Innovation and originality are key factors when finding fresh ways to increase brand awareness and interact with your customers. But sometimes it’s also worth considering more traditional routes. Exhibitions and large-scale conventions are part of the old school approach to marketing, but we argue that although they may not be new, this style of events can have a lasting, positive impact on your audience.
Three reasons why it (still) works:
Enthusiasts!
Big events attract big numbers and exhibitions and conventions appeal directly to an audience with a very specific interest in your industry. This means the right event presents the perfect opportunity to connect with people who are most interested in your brand. It gives you the chance to engage with leads face to face, have authentic conversations and generate new networks and new business.
This year at the PGA show, Elevate repped LA Golf Partners. We hand selected a team who could speak knowledgeably about golf and deliver talking points with a genuine passion for the game. They gave away branded golf balls and facilitated connects between guests and LA Golf’s reps. The exhibition was attended by the exact people LA Golf Partners needed to reach.
Exhibitions and conferences are carefully curated, and engaging with events that cater to your target audience, based on demographics, geographics and industry-specific targets will get you into a prime position to reach your people.
Another angle of awareness
Face-to-face interactions leave a lasting impression on your audience, but also help your brand communicate in an alternative arena. This can be particularly effective in tech, where an online brand can exist IRL. During the Paris Games Week – which is the biggest video trade show in France – we helped bring Discord to life.
Discord is a rapidly growing online platform used by tech and video game lovers to communicate. To make sure that Discord was represented we trained 24 event staff who were also passionate about technology, to work as brand ambassadors, event managers, actors and translators. They made sure that Discord was firmly embedded in the hearts and minds of the crowd, distributing over 5,000 freebies and proving the power that this kind of event can have. The event had a total footfall of 12,000 and a massively effective conversion rate of 84%!
The most exciting element of exhibition events for an online or tech brand can be the creativity behind the booth. These are highly flexible, personalised spaces that effectively connect customers to your brand, establishing your identity in a physical space. This creates traction that customers respond to on a personal and emotional level. Trade shows where your competitors are present also provide an opportunity for meaningful differentiation.
A platform for new product launches
Direct, face-to-face interactions with a targeted audience is one of the most effective avenues for product launches on the planet. It’s a live focus group, a constant supply of customers and an arena filled with people who understand and care about your brand. What better place can there be to get a new product into the right hands, and receive direct feedback on the same day!
Capturing feedback and feelings in real time is an essential part of product development and these large-scale events can help you to really understand how new products land. Giving you a chance perfect or tweak a product design based on real life experience. They can also be an incredible space in which to generate buzz through exclusive interactions or product launches, or through competitions, freebies and demos.
At their first in-person event, EuroFinance in Vienna and Brussels, AMEX took the opportunity to showcase new products through an interactive pop-up café. The space was designed to reflect the AMEX philosophy of simplification – making day-to-day buyer and seller processes easy. The café gave people at the show a chance to relax and recharge, and gave our team a chance to share AMEX updates. We made sure our staff were authentically interested in finance and they interacted with over 2000 people during the five-day event, gently but persuasively raising awareness for exciting new AMEX developments.
Let the events do the hard work for you (and how we can help)
Elevate has years of experience in staffing all kinds of exhibitions and conferences in a wide variety of roles and for an epic array of brands. We have consistently witnessed the benefits that this style of event can provide and we’re confident in the results they achieve. Although this isn’t breaking new ground in marketing strategies, it’s a classic because it works. Working with specially selected and well-prepped staff will help ensure you get the maximum value from your exhibition. Combined with innovation and originality, a booth can come to life, and give your brand the face and feeling it deserves, in a place full of people who care. Converting your investment into revenue-generating opportunities.
If you’re in need of reliable and professional event staff for your next big event, our team has the expertise and flexibility to meet all your needs. We’re committed to providing best-in-class event staffing services. Request a proposal with our team today.
