2008

Good Words. And Great Names. Green Lipstick and the Environmental Pig. How it Feels to Live in a 650-year-old Wooden Home. The Key to a More Productive Workflow. Marketing that Makes a Sustainable Difference. New Year’s Resolutions for Your Marketing and Branding Efforts. Sweet Successes.

2007

2007. The Perfect Time for a Road Trip Alcoa CSI “Uncorks” a New DVD to Introduce its Unique Wine Seal. Cook for the Cure 2006: Record-Setting Sauces Cook for the Cure—Spoil Your Dinner! Green What? Integrate, Segregate, Reformulate? Measuring the Effectiveness of PR: Thinking Beyond the “Thud Factor” Miller Brooks Builds with Habitat for Humanity. Online Media Measurement See What’s New at Miller Brooks! The Shock of the New. What is a Brand Touchpoint? What We’re Reading: Made To Stick Word of Mouth Marketing

2006

Brand Washing. Branding in the Blogosphere. Cook for the Cure: A Souper Time Cook for the Cure Invite How Does Your Brand Speak to Multiple B2B Audiences? June Blitz: Largest in Habitat History Making the Most of Your Online Advertising New Look, Easy New Access. New Year's Resolutions for Your Marketing and Branding Efforts. Peter Drucker: Thoughts on Business from "the Man Who Invented Management." Trade Shows. Afterthought or Forethought? Why Marketing Matters

2005

Are Employees Speaking Your Brand Language? Conducting a Brand Audit: An Energizing Experience. How to Justify Your B2B Budget. How to Watch TV for Your Brand. You Can Learn a Lot. Less is More: Refining Your Brand's Print Materials. Patience. Is it the Missing Ingredient in Marketing Innovative New Products? Personal Accountability in Branding. Taking a Cue from Reality TV: Is It Time to Pimp Your Brand? The Sound of Branding. Triangulation: Three Views into Your Brand. Value Proposition. Positioning Statement. Are They Really Different? What's an Elevator Pitch?

2004

Are You Over-Hyping your Brand? Brand Understanding: Developing a Great Positioning Statement. Brand Warfare: 10 Rules For Building The Killer Brand. Good News/Bad News: Your Brand Made Headlines. How to Recover from Bad Press. Marketing B2B, Products vs. Services: Is There a Difference? Media Management: The Value It Brings to a Brand. Measuring Marketing ROI: Holy Grail or Myth? Mosaic Branding: A Way of Thought? The Right Media To Drive Your Brand. The Value Of Market Research For B2B Brands. Trade Show PR: Remain True to the Brand. Writing a Marketing Plan: Taking the Hassle Out and Putting the Value In.

2003

Brainstorming: How To Get The Most From Your Ideation Sessions. Brand Crisis? What Crisis? Brand Messaging: Why You Need It, And How To Develop It. How Do Customers Touch Your Brand? Understanding What's Important Can Make All the Difference. How To Get Your Brand Into Show Business. Is Your Brand a Product, Organization, Person, or Symbol? Keeping Your Brand Look and Message Consistent. Project Management: Working Behind The Scenes To Synchronize Your Brand. Putting The Web To Work For Your Brand. The Art Of Innovation: What Every Brand Can Learn From Inspired Product Design. When Do You Need Another Brand? Who Cares About Paper?

2002

A Brand's Functional Benefits vs. Emotional Benefits. An Electronic Brochure? What Is It and When Is It Needed? Collaborative Branding: When Agencies and Other Suppliers Work Together, Brands are the Big Winners. Creating A Direct Response Campaign? Think Like a Fisherman. Expand Your Brand: How to Make Your Brand Speak to Media and Analysts. How Long Should It Take to Produce a Brochure, a Website, an Ad? The Purpose Of A Corporate Brochure. The Softer Side Of Branding: Understanding the Nuances of Brand Personalities. What Color Is Your Brand? What's The Personality Of Your Brand? Try This Simple Brand Association Exercise. What Is The Value Of Your Brand? When Does A Brand Need A Logo?

