CONVENTION MARKETING and Why It's Advantageous
Get your brand noticed before people enter a crowded convention center
Drive traffic to your trade show booth
Engage people with experiential marketing activities
Activate near conference hotels and evening events
Leverage content on social with convention hashtags
Measure success via brand impressions, booth visits, and QR code scans
Be the brand everyone is talking about
What is convention marketing?
Convention marketing is deploying creative activations outside of trade shows and conferences. Brands utilize convention marketing to stand out in a crowded environment and engage attendees before they enter the conference center.
The goals are to create brand awareness, buzz, and booth visits.
Convention marketing is one of the few opportunities for brands to connect with a particular audience on a large scale.
Services
Convention marketing takes on many forms; here are the most popular tactics we offer:
Street team activations
Mobile billboard advertising
Man-on-the-street interviews
Wild postings
Guerilla building projections
Marketing stunts
Creative outdoor activations
Coverage
Convention centers based in city centers are ideal for outdoor marketing as most attendees walk from hotels to the venue.
Here are the ones where creative outdoor marketing is super effective.
Moscone Center in San Francisco
McCormick Place and Merchandise Mart in Chicago
Javits Center in New York City
San Diego Convention Center
Washington DC Convention Center
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio
Philadelphia Convention Center
Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
Engaging attendees at conventions held outside city centers (such as Orange Country Convention Center in Orlando) is challenging, although creative mobile billboards and other approaches are effective.
Each convention is different from the next; ask about past activations surrounding NRF, Dreamforce, INTA, E3 Expo, PAX Prime, PAX East, CES, AIA, International Housewares Show, Sea Food Expo, and Fancy Food Show.
Takeaways
Convention marketing, when activated correctly, is one of the most valuable ways to create attendee impact.
With some shows attracting 20,000+ industry-specific attendees, conferences are a marketer's dream.
Contact ALT TERRAIN for strategic ways to market your brand outside convention centers nationwide.
Share your convention and goals for a complimentary activation proposal.
Explore More
And, if you'd like to view a project example, slide into this marketing activation at Dreamforce.
Get ahead of the crowd!