By: Karin Roberts
Background. This client came to us because they had decided to exhibit at a new trade show event and therefore requested a new custom exhibit design and event strategy that would help drive increased brand awareness and capture the attention of the architectural community. The goal of participating in this event was to clearly articulate the company’s message as the number one supplier of all glass.
The Solution. After conducting some research on the target market and some of the competitors in this space - "Where glass becomes architecture. We turn ordinary glass into extraordinary buildings" became the new high powered message used in both the custom exhibit strategy and the event strategy. For the custom exhibit, we decided to use a more artistic display featuring bright eye-catching visuals and imagery which would appeal to this audiences taste and would entice them to see what this client had to offer. A light show was added to the booth that highlighted glass used in commercial building contracts. A dynamic exhibit that clearly articulates messages and captivates interest certainly was effective at increasing overall brand awareness. However, the client needed to take additional steps to secure quality leads. As an incentive to draw attendees to the booth, an event strategy was implemented and it was recommended that the client offer a drawing to win a new Tablet PC. To enter the drawing the attendee needed to complete a survey card which asked a few key questions designed to qualify the prospect. The client obtained 255 leads from the top 1000 architectural firms, which was far above their pre-show objective of 50 firms.
The Results. The results of this integrated program were phenomenal. The booth traffic was enormous and was predominantly due to the exhibit itself, graphics, and the draw or a giveaway. The client obtained 255 leads which was a 325% improvement from their last show. These leads were entered into a database and contacted by sales representatives and literature was sent out as a follow-up measure. The client stated that based on the survey card results, the exhibit itself attracted 21% of the target audience.
What was learned. It is extremely important to conduct an analysis of your target market at each show you attend. Every market has different pain points and issues that will attract them to your exhibit - you just need to determine what they are - and create them within your booth space. They say if you build it they will come, I do not agree. But if you build it with market intelligence your chances of a qualified lead coming into your exhibit space is greatly enhanced. Try it. You will like it.
