Whether you exhibit at one show a year or six, trade show participation can often fall off the integrated-strategy radar for business executives. In fact, according to a recent G&S Business Communications (GSBC) survey of 327 business executives, nearly 50% of respondents indicated not taking an integrated approach with their trade show presence. Far from being isolated from the rest of your communications strategy, if treated as an important part of your overall customer journey, you can extract immense value from an integrated trade show experience.
Strategy First, Tactics Second
Similar to trade show booth design, implementing a cohesive and integrated trade show experience begins long before reserving your trade show booth. Defining desired outcomes and customer actions for each show will inform which executions will be most effective.
In our survey, executives noted heavy reliance on email and social media to promote their trade show presence, but what if other communication mediums could reach your audience in a more impactful way?
Emily Almich, vice president of media at GSBC explains, “Sometimes social media and email really get the job done, but in many instances we can recommend additional channels to help deliver more impactful results for our clients.” She continues, “Paid sponsorships inside and outside event venues, personalized room drops, text blasts and geofencing may all have a role to play depending on the defined goals.”
Avoid Wash Rinse & Repeat
While it may be tempting to just pick up and dust off last show’s strategy, that may cause you to miss an opportunity to integrate your trade show marketing with your overall communications strategy. Has your message changed since you last exhibited? Do you need to go on the offense against a competitor?
Take Advantage of Pre- and Post-Show Communications
Trade shows can serve as a key moment in time to garner attention, drive engagement and create memorability and momentum for your brand. However, they’re just one moment in time. Creating connection opportunities before and after each show can greatly enhance the value you can extract from each exhibit. 46% of survey respondents indicated they want to create more connectivity with pre-show promotions. What could that look like for your brand?
Could it include pre-show mailers, surveys and or other executions to help drive trade show booth traffic? Following the show, do you have a reason to communicate with booth visitors and/or potential leads?
Starting conversations before the show and continuing them afterwards can mean the difference between a siloed execution and a synchronized execution.
Need inspiration from the experts? Download our Trade Show Strategy Pack for more tips on developing an integrated communications strategy for your show.
Melissa Curtin is a seasoned expert at building fully integrated, highly creative marketing campaigns for events, product launches and more. Her expertise spans the largest trade shows in the agribusiness sector including the Farm Progress Show, Commodity Classic and the National Farm Machinery Show among others.