Believe it or not, I’ve been to my fair share of trade shows around the holidays. And these trade shows weren’t even holiday-related. But what may come as an even bigger surprise is that most of the vendors/exhibitors seemed to ignore the date and they exhibited in the same way they would at any other time of the year. Before you make their mistake of thinking business should be all business, consider the possibility of connection. If you ignore the calendar at your trade show you’re missing an opportunity for engagement and fun.
Today, people are looking for experiences. Take Carvana for instance. That company has built a reputation for being a vending machine for cars. The company itself offers what a lot of car companies do, no-haggle pricing. But what sets them apart is the experience they created. Their showrooms, instead of being massive wide glassed-in areas, are built up like a tower. The car purchase may be the same as other automobile sellers but they create an experience that is memorable as the car comes down the elevator in a process that resembles an oversized coin-operated vending machine. If you want to stand out from your competition at your next trade show, look for ways to create experiences like that one.
But since we can’t all build a giant vending machine…
The Importance of Holiday Marketing
Using the holidays as a backdrop is one way to get noticed. In this article, we’ve focused on ways you can incorporate this time of year into your trade show presence without offending anyone.
In deciding how much of your booth should be geared toward the holidays think about the kind of audience attending. For instance, if the group is a Christian publishing group you don’t want to make reference to the “winter holidays.” You want to call the holiday Christmas.
These ideas can be tailored to your audience so you incorporate this time of year in a fun and engaging way for all regardless of what they celebrate.
Tie Giveaway into the Holidays
The easiest way to incorporate this time of year into your trade show exhibit is by giving away swag that is winter-related. You can do this in apparel such as a winter cap or through cute giveaways of things like snowmen. Switching out your swag to reflect this time of year requires very little change to your booth but will get noticed as most exhibitors use the same swag regardless of the month.
You can also play with Christmas traditions in your host city. For instance, you can wrap your swag as mini presents or invite attendees to reach into a Christmas stocking and pull out a giveaway. This little added touch is quite memorable. You can also wrap up your swag in the tradition of a Christmas cracker. The unwrapping and pop will be a pleasant surprise for attendees.
Serve Festive Foods
There are certain foods that go hand-in-hand with the holidays. if your trade show allows you to give out food or drinks consider using something that is synonymous with the good feelings of winter such as hot chocolate, eggnog, candy canes, or stolen. You could also hide a special coin in a Christmas dessert cake and have a special prize for the person who finds that piece. Just make sure that everyone is aware there’s a possibility of finding something in their cake.
Ever wonder what figgy pudding is? Have some fun at your trade show booth by serving up holiday food that people talk about but have never eaten or advertise something that is unexpected like “we’re serving up the best fruit cake ever and we bet you’ll love it.” The marketing ploy behind this is it they likely won’t believe you at first. If you really do have the best fruitcake ever and they really do like it, they may believe that they can trust other things that you’re saying about your product or service.
Create a Cozy Trade Show Booth
The thing that is so inviting about the holidays is the coziness that’s created in living rooms around the country. Fireplaces, Christmas lights, warm spots, soft blankets… these things all evoke a warm, soothing feeling and sense of nostalgia. You can use the same items in your trade show booth to create the kind of atmosphere that makes people want to linger. Invite them in to talk about favorite memories of the holidays. Create a space that is very different from the competition.
Host an Ugly Sweater Contest
Instead of dressing your employees in boring trade show booth apparel go for something hilarious like ugly sweaters. This creates a lightheartedness with your team and gives them an instant rapport with the audience as they can share a laugh together.
In order to create an even more engagement format, host an employee ugly sweater contest with attendees as the judges. Now instead of approaching people walking past the booth asking them if they want to watch a demo, you can bring them in by inviting them to vote for the ugliest sweater in the booth. This hilarious icebreaker can be very effective.
Use Sounds and Smells of the Holidays
Have you ever walked into a store and it smells of cinnamon and cloves around Christmas? It’s a very appealing and warm aroma. For most people, it makes them feel welcome and comforted, not to mention perhaps a little hungry.
You can create the same inviting atmosphere with a small crockpot, some water, and some sticks of cinnamon and cloves. Your concoction can simmer all day as long as you casually check it to make sure the water levels are fine. In a crockpot, the water shouldn’t evaporate too quickly. Unlike sprays and artificial smells, cinnamon doesn’t cause the same allergic reaction that room sprays can.
Wear a Holiday Apron
You can add a festive touch to your staff apparel by asking them to wear a Christmas apron then give out cookies as part of a giveaway to get people into your booth.
Use an Advent Calendar Concept for Swag
Advent calendars are a fun Christmas tradition. Starting on the first day of December, you open a door on the Advent calendar daily through Christmas Eve. These days Advent calendars have gotten very fancy. There are wine, cheese, chocolate, and even perfume Advent calendars (with a different scent every day leading up to Christmas Eve). You can channel some of that Christmas fun by placing a small giveaway behind each door (1-24) and then inviting your attendees to select one of them to receive their gift.
This is another way of creating an experience behind receiving swag. it’s not so much the giveaway they’ll remember. It’s how you gave it to them that will make an impression. The opening of the calendar is fun and engaging.
Create a Holiday Photo Booth or Photo Opportunity
People love selfies and they love Instagramable moments. You can create backdrops and holiday-themed props and then invite people to come in and take some holiday shots. Items you might consider are Santa hats and beards, top hats, snowballs and mittens, scarves, and backdrops of snowy scenes, Christmas trees, and fireplaces. If your event is early enough in the holiday season you can even allow your attendees to email these pictures as Christmas cards.
Invite People to Take an Ornament
Christmas trees in your exhibit booth make for a beautiful backdrop for photo ops, as mentioned above. You can also decorate these trees with branded items from your business. On the last day of the conference or trade show, you can invite attendees to take an ornament with them or have someone on hand to personalize it for them with the date and their names.
If you are subtle about your branding these ornaments may make great last-minute gifts for someone on the attendee’s gift list. This could be a big help to them as attending this trade show is probably cutting into the time they would normally spend getting ready for the holidays.
Ornaments come in all shapes and sizes as well as a variety of price points so they can fit most budgets. Just make sure that if most of the attendees are traveling by plane to attend the trade show that your ornament is not too delicate or they will have difficulty getting it home without it breaking. Another option when it comes to ornaments is to offer edible ornaments for either human attendees or their fur babies waiting for them at home.
One final option when it comes to ornaments is setting up a craft area that allows your attendees to personalize an ornament for themselves creating another memorable experience.
The holidays can be very inviting. Most people have pleasurable memories of this time of year and many look forward to it. You can use these positive feelings as a way to connect with attendees at your next trade show. Don’t ignore the holidays and pretend like you are in a holiday-free vacuum at the exhibition center. Instead, invite attendees into your world and create a memorable connection.
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