{"id":19300,"date":"2023-10-30T18:27:08","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T18:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/leadership\/to-generate-roi-from-trade-shows-brands-need-to-think-outside-the-booth\/"},"modified":"2023-10-30T18:27:10","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T18:27:10","slug":"to-generate-roi-from-trade-shows-brands-need-to-think-outside-the-booth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=19300","title":{"rendered":"To Generate ROI From Trade Shows, Brands Need To Think Outside The Booth"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Dan Kahn is the president and CEO of <\/em>Kahn Media<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Trade shows used to be ubiquitous in marketing. Long before direct-to-consumer (DTC) selling became popular, trade shows were one of the main avenues brands had to secure deals with retailers and wholesalers.<\/p>\n

Given the rise of DTC selling, some in the marketing world might think that trade shows are dying. But in my experience, this is far from the case. Trade shows aren\u2019t dying\u2014they\u2019ve just changed. If brands want to generate results from participating in trade shows, they need to adapt to the changes.<\/p>\n

The Trade Shows Of the Past Are Gone<\/h2>\n

Picture this: It\u2019s the 1960s, and a company that manufactures bikes is preparing for an annual industry trade show. The company\u2019s marketing leaders are busy pre-booking meetings with buyers from various department stores; after all, this trade show is their most significant, if not only, opportunity to secure large purchase orders that will carry them through the year. During the trade show, they plan on meeting with prospective buyers in conference rooms at the venue or nearby restaurants and standing at their booth for several hours each day. If everything goes well, they\u2019ll leave the trade show with some purchase orders signed.<\/p>\n

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This approach was common in the last several decades. From my observations, it was prominent until 2018 or so. But by the late 2010s, many DTC brands were on the market, such as Everlane, Warby Parker and Casper, and DTC brands aside, many consumers were shopping online. Then, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, there was a surge in e-commerce. As McKinsey noted, companies’ shift to e-commerce in response to the pandemic \u201chappened so quickly it almost felt miraculous.\u201d In research published in July 2023, FTI Consulting predicted that \u201cU.S. online retail sales will reach $1.14 trillion in 2023, an increase of 10% from the previous year.\u201d The firm added that while year-over-year, e-commerce sales growth \u201cis expected to moderate to 10% or less in the coming years,\u201d annual online sales growth \u201cthrough 2025 is expected to double the rate of store-based sales growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the aftermath of lockdowns, people have been getting back out in the world and are hungry for experiences such as traveling and attending concerts. The convergence of changes in the retail landscape and consumers\u2019 desires has altered the trade show paradigm.<\/p>\n

Today, Trade Shows Are More About Making Authentic Connections<\/h2>\n

Today’s trade shows are about making authentic connections with journalists, content creators and influencers rather than pursuing big purchase orders.<\/p>\n

Granted, meeting with buyers will always be a hallmark of trade shows in one way or another. Trade shows are typically for B2B audiences, not consumers; they still enable brand leaders to get face-to-face time with prospective buyers. But brand leaders should think beyond this traditional paradigm. From a numbers perspective, trade shows are still the best way to reach a large number of people in a short period\u2014what\u2019s changed is who those people are. Brand leaders should now view trade shows as opportunities to connect with the global audience<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Best Practices For Brands<\/h2>\n

Connecting with a global audience starts with stepping outside the trade show booth. Instead of building grand booths and setting up press conferences, brand stakeholders should strive to craft experiential events to the extent possible.<\/p>\n

The largest, flashiest booth at a trade show likely won\u2019t have the most ROI these days. Instead, brand leaders should make their booth presence<\/em> as enticing as possible. Leaders can pursue many creative experiential events at trade show venues, such as holding interactive product demos, inviting celebrities to do product unveilings and showing (and sometimes giving) people something unique that goes beyond branded keychains and koozies. For instance, one of my firm\u2019s clients went to a conference that had a wine theme of sorts. We hired a sommelier and a wine glass maker to be on-site, which drew many people to our booth. People are more likely to take photos and videos of interesting booths and put them on their social channels, increasing the reach of those brands.<\/p>\n

Leaders should also think beyond the venue and use the city where the trade show is hosted to their advantage. Trade show in New York City? Organize a dinner with influencers and content creators. Trade show in Austin? Gather a group of influencers and content creators to hit up a concert. Whenever possible, brands should bring their own audiences, and they should invite influencers and content creators to join them.<\/p>\n

While the above certainly applies to buyers, customers and vendors, it can also apply to the media. While some journalists are required to abide by a set of professional guidelines that prevent them from participating in hosted events and trips, many these days are freelance and therefore can (and will) partake. This applies even more to content creators and influencers. But that doesn\u2019t mean brand leaders shouldn\u2019t think about how they can better engage journalists. Proactively finding out which journalists will be attending a trade show and inviting them to group question-and-answer sessions and one-on-one interviews can go a long way.<\/p>\n

A big part of strategically showing up at a trade show involves brands putting the right people in the right place. One of the best steps marketing leaders can take is stationing people trained to speak on camera at their brands\u2019 booths. As journalists, content creators and influencers circle around, they might want to talk to a brand representative, and it\u2019s vital that whoever they speak to knows what to do and what to say on camera\u2014a good on-camera presence can bolster a brand\u2019s image. Additionally, marketing leaders should have at least one team member running the back-end logistics of all meetings and events, making sure that there\u2019s enough food, water, etc. On the more technical side, brand stakeholders should walk into a trade show having already devised a post-event strategy, as it will guide them on which steps to take during the trade show. There needs to be a designated person taking care of those steps, such as scanning attendees\u2019 badges, gathering emails and so forth. Additionally, brand leaders should have someone in place who is responsible for making sure all technology is working properly at any given time.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, meticulous planning merged with creative thinking will help brands generate ROI from trade shows. When brands no longer confine themselves to fancy booths and other traditional features of trade shows\u2014when they think outside the booth\u2014they\u2019ll free themselves to drive better business results and leave lasting impressions on people from around the world.<\/p>\n

<\/strong>Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dan Kahn is the president and CEO of Kahn Media. Trade shows used to be ubiquitous in marketing. Long before direct-to-consumer (DTC) selling became popular, trade shows were one of the main avenues brands had to secure deals with retailers and wholesalers. Given the rise of DTC selling, some in the marketing world might think […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19301,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19300","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leadership"},"yoast_head":"\nTo Generate ROI From Trade Shows, Brands Need To Think Outside The Booth | Brandiary<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dan Kahn is the president and CEO of Kahn Media. Trade shows used to be ubiquitous in marketing. 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