The joy of conferences: the name badges, the branded carabiners, the awkwardness of chatting up a stranger by the coffee table.
Whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, trade shows and conferences can be a great way to meet a lot of potential leads fast.
Ready to step up your exhibiting game? Here are our best practices for using your animation at a tradeshow or conference:
Trade show Animations Are More About Visuals than Sound
- It’s always important to have a visually compelling story. But for exhibiting, this is critical because you might not be able to hear the audio over the buzz of background noise.
- Subtitles or simple text on screen throughout the video can be a great solution to getting key concepts across without sound. (Note: This is a great practice for any video anyways. Have you noticed how Facebook now automatically plays videos without sound by default?)
- Unexpected or funny illustrations are more likely to capture their attention and get people to stop. There’s a method behind the madness, so don’t hold back on the visual surprises.
Keep it Short and Sweet
- Trade show videos should ideally be 30-90 seconds long. Why? Because no one is going to stop for any longer. You want this playing again and again.
- What does that mean for you? No one wants to press play every 90 seconds. Click here to learn how to loop your animation into infinity!
Double Check Your Tech
- If you can, plan to show your video on multiple large flat screen displays, positioned high enough to catch the eye of someone down the hall.
- No budget for the big screens? A simple laptop set-up or tablet display is far better than no video at all.
- You don’t want to be stuck without wifi when you need it. We recommend keeping a copy of your video on a thumb drive, just in case.
Animations are a tool, not a magic wand
- The animation is your booth bait- it can get someone to stop for 5 seconds. But it’s still your job to reel them in.
- For the love of goodness, fight the urge to sit behind a table! Instead, try standing in front of your booth, near your animation so you can quickly greet and engage attendees after they pause to view.
Best of luck and may the leads be ever in your favor!
