Brink Climate Systems spectacular presence at ISH 2017
The ISH in Frankfurt is the largest international trade fair in Europe, where Brink Climate Systems, manufacturer of ventilation solutions, has been making its mark on the market as an internationally oriented company for many years. Just like their ever-increasing brand awareness, Brink's exhibition stand also gets bigger every year. This year, the company went the extra mile and enlisted the help of C4Real as a specialist in visualizations.
At the ISH 2017, Brink wanted to further build on brand awareness while further establishing the company as a provider of innovative ventilation solutions.
Visualizing innovative solutions
Adriaan Cramer, Head of Product Management & Marketing: "During this exhibition we focused on the total solutions and not on the individual products or components that we can supply. It was important for us to have supporting visualizations available to show how innovative our solutions are."
At that time, the help of C4Real, with whom Brink had worked well in previous trade fair visualizations, was called in. Because both parties went into the first meeting without concrete direction, the end result could still go either way. It started with an idea for a kind of corporate film about Brink in general, but this soon became focused on a visual concept that had to attract exhibition visitors to the Brink booth.
Visualization as part of content strategy
Wendy Wind, International Marketing Manager at Brink Climate Systems: "That concept became a connecting film, which was conceived and executed together with C4Real. All the elements we want to communicate are in it and it also fits completely with the booth we had at the ISH." The lady, who is the face of Brink in our expressions, was also given a leading role in the exhibition film. Thus, it became a visualization that goes far beyond just a trade show participation. With this we have extended our communication line. It has become part of a content strategy.
Interactive instructional video
We also worked on visualizations at the product level, says Adriaan Cramer: "For the Flair, our main ventilation product for the coming years, we visualized in a film how it works and what it can do for people. We also depicted the filtration of fine dust with the 'Pure Induct' in this way, so the health benefits for polluted areas are clearly conveyed by an animation. So we were able to show the benefits without presenting these products in working order. We also developed an interactive instructional video for the Air 70, which we had not done before. Visitors could get there very quickly to the part that applied to them. The response was very positive, also because it clearly adds to the experience of the booth.
There was a screen at every product setup in the booth anyway to convey more information. While brainstorming with C4Real, Brink soon discovered that they wanted to make more impact. One way to do that was to literally use a large 103-inch screen. This was placed vertically in a prominent spot and the overarching visualization was played continuously on it. In this way, the recognizable Brink lady "lured" visitors to the booth.
Close cooperation
It was a really close collaboration between Brink and C4Real. From the initial brainstorming to asking the right questions and from developing storyboards to filming. This resulted in visualizations that really add something to the Brink brand.
Wendy Wind: "A lot of time was put into making the storyboards from both sides. This gives you a better idea of what the end result should be. Because we had such a good preparation, we could also handle the tight schedule during the filming day. A lot of shots had to be made anyway, and because of the two screen formats, they were all made twice: horizontally and vertically. Fortunately, there was a good team during the filming day that worked very professionally. There were several learning moments for the future, such as applying the interactive instruction film even better. Our cooperation will definitely have a sequel where we use each other's values/strengths."
A trade show as part of your strategy
Many companies deploy trade shows in the traditional way, paying less attention to the purpose of the show, why they are participating in it and what KPIs need to be achieved. The trade show is then an end in itself. "If you integrate a trade show into your all-round marketing strategy, you deploy the trade show as a smart tool at the right moment in the customer journey. It becomes part of the entire marketing process," said Ton Kuper, founder and managing director of C4Real. "A trade show is successful when you have properly integrated it into your overall marketing strategy and sales strategy and when it represents a role of value in it and ultimately manages to achieve the objective you have set."
Define your goals
SPECIFIC TRADE SHOW OBJECTIVES PROVIDE FOCUS
Therefore, first think about the objectives: why are you at the trade show and what are the KPIs? How many leads do you want to attract or convert in the marketing funnel? So it is important to think about how you will get the target audience to your trade show booth and how you will properly follow up on the leads that come from the trade show. For example, create trade show personas, advertise with a cool teaser as an invitation and make sure you include a number of questions in the registration form, for example, that allow you to find out what the expectations and needs of that specific person are. Then you can capitalize on that. You can then not only personalize the marketing activities leading up to the trade show (tailor them to the person), but also during the visit itself. The account manager who is present at the trade show can then prepare himself well for the conversation, since he will know where the visitor's interest and request for help lies. This significantly increases the chances of the lead entering the next step of the sales funnel.
Also consider the choice of a physical, online or hybrid trade show. Sometimes it is simply smarter to host an online event, as it often does save on budget planning. But even that depends on the goals you want to achieve. It's never just about a product or service. A trade show is about the solutions you offer (portfolio of products and services), relationship management of existing customers, demonstrating innovativeness or strengthening your branding compared to your competition.
Design and visual content
Based on the strategy, you determine the design and subsequent visual content (assets) needed for the trade show booth to fully align the experience and perception throughout the customer journey. The flow in which a visitor moves through the trade show is already a customer journey in itself. Therefore, it is important to place something in several places that makes people want to leave their contact information or make a purchase, each with a different teaser to interest the target audience. The goal of collecting that contact information is, of course, to get leads into your sales and marketing automation system."
Stimulate the visitor's visual experience
TOOLS FOR VISUAL EXPERIENCE
Many trade show booths are fundamentally similar. This can make it difficult to stand out and interest and surprise visitors. Therefore, focus on the visual experience you want to create for the visitor: how do you attract and retain attention? Companies do this by, for example, organizing a spectacular show in light, image and sound at the booth to unveil a new product launch. Innovative, technological means such as holographic, interactive touch screens, moving screens in special shapes with spectacular animations and films or projection mapping (projections on 3D printed objects) are also used to showcase products or services.
Context and recognizability
Many companies only show their products at a trade show: ''This is our beautiful product and this is what it does''. However, they often forget to provide some context and to take the potential customer into a situation that is recognizable for the customer and for which the product or service provides the perfect solution. Some of these products are not visible to the eye or are too large to take to the fair, such as machines. They may also be services or technological solutions that cannot be demonstrated at the trade show. How then should you show what you solve?
A virtual showroom
Our Virtual Showroom can work very well for this purpose. The potential customer virtually steps into a world in which the products and services are placed in a market context, and therefore it is quickly clear what solution it offers. Augmented Reality (AR) shows products in reality in an innovative way, so you don't have to drag all your products - such as large, heavy machinery - or other expensive products to the trade show or to a customer. With AR, the product is shown as a visual layer over real reality. This is also used by IKEA, for example, to see how furniture will look in your home.
Need help creating visual impact or a distinctive trade show strategy?
C4Real is always full of creative ideas and strategic knowledge,, We have been creating impressive visual experiences for years. In doing so, we not only deliver visual content, but also think about the entire marketing strategy and what content is needed where.
We are happy to be your sparring partner for concept development, design and production of visual and virtual content, interactive events and complete marketing strategy. Are you ready to see your most amazing trade show booth ever before you?