It is no secret that the more we hear something, the easier it is to remember. In the advertising world, they call this "effective frequency". Well, the same goes with trade show displays; if a marketing message is consistent, attendees will remember your booth and company when they are in the market for a service or product you offer. Only positive results can come from repeating a message and here are a few reasons why repetition is key to a successful marketing campaign and booth.

• On average, it takes 9 or more times for a message to be remembered, so the more a person hears what your company has to offer, the easier it is to be retained.
• Consistently using the same company motto will make your brand stand out. Think about the last television commercial that you remember. Most likely, a catchy motto is used in order to stay in your mind.
• The marketing message is usually missed or overlooked the first time around, so repeating it will get the attention of people who did not see it the first time.
• Print the marketing message as short and sweet as possible on all trade show materials, including brochures, displays, giveaway items, and anything else your audience will see.
• Keep your marketing campaign going before, during, and after the show in order for it to really sink in. This could mean sending out mailers to inform attendees that you are going to be at the event and where your booth can be found, as well as sending out thank you cards with your logo and motto on it to all leads.
• Use the same colors throughout your exhibit, including the staff’s uniforms, giveaway items, and exhibit graphics.
• Look into sponsorship opportunities at the event. This will put your company’s name all over the floor.

The average person retains only 10% of the information they are exposed to, so repetition will increase your chances of being remembered by potential new customers. 

By Kristin Hovde

Trade shows, conventions – and other face-to-face events – are now an incredibly huge industry, and as such there exists a voluminous amount of online articles and other written materials. Personally, I have researched and written over forty articles on various trade show topics. Yet from all of the research I have seen on such events, I’ve learned that enjoying success as an exhibitor can be boiled down to five must-do actions, as follows:

I have read articles that say to be careful with adding too much electronics to your trade show booth. Completely disagree with those people! Although in the grand scheme of things, we humans are still in our technological infancy, this is a booming time for electronic gadgets and gizmos. My opinion is, use as much electronics and technology as you can in your display. People these days expect it! As we all know well, there are entire trade shows and conventions devoted solely to the latest in electro-technology. Because it works! Electronics catch the eye naturally and quickly, and pull people in…after all, isn’t that what a trade show booth is supposed to do?

Have you ever watched a television commercial and then thought to yourself: “What the heck were they selling?” Or, how many commercials have you seen that had little or nothing to do with the product they were selling? Further, how many times have you watched a TV commercial (like a satellite television service, for example) and then received an ad in the mail from the same company with a completely different (or conflicting) offer or message? It’s a bit humorous sometimes, very ineffective, and definitely annoying…wait, I forgot: commercials are already annoying by nature. Well, the same can happen with your trade show marketing intent, so you must be extremely careful.

Here are some items to consider in the planning and execution of your trade show message strategy.

Whether it’s your first trade show exhibit, or you are a trade show veteran, it pays handsomely to do extensive pre-show marketing. This will increase the success of your trade show tremendously, because you will be increasing traffic to your booth, in addition to unsolicited attendees of the show. Also, thoughtful pre-show marketing will bring pre-qualified buyers directly to your booth for face-to-face contact. It is best to think of it as a targeted, coordinated, pre-show promotional campaign.

It is easy to spot a good marketing strategy when you know what to look for in the plan. Within the overall Sales and Marketing Plan, the main goal is to grow the business, of course. There are many avenues or channels that can be pursued in the marketing plan, but in general, a worthy plan must involve ways to cover these 4 main strategy categories:

Most people who attend a trade show are a bit overwhelmed when entering the doors to the show. There’s so much to see and do. And all of the displayers are competing for attention from the attendees. Certainly large custom exhibits will be noticed quickly, along with those trade show displays in prime locations, as well as the ones that have something up above the booth – that is seen when people scan the showroom. But a successful display does not necessarily need to be the biggest or most glamorous in the show.

It is vitally important to include trade show giveaway items in your trade show budget. While your trade show display might make a good impression at the show, where is the guarantee that people will think of your company after the show is over? One of the surest ways to retain attention is to do giveaways at the show…but not just any giveaway. Be careful to think out your giveaway strategy. Giveaways put something tangible into many hands and can drum up future business nearly as effectively as word of mouth.

Attendees are not only looking to buy items they find at show displays, but they are also interested in learning something. There are two ways of doing this; live seminars or webinars. If you are not familiar with webinars, they are just as informative as seminars, but are located online. Webinars and trade shows can go hand-in-hand and I am here to tell you exactly how to effectively combine the two.

While preparing for a trade show exhibit can take a considerable amount of time and resources, your job is not over yet. Read on to learn exactly what you should do following your company tradeshow exhibit at an industry conference.