2001

All Aboard: How to Get a Greater Return from Your Direct Mail. Brands, Channels, and Customers. Building Your Brand in a Tough Economy? Give Your Brand A Spring Cleaning. Is Your Brand Ready for the Internet? Get a Clue from the Cluetrain. It's A Brand New Day. Branding with Strategic Public Awareness. Justify Your Marketing Budget. Lights, Camera, Action! Tips for Launching Your Brand on TV. Photography: To Stock or Not to Stock? Is This Really a Question? SIC vs. NAICS: Understanding the Difference. What Business Are You In? What's an Elevator Pitch? Wolverine: Building A Brand That Works.

2000

Bingo Cards: Are They Dead? Creating a Harmonious e-Brand. e-Branding: How To Embrace It. e-branding: Sometimes Simpler Is Better. How to Strengthen Your Lead Management Process. Maintaining Your Brand's Image. Making Taglines Work. Managing Visual Assets In A Digital World. Mapping Your Web Site. Messaging: The Foundation for Good Communication. Miller Brooks: Growing with the Changing Times. Naming: Will It Play Around the World? Project Management: Necessary Evil or Strategic Advantage? Top 10 Steps to Taking a Brand Overseas. Why Every Brand Needs a Brand Architecture.

Trade Shows. Afterthought or Forethought? 2006 Qtr 2

Trade Shows. After-Thought or Fore-Thought?

Trade Shows.
Afterthought or Forethought?
By Star Exhibits & Environments, 2006

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

Sun Tzu (Chinese General, circa 500 BC)

Consider the age-old question about why you should bring your brand to a trade show. All too often, it produces these types of answers:

“Our competition is there. What would it look like if we weren’t?”
“Our sales people said so.”
“We’ve always done it.”
“We’re sure to get tons of leads.”

There might be validity to some of these answers. But the truth is, a trade show offers so much more than one might think. You can create an experience your customers will never forget. You can solidify your sales team (kumbaya). You can provide your customers with an exciting and meaningful interaction with your products or services. You can stimulate conversations that can change the course of your business. And of course, you can bring your brand to life in a unique and memorable way.

Along with other communication vehicles, a trade show is a powerful component of your brand-building mix. When you really think about it, the same creative development principles you use in advertising and other creative marketing tactics apply to trade shows. You have to start with great direction and a great hook. You need to break through the clutter (just think of trade shows as one big ad in a sea of busy magazine pages). You need to be compelling and emotionally resonant.

But with trade shows, you can do so much more; all you need is a little forethought.

  1. First, ask yourself the question: exactly why are we going? If you’re satisfied with your answers, translate those answers to objectives that are clear, smart and measurable.

  2. The principle “garbage in, garbage out” applies here, too. Make sure you’ve got a killer creative strategy.

  3. Understand who’s attending the show. And why. Are your influencers there? Who do we want to talk to? How will we qualify them?

  4. Understand the restrictions on the exhibit floor. What are the square footage costs? Exactly how high can you go? Where are the pillars, you know, those big things you can’t see around or through?

  5. Figure out how you’re going to stand out. What’s your hook? What are you going to do to drive traffic? What are you going to do to keep them in the booth for meaningful conversation?

  6. Clearly define your design strategy so you end up with a solution that accurately reflects your brand and excites your customers.

  7. Don’t take “everything but the kitchen sink.” Have enough product or demos to make your point, but don’t overwhelm people. Your guests will only remember so much.

  8. Train your sales people. They can make or break your brand.

  9. Make sure you have all your ducks in a row, cause there are a lot of ducks.

  10. Do a comprehensive critique after every show. What worked and what didn’t? Did people understand our brand promise? Did they want to find out more? Did you stand out from the competition? What do they want to see next time?

So when you think of it, creating a great exhibit isn’t much different than creating any other brand communication. The only real difference is that with a trade show, you’ve got a 3D space in which to create a memorable experience that will bring your brand to life in a way that no other marketing vehicle can. It makes you wonder how trade shows could ever be an after-thought.

Back to top