October 2012

ammunition

To generate awareness for its new StoneGround wallpaper, which is made of the calcium carbonate found in limestone and marble, Trove decided to appeal to attendees' taste buds at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair held at New York's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The NY-based maker of wallpapers, wood veneers, and window films, treated VIP clients, prospects, and members of the media to small bags filled with candies that resembled real rocks. The sacks of edible stone candy certainly left an impression on recipients while simultaneously making a sweet first impression for the company's new line of wall coverings. Hardware manufacturer Berenson Corp. showed its softer side at the 2012 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show by cladding booth workers in pink, giving away pink hand towels and scarves, and even unveiling new lines of pink cabinet pulls and handles. The rosy focus was conceived to honor a staffer who survived breast cancer, as well as four other survivors who entered a contest and had a Berenson line of products designed with their namesake. The exhibit also kicked off a yearlong partnership between the company and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, in which Berenson will donate 15 percent of its pink product sales to the charity. Attendees had an opportunity to meet the survivors that the hardware was named after, and by putting a face and a cause to a product, the company distributed warm fuzzies that stuck with attendees long after they left the booth. Since a multi-ton jumbo jet in the middle of its exhibit space at the National Business Aviation Association show wasn't really a feasible option for Lufthansa Technik, the German plane manufacturer displayed meticulously detailed scale models instead. The roughly 4-foot-long models were mounted on pedestals and featured Plexiglas cutaways allowing attendees to see inside the miniature masterpieces, which housed everything from well-equipped kitchens and living rooms to gyms and whirlpools. The carefully appointed rooms contained furniture, appliances, linens, and even tiny pieces of flatware. Granted, the petite planes were no substitute for the real thing, but the models effectively painted the picture of true luxury air travel, and no doubt moved more than a few attendees closer to signing on the dotted line. To lure potential leads to its private networking functions at EXHIBITOR2012 in Las Vegas, Spoon Exhibit Services Inc. gave them an invitation that was hard to lose - a metal spoon. Distributed to select attendees who stopped by the booth during the show, the lapel pins came in the form of a spoon emblazoned with the company's blue logo. The unusual giveaways did double duty as both eclectic brooches and invitations to after-hours events. The dining-utensil jewelry was created by affixing a lapel pin to the back of a metal spoon, then bending the handle of each spoon backwards to form a loop. The spoons gained their wearers entry into off-site networking events that took place two different nights of the show. Each reception brimmed with food, drinks, and entertainment - all intended to spoon-feed a memorable evening to clients and prospects.		DriveSavers Data Recovery Inc. wanted attendees at the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) Expo to know that it can save digital files and photos stored on computers, no matter what tragedy those devices suffer. So to subtly underscore its abilities - while also jump-starting conversations with curious attendees in its 10-by-10-foot booth - DriveSavers placed a damaged laptop inside a Plexiglas display case. A placard next to the display read, "After the earthquake in Haiti, this twisted laptop was pulled from the rubble. Drive-Savers recovered all of the user's data." Talk about a tragic tale turned triumphant trade show testimonial. Leading up to the 2012 MuseumExpo, Atlas Van Lines Inc. debuted a new marketing slogan, "Go New Places." A related YouTube video explained how Atlas can help clients go to new places, "whether it's a place on the map, in the mind, in the heart, or all three." So to build awareness of the new tagline, Atlas invited people to visit its booth and create a picture inspired by the phrase. The artistic in-booth activity kept attendees in the exhibit for an average of eight minutes, every one of which was spent chatting with Atlas staffers. After the show, all the works of art were uploaded to Atlas' Facebook page, where followers were asked to "like" their favorite ones. The artist with the most "likes" won an iPad 3, while Atlas walked away with new Facebook followers and 42 new prospects it hopes to "Go New Places" with soon. CDs full of press releases are about as exciting as athletic socks, and as such, journalists aren't exactly itching to snatch them from the press room. So at Lightfair International 2012, RaviLights LLC gave its CD-based press kits a little oomph. Behind its stack of CDs in the press room, RaviLights placed a sign featuring its logo at the top, and the words "Media Kit" and "Please take one & visit us at booth 6548" in the middle. Text also offered a bulleted list of what the CDs contained, along with a number to call for more info. The simple strategy immediately set RaviLights' CDs apart from the dull-old disks surrounding them.
		What's The Big Idea? Do you have a clever exhibit-related tip? Did your last exhibit have an über-cool traffic builder? Contact Kelli Billstein at kbillstein@exhibitormagazine.com.