Digital marketing has stolen the show in recent years, cementing itself in modern brands’ marketing strategies. But even as the world becomes increasingly digital, companies shouldn’t overlook tried and true in-person marketing events like trade shows.
Trade shows are a powerful opportunity to connect with new audiences, build relationships with potential partners, and generate high-quality leads. However, success hinges on careful planning and execution of your booth and marketing materials, along with creative strategies—like interactive demos and trade show games—that capture attention and drive meaningful engagement.
In this article, we take a closer look at modern trade show marketing and offer helpful tips to activate your next event with QR Codes, interactive content, eye-catching visuals, and more.
Note: The brands and examples discussed below were found during our online research for this article.
Why trade shows still matter today
Despite the world increasingly going digital, trade shows still have thousands of attendees. The National Retail Federation (NRF) hosts events with over 5,000 global brands, and the NAHB International Builders’ Show® attracts more than 76,000 building and remodeling professionals.
These numbers show that both brands and customers still value face-to-face connections and real-time interactions. Trade shows are unique because they provide tangible experiences and valuable networking opportunities that aren’t always available online. Their ability to draw large crowds also makes them an excellent option for boosting brand awareness and sales.
What is trade show marketing?
Trade show marketing is a strategy for promoting products and services through in-person events where businesses showcase their offerings. They attract crowds interested in industry-specific products and can be prime ground for high-quality lead generation and sales.
Beyond connecting brands and new customers, trade shows also bring together competing businesses, potential partners, and industry leaders. Because of this diversity, they can be useful for competitor analyses and networking.
Benefits of trade show marketing
Trade show event marketing is a usually significant investment—it can cost anywhere between $5,000 and upwards of $100,000, depending on factors like booth location, design, and size. But they also have high ROI potential. Trade shows provide value beyond immediate sales and can work to boost revenue over time, allowing you to:
Connect directly with your target audience
Digital mediums can only do so much when it comes to building relationships with customers. Trade shows facilitate face-to-face interactions, allowing for a more personal connection with your target audience and potential leads. This can result in stronger long-term relationships and increase future sales.
By allowing you to connect directly with your target audience, trade shows can also provide valuable insights. They enable you to collect feedback directly from customers in real time, so you can keep a finger on the pulse of what they’re looking for in a product or service and adapt your marketing techniques accordingly.
Showcase products and services in action
Trade shows provide a unique opportunity to demonstrate products and services in person. This is especially valuable for new product launches or complex technical offerings. It allows brands to showcase exciting features, highlight benefits, and address potential customers’ questions on the spot—helping to drive interest and boost sales.
Generate high-quality leads
Trade shows bring together people who are actively looking for specific solutions, making them a great opportunity to connect with the right prospects. Face-to-face interactions and interactive booth experiences create a personal touch that builds trust and helps brands stand out.
When you can engage visitors with hands-on demos and real conversations, capturing relevant leads and turning them into lasting customers becomes significantly easier.
Boost brand visibility and awareness
Trade shows boost brand awareness and visibility by putting you in front of thousands of attendees. And the accompanying social media posts and media coverage can help you reach an even broader audience.
Further, trade shows showcase your brand as an active player in your industry, which can boost your credibility. If you offer high-quality experiences, attendees may help expand brand awareness through word-of-mouth recommendations.
Examples of business goals related to trade show marketing
When you think about trade show marketing, lead generation is probably what comes to mind. This is a top objective for many exhibitors and sponsors, but there are many other viable goals related to trade show marketing campaigns, including:
- Enhancing brand awareness
- Building excitement for product launches
- Networking for potential partnerships
- Building customer relationships
- Collecting customer feedback
- Increasing sales
- Establishing brand authority
For measurable and successful results, ensure your goals are clear and specific before your trade show. If you want to generate leads, you may set a goal of connecting with 500 potential leads. If you want to increase sales, your goal could be to boost sales by 10% over the next six months.
But remember, simply setting clear goals isn’t enough to promote success. Spending time creating quality booth materials, planning team roles, training booth staff, and delivering engaging and memorable on-site experiences for visitors is key.
How to make your trade show presence stand out
It’s likely that you’ll be showcasing your products or services alongside industry competitors. This means you need to stand out from the crowd to drive traffic to your booth. Here are some tips that can help you do just that.
Design an eye-catching booth
You only get one shot at a first impression, and your booth is the first thing trade show attendees see. How well you capture their attention will determine whether or not they give you a chance to showcase and sell your products.
