Marketing has gone through tectonic shifts, especially in the last decade or so. We have made the shift from print media to online media. We are witnessing the introduction of new tools (almost everyday) that make our communication with potential customers more efficient. We are in the organic valley of social media indulging in a relentless two-way communication loop. As a result, our addiction to real-time communication is simply voracious and our attention to focus is scattered. And, these are only a few of the recent changes that the marketing industry has gone through.
Given this technological dynamics, we as trade show marketers often question the viability of exhibiting at trade shows. The short answer to this concern is: Trade shows have never presented a better opportunity for an exhibitor to get in front of decision makers. Premium level decision makers now walk the show. They are there because they have a need that is not currently being met. I guess, technology has not yet managed to eradicate the desire for the high touch of human interaction.
Now, that we know who are our target audience, let's fashion a booth that will attract their attention and sustain their scrutiny. We have to become skilled in the art of attraction. Here are some few pointers that always work!
Design with a Themed Purpose: In the illustration above, we designed a 50's theme with a flair for high touch modernity. Nostalgic times in stride technologically advanced products! Don't just stop there. Use high appeal promotional give-away. It is all about perception. How do you want to be remembered? This should be the end game of anything and everything that you do.
Design with a Presence: Your graphics must always be larger than life. Your architecture must be self defining. Always keep in mind of your target audience.
Design with a Flow: Keep in mind about the laws governing spatial arrangement in relation to the flow of energy. Have ample of areas for natural clustering. Have a sculpture or perhaps a multiple screen projection that wows the audience. Again, you are going for the memorability act. In the above illustration, the corner of the booth was highlighted with a car from the 50's.
Design for a Motion: As Tony Robbins says: emotion is always moved by motion. Movement attracts our eyes and turns our bodies. Implant a juggler, blow bubbles or simply play with a yo-yo. Integrate it with your value statement.
Design for the Limbic System: Our sensory receptors reacts to the stimulation from our environment. Make clever use of this proven method for your booth design. Lavish your space with texture, light, sound, smell and color.
"Colors answer feeling in man; shapes answer thought; and motion answers will."
"There’s a collection of Zen koans called the Gateless Gate. Among other things, koans transcend dualism. The traditional sales process is fully dualistic - there’s a buyer, and there’s a seller. We are witnessing the dissolution of the traditional sales role, as recommendation commerce evolves and storefronts become wherever you happen to be, doing whatever you are doing. Which brings us to the Storeless Store and Saleless Sale." Valeria Maltoni.
And my friends, this is the new face of trade show marketing!
Sarmistha Tarafder
Co-creator of brands in 3D spaces.
In pursuit of essence and enchantment, mind and mystery, myth and matter!
Let's face it. When it comes to trade show exhibiting, most companies use the same tactics that they used years ago and the sad part is all the companies start to look and feel the same. Strategy seems to be an alien concept. Most exhibitors are peddling the same stuff with perhaps a bit different flavors. This scenario is specially true in a vertical market.
So, what do you do as an Exhbiitor who wants to create a memorable splash at an event to gain high grounds.
"Inbound" Your Trade Show Presence: Do something phenomenal in your booth. It could be a unque architecture that represents your brand or featuring an activity in your space that attracts people naturally towards your space. At the Exhibitor 2012 we held seminars for trade show maeketers in our space through out the day. It created phenomenal buzz and people were organically drawn towards our exhibiting space.
Harness Social Media to Promote Your Presence: Start telling your tribe about the event far in advance about the trade show. Create a hashtag for the event and a compelling reason as to why they should visit your booth. It may include a special giveaway, a new product annoucement or even the opportunity to be one of first few alpha users of a certain product that is still in development.
Create a Foursquare location for your booth at the trade show. Surprisingly enough, people are checking in to specific booths on Foursquare when they attend a trade show. Offer a special promo to people who check in to your booth. The promo may be a 15-minute, one-on-one-consultation or an extra prize. This will provide incentive to people to check in to your booth and will promote your presence to other Foursquare users.
