Marketers’ jobs require that they live and breathe their company’s brand. Aside from working with it on a daily basis, they pull into the parking lot of their office and are hit several times with the company logo before making it to their desks, only to be further surrounded by it with business cards, intranet login, company letterhead and email signatures. With all of this being said, it is easy to understand why some areas get overlooked. Below are some of the brand touch points you can start utilizing that may not be in your current arsenal.
Opportunities at Trade Shows:
-Flooring
A branded floor (carpet, raised, faux-tiles, etc.) might not be an area that is immediately noticed, but ultimately it will be, and can establish your company’s branded zone within a trade show, furthering the attendee’s experience. They may also be subconsciously drawn into your space, as it feels like entering somewhere different from the main show.
I will admit that this one is somewhat controversial, as many people feel walking on a company’s logo is not respectful to the brand. If you fall in that category, there are ways around it including flooring options for trade shows that add some depth and dimension, literally people would be walking above any branding instead of making direct contact. Also you could use elements of your branding outside of the logo, or place logos in low-to-no traffic areas.
-Social Media
Many shows now create apps for their events. These apps provide an additional branding opportunity, and usually at a point where the attendee is making the decision on where to go (looking up a booth number, looking at the map, etc.). If the show you’re attending has had an app in the past, get analytics and current downloads to find out if there is worthwhile potential.
If your show does not have an app, they are likely using Facebook and/or Twitter as a rallying point for attendees. Have a page for your company and start interacting with the show. Photos, retweets and hashtags will deliver your brand directly to the attendee, again, potentially at a point where they could be deciding on which booth to visit.
Opportunities at Outdoor Events:
Let me preface this by saying that in my opinion outdoor events in general are underutilized. They provide an excellent opportunity for brand building, and there are many to choose from to give you local options on either cause or demographics. For those readers in Richmond, there is a local 10K race drawing 40,000 participants a year as one example offering excellent potential for brand impressions.
-Tents
Once your company has determined that it wants to attend an outdoor event, maximize your brand exposure with a tent. They provide the most important branding opportunity, height, with both peaks and valances on all four sides to be utilized. There is also an option to add to that with sidewalls and backwalls offering additional large graphic canvases. Tents provide shade, shelter and numerous brand impressions making them a win-win when the company goes outside.
Opportunities at the Office:
-Lobby Walls
Typically (though certainly not always), a lobby is not brand-less, and will have at minimum a company logo on the wall when you walk in, but use this space for more.
In my position, I spend a lot of time each week in different companies’ lobbies. The best ones recognize that clients and potential clients could be sitting in them, and do not let this time go to waste. They tell the company’s story; sometimes with pictures and placards, sometimes with video and interactive touchscreens. Company awards and product showcases are also commonplace. Let the 5-10 minutes sitting in the lobby be a time to build brand equity.
-Conference Rooms
A lot of times the conference rooms are used for internal meetings, but they also can play host to the most important meetings, those with clients. Like lobbies, this is another place within an office that I frequent, and the best ones utilize the wall space to build brand equity. People will be sitting down for extended periods and realistically at some point will be looking for a distraction. Let that come in the form of additional logos, messaging and product photos as opposed to the tree outside or the side of their pen.
Think about it, the conference room is a place where your company will have a client’s attention longer than trade shows or a lobby. Create the brand experience here as well like many already do in the other areas I mentioned.
As marketers you understand the importance of brand impressions and the story of the brand. Hopefully, I have offered a new avenue to explore with your company’s brand. Of course, feel free to let me know of some that I may be overlooking as well.