Multiple studies show that your audience is prioritizing experiences over products.
They don’t measure their success by what they own and instead focus on enjoying their life and collecting experiences they can share, often via social media, with their peers.
They also tend to be more environmentally conscious and selective about what they own.
It just means that you must be more creative than just offering the latest gadget to draw them in.
That also means you have to ACTIVATE BIGGER PURPOSE and transform into a LIVING BRAND.
Above all, if you are not actively involved in your prospect's ZERO MOMENT OF TRUTH, you’ll lose the opportunity without even knowing it was there.
Worse, you’ll be perceived as a pure commodity. Price and other unreasonable terms will drive the decision process.
How do you create an experience in your booth? First, identify what your brand stands for and how to communicate that message.
Once you know what that message is, you can design an experience to help communicate it.
Part of that experience may include a giveaway, but then again it may not. It all depends on what will better communicate your brand message.
PRIME YOUR BRAND WITH A PROMISE. MOVE IT WITH BITS OF BYTES. SEAL IT WITH A PROOF... KEEP MOVING TO SEE HOW.
Identify Your Target — Your brand message should guide what you do but you must also consider your audience. Not just your company’s target market, but also who is likely to attend your show or event. This will help dictate your next steps as they will determine your success.
In courting potential customers, gender, lifestyle and technological sophistication, according to Entrepreneur magazine's Small Business Encyclopedia. Attempting to serve every possible niche is a route to failure. Identifying a target audience provides a clear focus of whom your business will serve and why those consumers need your goods or services. Determining this information also keeps a target audience at a manageable level.
In courting potential customers, gender, lifestyle and technological sophistication, according to Entrepreneur magazine's Small Business Encyclopedia. Attempting to serve every possible niche is a route to failure. Identifying a target audience provides a clear focus of whom your business will serve and why those consumers need your goods or services. Determining this information also keeps a target audience at a manageable level.
What problems does my company's product or service solve?
If you've been in business for any length of time, you should have some understanding of why your product or service exists. Your content should be related to that purpose, too (that means resisting the urge to share irrelevant memes just because they're funny—if it's not connected to your mission, it doesn't belong in your content marketing). |
Who are our current customers?
It may also be necessary to segment your types of customers. For example, you may categorize customers based on budget, needs, or pain points. HubSpot has created this tool to help you in this process. What do customers stand to gain from choosing us (instead of a competitor)? What features do you offer that no one else does? Is there something you can do better than anyone else? |
Who is my competition?
It's likely you know who your obvious competitors are. However, some quick searches on Google and social media (particularly on Facebook and Twitter) can often reveal upstart competition you may not have been aware of. Try searching a keyword or two that are related to your industry. See which businesses come up and get a read on their offering |
Pick a Theme — This should be brand appropriate but interesting and attractive to your audience. For example, if your audience is made up scientists they are more likely to respond to an experiment themed exhibit than to a gambling one.
Rock Your Graphics — Yes, they need to say who you are, have a big bold logo of your company, and maybe briefly say what you do but that does not mean they can’t tie into your theme and maybe also bring in a little fun.
Make it Playful — Create a game if possible. If you can make it educational to your brand that is even better. Whether it is a quick iPad game where they get to select the top superpowers your company has or something more analog like a remote-control car race having fun will ensure your company is memorable not only to the participants but also to observers.
Rock Your Graphics — Yes, they need to say who you are, have a big bold logo of your company, and maybe briefly say what you do but that does not mean they can’t tie into your theme and maybe also bring in a little fun.
Make it Playful — Create a game if possible. If you can make it educational to your brand that is even better. Whether it is a quick iPad game where they get to select the top superpowers your company has or something more analog like a remote-control car race having fun will ensure your company is memorable not only to the participants but also to observers.
