excitement it creates. These events should be fun, social, and always keep the consumer experience front and center. Using your creativity to weave experiential marketing into your events will help you truly “Wow” your clients and keep you a step ahead of your competitors.

Examples of Experiential Marketing Done Right

Still not clear on what experiential marketing is and how to incorporate it into your next event? Take a look at these three show-stopping examples.

HBO’s Escape Room

Most people are familiar with escape room games. These interactive rooms require you to solve puzzles and find clues so you can “escape” the room within the set time limit. In 2017, HBO made a splash with its own set of escape rooms, which they set up at the South by Southwest® (SXSW) event.

The company created three separate escape rooms based on their popular shows Veep, Silicon Valley, and Game of Thrones. The event was incredibly successful because it required participants to be fully engaged, brought some of their most popular fictional shows to life, and allowed fans to literally become a part of them.

Disney’s CoCo Live Mobile App

When Disney’s event CoCo Live showed at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl, patrons were asked to download a smartphone app before the show. Then, during the show, they were able to watch close-ups of characters on stage, receive exciting still clips, and interact in other ways during key performance moments. Based on the success of these types of broadcasts, event planners may consider using their own mobile apps to enhance their experiences in exciting new ways.

Asics “Support Your Marathoner” Campaign

During the NYC Marathon, shoe company Asics used RFID tags embedded in runners’ bibs to project messages from loved ones on big screens as participants passed them. The screens showed texts, still photos, and videos to give the runners the encouragement they needed to finish out their race. 

Since the NYC Marathon is one of the largest in the world, this gave the company an incredible amount of exposure in a way that didn’t feel like advertising. Rather than blocking the images out because they were highly personalized, participants and viewers went out of their way to pay attention to them. 

Tips for Planning Your Experiential Marketing Event

As you start to plan your next experiential marketing event, there are a few basics you need to know. Be sure to consider the following vital tips.

1. Creativity is Critical

The best experiential marketing campaigns are new and exciting. This means you’ll have to use your creativity to develop an experience that hasn’t been done before. It’s important to note that you don’t have to have a huge budget to pull this off. You’ll need to use your imagination and find a way to make the crowd stop and say, “Wow.”

2. Make it a Sensory Experience

Try to make sure your experience uses all of a person’s five senses – sight, touch, smell, taste, and hearing. This is the best way to create vivid memories that will stick with your audience well after they’ve gone home.

3. Find Creative Sample Opportunities

It’s important not to be too “sales-y” when creating these experiences. However, if you can find ways to creatively get the product in people’s hands, then you’ll definitely want to do it. This might include a pop-up tasting, free samples, or on-the-spot free trials. Not only will this help get people interested in your brand, but it will also make them more engaged.

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Go Big

When planning your experience, do your best to create something shocking. Remember, the point is to get people to pay attention. That’s not always easy to do, so be prepared to go big.

5. Remember Your Call to Action

You don’t want to get people all excited about your brand and then leave them wondering what to do. While you’ve got their attention and their goodwill, be sure to prompt them to take some sort of action.

Experiment with Confidence

Experimenting with new marketing methods is easy when you have the right partners by your side. At eShow, we provide event organizers and planners with all the tools they need to flawlessly plan, execute, and follow up on their events. This gives you the ability to incorporate exciting new ideas and still feel confident that everything will go as smoothly as it should. Contact us today to learn more and request a personal demo!

/by