Excite Your Internal Brand Ambassadors to Promote the Event. Encourage them to talk about your trade show presence to their networks. For your sales team this is an ideal opportunity to broadcast to their leads the benefits that they will reap in attending this show. And of course, your marketing warriors should be in the forefront in promoting this event.
Create a Targeted Offer for the Trade Show. A unique landing page on your website that promotes your trade show presence and addresses the question “What is there for me?” Compound this unique attribution with downloadable ebook or whitepaper that relates to the theme of the trade show. If people are interested in what you are saying, they will have another reason to attend the trade show.
Generate a QR code that you can imprint on your trade show graphics. Encourage people to scan the code. Configure the code to send people who scan it, to a dedicated landing page with the same value proposition that highlights the trade show connection. Invite them to download a targeted offer. This will help you to generate leads from your trade show presence and will give you a way to track results from the event.
Promote Aggressively with Social Sharing. A compelling content is bound to go viral. Include social media share buttons in your landing page to encourage others to promote the event through their own social networks. Take advantage of the industry journals that you subscribe to. Go ahead, follow them, like them whatever you have to do to get your content noticed. Start a two-way conversation. Generate third-party recommendations from people not directly associated with your business. You are bound to increase your reach!
Think of your trade show booth as a destination site. Partner with local restaurants, entertainments and other flavors to provide compelling offers for your visitors that will strike a chord of memorability in their minds.
Sarmistha Tarafder
Co-creator of brands in 3D spaces.
In pursuit of essence and enchantment, mind and mystery, myth and matter!
"All architecture is shelter, all great architecture is the design of space that contains, cuddles, exalts, or stimulates the persons in that space."
Philip Johnson, one of the great American architectural minds of the twentieth century, has played an enormous role in both understanding and creating the urban skylines of our country. As a historian, curator and a defining architect, he had a profound influence on the future generations of architects. It was he who said, "And the reason these buildings go up so close to each other is because people want to be next to other people.” He was talking about the buildings on the Wall Street.
Some great points to keep in mind when designing a space for trade show venues. The key in designing a memorable space lies in taking advantage of the depth of the space. Think of the layout of the booth design as an opportunity to provide layers of information that incorporates intrigue and surprise. The outskirts of the booth serves as a "warm up" platform for the audience. Make it appropriately exciting and enthusiastic for the headliner.
In the above exhibit design, the perimeter had sheers drop down from the ceiling, interspersed with bar stools and tables. The texture of the fabric sheers tickled the curiosity of the bystanders. To foster ambiance decorative ceiling was placed. It served two purposes: space was defined and the mood was set.
The middle area should be used to highlight the key features of your product. In this case the center was used for serving stations. This is the place where you get to know your audience intimately. You exchange ideas and you qualify your target. Towards the back of the exhibit is the big pay off. This where you get to negotiate deals with your per-qualified target.
In a world where conducting virtual businesses are the norm, trade shows are the last vestiges of face-to-face interaction. Design it effectively so that you may reap the maximum benefit.
Sarmistha Tarafder
Co-creator of brands in 3D spaces.
In pursuit of essence and enchantment, mind and mystery, myth and matter!
It was announced yesterday that Skyline has won the coveted 2012 Outstanding Corporate Innovator Award! It was indeed a magical moment for us.
Why magical?
We are the only trade show company to have ever won this award. Now we take a seat amongst the giants like Apple, HP, FedEx, Herman Miller, BMW and the likes. We are proud and yet very humbled by this experience.
PDMA (Product Development and Management Association) is the premier product marketing organization in the planet. For over 25 years, The OCI Award selection process has identified companies that capture imagination and create value through innovation in developing new products.
How do we spur innovation as a company and incorporate it into our culture? What is the actual commercialization process that we go through? How do we measure success of a new product or service?.... These were some of the rigorous criteria and selective process that we went through lasting for 9 months.
Perhaps the glaring stat. that 24% of our sales comes from products that were non-existent even 5 years ago was the final seal of innovation.......We will never know.
