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2 minute read
As our team members travel to trade shows around the U.S. and Canada, we’ve noticed more brands being selective about which events they have a presence at.
Go to one show and you’ll find multiple models, test drives, concept vehicles, and the whole enchilada. Go to the next date on the circuit and you won’t even find a booth. Jokingly, I think it’s a bit of “Whac-A-Mole” marketing.
In conversations with marketers, we’ve learned it’s not Whac-A-Mole (no surprise), and it’s not random. It’s a trend we’re forecasting will take off in 2025.
Shifting experiential marketing budgets
Trade shows are a massive expense. Up-front costs can reach six figures just to be there. Add set-up and tear-down, staffing and traveling cars, boats, tractors, or whatever is being showcased and outlays for big brands can easily eclipse seven figures for a weekend.
With that budget in the mix, many brand marketers are simply being more tactical. One Limelight client left the auto show circuit because the ROI wasn’t there.
More marketers are now targeting specific consumer bases and investing in the shows those people attend. They are harnessing the power of technology to understand where quality leads come from, both in terms of activation type and geography and reallocating the budget to spend big at the right shows, only some shows.
Providing a better customer experience
A big part of being tactical with customers is providing them with the best overall experience possible. That means digitally linking the before, during and after to create relationships.
Marketers are using software and, often, harnessing the tech in people’s pockets to create seamless experiences.
Consumers are also fuelling this shift. Everyone wants to feel like a VIP in the sales funnel or just being added. That means convenience, personalization and utilizing the technology they engage with daily. Embracing those qualities is how top brands stand out from the competition.
For example, everyone uses a smartphone daily for everything from social media to communications, playing games, and banking. Few people find it intrusive when an experience involves their phone, whether that’s registering for an event, signing in once there, snapping and posting pictures, or corresponding after
So, if it’s practically an expectation and leads to more sales, why wouldn’t marketers embrace technology to drive brand awareness and affinity?
A modern customer experience
HCB Yachts is one of the leading brands in the luxury center-console yacht space. As you can imagine, luxury yachts are premium products, which means the experience HCB provides at boat shows must be top-notch.
To qualify leads and ensure potential customers receive a seamless experience, HCB Yachts uses Limelight to connect and personalize each aspect of their activations. The early November 2024 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS) was a perfect example.
New leads journey
- Walk-ups are greeted and have their information entered into the system on a tablet by booth attendees.
- A dealer representative is assigned based on the attendee’s Zip Code.
- The lead receives a confirmation email with more information about the vehicle of interest they selected in the form
- Also, those who want to be contacted by a dealer will receive a personalized text message with the dealer representative's contact information on the spot.
All of that was wrapped in an on-the-dock activation that included a shaded area with comfortable seating, beverages and friendly staff. It’s a true VIP experience, precisely what HCB Yacht customers expect. It was also a treasure trove of marketing data for the brand, masked in convenience and personalization.
That’s how top brands are differentiating themselves from the competition when it comes to creating brand awareness and building affinity, and the bottom line.
Wrapping up
In 2025, more and more brands will shift budgets as they increase their targeting of buyer groups, not buyers overall. Consumers can expect to find fewer brands at trade shows but more that they’re genuinely interested in. They will also encounter more digital data gathering, even if they don’t immediately recognize it as such.
As competition increases for customer cohorts, it will be up to brand marketers to fill the sales funnel by creating VIP experiences that stand out from the crowd and gather quality data. That will only happen by further embracing marketing software solutions.
