Sticky Notes
Scores of exhibitors incorporate background music to enhance in-booth experiences, but it's rarely the reason attendees choose to linger. However, SweetWorks Confections LLC (dba Color it Candy) placed music center stage at the Sweets & Snack Expo by hiring Interlude, a local barbershop quartet. Standing at the edge of the exhibit, the acapella foursome, clad in brightly hued blazers and requisite boater hats, crooned such numbers as "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by The Beach Boys and "Peaceful Easy Feeling" by the Eagles. Crowds of visitors stopped to snap fingers and tap toes, providing staffers plenty of time to vet the listeners and lead them deeper into the exhibit, where they explained that the candy maker's offerings were every bit as sweet as the music. Moon Walk
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) unveiled an out-of-this-world virtual-reality activation at the 2019 International Consumer Electronics Show that enabled attendees to virtually walk across the lunar surface. Staffers invited guests to don VR headsets and enter one of two Virtuspheres – think human-sized hamster balls. The Virtuspheres, which were mounted to a special platform allowing them to rotate freely in any direction based on users' footsteps, enabled guests to be completely immersed and walk about the virtual environments. The activation attracted hundreds of participants and countless onlookers as IEEE took one small step for heightened brand awareness and one giant leap for experiential marketing. Toilet Humor
Sponsorship displays in overcrowded registration spaces are often overlooked, seeing as attendees are usually solely focused on acquiring their badges and hitting the show floor. At the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, Octane5 International LLC wanted a more captive audience, so it skipped all the hectic hullabaloo near registration and headed straight for the bathrooms. There the brand-compliance company slapped up single-frame branded cartoons with all manner of licensing humor. For example, one cartoon showed a woman looking at herself in a mirror while one co-worker told another, "She just bought licensing software and is now meeting the install team." A brief paragraph below the cartoon explained how Octane5 is equipped to help in such situations. The whimsical advertisements took mere seconds to read and appeared on stall doors, urinal dividers, and mirrors above the sinks, ensuring attendees were bombarded with Octane5's cheeky humor and messaging for the duration of their bathroom visits.
Smooth Move, LP Corp.
Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (LP), a siding manufacturer best known for its rough cedar finishes, wanted to introduce attendees to its new smooth siding at the American Institute of Architects' Conference on Architecture in Las Vegas. So it employed a bit of clever marketing that involved an oversized iron prop. The company erected an aisle-side wall finished in its traditional cedar style. However, the rough siding was interrupted by three eye-level rows of smooth boards that stretched three-quarters of the length of the wall. Where the rough-finished boards intersected with the smooth, LP affixed an oversized "iron," giving the impression that the rough boards had been pressed flat. To ensure attendees picked up on the clever display, nearby graphics on the velvety boards read "Durable siding. Now in smooth." The humorous marketing slowed passersby long enough for staffers to swoop in and offer more information about the company's new (and old) offerings. Map Quest
The Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation, which awards scholarships to high- and technical-school students interested in print-related careers, hopes to pair students with career opportunities that fit their personalities. So at the Print show, the foundation hung a vinyl poster titled "Adventures in Print" on its back wall. The graphic was a cross between a Candyland game board and a choose-your-own-adventure book. Beginning at "Let's Go!," students traced a path with their eyes to a fork in the road, where a game space offered a question of interest. For instance, one fork asked, "Visual or Tech?" Tech-interested visitors followed one path and visual-interested ones took the other. Students traveled through two such forks before arriving at a selection of career opportunities suited to their interests. The quick activity segued into conversations about how the scholarship foundation could help students reach their desired destination. And that's a two-pronged path to success. Natural Wonder
Gaia Herbs Inc., a maker of the herbal supplements, sought to root the company's connection with Mother Earth firmly in attendees' minds at Natural Products Expo West. The firm tasked Condit Exhibits LLC and Art Botanica Inc. with creating a 12-by-7-foot "moss mural" for the front of its stand, linking the brand with the botanical offerings that serve as the backbone of its products. Plant artist Kelley Anderson of Art Botanica composed the mural using several mosses and sprinkled in lavender and oregano to add texture and a waft of aromatherapy. In the center of the display's oak frame, the logo practically glowed a vibrant green among the darker vegetation. And since the plants were preserved and don't require watering, the display will maintain its vibrancy for up to a decade, meaning this wall will flourish at trade shows for years to come. Key to Success
Nobody can resist wondering what's behind a locked door, especially when there's a key just waiting to be turned. And no one knew that better than the staffers in the Salsbury Industries exhibit, where the company was marketing its catalogue of lockers and mailboxes. Attendees passing the locker-laden booth couldn't help but notice that several cubbies along the aisle had keys already inserted in the locks, which tempted many of them to take a peek inside. Behind each door was a variety of company literature and staffers' business cards free for the taking.