GRAFFITI GRAPHICS Rather than playing it safe with generic graphics, Hitachi Europe Ltd. decided to add a little edge to its stand at Integrated Systems Europe 2018 in Amsterdam. Booth walls were covered with tension fabric printed to look like a black brick wall. Text introducing the company's new 3LCD Laser Ultra Short Throw Projector and other new models appeared to have been spray-painted onto the wall by graffiti artists alongside words such as "art," "style," and "music" rendered in the same street-art style. The bright colors, dynamic font, and urban edginess attracted attendees to the exhibit and helped the company differentiate itself amid the sea of buttoned-up spaces. |
SIZE IT UP If brand awareness is an important objective, you better find a way to incorporate your company's logo into your exhibitry in a highly visible and remarkably memorable manner. Jetex Flight Support did just that at the National Business Aviation Association show in Las Vegas. Twelve-foot-tall 3-D letters in the company's corporate orange hue dominated the otherwise matte-black, minimalist booth. A handful of orange coffee tables and white chairs completed the soft-sell scene, catering to dozens of visitors and informal in-booth meetings without stealing the spotlight from the exhibit's undeniable focal point. |
ON THE COVER Give your audience the coveted cover space. In the lobby at VidCon US, Visit Anaheim made that dream a reality – and splashed its brand across social media – by setting up a 6-by-8-foot transparent magazine-cover element that attendees could pose behind. The prop featured Visit Anaheim as the masthead and the city's best features as cover lines. Attendees who shared their photos with the hashtag #VisitAnaheimCoverModel were entered in a drawing for Disneyland tickets. |
“Every great love starts with a great story...”
Every lack-luster brand can REVAMP it's glory by telling a great story
HP is one of many brands using digital storytelling to create custom content for its audience. The series are designed to target IT decision makers and chief information and security officers at companies around the world. Instead of a business-to-business campaign, Vikrant Batra, global head of marketing for imaging and printing at HP, noted, the effort is more of a business-to-consumer angle push aimed at breaking through the clutter. He said that more than 55% of the IT community are older millennials — gamers who would appreciate a digital series that ties into Mr. Slater's "Mr. Robot" TV series. According to HP, "As our customers reinvent their businesses for the 21st century, it is imperative that we reinvent how we talk with them about security."
In his essay “The Science of Storytelling: What Listening to a Story Does to Our Brains”, entrepreneur and storyteller Leo Widrich notes that, when we hear a story, “not only are the language processing parts in our brain activated, but any other area in our brain that we would use when experiencing the events of the story are, too.” For example, "sensory details like the client was as excited as if he had won the lottery engage a listener’s sensory cortex. Action words like drive this project home engage the motor cortex, all leading to a more connected and richer experiencing of the message. In short, the more a speaker conveys information in story form, the closer the listener’s experience and understanding will be to what the speaker actually intended."
Another storytelling aspect that makes it so effective is that it works for all types of learners. Paul Smith, in “Leader as Storyteller: 10 Reasons It Makes a Better Business Connection”, wrote:
In any group, roughly 40 percent will be predominantly visual learners who learn best from videos, diagrams, or illustrations. Another 40 percent will be auditory, learning best through lectures and discussions. The remaining 20 percent are kinesthetic learners, who learn best by doing, experiencing, or feeling.
Storytelling has aspects that work for all three types. Visual learners appreciate the mental pictures storytelling evokes. Auditory learners focus on the words and the storyteller’s voice. Kinesthetic learners remember the emotional connections and feelings from the story.
Make it Share Worthy — Jump out of the constraints of your brand guidelines and explore something unique. Show the edgy side of your brand that is interesting, attractive, and nudges the 3.3lb artifact that resides between their ears. For example, if your audience is made up scientists they are more likely to respond to an experiment themed exhibit than to a gambling one.
Imagine their Journey after the Show — Since most attendees are traveling for the trade show, you know that there are some things they are likely to value. For example; earbuds for watching movies on the plane, a water bottle, snacks for their trip home, etc. If you are not sure you can always ask a few of your best customers for ideas.
Extend Brand Memorability with Sustainability — Climate change and sustainability are the burning issues of our times. This is the time to become a living brand and have your messaging and innovation tie into your social responsibility. One exhibitor had a putt-golf activity in their booth and gave away branded soluble environment enhancing balls to qualified visitors. One year we offered attendees to our show the option to have us donate to selected charities that aligned with our brand.
Have Fun with Your Outfit — Make it match with your exhibit design. Suddenly you have a moving brand and your exhibit transcends the reaches beyond the confines of the designated space.
Imagine their Journey after the Show — Since most attendees are traveling for the trade show, you know that there are some things they are likely to value. For example; earbuds for watching movies on the plane, a water bottle, snacks for their trip home, etc. If you are not sure you can always ask a few of your best customers for ideas.
Extend Brand Memorability with Sustainability — Climate change and sustainability are the burning issues of our times. This is the time to become a living brand and have your messaging and innovation tie into your social responsibility. One exhibitor had a putt-golf activity in their booth and gave away branded soluble environment enhancing balls to qualified visitors. One year we offered attendees to our show the option to have us donate to selected charities that aligned with our brand.
