"Your Brand is the single most important investment you can make in your business"
Steve Forbes (Editor in Chief, Forbes Business Magazine)
Hi, this is Kompal Bharadwaj once again, your very own Exhibition Expert and Consultant from DSIGNER STUDIO, The Best Exhibition Stall Fabricators and Interior Designers in our Beautiful Delhi and NCR. In this article I’m going to talk about how to increase your brand visibility before you participate in an exhibition.
What is a Brand? A brand is your businesses identity, it gives your business a unique personality. More than anything else, a brand is a feeling a particular product or business evokes in us. In short brands are a perception. We relate everything to a Brand name and not the company’s name. Foe examples like Apple, BMW, Coca-Cola, Amul, etc., we wont even know the name of the company owning/manufacturing these products. But we remember the Brand name. Companies spend a fortune to keep their Brand name visible, because it’s the most valuable asset that they own.
So, how do you increase your brand visibility before you participate in an exhibition or an expo? Let me tell you how...
1) Media Advertising
I agree to a certain extent that we are now living in a Digital world, nevertheless we should not underestimate the power of old school media advertising. I am referring to advertising your Brand on media platforms like Radio, TV, Paper Media (Newspaper, Magazines,etc).
Every Exhibition that takes place will be advertised not only in that particular city, but also in the entire country and sometimes internationally. The organisers will definitely run an aggressive campaign to advertise the event, especially in the print media. You can get in touch with the organisers and in collaboration with them, have your Brand be highlighted in the ads, as well.
According to the Indian Readership Survey, data released for the 1st quarter of 2019 showed that the overall readership of newspapers has grown from 407 million readers in 2017 to 425 million readers at the end of the 1st quarter of 2019. Placing ads in the newspapers, magazines, etc will definitely get you a lot of publicity.
According to the Broadcast Audience Research Council of India, in 2016 there were 183 million TV households in the country. Although placing TV ads is more expensive, it does however guarantee that your brand visibility will reach to each and every household that owns a Tv set, not on in your country but in certain cases all over the world as well.
Advertising in in flight magazines is also an effective way of increasing your visibility. Tying up with various airlines and buying a strategic space in in flight magazines takes your band at another level of advertising.
There is more to Radio than meets the eye. In India Radio has been our cherished means of entertainment and news since ages. Broadcast radio (AM) today reaches a staggering 94% of the Indian population, while FM radio reaches 62%. Radio Ads are best placed in talk shows, where the RJ also advertises your Brand or you can create a jingle of your brand and can be aired on Radio with a specific time slot and period. As you can see, in combination Television, Radio & Print Media have a reach to almost every person in the world and there is no better way to advertise your Brand than here.
2) On Line Advertising
In 2019, it was estimated that almost 2.95 billion people were using Social Media in its various forms. Online advertising is as effective a tool as is media advertising. The added advantage here is that the audience reach is limitless. You can promote your Brand and the Exhibition at the same time. Once again you can either tie up with the Exhibition organisers of your exhibition you are participating in or go solo. Advertising on various social media platforms is also comparatively cheaper with a higher return on your investment. Online advertising is one the effective tools of marketing.
Also before a week or 10 days of your exhibition you can also run an online campaign where you can target your existing customers, prospects customers, vendors & suppliers. There are various platforms can be used for an online campaign like facebook, instagram, twitter and also small video campaigns on vimeo, instagram, youtube etc.
3) Local Tie Up
Tying up with the Local vendors, supermarkets, etc is a marketing strategy that often bears good results. Make it a point to start your local tie up campaign at least a week in advance of the Exhibition. The campaign once again can be done with collaboration of the organisers of the exhibition. Putting up flyers and leaflets at the Local shops, supermarkets, etc, for them to distribute it to their customers always gets positive results.
4) Start a contest
Starting a contest with your Brand being projected as the sponsor of it is another great way to increase your Brand Awareness. The contest can be run simultaneously online too. Off line, make sure that your contest is well-advertised and held in a heavy foot fall place. Also, you need to have your Brand be the main focus of the contest and have information for the Exhibition advertised as well. Advertise your Exhibition Booth number, timings of the Exhibition, a stunning picture of your Brand, etc. This kind of contest not only give a boost in increasing brand awareness, but also in a social way, by helping to bring the community together.
5) Vehicle Branding
Car wrap - A graphic design of your Brand, which is applied on a vehicle for advertisement is called a Car Wrap. It is applied directly over the original paint of the vehicle for a short period of time and is easily removable once done. Now, Car Wrapping is not a cheap thing to do, so if your budget allows it, only then go for this idea. This idea for Brand awareness is used for a short period of time and is especially effective as the vehicle will be covering more distance and get a higher reception.
Vehicle Advertisement – Another form of vehicle branding where you can advertise your band on commercial vehicles like Cabs, Auto Riksha. They will be carrying your band throughout the city. Also you can add flyers / danglers at the strategic place inside the cab area, where a passenger can easily notice your brand with a short and crisp message of your exhibition you are participating in.
6) Freebies
This is the most commonly used strategy by companies to get brand visibility. Freebies is a term used wherein a company gives away company products or other promotional products to their customers, completely free of cost. These items can be in the form of promotional items with the Brand name and logo on it. For example, Mugs, T-shirts, Caps, Pens, etc. all with the Brand name and Logo printed on them. Some companies also go a step further and offer free concert tickets, movie tickets or sports events tickets. Freebies works well as a marketing strategy for businesses, as everyone loves a Freebie.
7) Offer Incentives to visit Exhibition Booth
You need to entice your customers to visit your Booth at the Exhibition. Advertise through all the medias, certain incentives for visiting your exhibition booth. Incentives can be anything like, a special discount on a purchase of your product, an amazing gift for the first 10 customers to visit your booth, etc.
The aim here is Brand Visibility before an Exhibition. Exhibitions are held all over the country and the world. You might be in a new city every time for a new exhibition. And it’s true that there will be some people who might not have heard about your product or brand. And they need to be educated about what it is, how it functions, what purpose it solves, etc. At your Exhibition Booth, you are short of time, as you have to deal with each and every visitor that walks in. You will not be able to explain in detail about your Brand and the products. Therefore, educating and informing the public a short time before the Exhibition helps in building Brand Visibility.
I am sure that every one of you might have an idea or two also, of how to build your Brand Visibility. You can opt for various solutions provided above based on your Objective to participate in exhibition and choosing your right target audience.
At Dsigner Studio we make sure that our clients needs are fulfilled in order to make their Brand a success. Our team is always ready to give ideas and suggestion on how to make your Brand Visible to the world.
This is Kompal Bhardwaj signing off until I meet you soon with another interesting topic of discussion. Ciao.
"For any further advice or suggestions, please feel free to mail your queries to our Exhibition Expert & Consultant, Mr. Kompal Bhardwaj at kompal@dsignerstudio.com and visit our website https://www.dsignerstudio.com/ for more details."