Make a strong first impression by designing an eye-catching booth—this can draw attendees’ attention and convince them to visit. You can do this with:
- Brand-aligned visuals: Use high-quality images or graphics that reflect your brand and showcase your product or its value. Avoid text-heavy designs, opting instead for meaningful visuals that resonate with your target audience.
- Bold colors: Incorporate vibrant colors to stand out, following the 60-30-10 design rule for balance. Use brand colors as the primary shade, contrasting colors for interest, and accent hues to highlight key areas.
- LED screens and 3D displays: Add dynamic elements like LED screens or 3D displays to grab attention and demonstrate your product in an engaging way.
- Interactive QR Codes: Use QR Codes on signs and materials to connect visitors to digital resources like demos or landing pages. Scan data analytics can also provide valuable insights into booth performance.
- Strategic empty space: Leave space in your booth layout for easy navigation and to emphasize important elements. This ensures visitors can move freely and focus on key features.
For a smooth trade show, finalize your booth design in advance to avoid last-minute stress on the event day.
Offer interactive and memorable experiences
Create an interactive experience to keep attendees engaged and leave a lasting impression. One of the best ways to do this is to host trade show games.
You might create a QR Code scavenger hunt that guides attendees to key information or hidden items and rewards participants who find them. This adds an element of gamification and fun to the trade show experience and makes your brand more memorable.
You can also offer an interactive experience through live demos that show how your product solves customers’ problems. Encourage attendees to participate in the sessions by asking for volunteers from the crowd and encouraging visitors to ask questions.
Leverage branded digital assets
Digital assets help establish a tech-savvy image and allow attendees to access more in-depth information about your product or brand. These branded assets also reinforce your identity and improve brand awareness and recognition.
There are various branded digital assets that can elevate your booth, including:
- Branded, shortened links: Branded links are short URLs that contain your custom domain and/or back half, making the link more memorable and easy to share. Use them to link attendees to product or event-specific content, demo videos, or exclusive trade show promotions.
- Customized QR Codes: Personalize QR Codes with your brand’s colors and logo to promote audience recognition and provide quick access to digital destinations like your website or feedback collection landing pages.
- Social media hashtags: Create unique branded hashtags and encourage attendees to use them when posting on social media platforms. Consider offering giveaways or discounts to increase participation.
Use giveaways and exclusive incentives
Offering branded merchandise, exclusive discounts, or special perks can attract visitors to your booth and create a lasting impression. To make the most of giveaways, keep these tips in mind.
- Offer branded items with real value: Choose practical, high-quality items like water bottles or tote bags that attendees are likely to keep. Incorporate your logo and colors to reinforce your brand.
- Incorporate QR Codes: Use QR Codes on giveaway items to direct attendees to your website or offer exclusive discounts. This makes it easy for them to stay connected and engage with your business after the event.
- Combine giveaways with lead generation: Collect contact information in exchange for participation in games or competitions. This ensures you’re generating leads while adding value for attendees.
Capture leads efficiently with landing pages
We know what you’re thinking—does your trade show booth really need a landing page? Short answer: Yes!
Landing pages provide a focused, distraction-free way for attendees to share their contact information for follow-ups. They also eliminate the hassle of manually collecting and organizing details, reducing the risk of errors or lost leads.
For effective lead capture, use mobile-optimized landing pages that attendees can access via QR Codes. A quick scan connects visitors directly to your page, saving time and eliminating the need to type long URLs. Tools like Bitly Pages offer pre-designed templates that are optimized for mobile use, making setup simple.
Best of all, Bitly’s landing pages and QR Codes are trackable. Real-time metrics like total page views and daily QR Code scans provide valuable data about engagement and help measure the success of your lead-generation efforts during and after the event.
Make your trade show marketing more impactful with Bitly
Trade shows can be a valuable addition to your marketing strategy, as they help build brand awareness, generate quality leads, and create memorable experiences. For a successful trade show experience, create an attention-grabbing booth, offer interactive experiences, use giveaways, and leverage solutions like QR Codes for improved post-show interactions.
With Bitly, you can access a suite of tools to elevate your trade show game. Bitly offers branded links to promote brand recognition and awareness, QR Codes for instant access to interactive experiences, and mobile-optimized landing pages for surveys, polls, lead capture, and more.
Sign up for Bitly today to create branded links, QR Codes, and landing pages that help you stand out at your next trade show!