Have Fun with Your Outfit — Make it match with your exhibit design. Suddenly you have a moving brand and your exhibit transcends the reaches beyond the confines of the designated space.
REIGN SUPREME IN THEIR HEADS — START WHEN THEY RECEPTIVE At the 2014 American Institute of Architects Convention, Baldwin Hardware, a division of Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc., upped the ante for the debut of its Santa Monica doorknob and lock set with a clever promotion. The night before the show floor opened, hotel staff left fliers in attendees' rooms. Text on the 8.5-by-11-inch sheets read, "Now I lay me down to sleep, this card my key to winnings deep." A following paragraph instructed recipients to bring the card to booth 1205, where they would be given a real key and have the chance to take it for a turn. The attendee whose key opened a display lock would win $10,000 in Baldwin Hardware products. The contest continued throughout the three-day show or until one lucky architect won the grand prize. Albeit simple, the contest not only brought droves of traffic to Baldwin's exhibit, but also tempted attendees to take a closer look at its new product. |
WHEN YOU SAY YOU CARE, EXAGGERATE THAT YOU CARE To show off its interior-design and construction capabilities at EuroShop in Dusseldorf, Germany, Kunze GmbH literally put attendees in the palm of its hand. The central element of the company's in-line exhibit was a gigantic black hand comprising various-sized circular rings that had been joined together. The larger-than-life appendage not only stood out against the booth's glossy red flooring and back wall, but also served as an open-air meeting space. Uncomplicated yet avant-garde and exaggerated, this piece of furniture made attendees stopping to gawk, and took a closer look at Kunze's capabilities. OR, INTERVIEW ATTENDEES and substantiate your promise with a proof to drive brand mileage. Below, we built a sound recording studio for Deloitte at Google Next, San Francisco 2019. |
SHAPE THEIR REALITY FOR THEM— EXTRAORDINARY EXECUTED To draw EXHIBITORLIVE attendees into a conversation about its offerings, Jack Morton Worldwide turned to an 'apropos tool', i.e., a graphic recorder (an artist who turns people's words and ideas, in this case those of attendees, into drawn images). Based on the idea that Jack Morton creates extraordinary experiences for exhibit- and event-marketing clients, the company created a Do Something Extraordinary booth theme. So to tempt people to interact, Jack Morton staff asked people what extraordinary activities they'd experienced, either personally or professionally. Luring them into the 10-by-20-foot booth, staffers then relayed the activity to the artist, who sketched a rendition of it on the white board that comprised the booth's back wall. Visually appealing and highly personalized, the activity helped Jack Morton staffers segue into a conversation about the firm's offerings and personally connect with attendees in one fell swoop. |
This above informative webinar, hosted by AdAge, takes a look at the results of Experience Brand Index, (researched by Jack Morton Worldwide) and details a few of the brands that are creating amazing experiences for their customers. Find out what it takes to be a true experience brand in the eyes of consumers.
Despite the billions of dollars brands spend each year in advertising, nearly half of global consumers agree that if a brand doesn’t live up to the image it promotes through its marketing, they can no longer trust it. But there’s good news: Brands that deliver experiences that live up to their promises reap big returns.
The above webinar is hosted by AdAge and researched by Jack Morton Worldwide. They fielded a global Experience Brand Index study in late Spring 2018, surveying 6,000 consumers in the US, UK and China.
BOTTOM LINE: Brands must balance promises with proof of delivery
"We learned consumers care more about and buy more from brands that deliver proof on the promises they make. And brands that ranked as Experience Brand Leaders are more likely to boast higher recommend-ability and loyalty rates."
Despite the billions of dollars brands spend each year in advertising, nearly half of global consumers agree that if a brand doesn’t live up to the image it promotes through its marketing, they can no longer trust it. But there’s good news: Brands that deliver experiences that live up to their promises reap big returns.
The above webinar is hosted by AdAge and researched by Jack Morton Worldwide. They fielded a global Experience Brand Index study in late Spring 2018, surveying 6,000 consumers in the US, UK and China.
BOTTOM LINE: Brands must balance promises with proof of delivery
"We learned consumers care more about and buy more from brands that deliver proof on the promises they make. And brands that ranked as Experience Brand Leaders are more likely to boast higher recommend-ability and loyalty rates."