Posts Tagged ‘creating buzz’

Creating A Little Mystery The Apple Way

Monday, October 18th, 2010

Every couple of weeks the rumor mills gear up, the blogs begin posting their theories, and the 24-hr new sites can’t help but spread the buzz as word begins to spread of yet another major announcement by Apple. The latest event occurred less than a month ago and brought us the new iPod design along with a better version of Apple TV, both of which left half the planet salivating the moment the first designs hit the web. Now comes word that this Wednesday will be yet another historic day in terms of what the electronics giant has up its sleeve. Best guess as to what will be revealed include a new version of the Macbook Air “the world’s thinnest notebook”, a new operating system, or something as simple as a software upgrade. Regardless of what will be offered though, Apple succeeds repeatedly where others fail…they capture our attention by building up the mystery.

As a company that regularly makes the rounds on the trade show circuit, there are a few Apple inspired things you can do to help build a little mystery of your own. The first thing you need to do is come up with something people want. It could be a new line of products that you are waiting to revile, a lower price, or a even a new contest. Once you’ve come up with something people want to see, it’s time to spread the word. Reach out to every contact, every friend, every person that ever signed a visitor sheet at one of your exhibits. Tell them where you are going to be and promise them an announcement that they will just have to see to believe. Finally on the day of the trade show, cover the landscape in teaser ads that are designed to leave people with no choice but to see what all the fuss is about. Place posters outside the event center, electronic information displays inside the main entrance, or if possible a billboard sign similar to the Truss System all geared toward pointing people in your direction.

Everyone loves a good mystery the same way we all hate to be left out of the crowd. By building an air of mystery around your next trade show exhibit you create a feeling in the consumer that a major opportunity will be missed out on unless they visit your exhibit. If you need more proof that a little mystery can do wonders just tune in Wednesday when Apple makes their latest announcement…I know I will.

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Creating Buzz The Neiman Marcus Way!!

Friday, October 8th, 2010

This week Neiman Marcus premiered it’s 2010 Christmas book. If you are not familiar with the book which is enjoying its 84th year in publication its basically filled with gifts that few in the country can afford. Below is a list of the Top 6 unusual items featured in this year’s catalog:

1.       MetroShip Houseboat- Coming in at a cool $250k the 48 foot by 12 foot  floating castle not only comes with a twin 60 horsepower Honda outboards, but includes some of the best appliances and electronics on the market.

2.       Charm Bracelet- Not just your ordinary nickel and dime charm bracelet this 18-karat white and yellow gold wonder is encircled with diamonds and will run you $248k

3.       2011 Limited Edition Camaro- Only  100 of these were made so if you’ve got $75k laying around you better scoop one up before it’s too late

4.       Tory Burch Trike- Less like a tricycle and more like a rickshaw the pedals are pure ornamental as the trike features a clean energy electric motor.

5.       Edible Gingerbread Playhouse- Remember those tiny gingerbread playhouses your mom use to make when you were a kid? Well take that idea and increase the size by 500%. At a height of 6.6 feet and featuring 381 pounds of gingerbread this is cooking at its extreme

6.       Dale Chihuly Pool- One of the most expensive gifts featured in this year’s catalog with a price tag of $1.5 mil, this 22×12 foot glass art instillation does not even include the price of the pool.

Now you may remember that this week we are talking about redesigning that showroom and retail space with the help of the DeskWrap and Bizwall systems. At first the items listed above may not appear to tie into this theme, but when you consider what is being accomplished through placing these items in the Neiman Marcus catalog then the connection is quite clear.

What these items have in common with customized partition panels and ultra-modern interiors is that they not only set Neiman Marcus apart from the thousands of other retail stores across the country, they create such a buzz that people flock from all over the world just to catch a glimpse of all that the company has to offer. This same sense of wonder and the ability to create buzz should be the main goal of any redesign. With sleek lines, tons of available options, and hundreds of designs to choose from, the Bizwall system sets out to do just what offering a $250k boathouse in your Christmas catalog does; it grabs people’s attention and refuses to let go until they find out who you are and what other mind blowing items you have to offer.

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When It Comes To Trade Shows Is Being Different Always Bad?

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

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In the course of writing this blog I’ve mentioned more than once that one key to being successful is to make sure the theme of the trade show is a good fit for your product. While I still believe this, a recent article in of all places Entertainment Weekly has me changing my tune at least slightly. The article is all about this year’s Comic Con show in San Diego July 22-25. Any pop culture fanatic will tell you that Comic Con isn’t your average comic-book convention, it’s the most anticipated event of the entire year. With over 125,000 people showing up for the three day event, this year’s organizers have put together a list of exhibits that goes beyond the realm of comic-books. In fact this year’s show will feature over 40 booths that are not to tied to comics at all such as televisions shows like Glee, Castle, and Hawaii-Five-O.

With all of these seemingly unrelated vendors showing up, I have to ask “When registering for a spot at a trade show, is being different always bad?” If you ask me the answer isn’t a clear yes or no, but like most things somewhere in the middle. If you are in the business of selling wrenches then a rug show is not the place to popup a tent for the weekend. However if it’s a car show where mechanics and automobile lovers alike will be visiting in hordes, then chances are you might do well. In other words there’s nothing wrong with being different as long as there’s a common thread to connect you with the other vendors attending the show. An island exhibit featuring a new high-tech wrench at a car show works because car lovers love to work on their cars, but the same display has no place at a rug show because the demographic is different. Likewise Comic Con is all about the most talked about television shows, movies, books, as well as comics so regardless if the vendor features a new cop show, sitcom, or drama the buzz is what connects them.

Being different is a classic double edge sword. Standing out can be a good thing if what you are offering has a base connection to the overall theme of the trade show. By the same token though being too different will only leave you high and dry as those attending the event keep their focus on what attracted them to the show to start with.

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Posted in Conferences & Venues, Expert trade show advice, marketing tips, SpaceStation Popup Displays, Trade Show Exhibits, Trade show popups, Trade Show Tips, Uncategorized | No Comments »