When you are at an event such as an exhibition, you want to create an experience that your visitors will remember as this is one way that you will stand out. Experiential marketing within your bespoke exhibition stand will help you achieve this.
This form of marketing is when you create an immersive and engaging way of communicating with your audience. It invites them to see and experience your services or products in a new way, rather than look and read about them.
It is well known that people act on emotions. These can be hard to create with the written word, especially in a busy, overstimulating arena filled with competitors. However, adding experiential marketing will facilitate the creation of emotions connected to what you are offering, helping you achieve your goal.
At Extreme Group, we often use this marketing technique in our exhibition stand designs and branded environments to help our clients stand out and grab their audience’s attention. In this blog, we list five reasons why you should consider including experiential marketing in your exhibition stand.
1. Stand out from the crowd at an event
One of the biggest problems when attending an exhibition is blending in with the competition. Of course, you don’t want to do this because it will likely encourage people to skip right past you.
Adding an experiential element to your stand will prevent this.
In offering demonstrations, samples or activities at your stand, you give something for your audience to engage in, automatically making the stand more exciting and appealing.
2. Encourages audience engagement
Audience attention span is reducing as they are finding immediate gratification in their phones.
50% of UK adults say despite their best efforts, they sometimes can’t stop checking their smartphones when they should be focusing on other things. This means that you need to find ways to captivate them and also gratify them.
Paragraphs upon paragraphs of text telling them about you and your products won’t work. They will reach for their phone.
However, an interactive screen with questions and answers or games will get them to pay attention to what you are saying.
Not only will this draw more people into your stand, as they look for something that activates their minds and provides an element of satisfaction, but it can also lead to more goals being achieved. If they are interacting with your stand, they are more likely to leave contact details or make a purchase. If they walk past your stand with their eyes glued to their screens, they won’t complete any of those actions.
3. Raises brand awareness
Creating an experience will not only enhance your brand awareness within the event but outside it too. Audiences will discuss the event with those who didn’t attend. If you offer something memorable, they will likely discuss your stand and the experience you provided, spreading awareness of you and your offerings.
4. Offers a try before you buy system
If you are selling a product or service at the event, incorporating experiential marketing often provides an opportunity for the audience to try before they buy.
This usually has great results, as the audience members have confidence in what you are offering and know that it is likely to solve the problem they are facing.
Emotions created from trying your product or service, be it relief, happiness, or confidence, will increase the chances of them purchasing; humans often buy on emotion. This can help you hit your targets for the event and develop a relationship with a large number of people who will trust you and your brand.
Offering a trial can also enhance your brand’s perception, as people like to try before they buy so that they know they are getting something of value. If you offer this, it shows your confidence in your own products, which is another way to build trust.
5. Social media amplification
Adding experiential marketing to your exhibition stand can also help you amplify your attendance outside of the event.
Incorporating something to engage with gives people a reason to shout about your stand at the event. With social media being such a prevalent part of our society today, the combination of experiential marketing and social platforms can be powerful.
Include your social media handles, hashtags, QR code or even photo booth props to your stand to encourage people to take pictures and tag you on social media. This means their followers will see it, helping your brand get in front of those not at the event.
Need help including experiential marketing in your exhibition stand?
It can be difficult to know how to include experiential marketing in your stand with so many options. You want to choose a technique that will match your goal, target audience, and the event.
At Extreme Group, we have worked on a range of projects for a wide variety of sectors including:
Our experience has allowed us to develop a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the varying needs of different sectors. We use this expertise to work with you to choose the right type of experiential marketing for your goals and branding.
We will also ensure that the experiences include your branding so the audience will match the engagement with the brand. Additionally, we will work with you to incorporate all the information needed to make sure your stand imparts the relevant and necessary information in a fun and dynamic way.
If you are worried about the logistics of setting up and managing such a stand, we can provide further support than just design, as we also offer logistics and management services.
Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can help you include experiential marketing in your bespoke exhibition stand. Call us on 01202 620550 or complete our online contact form to request a callback.