However we do know:
"Skyline has used innovation to disrupt a market which has traditionally been challenged by commoditization and an influx of cheaper overseas competitors. Using a disciplined innovation process the company has moved from a pipeline reliant on incremental innovation, to a focus on big-bet projects – in their own words, “we have gone from an emphasis on ‘improve and evolve’ to ‘invent & transform.’” Key to the effective utilization of the process is a focus on the front end, which utilizes diverse tools and techniques to identify significant market trends and unmet customer needs and pain points."
Our commitment in maintaining innovative leadership is evident in our recent decision to redefine our business purpose as ‘Helping the World Trade™’ in recognition of major market changes and the new opportunities beyond exhibits and displays created by those changes.
Good luck Skyline and I feel proud to be part of you!
Sarmistha Tarafder
Co-creator of brands in 3D spaces.
In pursuit of essence and enchantment, mind and mystery, myth and matter!
Expressive vs. Introverted
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Complex vs. Neutral
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Political vs. Evasive
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Radical vs. Conservative
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Democratic vs. Authoritarian
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Real vs. Simulated
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Hand vs. Computer
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Raw vs. Refined
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Pointed vs. Blunt
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Risky vs. Safe
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Memorable vs. Forgettable
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Communicative vs. Mute
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Space vs. Fashion
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Optimism vs. Pessimism
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Democratic vs. Authoritarian
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Inexplicable vs. Understood
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Complex vs. Simple
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Unexpected vs. Habitual
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Sarmistha Tarafder
Co-creator of brands in 3D spaces.
In pursuit of essence and enchantment, mind and mystery, myth and matter!
We live in very dynamic times.
"We are shifting from a managerial society to an entrepreneurial society."
"Intuition becomes increasingly valuable in the new information society precisely because there is so much data." John Naisbitt
Intuition, insight, discernment, perception, awareness, understanding, comprehension, apprehension, appreciation, penetration, acumen, judgment, acuity, vision, wisdom, savvy are some of the words that constantly pop up in different journals and business books.
The word that I am hooked to is Insight. The dictionary defines insight as the act or outcome of grasping the inward or hidden nature of things or of perceiving in an intuitive manner. A great example that comes to mind is the discovery of penicillin. During those times it was the norm to throw away moldy blood samples. However, Sir Alexander Fleming, the Scottish bacteriologist, had an instinct to study the mold on a blood sample that had gone bad. That instinct ushered in the era of penicillin and antibiotics. There are thousands of example: perhaps the most studied being Mr. Steve Jobs in our our recent memory. Overnight the IPhone was a best seller because the learning curve was substantially reduced. "The percentage of users actually utilizing all of the features that a smart phone offers was higher than other phones we've tested. The iPhone was more intuitive than other devices." Even a few years ago who would have thought about a technical device being intuitive.
Experts do acknowledge that insight is a learned skill.
Asking a lot of questions does build strong intuitive muscles. In design discovery meetings, the most powerful creative intuitions shows up after a long question and answer sessions. Don't be fearful to ask any questions. Ask questions that does not particularly pertain to the project. See where it goes. To get a feel for the clients emotions' layout a visual map of the conversation. Ask more questions based on the map. Then walk away from the project. Let your sub-conscious take over.
Find solitude. Listen to yourself in solitude. Training yourself to listen to your inner voice when you aren’t alone and will lead to catching powerful intuitive ideas right when you need them.
Strangle the inner critic within you. Turn off your negative barometer. If your inner voice say this is a dumb idea. Make a conscious choice to ask “what part of this idea will work?” This way you will embark on a journey of asking positive questions and your sub-conscious will feed you with solutions in the form of insight - the art of seeing what is invisible to others.
Insight or creative intelligence comes from deep within you. It helps generate not only solutions for your design projects but new opportunities and options for you. Beware! often, it will take you to the less trodden paths that leads to nowhere.
"Intuition makes much of it; I mean by this the faculty of seeing a connection between things that in appearance are completely different; it does not fail to lead us astray quite often." Andre Weil
Sarmistha Tarafder
Co-creator of brands in 3D spaces.
In pursuit of essence and enchantment, mind and mystery, myth and matter!
Knowledge is great. Competence is great. But the combination of both encourages people to trust you and increases your powers of enchantment.
