What better place to learn some of the best tradeshow techniques than at a tradeshow put on BY marketers FOR marketers? Right? That's what we expected to find as we blanketed the American Marketing Association's recent M.planet conference. And to some extent we did find some great ideas to share with you. But... there were some disappointments too.
The biggest disappointment was around messaging. We visited every booth to find out what the company did and what made them unique in their marketplace. You know...Positioning 101 stuff. We were really surprised (okay maybe not surprised, but definitely bummed) that more than 50% of the marketers we spoke to had such a general description of their company's offer it wasn't clear what made them different. A few actually said, "Can you wait until sales gets back to the booth? We're in marketing!" And worse yet, others appeared just plain bored to be there (it's true, exhibitor traffic at this show was PAINFULLY slow, but still!).
It wasn't all bad news...there were great inspirations too. There were some awesome booth traffic ideas, compelling giveaways, and innovative sales and marketing products or services featured. And our "best of" awards go to:
- Best Booth Traffic Idea: By far the best booth traffic generator was Factiva's handwriting analysis. Factiva is a Dow Jones & Reuters Company that provides essential business news and information together with the content delivery tools and services that enable professionals to make better decisions faster. What made their booth traffic generator technique so brilliant was two-fold: 1) everyone has a curiosity about what their handwriting says about them. Men and women, professional and executive, all ages...this booth captured EVERYONE's attention. There was a line 20 minutes long, allowing Factiva's reps good face-time as they worked the prospects while they waited their turn; and 2) the process required the prospect write down Factiva's positioning statement for the handwriting analysis. Now, THAT is good marketing.
- Best Giveaway. First we have to say...Marketers LOVE their pens. About 30% of the exhibitors were giving away branded pens and the marketers were all over it. But the best giveaway idea was put on by GroupNet, the largest network of independent market research focus group facilities. Their giveaway was a WII game, Nintendo's hottest new game format. Having a giveaway of that value that is THAT hot is already a good idea, but what also made this giveaway great was that GroupNet set it up to play. So, it became a booth traffic generator as well as a biz card capture tool. Prospects and other exhibitors could be found playing virtual bowling, golf, or boxing from the aisle throughout the entire show. A drawing was held at the end of the show and the game sent home with the winner. Now, THAT is how you give market research a FUN image!
- Best Product/Service Featured. At a show where over 30% of the exhibitors were in the research arena, you can imagine how hard it is to stand out. But Cunningham Research did just that with their "emotion tool" technology. We've all heard of eye mapping techniques used to determine the effectiveness of advertising or packaging. And, many of us have found them insufficient due to their cost or hassle since they require intrusive equipment such as head gear, etc. They also fall short, as they track where you've looked at a piece, but now you felt when you looked there! Cunningham Research has a better way. Their emotion tool not only will share with you a spotlight analysis (showing the ratio of participants who looked at attention points (logo, product, copy, etc.) but also whether the participant finds the stimulus pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant. And, better yet...with a strong reliability, stability, and predictability on groups of 10-50 respondents versus 100-500 of traditional attitude studies. And, though they have over 35 facilities nationwide, their Las Vegas facility can get you the best "sampling" of your demographic in a quick, cost-effective way. Now, THAT is a tool no marketer with print advertising or packaging should do without! Email Cunningham Research or call 386-677-5644 for more info on their emotion tool!
As we know some of the BEST lessons learned are from our mistakes. And, the biggest mistake we saw these marketers make was in their POSITIONING. Make sure your positioning is well defined (who you are, what you do, for whom, and WHY YOU) AND be sure it is well rehearsed by everyone manning your booth.
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The Sales and Marketing Toolkits BUNDLED contains:
- Over 60 sales and marketing templates (DOC, XLS, PPT, and PDFs)
- Loads of "how-to" articles and examples
- 8 Training sessions (MP3 audio files) for your computer or iPod
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