Over the past year, more and more business executives are switching half of their marketing budgets to digital marketing; however, they are still spending 20% of their marketing budgets on trade shows.
Often at trade shows you hear some exhibitors grumbling about the poor results of the trade show. More often than not, they blame everyone but themselves.
These exhibitors have experienced poor results because they've neglected the basics, the major one being an integrated exhibit marketing plan! There is absolutely pre-show, during-show and post-show marketing that needs to be done of you decide to choose trade show marketing.
However, no exhibit marketing plan would be complete without discussing the actual trade show display structure. For many years, trade show participants believed "build it and they will come".
The belief was that if a company wanted to attract a large audience at a trade show, spend a lot of cash, build a large booth, and visitors would be automatically drawn to it! Not true.
If you're one of the fortunate ones and are about to move ahead and build a new exhibit, remember some of the basics:
- Review the measurable goals and objectives for your trade show program, and make sure that when you begin discussions with your exhibit builder that your overall goals are considered.
- Make sure that you're not building a one-size only exhibit. Take into consideration your show schedule, and build in a lot of flexibility. For example, think about having an exhibit design that is modular and allows you to exhibit in a 30' x 30' island configuration, but also in a 20' inline configuration.
Think about those life cycle costs, and remember that exhibiting is an expensive undertaking.
- Consider lightweight materials to cut down on shipping, storage, and drayage costs.
- Consider simple but eye-catching designs that don't take a work crew of eight two to three days to install and dismantle.
Back to your goals and objectives
- When developing a design, think about how your booth staff will be deployed and how your team will carry out its mission.
- When developing a design, think about eliminating physical and mental barriers that might stop visitors from stepping into your exhibit space.
Graphics and signage should not be an afterthought, or the star of your show
- There needs to be a balance between easy reading and easy consumption of your messages the watchwords,
- Consider the use of digital signage. LED technology has come so far that it's used on roadside billboards. Good design and graphics transitions can really make your booth stand out.
- Take control of your airspace. A well-designed banner suspended from the rafters is still probably the best way to help dental meeting attendees find your booth. Whether or not you can do this will depend on your booth configuration and exhibitor rules.
- When well produced, large screen video presentations and videos can be very effective in pulling people into your trade show exhibit. Make sure the video is compelling even without audio, as you may be restricted regarding how loud you can crank the volume.
The Exhibit Source truly understands our role and the role of the exhibit structures we design, build, and retrofit in the integrated exhibit marketing scheme. When you partner with a reputable exhibit firm, you should expect no less! Contact us.
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