In our nearly twenty years of creating and managing marketing materials, we've learned a few things about tradeshow marketing (both what to do and what not to do). We've provided thousands of branded products to companies, large and small. The most often asked question we get is: "What's new?" or "What's the coolest promotional product you've seen?".
Wrong question.
The right question is "What works?"
The difference between a fun campaign that everyone loves and a successful campaign that actually works has more to do with strategy, not novelty. When considering any show, you should contemplate three things:
- pre-show marketing
- at-show marketing
- post-show marketing
Pre-show marketing is often relegated to phone and direct mail. It's now a given that, in the current economy, you cannot forsake advertising. What you may want to incorporate into your strategy, now more than ever, is a strong benefits statement that gets repeated over and over in all pre-show, at-show, and post-show sales and marketing messages. Emphasize the ROI and don't believe for a second that they heard you the first time. If you employ phone calling: provide a benefits statement, repeat it on all your direct mail and any other pre-show materials.
At-show marketing is when most companies consider promotional products in their marketing mix. In reality, your at-show marketing should closely tie to your post-show marketing. For example, you may want to give a two-part promotional campaign, one for visitors to your booth (that can also work as a stand alone piece) and a follow up product/campaign for all appointments. The gift doesn't have to necessarily be expensive, it merely acts as a trigger for both your sales team and your client. In fact, tying a second piece to your promotional strategy also provides some built in accountability for sales: when they return from the show, they must deliver part two of the campaign or their impact is (quite visibly) lost. If you ship or mail this second piece, you have a great excuse to call the client and capitalize on a very warm call.
Post-show marketing is one of the most beneficial (and often neglected) places to tie a promotional product into your show plan. You could tie in a promotional product as a gift for a purchase or if you have a longer sales cycle, build a continuity program: deliver your follow up item and promise to deliver a matching piece within the next 30 days just to keep in touch. The key is: each item should tie back to your original strategy thereby constantly reinforcing the benefits. (Lest you think I'm just peddling promos with disregard for your ROI: a recent study by ASI revealed that 84% of recipients remember the advertiser on a promotional product they received. Tie your message (not just your logo) to this product and your well on your way to gaining some significant mindshare for your brand).
A client of ours recently had a very exclusive golf tournament. The entry fees were significant enough to warrant a substantial promotional campaign but what does one do for a group of participants who could afford virtually anything they wanted? The key to building any strategic campaign is a theme I relentlessly talk about: method and message almost always trumps product. Get your benefits statement right (or your marketing message right) and then decide on a unique method of delivery. In the case of this tournament, it had become a recurring event that was in danger of losing its luster so we came up with a surprise for the attendees: a two part gift, one received after the event which we shipped shortly after the tournament ended. Most participants were well back into the frenzied pace of their normal existence when the unexpected gift with a special message arrived, thanking them for attending the tournament. They might have forgotten about the tournament, but the hosts certainly didn't forget about them - the impression was much stronger than merely dolling out a loot bag at the event.
It's not enough to be novel: use promotional products strategically (and prominently!) to achieve the long term benefit of driving, deep, your message to your intended audience.
