How to use powerful audio visuals to increase foot traffic at your next trade show.

At Grand Stand Events, we’ve built custom exhibition stands at most of Australia’s largest expo’s. From the World Travel Expo where we built stands for Qantas and Cathay Pacific, to Fine Foods Australia where seven clients were among over 1000 exhibitors hoping to attract the attention of over 23,000 visitors!

Trying to stand out from the crowd is tough at big trade shows but, one thing we know for sure, you must use compelling audiovisuals to stand out.

From standard TV displays, super-sized LED screens, interactive kiosks to oversized ipads; there are plenty of options available.

Investing in the right technology can help you increase your foot traffic and retain customer attention. You can offer event attendees a more interactive experience, which is engaging, informative and, most importantly, makes your product or service stand out.

Here are some tips and tricks to using AV to enhance your event exhibit.

 

Think long and hard about your AV options.  What will work with your target audience?

 

Before you even start putting together your display and materials, you need to know precisely who the event audience is:

• Why are they attending the event?
• What information are they looking for from you?
• How knowledgeable are they regarding your product or service?
• What key marketing messages are you looking to get across?

Once you have a strong knowledge base to work from, you can start planning what you need to get together before the show and to put a strategy in place. You need to decide:

1. What kind of AV will draw attendees to our stand?
2. Once here, what do we plan to talk about/show them?
3. Before they leave, what can we send them away with?

If you truly understand the event attendees and what you hope to get out of the trade show, each of these questions will be easy to answer.

 

Choosing the right AV equipment.  We can help with that!

 

Once you have thought about the audience of the event and have an idea of what message you want to get across, you can start looking at what equipment you want. This isn’t an easy task, as there is so much to choose from and they all serve different purposes.

Here is a summary of some of the options and how we have used them for our clients.

 

Kiosks

 

 

These small, stand-alone booths with a standalone interactive display are perfect for showcasing your products. Kiosks help make it interactive and will help you stand out and draw your customers in. You can set the kiosk to rotate through and highlight the products you are promoting at the show, advertise the sale of a specific product, or set up a game for potential customers to guess what your products do. Once again, think back to your intended audience and brainstorm a few different options.

 

TV

 

Putting a TV in your booth is an instant draw for a crowd.  This allows you to create an engaging video or slideshow that will make your customers stop and pay attention. There are plenty of different ways you can do this:

• Create a slideshow showing various projects you’ve done, or the different products you’ve made.
• Put together a ‘how-to’ video that shows your product in action. This allows customers to see your products from a distance, while they are working their way to your booth.
• Connect the screen to the internet to show live content from a website or even an Instagram feed.
• Interview past customers and put together a testimonial video, with them sharing why they love your product and what purpose it serves.

 

Tablets

 

 

A tablet should be on your list for the trade show, particularly if you are showcasing a technology-based product as SUZOHAPP did at the Australasian Gaming Expo.  They are a perfect way to collect information from attendees and try your product on an oversized display.

You can collect emails by getting them to sign up for more information, or for a freebie you have set up. You can ask your customers to fill out a survey, asking them what they are looking for, what their biggest challenges are, and which of your competitors they have used. You can even ask them to rate their experience at your stand and what they think you could improve on.

Smaller tablets such as iPads are also helpful and mobile, so you can step outside the stand and connect with any passing customers, with a quick and efficient way to encourage them to sign up with you and find out more information.

 

Projection Systems

 

Projection technology allows you to turn any surface into a canvas for your display. Bolder than TV screens, these systems encourage your customers to step up and take notice.

There are many different applications of a projection system:

• Create an image of a larger product that you couldn’t physically bring to the trade show.
• Map out your product’s key features onto the product itself.
• Make digital recreations of your audience to display on your booth.

You really can have some fun with projectors and get creative with how you use them. Just remember, they do need dark spaces to work, so test it out before bringing it to a trade show, to make sure the display is bright enough to be seen.

 

LED Displays

 

Instead of a simple backdrop, consider an LED display in your booth. From a simple high-resolution wall to a 360-degree creative hanging aerial view, these displays create ambience, provide insight into your brand, and attract attention from the entire showroom.

LED walls not only have crisp, high-quality images, but also control over the entire colour spectrum, making your message clear both up close, and from the other side of the room. LED displays can reinforce a brands connection with their audience, and create an image in their mind that they will remember when the buying cycle begins. LED screens are bright so they work well where there is lots of ambient light.

 

Create good content

 

Just like every other aspect of marketing, content creation is key to keeping your customers’ attention. The information you put on the TV, tablet, or other display is just as important as the display itself. The content should be clean, and it should be relevant to your audience attending the show.

The content should showcase your brand and tell your audience about your company. Your audiovisual display is sure to draw in your customer, but your content should keep them in your stand, increasing the opportunity for you to capture a sale.

 

Don’t be boring. Make it interactive

 

People attend trade shows for hours on end, so by adding a bit of fun and interaction to your stand, they will be drawn in and encouraged to stay. Instead of just handing over a pamphlet and sending them off to your competitors, consider some ways you can engage with them, such as giving them a game to play, something to watch, or an interactive survey on your tablet to complete.

The interaction that is created between you and your customer provides the perfect springboard on which to introduce your products and what you have to offer. Take that moment to fill them in while they have a smile on their face.

Trade shows are a fantastic way for your company to gain much-needed exposure to a new audience. AV technology can help you hook your customer and draw them into your stand, providing an opportunity to sell your brand and create a positive experience.

At Grand Stand Events, we’ve worked with every type of AV for both indoor and outdoor events and know exactly what can work at your next event.  To see how we can help give us a call on 1300 979 114 or drop us an email at [email protected].  We’d be happy to help!