The company that I currently work for attends many trade shows throughout the year, spending thousands on marketing collateral that is never really tracked, budgeted, nor targeted. I have come up with my own trade show marketing plan utilizing concepts learned in my strategic internet marketing class, along with my integrated brand promotion class.
The goal of the strategy is to leverage the rising mobile market and allow consumers to view and even purchase any item on the spot. We currently spend a lot shipping sample boxes which then clutter up the tradeshow table and don’t allow anyone to truly focus or become engaged with the product, that’s where tech shines, implementing a tablet with a scrollable and rotating array of products, pricing and links for further info. This opens the table space up and allows for more interpersonal interaction and less clutter and noise.
Secondly relying on cheap gift cards and coupons that get lost, thrown away or wasted is a thing of the past. My plan is to implement a new QR code for each tradeshow, allow the code to link to specials and promotional deals that target the segment of the market attending, this will allow quick transactions, easy tracking and reporting and a fresh and progressive trade show offering.
With the rising mobile market, more users are buying online and this will catch them and reel them in, allowing them to be sold from a direct salesman after they are hooked. Also, the company I work for wants to pursue a new market in the younger more hip demographic, and I believe traditional marketing and coupon codes will not create the level of interest that a new mobile and tech based offering can provide. Hopefully one day I will be able to share ideas such as these, however writing out my ideas proves to give me an outlet to voice my ideas and that will do for now.
DAVE'S RANTS 