Trade Show Presentations

6 Presentation Ideas for Your Next Trade Show

If you’ve never considered trade show presentations, consider this: An interactive presentation is a tried and true strategy for engaging audiences. Not only can it attract a crowd, it can improve traffic flow, ensure prospects remember your message and deliver more qualified, knowledgeable leads to your sales team.

Think a live presentation is just a one-sided spiel? Think again! We’ve got 6 winning approaches to serve any message or budget.  Check out these presentation ideas:

Vignettes Want to bring case studies to life? Looking for ways to show potential customers you understand their clients? For an emotional, personal touch, use live actors to create a series of vignettes. Show your product or technology at work in a simulated clinic or office setting. Show consumers interacting with your products or services in their home environments. Present your vignettes as a series of walk-throughs, or put them on a turntable show for an even bigger “wow!” Here’s a great example.

Professional Product Demo Sure, you could have your sales reps show off your latest products and technologies. But how can you guarantee they’ll stay on-message while moving the most people through the experience? Hire a professional presenter. Then, after your audience has absorbed the basics, your reps can step in and close the sale.

Video Interaction Give the presenters something to talk about with images, footage and other back-up displayed on an array of monitors with multi-source feeds that allow them to show different visuals at the same time. Use the main monitor for a “conversation” with an on-screen thought leader that looks as if it’s happening live, in real time. Fast paced and impressive, this approach keeps ‘em captivated while you tell your story. Here’s an example.

News Format Create a buzz by turning your booth into a newsroom, complete with live anchors who conduct in-person interviews and interact with “remote” reporters either live or on video. This type of presentation is great for product launches and other occasions when you really do have news to deliver.

Audience Involvement Give your audience members hand-held remote devices that let them contribute to the show – or have them interact using their cell phones via Twitter or a specialized app. Ask questions and get responses in real time. Ask people to vote and instantly display the poll results. Audience response systems  can be worked into any number of presentation formats, from seminars to game shows.

Expert Q&A Bring your thought leaders to the booth and allow them to interact with your audiences. A professional moderator can filter questions, monitor the time and make sure your personnel look their best. An on-site producer can also manage visual support, freeing your people to focus on delivering critical information in a relaxed setting.

Some of these ideas might seem simple enough to DIY, but hiring professionals to craft, produce and present means you can be assured your presentation runs non-stop and is top-notch 100% of the time.Want to know more? Check out this post on effective presentation strategies.

Must Haves for Successful Trade Show Presentations

Our team just returned from the 2012 American Academy of Dermatology meeting where, once again, we helped P&G engage with doctors and key influencers whose recommendations are crucial to the company’s beauty and grooming brands.

We’re always proud of our work at AAD, and this year’s success reminded us again how a live presentation—correctly and expertly executed—can make a company the star of the trade show floor. P&G for Dermatologists was packed from start to finish, while attendance lagged at competitors’ booths.  And derms walked away with a full message about how P&G is a leader in science and a partner in solutions, thanks to an experience that included a main presentation detailing key products, a pre-show exploring P&G’s scientific heritage, and a demo experience that gave dermatologists a deeper dive.

What is an effective presentation? Here are some must-haves:

A Compelling Script – There’s an art to weaving science, research and (often multiple) product messages into a presentation that’s credible and interactive.  You’ve got to hold the audience’s attention and set a fresh, conversational tone.  A professional writer knows how to hit the sweet spot combining optimal timing with a balance of hard science, entertainment and audience engagement.

Eye-catching Visuals – High-quality images, video and graphics are a must for effective presentations.  We can work with clients to make the most of existing assets, or we’ll shoot our own to ensure that they look great on the show floor. Many of our presentations use multi-source video, but we are equally adept at weaving great assets into platforms such as Keynote and Prezi.

Professional Presenters – For a truly effective presentation, you need world-class talent to deliver your message. Professional presenters know how to take a great script and make it sound natural, conversational and engaging. At MPG, we put prospective presenters through a rigorous audition process, then hire only those we know will connect with our clients’ unique audiences.

Variety – Nobody wants to sit through a dry lecture, so shake things up by incorporating testimonials, interviews and interesting themes and transitions. Look for as many ways as possible to get the audience in on the action. You want the experience to be memorable, so work in simple messages with taglines and calls to action that stick with peoplelong after they’ve walked away.

An Element of Surprise – We’ve got a ton of tricks up our sleeve—technical “wows” that leave audiences asking “how’d they do that?” It’s all in the name of keeping peoples’ interest, but we never indulge in whiz-bang tactics for whiz-bang’s sake.  Everything we do helps tell our client’s story; if it doesn’t, then it ends up on the cutting room floor.

Optimal Timing – Tradeshow attendees have limited time and attention spans. Keeping the presentation to 8 minutes or less ensures they will retain more of your message. It also helps ensure they’ll spend more time  engaging in other booth activities and talking to your sales representatives.

A Great Support Team—If your presentation is top-notch you won’t need much help keeping your theater full, but a team of professional hosts can help gather crowds, pulse them into the seats and make sure everybody has a great experience.

Giveaways/Samples – Let attendees know you value and appreciate their time by offering product samples or another giveaway tied directly to your message or theme.

Whatever your objectives, an engaging trade show presentation can significantly increase traffic flow, message retention and sales. And who doesn’t want that?