ammunition |
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Let's face it: One of the best ways into a journalist's heart is through his or her
stomach. Schonox, a division of Akzo Nobel N.V., capitalized on the power of
edible offerings by placing small sacks of gummy bears in the press room at the 2012 World of Concrete show in Las
Vegas. But the bear-filled bags were more than mere vessels full of sugary goodness - they were also branded trafficbuilding
implements. Each sack was designed to resemble miniature versions of the packages in which Schonox's
building-adhesive products are sold. Complete with a simple sticker inviting recipients to "visit our booth B2305," the
sweet treats tempted journalists' taste buds while referencing the company's brand and offerings. Talk about leaving
a good taste in press reps' mouths - and a memorable brand image in their minds as well.
 
When it comes to shipping priceless works of art around the
globe, standard FedEx Ground doesn't cut it. That's why
FedEx Corp. wanted to showcase its White Glove Services
to attendees at the 2012 MuseumExpo. Part of the
company's Custom Critical suite of offerings, FedEx
White Glove Services include everything
from heightened security features to
temperature-controlled vans
to special-handling
options for delicate
freight. So
to get the conversation
started with
passersby, booth
staffers offered
attendees a pair
of branded white gloves.
When attendees stopped to accept the curious but coveted
gift, staffers extolled on how FedEx can give their priceless
artifacts the white-glove treatment while in transit. Not only
did the giveaway tie directly to the company's services,
but it was also a functional gift uniquely appreciated by
MuseumExpo attendees, since they can don the gloves
any time they need to handle, arrange, clean, or repair the
items in their respective collections.
 
How do you build an ingenious in-booth activity around
a charitable donation? If you're DisplayWorks, an Irvine,
CA-headquartered exhibit house, you use about 600 nails.
In conjunction with the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors
Association Annual Meeting, DisplayWorks built and donated
a playhouse to the Children's Center at the University of New
Orleans. However, to drive traffic to its booth and draw
attention to its charitable activities, it decided to donate
the playhouse in the name of an attendee. So to announce
this donation, DisplayWorks sent attendees a pre-show mailer
directing recipients to its booth to guess the number of nails in a featured display. The
company would then donate the playhouse in the name of the person with the closest
guess to the actual number of nails. At the booth, attendees discovered a jar filled with
nails encased in a Plexiglas column. Graphics behind the display featured an illustrated
image of a house, and the words "Over thirty years of building better exhibits. Guess
what we're building now?" In one fell swoop, the in-booth display and pre-show mailer
lured attendees to the space and branded DisplayWorks as a philanthropic firm.
To get attendees' attention and hold them captive in its
booth at the American Society for Radiation Oncology
show, Accuray Inc., a developer and manufacturer of
radiation and oncology equipment, set up its exhibit in
a strategic fashion. Facing the outer aisles, the 20-by-
60-foot booth, designed by 3D Exhibits Inc., featured a
435-square-foot deck where a presenter spoke about the
company's cancer-treatment solutions. When she was
finished speaking, a Plexiglas door behind her slid open
to reveal the exhibit's contents. Staffers ushered attendees
inside and toward product demos, which were set up on
the exhibit's interior. The booth then functioned like a
Venus flytrap: Every hour, it lured attendees to its exterior
stage with a presentation and then beckoned them inside
for a product demo afterwards. Now there's an exhibit
that really holds attendees captive.
Photo: (ACCURAY INC. EXHIBIT) PADGETT & CO. INC. |
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For Quality Systems Inc., a picture is worth a thousand
words. The company's 20-by-30-foot exhibit at the 2011
American Dental Association Annual Session featured
a square truss supporting an overhead banner that read
"QSI we make it possible." The truss surrounded two
13-foot-tall fabric graphics, each of which contained an
image of an overstuffed bookshelf full of medical charts.
Combined with an uncluttered booth space, the display
immediately communicated that QSI offers organizational
software for electronic health records.
Hoping to lend its product
catalog a little personality
at the National Stationery
Show, Minneapolis-based
Old Tom Foolery covered
it with a folded 11-by-
17-inch poster-like sheet
designed to resemble a
newspaper dubbed the
"Old Tom Foolery Times."
The front-page news
items featured a story on
a "heartwarming" newbaby
greeting card that
reads, "New dad throws
up in mouth while filming
miracle of birth."
While the newspaper
comprised only one side
of the tabloid-size sheet,
it was wrapped around
the product catalog and
then inserted into a clearplastic
sleeve, making it
appear to passersby as
though the clever company
had published a
30-page newspaper.
If someone suggested
that you strap magnets
to your hands and feet
and then scale a sleek
magnetic surface like a
spider, you might think
you were being set up for
an episode of "Jackass."
Spider Climbing Inc., a
manufacturer of this very
type of magnetic climbing
walls and gear, anticipated
arched eyebrows
from attendees at the
International Association
of Amusement Parks and
Attractions (IAAPA) Expo,
so the company set up a
demo to prove the validity
of its product.
A section of
the company's magnetic
climbing wall functioned
as the back wall of its
10-by-10-foot booth, and
a life-like mannequin outfitted
with magnetic-grip
gloves on its hands and
feet was positioned as if it
were scaling the surface.
At a glance, attendees saw
how the company's product
worked, and breathed
a sigh of relief that staffers
weren't asking them to
make the climb.
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What's The Big Idea?
Do you have a clever exhibit-related tip? Did your last exhibit have an über-cool traffic builder?
Email us at editorial@exhibitormagazine.com. |
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