CHICAGO, March 6, 2012 — In today's rapidly changing and demanding marketplace, companies and brands are aggressively seeking favorable ROI and unique ways to continue their trade show and exhibition participation as a valuable sales and marketing tool. According to UNDER THE RADAR, an experiential marketing agency, while trade shows are among the earliest forms of experiential marketing, integrating social media as well as event-driven influencer marketing at exhibit and trade shows will become far more important aspects of the overall marketing strategy and the engine behind show growth.
"As the US economy continues to improve there is real optimism for trade show growth in 2012 and beyond," Dennis Boyle, Executive Vice President, UNDER THE RADAR, said. The trade show growth insights are based on feedback from senior marketing thought leaders and emerging trends among both current clients and prospective ones.
Companies are reporting that they have become far more selective about the shows they choose. In the past, show participation was viewed as a necessary evil. If a company elected not to participate at a show it could reflect negatively on its financial condition. Today trade show participation is largely based on the quality of attendees, positive past performance at the show and a favorable ROI.
In the future all trade show and exhibit experience must begin well before the show opens and continue after the actual booth visit. "A well-crafted trade show experience will carry the right messages and leave attendees with the feeling that the brand understands their lives and challenges," Boyle said.
In January, the Consumer Electronics Show 2012 in Las Vegas attracted record-breaking participation from more than 150,000 attendees. Brand marketing executives predict that they expect to increase trade show activity over previous years. "With very few exceptions the majority of them are gearing up to increase their use of social media marketing as well as event-driven influencer marketing," Boyle added.
For the past three years, many brand managers have been forced to operate with minimal internal staff resources. Experiential marketing firms are becoming a key strategic resource and partner in high demand by brand managers. Even as the economy improves during 2012, they don't anticipate staff growth but instead see their marketing partners take on an even greater role to pick up the slack.
UNDER THE RADAR is recognized for creating brand experiences that "fly beneath" today's conventional marketing clutter. UNDER THE RADAR believes brand managers are seeking ways to effectively combine social media with event driven consumer experiences. The firm develops programs for brands that range from street theater to theatrical events all with social media interaction.
About UNDER THE RADAR
UNDER THE RADAR is a Chicago-based experiential marketing agency dedicated to designing and executing marketing campaigns that connect consumers digitally and with real world live experiences to brands. For more information, visit www.utrexp.com.
For more information:
KGT Communications Group, Inc.
Ken Trantowski
(630) 469-8765
Email
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