We recently came across a great article from EMC that details out an important principle we discuss with clients frequently: The Rule of 7.
The Rule of 7 contends that a recipient needs to hear or see a message at least seven times before it creates connection and drives action. Trade shows, including bridal shows, are live events where it’s important to deliver multiple messages to concentrated audiences who are willing recipients to messaging, according to EMC Outdoor. Digital marketing tactics can layer upon your trade show participation to offer effective delivery of the desired seven messages in dynamic and customized ways.
Here are a few outlined in the article:
The Early Bird Gets the Worm
The lead up to an event can often be the most exciting part. You have the chance to bring people together and generate buzz and excitement for the event. It’s also when the seven opportunities to reach your audience actually begins. Marketers often forget this important point in the life-cycle of a trade show. When ignored, it leaves to chance that people will organically discover a brand, booth, event, or experience once they arrive.
Here are some tactics that will allow you to take advantage and build recognition early, get your name in front of attendees and spread the word:
- Email Campaign: Inform your target audience about important information and event details, like your booth location, and familiarize them with your brand.
- Preregistrations: Allow attendees to preregister for games, raffles, and other experiences to build buzz and acquire potential lead information.
- Invitations and RSVPs: Sending digital invitations can be an important touchpoint for gaining key demographic information from attendees.
Strike While the Iron is Hot
During the event is the most critical point for serving up messaging because it holds the largest opportunity for advertisers. More and more, research shows that audiences connect brands with positive experiences. According to a survey, 72% of consumers say they positively view brands that provide great experiences
There is no better time for this than reaching potential buyers and influencers at a trade show. You can showcase a brand and interact with an audience that have self-identified as your target audience. With this unique opportunity to deliver brand messaging, give them an experience they won’t soon forget. Consider the following:
- Social Media: Given that nearly every attendee is armed with a social media connected device, capitalize on these potential brand ambassadors to share your content utilizing hashtags, photobooth/green screen, video of the exhibit booth, etc.
- Data Capture: A trade show presence means nothing if you can’t prove its ROI. Use street teams with iPads to engage attendees and capture demographic and other information.
- Raffles and Giveaways: Create digital game experiences that make people want to participate with your brand. Besides, everyone loves freebies!
The End is Just the Beginning
Don’t let your competitor have the last word. Continue to check-in with your audience after the show to keep the conversation going. Remind them how great their experience was at the event. Provide shareable content they can send to someone who couldn’t enjoy the experience in real-time.
It’s also important to use the attendee data and information collected during the event to drive awareness and continue the buzz around your brand.
- Shareable Content: Create slideshows and sizzle reels from content you captured during the event.
- Proof of Performance: Create a POP or case study from your event performance, including ROI and impression data.
- Follow-Up: Continue your relationship with attendees who provided email addresses or otherwise engaged. Give updates on Experiential activations or fulfill on raffle/contest winnings.
- Promote Extended Engagement: Provide links to webinars, future events, relevant products, and opportunities to further engage with your brand.
Typical trade show marketing solutions target attendees before the event as the attendees arrive, during the event with creative activations, and after the event as they head home. Digital outreach will enable the rule of seven, which expands the window for and type of engagement. This gives attendees a deeper understanding of a brand and makes the messaging and call-to-action more effective.
Strategic integration of digital methods allows trade show marketers to employ the best messaging and platform methods for reaching an audience. Show your marketing professor that you were paying attention!
See the entire article from EMC Outdoor HERE
