Trade shows are one of the best venues for small businesses to show off their products and services and network with like-minded individuals. Part of a successful trade show is having an engaging booth that attracts visitor attention. One effective method to draw attention to your trade show booth is live arts.

Below, our team at Oser Communications Group explores the benefits of live arts for tradeshows. 

Contact us today to speak about trade show advertising by Oser Communications Group!

Why Use Live Arts?

The main reason to use live arts at a trade show is to make your booth more memorable. Live art setups can provide a live demonstration of your products and services, giving trade show attendees a favorable first impression of your brand.  

Think about any trade shows you’ve been to recently and which booths captured your attention. Chances are they incorporated some kind of live arts to distinguish themselves from the competition. This kind of audience in the community is great for networking at trade shows and helps people remember your company.

Live Arts Ideas for Trade Shows

Below are some simple yet effective ideas for live arts at your next trade show appearance. 

Product Demonstrations

Product demonstrations are always a good idea, as attendees want to see tangible products and services. Live demonstrations can draw a crowd, as people will want to see what is going on. Moreover, attendees are more likely to remember companies when they see actual products and services, not just promotional materials and infographics. 

Moving Props

Moving props are another good live arts exhibition because they give attendees an active way to interact with your brand. For example, a larger-than-life computer could be a cute idea for a software company or a rotating globe for a cellular company with worldwide networks. The point of these kinds of props is to catch attendees’ attention with motion. 

Putting on a Show

Trade shows are supposed to be SHOWS, so don’t be afraid to put on a performance. You don’t need to have professional dancers at your booth, but something like a live classical music performance with original songs would go down well with the arts community.

The only limitation for trade shows is your imagination. The more creative you are with art music avenues, the more likely attendees will notice your booth. 

Costumes and Decorations

The people manning your booth can also be part of the live arts exhibit. Human decoration concepts can mesh with your brand, such as costumes, outfits, and headwear. Finding original decoration ideas makes your booth stand out from others and provides a level of interactivity to your exhibits. 

Trade Show Advertising

Our Oser Communications Group team prides itself on its diverse clientele and effective trade show advertisements. We have worked with clients from Fortune 500 companies and small businesses, so we know what makes an effective advertising message. Contact us online or call today at (520) 721-1300 to discuss trade show booth ideas!

Your efforts at trade show advertising stand a better chance of success if you can establish measurable trade show goals and define the relationship between those goals and specific components of your marketing strategy. Setting goals for trade show marketing is an iterative and adaptive process that requires preparation beforehand and diligent monitoring of trade show outreach activities and their effects on your business.

Step #1: Assess Your Business Needs

Your trade show marketing will lack a coherent core unless you can articulate how the trade show serves the needs of your business. What outcome do you hope to achieve? Create a current list of business priorities, including:

• Increasing market share
• Reaching specific target audiences
• Promoting brand awareness
• Developing specific B2B contacts
• Gaining insight into consumer needs and desires  

Step #2: Research the Trade Show

A statement of trade show goals needs to be more than a wish list. The desired outcomes for your marketing efforts must be reasonable in light of the opportunities that the specific trade show offers. Outline the activities, interactions, and events that your business could conduct or participate in during and around the trade show,

Step #3: Determine How the Trade Show Can Meet Your Needs

Once you can quantify what the trade show offers, create a narrative that links your trade show activity to specific trade show objectives.

Step #4:  Set the Metrics for Success

Quantify the benchmarks for success for each link between an activity and a goal. For example, you could establish a goal of meeting X number of potential institutional customers during the trade show, laying the groundwork for Y number of leads and eventually yielding Z dollars in increased revenue. 

As you plan your trade show itinerary, be mindful of your trade show budget and the anticipated return on investment for every activity. You should be able to calculate the expected value of a successful trade show campaign. If some benefits of trade shows might not be tangible or measurable, explore measurable proxy variables or conduct surveys.

Step #5: Plan Your Follow-Through

Once you have implemented your trade show marketing campaign, you can determine which activities were successes and which did not meet expectations. Based on the measurable outcomes, you can answer the following questions:

• If a marketing effort exceeded expectations for a particular metric, what are you doing to capitalize on your success?
• If a marketing effort did not achieve its goal, why did it not succeed? 
• How will you change your approach for future trade shows?
• If a marketing effort fell short, can you address the shortcomings after the fact?

Plan Your Next Trade Show Advertising Campaign with Oser Communications Group

Oser Communications Group has the expertise and practical skills to help you discover how to prepare for a trade show and use the trade show environment to achieve your marketing goals. Call Oser Communications Group at (520) 721-1300 to discuss how we can help your business achieve your trade show goals.

Before you plan your next appearance at a trade show, talk with your marketing and sales team about how to measure trade show effectiveness. Trade shows are excellent ways for businesses to promote their brand, keep an eye on the industry landscape, engage with customers, and connect with other professionals. However, without clear, measurable goals and a concrete plan to achieve them, you might not get as much of a return on your marketing effort. 

If you develop your trade show advertising with Oser Communications Group, you will benefit from detailed analyses of multiple data sources on the effectiveness of your campaign.

Metric #1: Sales 

When you go to a trade show, your objectives should further the ultimate goal of boosting sales in the short and long term. Before you leave for the trade show, you should have baseline data on how well your products and services are selling. Consider all possible sources of revenue.

Track your sales daily during the event, and fine-tune your approach if you are not meeting daily targets.

Once you return from the trade show, continue to track sales and revenue over the following weeks and months. If your sales volume, adjusted for seasonal variations and other factors, does not increase, you might need to examine your sales funnel and sales process to understand why the trade show did not impact your bottom line.

Metric #2: Leads

Knowing how to measure trade show effectiveness means going beyond short-term profits to determine whether a trade show exhibit succeeded in setting the stage for future sales and business relationships. 

Keeping a record of the visitors to your trade show booth is a good business practice because it helps you plan follow-up engagements with them. Information about attendees lets you evaluate your interactions with potential customers and identify factors that influenced trade show success or failure.

Arrange to meet with contacts while they are at the trade show and follow up with them afterward.

Metric #3: Feedback

Conduct surveys of trade show attendees, social media followers, and subscribers to your e-mail newsletter if you have one. Find out whether trade show attendees found your presentation interesting and whether it influenced consumer intentions to buy or learn more about your product.

Use trade shows as an opportunity to measure your brand’s positioning in the mind of your consumers. Note how competitors attempt to position their brands and turn that information into actionable marketing initiatives.

Metric #4: Social Media Engagement

An appearance at a trade show is a public event that should be part of your overall marketing strategy. Promote your trade show experience through social media channels and observe interactions with your social media followers in the lead-up to the trade show and throughout the event. 

Get the Most from Trade Show Advertising with Oser Communications Group

Oser Communications Group can help you discover how trade shows benefit businesses and how to use trade show appearances to raise awareness at different points in the sales cycle. Call (520) 721-1300 to learn more about how to measure trade show effectiveness.