20 Ideas for Creating More Engaging Event Marketing Programs

Transcription

1 July 10-12, 2012 Hyatt McCormick Place, Chicago, IL 20 Ideas for Creating More Engaging Event Marketing Programs Richard Norby, VP of Creative Services and Director, Research & Development, Live Marketing Bryan Pray, Creative Director and Executive Producer, Live Marketing

2 Game-Changing Ideas By Themselves Are Not Enough! 2

3 An Engagement Strategy To Boost Results Objectives Next Steps Target Audience Information Capture Brand & Message Staffing 3

4 1) Social Media Programs Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter Fa la la la la la la la!

5 1) Social Media Programs What s Right for You? Twitter Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Online community

6 1) Social Media Programs--Establish a Team

7 1) Social Media Programs--Keep a Publication Calendar

8 1) Social Media Programs Thumbs Up! HAVE to have context MUST have a call-to-action Thumbs Down! Can be treacherous waters for some companies NO dead fish campaigns!

9 2) Tweet-Ups Anyplace, Anytime!

10 2) Tweet-Ups Create spontaneous events Promote your twitter handle in advance Establish and/or use event hashtag Provide information of value Use hashtag to announce special events in booth or at other locations

11 2) Tweet-Ups Thumbs Up! Cool/unexpected locations Opportunity for exclusivity Microblogging campaigns Thumbs Down! Control the environment you pick Have valuable content or an attract Promote your twitter handle in advance

12 3) Live Video Stream to Facebook You re LIVE, baby!!

13 3) Live Video Stream to Facebook Promote in advance Use a streaming platform such as Livestream Get adequate AV equipment Embed the stream player in Facebook page If all this confuses you, get help!

14 3) Live Video Stream to Facebook Thumbs Up! Built in multimedia asset building Wider reach to those who can t attend Thumbs Down! High disconnect/tune out ratio Employ a variety of engagement tactics!

15 4) Roving Reporter Feet-On-The- Street Reporting!

16 4) Roving Reporter Plan in advance: Who will you interview? Attendees, customers, subject matter experts, key opinion leaders, company executives, etc. How will you use the materials post-event? Website, YouTube, sales tools, tradeshows, executive presentations, etc.

17 4) Roving Reporter Thumbs Up! High level of credibility High level of viral potential Inexpensive and fast Thumbs Down! Do it right! Don t cheap out on audio and video quality Leverage those assets

18 5) Pre-Event Webcast Why Wait?

19 5) Pre-Event Webcast Simple do-it-yourself webinar Partner with an association Highly produced with video Offer information of value to the audience Promote visit to tradeshow booth

20 5) Pre-Event Webcast Thumbs Up! Use that pre-event list to generate interest! An attendee walks onto a showfloor KNOWING who they want to visit Thumbs Down! Not speaking directly to their major pain points will work AGAINST you

21 6) Training Microsite Herd Cats with a VIRTUAL Lasso!

22 6) Training Microsite Eliminate coordinating training for booth staff Reduce or eliminate cost of a pre-show meeting Avoid producing paper documents for the team

23 6) Training Microsite Thumbs Up! Booth staff training is ESSENTIAL to an effective live program Also hardest thing to get mindshare for Good opportunity to engage your team spirit Thumbs Down! Don t let them tune out Make it worth their while or they ll be playing Draw Something!

24 7) Self-Guided Tour Don t rush me!

25 7) Self-Guided Tour Attendees register at a specific starting point give them a tour card or electronic check-in tool Create a fun or interesting activity that makes them want to visit all the tour stops Collect cards or electronic tool at final stop Train staff on how to interact with attendees visiting their area on the tour

26 7) Self-Guided Tour Thumbs Up! Attendees move through at their own pace THEY feel in control but YOU control the tour path and the info they re exposed to Thumbs Down! Don t let them walk out of your booth and out of your lives forever!

27 8) Experiential Product Demos The world is MEANT to be experienced

28 8) Experiential Product Demos Know your audience. Create an experience based on your audiences tastes, personality, and learning style Make the experience the booth draw something attendees will be highly interested in or excited about

29 8) Experiential Product Demos Thumbs Up! High buzz factor Attendees will come back over and over Chance to connect your brand with innovation and that elusive cool factor Thumbs Down! Don t lose the connection to your message Attendees may remember the experience but forget the company

30 9) Virtual Booth Microsite You re officially in The Matrix

31 9) Virtual Booth Microsite There s more than one way to skin a virtual cat Interactive website with the graphical look of your tradeshow booth An interactive livestreaming site A social media/onlinecommunity style site focused on the tradeshow program High-end virtual event platform

32 9) Virtual Booth Microsite Thumbs Up! Connected online presence gives you 2X the coverage Wider reach to those who can t attend Gives those who DO attend an easy place to go back to for further info Connect it to an in booth contest or drawing! Thumbs Down! Don t spend more money on your virtual booth than your real one!

33 10) SMS/MMS Campaign You know how those kids like to text!

34 10) SMS/MMS Campaign Use it for: Making announcements Running a promotion Enabling an activity such as a scavenger hunt Interactive polling

35 10) SMS/MMS Campaign Thumbs Up! Majority of the audience already knows how to participate Almost all have a textready phone in their pocket Familiarity with their own devices means a higher participation rate Thumbs Down! Beware text messaging charges!