~ Guy Kawasaki
You trade show booth is your space that you use for sharing knowledge and inspiring conversation. It is a channel for enchantment. It is the space where your brand image is broadcasted. It prompts people to form perceptions about your company and your products. It is reflected in the angles of your product; it is embedded in the curves of your booth architecture, it is pronounced in the stylistic images, the texture of floor that you walk on and the uniqueness of the furniture that you use. The exhibit design is a powerful display of your brand psychology.
Given the power it yields, it is only but natural to design an exhibit keeping in mind some of the few tenets.
1. Be different. You have to have a stance. Be a source of awe and wonder.
2. Coin your odyssey. What do you want to achieve? And why?
3. Develop your own distinctiveness. What’s unique about you?
4. Have an opinion. Stand for something. Don’t be afraid to alienate a few people. It will bring you closer to others. You will have a tribe.
5. Produce content. Give an incredible presentation that goes viral.
6. Become a storyteller. Stories are memorable.
8. Give away free content. Your influence will grow because we live in a hybrid economy
9. Hold a press conference. Allow people to tweet from your exhibit space.
10.Validate your unique proposition with case studies.
11.Promote testimonials. Let others build your reputation.
12.Don’t constantly sell. Teaching is a much better way to gain sales.
13.Exceed expectations. Surprise people by being insanely helpful.
14.Be curious. And keep learning. And share more. ...................source copy blogger
Above all, be transparent, conversational and generous. Be delightfully present in the "now". After all, this is your space to re-write your past and carve out your future.
For savvy exhibitors check out the monthly design updates.Sarmistha Tarafder
Co-creator of brands in 3D spaces.
In pursuit of essence and enchantment, mind and mystery, myth and matter!
"Are you ready to communicate with them?"
Technology is the language and the fashion of this generation. Extremely savvy and constantly wired this generation could be the most educated in American history (according to a study conducted by Pew Research Center). Being "digital natives", they are on a path of constant learning, upgrading and sharing. In her book, Chasing Youth Culture And Getting It Right, Tina Wells discusses how crucial technology is in their lives. "If you want to engage with Millennials, you must understand the role technology plays in their lives. When we get scared of it as marketers, we tend to disconnect with our consumers. Technology doesn’t kill magazines or newspapers or music. What hurts these media is when we decide to stop innovating. Content is king, and always will be. Create an engaging experience with content, no matter what the platform, and consumers will engage"
Trade shows are ideal environments for face-to face marketing and an opportunity to experience your brand in a very unique way. As Tina Wells points out, communal consumption and existential experience is huge for this generation.
As trade show mavericks what does this mean? Create a designer space that is equipped with wi-fi, internet, ipad and the likes. You do want them to be tweeting and uploading content from your exhibit space, about your exhibiting brand. As a marketer you want your stories to go viral. Arm your millennial visitors with easy user interface to do so. To them it is all about speed and ease to use.
When it comes to existential experience, it is very pivotal for the millennials to have “once in a lifetime experiences.” This could be from a simple “coffee experience” to life changing service experiences in places like Africa. Measure for yourself how does this add up to your exhibit design. Your exhibit design is the home for your brand experience. Design a space to skillfully reflect the nuances of your brand's reputation, memory and product. Provide for a space that intelligently interacts with the 5 senses. Think about smell, sound, touch, lighting, the presentation of products, and everything else that goes into delivering a memorable brand experience. Your exhibit design is the one touch point that your audience actually gets to experience. Give them an experience of a lifetime, one that they can’t wait to share with their friends.
Sarmistha Tarafder
Co-creator of brands in 3D spaces.
In pursuit of essence and enchantment, mind and mystery, myth and matter!
Simplicity is the shining armor of Zen.
Derived from the Sanskrit word Dhyana, Zen found its way to Japan via China in the form of motionless meditation. The word Zen paints a picture of peace, serenity, waterfall and rounded stones. It has become a part of our every day lexicon, yet we hardly practice what it exhorts. Be here and now. Turn off the filters. Dissolve all preconceptions. Perceive directly. "Dissolve into the eternal now, and realize that the Universe itself peers out through your eyes, hears through your ears, and breaths each breath." Experiencing each moment as it is. According to Chinese Ch’an and Zen, understanding comes only by ignoring the intellect and heeding the instincts, the intuition. True perception comes from vast emptiness.
