How to show what’s going on at the trade fair stand

The running shoe manufacturer Asics in Brazil is currently making a name for himself with a simple but also effective advertising campaign. Actually, you can’t imagine a running magazine being bought because of an ad. But the advertising agency Neogama based in São Paulo has managed to do just that. The magazines are going away like hot cakes – because of an ad.

The idea is extremely simple and graphically totally reduced, as it is predominantly dark. Every runner wants only one thing. He wants the right shoe for him. And this is exactly where the advertisement comes in. It shows the runner which Asics shoe is the right one.

How so? The creatives from São Paulo have developed a thermochromic print display on which you stand with your bare feet and which then shows which shoe suits you best via the shape of the footprint created. Simply brilliant, because when does it ever happen that you are so actively involved with an advertisement?

The advertisement has so much substance that Neogama even shot a spot for it. So it’s no wonder that the running magazines go away like hot cakes – because of the ad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cewIRNV40mA

And what does that mean for your trade fair stand?

What can you learn from this example? I mean, the Asics advertisement Foot Type Test is characterized by three aspects that can be very nicely transferred to products on your stand:

1. Think around the corner

Take your time and leave the beaten tracks. Everyone knows them, but it’s also boring. Get away from the old practice by first thinking of the opposite. In this way you can break up the old structures and discover new directions. This is not always easy and sometimes you end up in a dead end, but in the end you will achieve a better result.

2. Forget your product

At least for now. Put yourself in the shoes of your customers or think about what it’s like to be on the customer side. Do you always want to be presented with a product directly? No! It is much better, however, if you first get something shown (your footprint), as in the case of the advertisement, which then only in the second step – so to speak as a logical consequence – brings you to the right right product (the Asics shoe). Note: You don’t always have to fall into the house with the door (the product), you can also do it more elegantly.

3. Activate and involve your customers

Try to involve your customers. The Asics print ad demonstrates this in an inspiring way. The customer separates the advertisement from the magazine, places himself on it, looks at his footprint and then looks at which shoe suits him best. He might tell others about it and shows the ad to his friends and family. It couldn’t be better. Try to transfer this principle to your area.

Does that work with every product?

In general, it does. It is only sometimes a big challenge, especially when it comes to technically complex processes or products. A key to this is reduction. In times of overstimulation nobody remembers complex processes. It must be as simple as possible. Leave out everything that does not necessarily belong to the basic idea of your product. Simplify it so much that everyone understands it.

For your trade fair stand, consider how you can make your products more comprehensible. Us from WUM Design support you in this. During a trade fair we showed Linde AG an internet-based Linde gas supply in real operation. The gas consumption was visualized as well as the automatic reordering via the Internet.

For the company WIKA we made your usually hidden products visible. A water circuit made of transparent acrylic pipes very clearly demonstrated the level and flow measurement technology of the WIKA instruments. These are just two examples. Here we could mention numerous others. If you have any questions about such implementations at your trade fair stand, please contact us.

PS: There is another Blogpost to this topic: Storytelling auf Messen … 

Picture: Screenshot from Spot by Neogama, São Paulo