36 11) QR Codes / Digital Watermarks Ghosts in the machine!

37 11) QR Codes / Digital Watermarks Make sure the QR codes take people to a mobile optimized experience! Use to offer enhanced information Be creative in their use temporary tattoos?!

38 11) QR Codes / Digital Watermarks Thumbs Up! Projects a high-tech image Cutting edge with ENDLESS possibilities Thumbs Down! Few people know how to use it in an effective manner There STILL isn t one universally recognized QR code reader app QR vs. MS Tags vs. Snaptags

39 12) Google+ Hangouts Because Google doesn t know enough about you ALREADY!

40 12) Google+ Hangouts Make sure you: Have clear objectives Make it valuable for the participants Have it well organized and produced Promote it in advance

41 12) Google+ Hangouts Thumbs Up! Join from anywhere Google+ is hot right now, underutilized, and familiar to a younger demographic Thumbs Down! Make sure you can control the environment you pick Make sure you have valuable content or an attract

42 13) Guerilla Marketing You just never know WHERE they ll pop up!

43 13) Guerilla Marketing Engage attendees in unexpected places, in unexpected ways Make it fun or cool Don t be intrusive or obnoxious Have a plan B in case of problems

44 13) Guerilla Marketing Thumbs Up! Big points for creativity with context Take it to the streets and hit hotel lobbies, sidewalks, or even coffee shops! Thumbs Down! Make sure you EXACTLY know the show rules Don t risk getting fined but maybe push the boundaries a bit

45 14) Professional Visualizers Who doesn t like a good cartoon?

46 14) Professional Visualizers Use to visualize Demonstrations KOL presentations Educational sessions Keynotes

47 14) Professional Visualizers Thumbs Up! Really engages visual thinkers Reinforces major points and promotes higher retention rate Can add a fun element to a presentation Thumbs Down! Make sure it doesn t draw more attention than the content!

48 15) Applications There s ALWAYS an app for that

49 15) Applications Native apps versus web apps Have a good reason to do an app Offer value to the user Consider your target audience

50 15) Applications Thumbs Up! Very hot right now Multiple platforms means lots of reach Your content literally LIVES in their pocket Always accessible Thumbs Down! Few people leverage the full potential of a good app Design and approval can be a real pain in the app!

51 16) Prezi Prezi time! Break it down!

52 16) Prezi Free/inexpensive tool Easy to use Sophisticated designs take a designer and/or programmer Take advantage of it s unique capabilities to tell a story (not just fancy PowerPoint)

53 16) Prezi Thumbs Up! Tell a huge complex story in an interesting, visual, nonlinear way Connects the whole story for the attendee Really engaging interface Thumbs Down! Flash-based content means it doesn t work so well on ios

54 17) Tablet Media and Activities Who DOESN T have an ipad or tablet, by now?

55 17) Tablet Media and Activities ipads are still hot, but there are other tablets as well Make sure you re clear on your objectives Be aware of both the strengths and limitations of your tablet platform

56 17) Tablet Media and Activities Thumbs Up! Attendees are crazy for dual touch interface media Engaging, exciting visuals elevate any message to a new level Opportunity for games and fun! Thumbs Down! Pick the right platform Know your technology The technology changes fast!

57 18) Motion-based Media (Kinect, Wii) Gonna make you sweat!

58 18) Motion-based Media (Kinect, Wii) Off-the-shelf games can be used if they fit your message and brand Custom games/activities can make a more robust convention experience The game itself is the attract no need for a giveaway

59 18) Motion-based Media (Kinect, Wii) Thumbs Up! Shakes up the booth activity Gets people outside their comfort zones and moving Draws a crowd and sticks with them after they re done Thumbs Down! Make sure your crowd will actually DO this. (HINT: Most doctors won t.) Don t lose the message in the activity

60 19) Augmented Reality Too many jokes

61 19) Augmented Reality Simulate equipment to avoid bringing it to show floor Create extremely cool MOA media Demo difficult to show processes

62 19) Augmented Reality Thumbs Up! An underutilized technology Opens up a vast virtual environment for attendees to explore Get behind the scenes and dig deeper on their own or with a guide Thumbs Down! Technology to support it is not widely used, so you re working against a learning curve

63 20) Virtual Backpack Who needs ANOTHER showbranded tote bag??

64 20) Virtual Backpack Attendees collect literature electronically it can go straight to their or to a pickup site Attendees can use their own mobile devices or you can provide devices or kiosks Booth staff can integrate it into their interactions and lead capture

65 20) Virtual Backpack Thumbs Up! Attendees pick and choose the info they want Cool, easy-to-use interface combines some of the coolest technology QR codes Augmented Reality PURLs Microsites Thumbs Down! Your staff needs to really get it!

66 Q&A 66

67 July 10-12, 2012 Hyatt McCormick Place, Chicago, IL 20 Ideas for Creating More Engaging Event Marketing Programs Richard Norby, VP of Creative Services and Director, Research & Development, Live Marketing Bryan Pray, Creative Director and Executive Producer, Live Marketing