Trade Show Activation Ideas

Simply showing up at a trade show and expecting people to flock to your booth is a recipe for disaster. To generate the engagement that leads to sales and partnerships, you’ll need to activate your brand. The experts from Monster Displays are here to explain the concept of trade show activation and share some booth activation ideas that will get people interested.

What is Trade Show Activation?

As a subset of brand activation, trade show activation is a must for a successful event. What is a brand activation? It’s when your organization holds an event or runs a marketing campaign designed to increase awareness, clarify messaging, and show how you can fulfill a need. When applied to trade shows, this means finding creative ways to attract and engage attendees before giving them a great experience that drives future connections.

Benefits of Brand Activation at a Trade Show

Activation is especially important to any business that depends on recurring sales. Here are some of the ways that trade show brand activation can help you grow:

• It leads to better interaction and communication with prospects.
• You make potential partners more aware of your brand.
• It creates an emotional connection to the brand.
• You can use it to change how people perceive your company.
• It makes other marketing activities more cost-effective.

Brand Activation Ideas

According to some experts, a good trade show experience can boost brand recognition by up to 76%, which is huge for any business. Here are some ideas for trade show activation that will impress visitors and get them interested in what you offer.

Exhibition Booths

Trade shows start with the booth, so make sure yours is ready for action. The exhibit booth graphics should be crisp, colorful and on-brand. Consider adding hanging signs and other ways to call attention to your booth.

You also need ways to keep people at your booth. Add a phone charging table so visitors can replenish their devices as they listen to your presentation. Use media stands to show videos or have an interactive touchscreen. Other fun ideas include “selfie stations” for taking pictures and custom QR codes that lead to informational pages.

Product Displays

People are more likely to be interested in a product if they can see it or even play around with it. Set out smaller products on a trade show counter, table or stand – preferably one with a logo table cover. Invite attendees to try the item for themselves or give a demonstration that leads to questions and discussion. You can bring larger products, too. We’ve even seen businesses set up a skateboard halfpipe to show off skills or do photo ops.

Event Merchandising

Everyone likes free stuff! Turn trade show promotional merchandise into fast brand activation. Hand out drinkware, apparel, tech accessories, bags, and other goodies with your logo. If they’re related to your business, even better. This could mean mugs and free samples from a beverage company or pill boxes if you’re in the medical field.