Large-scale events can be powerful advertising platforms for your brand or business. An effective retail marketing strategy can boost your brand image at such events and generate leads while improving customer engagement. You can use a combination of retail marketing and digital marketing strategies to create a comprehensive marketing plan for your big event. This is especially ideal for a new product launch at a trade show, conducting a workshop, or celebrating a brand milestone.
A well-executed marketing strategy can also help you expand your brand outreach and awareness while creating a strong presence. It’s a great opportunity to connect with your existing customers while forging connections with potential new customers.
In this article, we discuss top strategies you can use to effectively promote your brand at large-scale events.
1. Create Visual Impact
Brands can find it challenging to gain a competitive advantage at large-scale events like exhibitions and trade shows, which are typically teeming with crowds. To create visual impact at such events, it’s important to leverage the power of visual marketing techniques. This could include using brand colours consistently across retail marketing props and using simple yet bold graphics for visual appeal.
Consider utilising branded backdrops, custom gazebos, and LED signage to amp up your display. While static table setups work for large-scale events, you could tweak your layout by making it more open and accessible. Add in seats or mark out areas where customers could stand and interact with your brand’s booth. A booth or display stand designed this way could encourage foot traffic and allow people to spend more time exploring your products or services.
2. Use Social Media Marketing
Today, social media marketing has emerged as an effective brand marketing tool. With over 56 million social media users in the UK alone, online platforms have raised the stakes for brands to create compelling digital campaigns. Ad spending figures for social media advertising are projected to reach about £10.1 billion by the end of this year. This is a testament to the power of online platforms in boosting your brand’s visibility, engagement and brand reach.
You can use social media platforms to announce your event, give behind-the-scenes updates, host real-time streams, and host giveaways. That’s not all. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram offer you paid advertising tools to promote your brand using hyper-targeted ads. This can help you reach your target audience more effectively.
3. Collaborate with Sponsors and Other Brands
Have you ever heard of the idiom ‘two is better than one’? That perfectly sums up the idea of brand collaborations for big events. It’s a smart way to double your brand reach to a wider audience without having to spend extra money on your marketing efforts.
Well-thought-out, carefully curated brand partnerships can bring greater value to your customers and reinforce your brand values. Marketing studies suggest that customers view brand collaborations positively and improve your brand’s credibility significantly. Therefore, partnering with complementary brands is an effective way to curate value-packed experiences for your customers at large-scale events.
4. Incorporate Modern Tech for a Memorable Interactive Experience
Modern technologies like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have changed the way brands market their products. This has made the marketing landscape more dynamic and exciting, especially when it comes to marketing for large-scale events. The use of AR and VR can create immersive experiences for your customers, which will stay fresh in their minds long after the event is over.
You can use AR to create visually appealing backdrops where customers can interact with your products or services. For example, if you’re a coffee brand, you could use AR to transform your exhibition space into a coffee farm or plantation area where you can tell the story of how you source your coffee. You could also use a 3d version of your factory layout to give customers a walk-through, to keep things interesting.
5. Offer Branded Merchandise or Product Samples
Who doesn’t love freebies? There’s nothing better than a branded giveaway to make your brand unforgettable in the mind of potential customers. However, it’s important to make sure that your freebies and giveaway products match the standards of your brand. This is because a cheap product giveaway or freebie can do just the opposite and negatively impact your brand image.
To make the most of this as a marketing strategy, make your giveaways conditional and interactive. For example, every customer who signs up for a product demo receives a free sample of your product or a freebie. Be sure to brand your freebie products with your logo to leave a lasting impression.
Conclusion
Large-scale events are a great way for brands to increase brand familiarity and awareness. It helps them strengthen their connection with loyal customers while finding and nurturing new ones. This increased engagement can lead to increased brand interest and generate organic sales. With effective marketing strategies, your brand can reinforce its authority while reaching its target demographic more effectively.
We hope these marketing strategies have proven useful and informative for your next large-scale event.
