Question: How do you engage delegates at a busy trade show to take an interest in your brand? Answer: Frame your sales tactic in a way where ‘the rules of engagement’ are already understood.
VisitBrighton asked us to “turn their stand on its head” for ConFex 2013 (a trade show for events organisers). The challenge: engaging delegates in conversation. Our solution was simple – we created the ‘Brighton Conference Supplies Store’.
An eager trade show delegate takes a helping of free Pick ‘n’ Mix
We illustrated a tree with the sights and sounds of Brighton hanging from the branches
We stocked the shelves with a range of humorous spoof products, designed to get conversations started. Everyone knows the rules of shopping. 1. You browse. 2. You show an interest in a product. 3. The shop assistant now has permission to talk to you. Products ‘on sale’ included Regency Regency Sauce, Chunky Keynote Chutney, Gloriously Nutty Networking Cookies, Extra Virgin Conference Oil and a whole range of fun spoof products.
Extra Virgin Conference Oil
Prince Regent Plonk
Gloriously Nutty Networking Cookies
Break-out Session Beer
Chunky Keynote Chutney
Sparkling Organic Sea-Cider
Ahem, ‘Regency Regency Sauce’ (with apologies to Dragon Jones)
A can of sea breeze, fresh from the beach
The ‘shop assistants’ were from VisitBrighton. Our solution made it easy for them to start conversations.
A warm welcome from one of the ‘shop assistants’ on the day
To create buzz, we mailed out empty Pick ‘n’ Mix bags to delegates and invited them to come and fill the bag on the stand. Judging by the speed the Pick ‘n’ Mix was disappeared, the idea was a success.
Free Pick ‘n’ Mix!
And here is a very nice email from the client saying how happy she is with the project…
Dear Chris, Simon and Miles
Just a quick note to thank you all for all your creativity, commitment, flexibility and artistic-ness (is that a word??) in working together to create the VisitBrighton stand at Confex – we couldn’t have worked with a more delightful team!
The stand was super-busy; the concept certainly drew a huge amount of interest, stimulating some great conversations. For once the fabric of the stand really reflected the identity of the City! Thank you so much for grasping our brief so well and really delivering a fabulous end product. Thank you again for all your help – it’s a real pleasure working with you all.
Julia