Whatever the philosophical construct of Zen may be, we all seem to have a visual concept of what Zen is. We talk about Zen like design, we muse on the elegance in the absence of abundance and of course the Zen Master of Subtraction: Steve Jobs is still very alive in our mass psyche. One of Jobs’ great strengths was knowing how to focus. “Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do,” he said. “That’s true for companies, and it’s true for products.”
In his book, The Laws of Subtraction (that will be available on October), Matthew May states 6 simple rules for winning in the age of excess, very much in keeping with the 5 principles of Zen Design Simplicity:
1: What isn’t there can often trump what is.
2: The simplest rules create the most effective experience.
3: Limiting information engages the imagination.
4: Creativity thrives under intelligent constraints.
5: "Break" is an important part of any breakthrough.
6: Doing something isn’t always better than doing nothing.
The relevance of this message in our busy business of trade show clutter is huge. Noteworthy, are the first 3 points. Usually, as trade show exhibitors we tend to blast away all the features that our products are capable of. But as Matthews puts it; What isn’t there can often trump what is. He cites the example of Scion. Designers essentially used this strategy in creating the fast-selling and highly profitable xB model, a small and boxy vehicle made intentionally spare by leaving out hundreds of standard features in order to appeal to the Gen Y buyers who wanted to make a personal statement by customizing their cars with trendy options. It wasn’t about the car. It was about what was left out of it.
The discipline to discard that does not fit is the bedrock of Zen design. All aspects of your brand can only stand tall in an intelligently designed space that is anchored in elegant suggestive simplicity. It is the suggestive simplicity that engages human imagination, thus injecting it with the merit momentous memorability.
Sarmistha Tarafder
Co-creator of brands in 3D spaces.
In pursuit of essence and enchantment, mind and mystery, myth and matter!
Seth Godin, the famous icon who popularized opt ins and permission marketing and very successfully conceived the idea of hybrid publishing just came out with this blog: (I extracted only a portion of it.)
A tacky mess: the masses vs. great design
Designers prune.
Left to its own devices, the mob will augment, accessorize, spam, degrade and noisify whatever they have access to, until it loses beauty and function and becomes something else.
The tragedy of the design commons.
An Apple product designed with user feedback would have thousands of extra features, multiple input methods and weigh 18 pounds.
(The best exception to this rule are some--not all--places where people live, including parts of Manhattan and Kibera, Kenya. But even in the best instances, as soon as commercial interests are served, it starts to fail).
It seems democratic and non-elitist to set it and forget it and let the users take over. But the tools we use (Wikipedia) and the brands we covet (Nike or Ducati) resolutely refuse to become democracies.
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Note the profound meaning in the words: resolutely refuse to become democracies.
Our high technology society has given us a brand landscape studded with similar clones where we peddle the same products touting enhanced benefits; giving rise to what Youngme Moon describes as category category connoisseurism. Never in the course of written history has there been such abundance of choices in a single category. There are more upgrades, flavors, add-ons, new and improved features between brands in a category that all looks the same. They have managed achieved the sameness of the flat lands of North Dakota and the exhibiting industry is no exception to that. Consumers, are now category connoisseurs. Again, in the words of Moon, “connoisseurs can discern subtle differences based on nuanced asymmetries”, while an ignoramus will lack the necessary know-how to predict differentiating subtleties.
When a a brand creates a competitive advantage in a category, it gains rapid momentum. A momentum orbits around expectation and anticipation that leads to the longevity of a brand. Competitive advantage comes with a value proposition that is highly valued and not in abundant supply. We are proud to say that Envoy III is one such design leap in the pre-fabricated world of booth designs with a value proposition that will help brands to break away from the limiting norms of exhibiting and helping our clients to be perceived with expanded frame of reference. A definite delineation from the mediocrity of the masses.
Sarmistha Tarafder
Co-creator of brands in 3D spaces.
In pursuit of essence and enchantment, mind and mystery, myth and matter!